Happy New Year to all our readers!
This year, TSTLC is celebrating our 20th anniversary. This milestone has made me reflect on where our business is today, the journey we have taken and how it all began. When you start a new business, at some point, you have to select a name for your company – something that can be easily remembered and still speaks to what the services and/or products of the business encompass. Having started my own business in 1999, I am not sure when that exact moment was but something that happened almost a decade before may have lodged into my subconscious mind and there we are.
In the fall of 1990, while a teacher in New York City, I had begun the school year with a class of gifted students. This particular cohort of young minds had a reputation over the years as being challenging and many of my colleagues were surprised when I took this assignment. As my birthday falls within the first few weeks of the school year, they surprised me. An earlier teacher of theirs and my classroom neighbor alerted my students to my special day and they organized a small party in my honor. This gesture on their part showed that we were bonding and ready to plunge ahead into a year of growth. A banner they presented me with which was neatly displayed above the chalkboard spoke volumes to their willingness to learn with me as their leader and also has meaning to me still about the human potential; that banner had these words:
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
A coaching client of mine who has been defining her career goals has recently stated this very concept to me that I am about to share. That is, that every experience we have had leads us to where we are today, whether in our business, our career or our personal triumphs. Don’t be FOOLED. What are you doing today that will lead you into tomorrow?
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
– Winston Churchill