A Canadian entrepreneur has a sounding board of three other business people. They meet monthly to share ideas and offer support to each other. At one meeting they all agreed they needed a new challenge. They came up with an idea that would test their confidence and cause them to stretch out of their familiar surroundings.

The plan was to fly from Vancouver to Toronto which is several thousand miles away on a one-way ticket with twenty-five cents in their pockets. Upon landing they had to figure out how to get back home with no credit cards, no checks and no friends to help them out. To make it more interesting, they agreed to use at least three modes of transport. In order words, if one person was able to arrange a flight home, part of the journey had to include two other forms of transportation—train, bus, car, etc.

Picture yourself in this situation. What would you do?  What skills would it take to accept such a challenge and make such a journey? It seems that we are faced with such a journey periodically. With our current economy you may be faced with how to continue doing more with less, when to add more employees to lessen the load of the others, how to utilize your marketing dollars effectively, how to sharpen your skills to close deals faster, how to keep prospects in the pipeline…the list could go on and on.

This challenge faced by these four entrepreneurs would require creativity, innovation, courage and a strong belief in one’s ability, as well as obtaining money, to successfully make the trip back home.

It took most of the group about a week to get home, and everyone returned safely. One person took the long route of hitching rides, working as a waiter in a restaurant and earning tips. One even talked a high end hotel in giving them a room at no cost. They found odd jobs even asking people on the street for spare change.

They all agreed that the trip was one of their all-time greatest learning experiences. They discovered that no matter how little they had, it was possible to not only survive, but to prosper. Confidence levels soared and their twenty-five cent challenge created bigger and better business opportunities in the months that followed.

How are you looking at the journey ahead of you? What skills do you need? What changes need to be made?

Think about it and step outside of your comfort zone…..

Nyda

Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot.  ~Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1958, spoken by the character Holly Golightly

P. S. Thank you to all who helped support my challenge of sending Girl Scout Cookies to our men and women serving our country through the Troop Program. They will certainly enjoy the delicious cookies and think of home.

Check out www.TheMagnolia.TV to see the new show featuring Chef Isabella in the Kitchen.