Starting with Gratitude

I have always admired leaders who find the perfect balance between work and significant rest.  The ability to successfully take time out to rest cannot be underestimated when you consider how demanding business is on leaders today.  If I’m honest, I’ve always struggled to un-plug and the last 3 years have been particularly difficult with the demands of InspHired Recruitment Solutions as well as Verify-Me.

When I finally got to take some much needed time off a few weeks ago, one thing I did was reflect on the year and I discovered what my biggest take away from 2018 was and what my themes for 2019 will be.

Hopefully you will find them applicable to you too.  Here we go!

Focus – For the last few years I’ve been running InspHired Recruitment, which itself is more than a full-time job. However, occasionally an opportunity to get involved in another business venture presents itself.  Being the hunter salesman/entrepreneur that I am, I almost never hesitate to get involved, especially when InspHired is doing really well.  Although some of these ventures have been successful, most of them have failed and even worse, split my focus, which usually has a negative effect on the InspHired team. The take away here is don’t overlook opportunities, but assess them thoroughly and don’t lose focus, especially if the venture will take time away from your main source of income.

Look up – When I look at who I am today, I’m a mixture of the many men that have mentored me over the last 3 decades.  From my father, to teachers, and more recently, managers I’ve worked for. However, the last few years have been lonely.  The worst part is that the loneliness has been self-inflicted.  Finding a mentor and looking to them for regular guidance must be deliberate or else it becomes something you put off for longer than is necessary or healthy.  Don’t go through 2019 without guidance from your mentor and be deliberate in your interaction.

Start with Gratitude – What is it that hasn’t already been said about the positive effects of gratitude on one’s life?  It improves our health, keeps our feet on the ground, makes people want to spend more time with us, and makes us more successful all round.  But how many times do we actually stop and count our blessings or send a thank you note to that friend, mentor, parent or colleague?

Just like days should start with gratitude, I’d like to start 2019 with a thank you. Through a difficult year, I’ve seen first-hand, the impact that our clients’ commitment has on our success.  Most of our clients have been with us for years and when I look at their commitment to our partnership it really humbles me, so I have to say thank you for your continued support.

Next up are our candidates – Thank you for trusting us with your careers in 2018.  The joy we get from seeing candidates’ lives change is the drug that makes recruitment irresistible, for that I say thank you!

Lastly, to my team, who over the last few years have become family – All I can say is Wow!  Even when we were battered you never lost your way, you never doubted that we’d be successful, and you never gave up.  I’m proud to be part of such an incredible company and most of all I have to say: Onward and upward to 2019.

To our clients, partners, candidates and the team –  Thank you for keeping us InspHired!