Times Change and so does Business

   There are people in my life I receive advice from, business and personal advice.  I've found that someone who gives me business advice shouldn't be giving me personal advice (and shouldn't really know about my personal life).  So I need to learn which friends or colleagues I should consider advice for each area in my life.
     Someone who gives me business advice and knows that my personal goals are to have a family may not encourage me to work hard because it may sacrifice a family in my future.  On the same note - A business friend may not consider me for a job because they think I'm ready to move home to Dallas due to my personal lifestyle which gets me up to Dallas every other weekend.  I would rather you tell me everything you think I need to know - I'll decide what's a sacrifice and what's an opportunity I cannot refuse.
     And a personal friend may not ask me to be a part of their wedding or invite me to an important moment in their life because they know I am busy with work and think I have no time for them. So not true! I make time for people I want in my life. 
     It's my life and I can decide how to live it, where to live it and with whom to live it with.   Yes, my business life is busy.  But business changes and I can choose to change with it or not.

     On that same note: I am young businesswoman but I've saturated my life with this hospitality/communication industry and I feel incredibly comfortable planning a wedding for 8 or a dinner for 8,000.  Easy-peasy! 
     I understand there is a time for "yes sir" and "yes ma'am" but the business world (and possibly the nation as a whole) is becoming more relaxed and more laid back.  Hand shakes are customary, but I've been known to receive a high-five from my CEO. 
     Southwest Airlines is a wonderfully run company and their staff, planes and pilots are laid back, which makes the entire flying experience more comfortable.  Look at hotels in your town - they aren't stuffy and unapproachable.  They do whatever they can to accommodate your needs whether you are in the penthouse or the discount room. 

     I am having another life crisis today and I realize while I have a professional job, I can make it what I want.  If my client seems laid back and relaxed I can approach them in that way.  Being stiff around a laid back client will challenge the business relationship.  On the opposite side, some clients are uncomfortable with a laid back work place and they would find words like "awesome" inappropriate (even though I first learned that word from my stuffy english teacher during a spelling bee.) 
     When in Sales we need to relate to our clients, we need to adapt.  Not each year, not every month, but every minute of the day we must adapt.  When I answer my phone I never know who's on the other line and what different version of Rachel I can be.  But I do know that I love and enjoy being every version of myself that there is. 
     I hope to never become a version of myself I can't stand. 

Living life to the fullest...every minute of the day!

-Rachel