Falling Short

Setbacks regularly present themselves in our personal lives and in our business lives, so why are we never prepared to deal with them! We get lulled into a false sense of security by our successes and the predictability of our routines ... only to be blindsided by the one thing we should always count on....that nothing stays the same

We just suffered this fate on Monday when Shawn and I found out we did not get accepted as vendors into the Neptune Festival at the Virginia Beach Boardwalk the last weekend of September. This is a show we have done for 14 out of the past 17 years and it is the show we count on each September to kick off our current Holiday season. It is our annual Boardwalk presence at Virginia Beach where we present our newest Ltd Edition Chesapeake Santa to our most loyal beach customers! Some words that come to mind when describing what this show means to us are.... Traditional... Seasonal kickoff....Loyal customers...Predictable income... Unpredictable weather... Fun... Exhausting...Exhilarating! It is one of our flagship shows... And this year for whatever reason we did not get juried in.

The feeling when I got the email was so surprisingly emotional. It hit so hard and at such a personal level! "What!?? I must have read it wrong... No that is what it says! Are they crazy?! We are always one of the busiest booths at the show! Our sales there are through the roof! They are crazy! Am I crazy? There goes 10% of our annual gross income!! What will we replace it with? How will we survive?" But the last and most devastating thought was "FAILURE"!

"Failure" is a tough thought, word or concept to deal with. How we deal with it is key. How Shawn and choose to deal with it is to first eliminate that word from our vocabulary because it suggests an end or a defeat. Next we shift our perspective... Look at the situation from different angles. What could be good about this new development? What new show or experience can we substitute in on that weekend? ....If we cannot be there maybe there will be a hurricane that will hit VA BEACH and deal our revenge!!! ... Oops ... Sorry a slight lapse in changing our perspective! :))

After all it is just a show and nothing more. Our not being there will not be an end... Maybe it will be a beginning... Another door swinging open to start another long tradition in another place. The unchosen path ready to be travelled.

We are slowly digesting this news and will continue to adjust our attitude and perspective. We already did a little damage control and contacted the show management to ask to be put on their wait-list. But now we are in move forward mode. We will work hard, book a new show or many new ones to make up for the loss. We will count our blessings for all that is good in our personal and business lives. We will chalk it up to change being inevitable... not to falling short. We do not fall short!!... We work hard... And maybe just maybe we will adjust the finish line just a little.... Because life is just too short...to fall short!

Thank you for reading!

Lynn McPherson
CBCC

www.chesapeakebaychristmas.com

Bringing the Chesapeake into your Home and Holidays!