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This week I made a video blog explaining why my business is called Making Lemonade. In the explanation I talk about the time when I was adjusting to sight loss and starting my business. The quote that turned out to be my business namesake really did help to motivate me and remind me that, tough as some days were, I did have a choice.

 

Making lemonade is a choice; you can choose to accept lemons or you can choose to seek opportunities and make lemonade. In the same week I shot the blog, I read some quotes that also resonated with the journey of Making Lemonade, and you know I love a quote!

 

“If you start with nothing and end with nothing, there’s nothing lost”

Michael Dunlop.

 

I remember on a particularly bad day saying that I had not gone back to square one, but square minus one. In some ways this was true. I had lost my career, my salary, my lifestyle and any next steps were made all the more difficult by adjusting to sight loss. I was having to relearn things I already knew how to do, but I had to find other ways of doing them – hence it did not feel like progress, more like playing catch up.

 

Even at square minus one I still had a choice. I totally agree with Michael Dunlop as in many ways what did I have to loose?

 

“An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he will quickly learn how to chew it!”

Roy Ash

 

I might not have had much to lose but I had lots to learn! Starting a business is always daunting and I had no experience of what it entailed. On top of that, I was going from the world of fashion to the entirely new world of disability and they are on different poles of the planet. There were certainly times when learning to chew was another lesson in business! The difference between being at square minus one and learning to chew is that learning to chew is far more exciting! I soon realised I had nothing to lose and trying was at least more fun; life was starting to feel more lemonade than lemons for the first time in ages.

 

“Don’t stand by the water and long for fish; go home and weave a net.” Chinese proverb

 

The Chinese are bang on the money with this one! Anyone serious about achieving success knows only too well that taking action makes things happen and ‘longing’ is sadly for losers. Taking some of the actions needed to turn Making Lemonade from an idea into a business took getting out of my comfort zone and putting in the hours. The result was my confidence increased, as did my networks.

 

“To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart”

Thomas J

 

Your ‘heart’ brings the passion. If you are passionate about what you want to achieve your odds of success increase significantly. I did not know initially if I would love doing what I do, because I had never done it before, but I knew from the start it could only be a good move. Nothing is set in stone and soon I realised I could shape what I did to some extent as I went along. Your heart has to be in it to give you the drive to get through the lemon days.

 

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”

Wayne Gretzky 

 

People who are destined to collect lemons will tell me if they don’t try then they can’t fail. Those destined to make lemonade see trying as increasing their odds of success, rather than decreasing their odds of failure.

 

Remember, you have a choice ……lemons or lemonade. It’s still my favourite quote, but what would you expect!

 

Take a look at my video blog at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYjdzcVYkUI

 

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