Everything happens when it should happen, not when you think it must happen.

Patience and a flexible schedule open the door for amazing surprises and opportunities.

Eat foods that are fresh and locally-grown whenever possible.

People respect you more when you try to understand their culture.

You have only become "too old" to dance when your mind decides this. Parallel Proverb: if you think you are too old to dance, then you are aging yourself, rapidly.

Listen to your surroundings. Tune in to bird-song, bug sounds, and other animals.

Make a special time every day to notice something of nature. Because you can.

Ask older people questions. Then listen.

Encourage children to sing and play. (Everywhere in Costa Rica children were "being children". They'd take soccer breaks in the schoolyards every few hours. In many places, they'd be singing.)

Nina

Nina- It sounds like your trip was a wealth of knowlege and wisdom....well done!

Thanks, Sue. It was fantastic, for many reasons. Ya know, I had a really hard time saying "Oh well..." before the trip. Now, it's part of everyday operations. I'm getting double-charged for several purchases I made online: oh well. My website is a few months behind schedule...oh well.


Really, here are some other "epiphones" I've been having as I have opened this new biz. (I have had many of my own businesses, but this is a bigger step for me):

If you hear yourself ask, "When's the fun part?", your answer might be "This is it."

Puting out fires, and spending way too much time on tedious tasks that bog the brain...is just a part of everyday operations for business owners.

Making repeat calls, getting redirected to the "right" department a million times, and still feeling like you are going in reverse...is part of a day in the life of a business owner.

Multi-tasking, feeling slammed and overwhelmed, never getting as much done as you had hoped, and uncovering bigger projects before the first one's completed, happen forever. It's not just because the business is new. It doesn't necessarily "settle down", does it?

I don't want to become more masterful with my time, necessarily. I just want to hire others to take on some of these tasks. Nina