Connect With Yourself First 
to Successfully Connect With Others  

I recently took a day off to do “nothing” and, more importantly, I promised myself that I would enjoy it – in other words, not feel guilty about it.  Throughout the day, every time I thought about turning on the computer to check
e-mail or about some other “to do,” I reminded myself of my promise and brought myself back to the present of enjoying whatever “nothing” I was doing.  It was a great day!  And it reminded me that one of the reasons I started my own business 11 years ago was to have more flexibility – to follow my true priorities, whether they were business or personal.  However, like a lot of business owners, I soon let my business take priority over other areas of my life.  Do you ever find yourself doing this – forgetting why you started your business in the first place and letting it take over your life?  

I fly a lot and am accustomed to hearing the flight attendant say, “When the oxygen mask falls down, put yours on first and then assist your child.”  On one flight, the attendant instead said “When the oxygen mask falls down, put yours on first so that you may better assist your child.”  Wow, what a concept – I wish all airline attendants would say it that way.  Because what it says is that not only do you need to take care of yourself first, but also that you shouldn’t feel guilty about doing it because it's actually better for everyone when you do.
 
Our NAWBO chapter slogo is “NAWBO Creates Connections” and my President’s theme for this year is  “Create Connections to Make a Difference.”  Let’s not forget that  in creating connections, we need to create a connection with ourselves first – what is important to us – before we can create a real connection with anyone else. Do you have examples in your life of how creating a connection with yourself first helped you  to make better business connections that enabled you not only survive but also to thrive?  If so, write to me at dianemccartney@yahoo.com to let me know your story - we’d like to share member and Corporate Partner stories in future issues of this newsletter.
 
NAWBO Creates Connections - connect with yourself first to successfully connect with others.
 
 
Diane McCartney
President, NAWBO Dallas – Fort Worth Chapter