when the time is right....

As we have move into the heat of the summer I am thinking back to just a few weeks ago when it was Spring. We had such a nice Spring this year, one of the best I can remember.


This was my first Spring in the house that I live in now with a nice back porch. My husband has been working hard on the landscaping and creating the perfect backyard sanctuary. A family of robins thinks very highly of our back porch too and created a nest there this Spring. The babies have hatched, flown the nest, and until recently the nest sat empty in it's location.


What was interesting was watching the babies during the time they were getting ready to leave the nest. They were making one heck of a racket for a few days, chirping, eating, and flopping around. There were four of them so you can imagine how close they were living in that little nest. As the time came for the babies to leave, both the mother and the father appeared. Each taking their time to inspect their little ones. I am assuming this ritual is done to make sure that all of their hard work is not for nothing this Spring.


As each of the babies literally "flew the coop" I noticed that each took their time. One after the other perched themselves on the edge of the nest, took a leap and started feverishly flapping their wings. Experienced pilots they were not, but this was a fascinating sight. As the first three went through what appeared to be a pre-flight checklist with a parent looking on, we noticed the fourth baby not really doing to much but hanging back in the nest.


As the first three left the nest the fourth stayed put. We anticipated that the fourth baby would go soon after the first three. It was a period of days before the fourth bird finally took flight. All the while the parents were coming back to the nest coaching the baby along, making sure it was fed and cared for properly.


This experience with the babies and their nest made me think about all of us who have gone out on our own and started our own business. If you are contemplating starting a business, a career change, or trying something new, this applies to you too so think about this.


I have heard people say that they are waiting for the time to be right. The counter argument to that is if you keep waiting the time will never be right or perfect and you will never really be "ready." I get that a lot now on when my husband and I are going to start a family....."you can't wait for the time to be right for kids, it's never perfect." Yes, I know, I got it. The clock is ticking. Back to the birds.


Here is something to consider along with all of those great words of wisdom. Just like those baby robins needed some time to be mature enough or strong enough to leave the nest you need to need to be mature, strong, and prepared to start your new venture. You have the idea, passion, and you know what you want to do, now take a little bit of time to make sure you know how you are going to do it. There is a fine line we are walking here - so be careful about too much time.


You will never be fully ready or prepared for everything that comes at you in life or in business. It doesn't hurt to take time to make sure you are not going to fall flat on your face on your very first flight out of the nest. I am not suggesting that you not take the risk, I am a firm believer now in taking risks and leaps of faith. I am in the middle of a "leap" right now.


But if things are not going right for you in your job, you dislike what you do and you want to do something different think about that fourth robin sitting all alone in that nest after everyone else had left him. He had his coaches, consultants and other "peeps" their to support him but they left it up to him decide when it was time to jump. That's all I am asking, gather your information, then think about the leap you want to make.


It's important to know that any risk or jump will come with feverish flapping until you get a handle on things. It's better to be confident and prepared when the time comes to make the jump, as it makes the jump much more worthwhile and could mean the difference between falling flat on your face or a wildly successful flight.