Details Are ...

...what makes a huge difference in life, as you've probably noticed all too well by now. They often make me nuts!

And if you've also noticed this blog was somewhat or totally inaccessible to you in the past couple days, it was because of some overlooked details here in the office of Tips Products International. I didn't realize it until a loyal follower emailed me about it. Thank you, Kat :-)

The domain for this blog along with a number of other domains I own got moved to a different registrar a few weeks ago. Then the domain name wasn't forwarded to this blogger URL because I simply forgot it needed to be done. Oh, and then there were two little things that also needed to be changed on the admin page at the new domain registrar, which took two different customer service people to realize and get me all the necessary details handled on that, which I never would have discovered on my very own, in this lifetime or in any other.

You may know (or at least hope) that I'm leading up to something here besides giving you a seeming tale of woe, which it really isn't intended to be anyway.

Yes, I am leading up to sharing with you one of the major lessons for me that I've finally learned in 2008, that I think may be relevant for many of the readers of this blog. This applies to your booklets, other information products, you overall business and, in fact, your whole life. And it is this:

Even if you CAN do something, the better part of wisdom, many times, is to offload it to someone else to do it for you. Now, I CAN do a lot of these details, though recent events would seem to indicate otherwise. The fact is that those details are not and have never been my strength. It's not how I'm wired. They drain and dilute my energy, enthusiasm, and effectiveness. They make me weary, if not cranky(er). I have to work very hard to remember them, that they even exist many times. They keep me in a small place not an expansive place. My strength is big thinking. It's what I do well.

That is not to in any way speak poorly of anyone else who thrives on those details, as much as to point out the obvious. Do what you (and I!) do well, and invite others in to do what they do well. 2009 will be much more of that for me. It's already started. You will directly benefit from it, I am absolutely certain.

There are several virtual assistants who will be playing a much larger role with Tips Products International. And they each have different strengths, which is why there will be several of them. They will allow the company to grow without adding real estate, payroll, employees, or other overhead. As I've been doing a lot of strategic planning in the past month, and increasingly in the past couple weeks, there has been a legal pad to my immediate right, as I've been adding tasks for the different virtual assistants to do moving forward.

I'm also committed to having my wonderful Mexican cleaning woman come on a more regular basis. I excel at "neat" (big picture) and am lousy at "clean" (details). She spends two hours going over every surface in my kitchen, which is a galley kitchen, for cryin' out loud!! She does "clean" amazingly well, and I value that result. By the way, she speaks no English, and I've got about 6 words of Spanish. We manage to communicate extraordinarily well in spite of it.

So, as 2008 bids us farewell, I encourage you to re-assess your strengths and do them. Find other people to do the things they do well. Everyone thrives that way. Start by offloading even one thing, and add to it as you feel comfortable. It just makes good sense.

Until next time,
Paulette - who appreciates all the detail people in my life

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