On Monday I lost Luck, my dog of almost 15 years. Although it was gut-wrenching and she took a bit of my heart with her, this is not a sad post. It is about the Business Lossons my dog taught me.
How my dog taught me to be a better business partner ( repost form 10/2019)
Be happy- Every morning it is like the first time she has ever seen me. Greet people with a smile, it will make you and them feel good.
Be appreciative- If I give her a tiny piece of chicken I have changed her world. I have always been appreciative of my clients, as a business owner, I am more appreciative than ever I think my clients sense that difference.
Be Curious- This week it is bees, she will look at them for hours. I now invest the first hour of every day on being curious it's amazing how much I'm learning.
Be loyal-My dogs like Velcro she does not leave my side. I have always been loyal, but when I worked for a large Corporation my loyalty was split between my company & clients. That was always a bit uncomfortable, I felt the clients were sometimes guarded and I was always seen as an outside salesperson. Now that 100% of my loyalty is dedicated to my clients, I definitely feel like an extension of their team.
Listen & develop your senses- my dog can hear the difference between the UPS truck & the US Mail. She can sense a storm 15 minutes before the 1st raindrop. Imagine if you developed your listening & senses to the point where you really understood what your clients want & need.
Enjoy what you do- My dog will play frisbee until she falls over. It is work for her but it is fun. Enjoy what you do you will do it better and longer
Learn new tricks- this may go back to be curious, I really believe if you are not learning new ways to get better you are getting worse. I just introduced Dynamic CTV | OTT Ads for local advertisers. My Auto dealers can now run a commercial that update every 24 hours based on their inventory. It is fantastic.
About Lucky
She was a great dog, one of my best friends. About four years ago my vet told me she would live another two months for three months, she had a heart condition. Two months turned into four years. She was happy the entire time, in fact, she was happy right up until the time she passed. On Friday she completely stopped eating, on Saturday I could not even get her to take medicine even buried in a piece of steak or chicken. On Sunday she couldn't stand or walk and stayed in the same place for the entire day. Sunday evening I stayed up with her late and finally went to bed. At 3:00 AM by a crazy miracle Lucky walked into my room this was her way of letting me know she did not want to be alone. I laid on the floor with her from 3:00 AM till 9:00 AM the next morning. I took her to the vet by 10:00 AM to put her to sleep. While I was in the room comforting her the vet tech walked in to ask me some questions. As we were talking I looked at the vet tech and said you don't need to put her to sleep she just passed, peaceful and painless. I have four best friends my wife my son and my two dogs. Now I have three best friends if you ever truly have bonded with a dog you will know they are truly man's best friend.
