Yesterday was July 4th. I stood out on my deck looking out at the woods that surround my house as I sipped my morning tea. Everything was so green, except for the grass which is brown and dry at this point; we really could use some rain. But I digress. Scanning the edge of the woods, I noticed the daisies, the purple wild flowers that the hummingbirds love, and the vines I am working on digging out of the ground, but mostly I notice the trees. They are so beautiful when covered in the green of summer glory. Such an amazing contrast from the starkness of the winter season. Then my eyes jumped back to an opening in the woods. And then I realized what had drawn my eyes back to that spot. There were three…yes three…very red/orange maple leaves. The color is beautiful and vibrant.
And then it struck me.
I noticed those three leaves because they are truly different from the other foliage in the area. Their color is bright, eye catching, vibrant and it made me take notice. In that setting, those three rogue leaves had made themselves clearly visible –sticking out from that sea of greenery saying 'look at me, here I am, look here!'
Nature has many lessons to teach us and this is just one more. Each one of us needs to find a unique way to stand out from the crowd, to find a way to be noticed, to draw attention to our business and product and/or service. Maybe it’s your stellar service that becomes known just through word of mouth; or maybe it’s a quirky name that draws attention. Maybe you’ll have an employee distribute fliers wearing a chicken costume or Superman cape. Maybe you’ll hire an airplane and have your message painted across the sky. Whatever it is you do, consider how it will make your business stand out from the rest; because as a friend of mine once told me, everyone has vanilla ice cream; what’s so special about yours? Find your voice and figure out what makes you stand out and shine.
