One of the more challenging core values that we try to live by at Lemonade Stand is to “Stay Excited and Upbeat.” It’s not always easy to be happy, excited, positive, or upbeat. We have difficult days and hard times just like any other business; however, it is this care value that really keeps us going even through those rough days.
This value does not, by any means, imply that one should just start pretending that everything is bright and sunny all the time. Absolutely not. Not every day is a summer BBQ on your favorite beach.
It does, however, go pretty hand in hand with another of our core values, which is to “See the Big Picture.” We can certainly acknowledge and accept when something is difficult or when we’re really in a tight spot. But, it is our reaction to that situation that is going to make all the difference in how the rest of it plays out.
Staying excited and upbeat about the future, even during—no, especially during—hard times is going to shape your future into something much brighter than it would have been.
Frame of Mind
I recently listened to a Ted Talk. The presentation was all about stress and how changing the mindset that we have surrounding stress can have a dramatic effect on how much damage that stress does to us, even turning it into something that could be a great blessing to us.
The basic idea is that stress actually comes from a really positive place where our body is naturally trying to help us during a challenging moment or period of time.
However, we have assigned such a negative connotation to the feeling of stress that we have turned it into something to avoid or fear. This makes us despise stress and turns something that could be a great experience into an absolutely terrible experience.
If we are able to change our view on stress though, if we’re able to “Stay Excited and Upbeat” about it, if you will, then it will actually help us and can even become something that we begin to rely on.
It’s crazy how powerful it can be to just change the way you look at a situation.
The Pandemic Hits
So what does that look like for Lemonade Stand?
Well, we’re a marketing agency. That means if business isn’t good for our clients, then it’s generally not so good for us either.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, it was extremely difficult for many businesses to keep their doors open, and, those that did really had to scrutinize every dollar they spent and try to only keep up the most necessary expenses.
This meant that, in a very short time period, we lost a lot of clients.
During this very difficult challenge, though, we managed to not let a single team member go or cut anyone’s wages. In fact, we even hired a few people! Of course, part of this was due to some serious planning, preparation, and always trying to think ahead, but a lot of it was due to the mindset of our entire team.
We managed to “Stay Excited and Upbeat” even when facing seemingly impossible odds. We had the mindset that we were not only going to stick around and keep our doors open for business as usual, but we were even going to keep growing!
Well, that’s just what we did. Because of this mindset, we actually doubled our revenue for 2020 compared to 2019!
It was this very value that kept us going and pushed us to continue to grow and develop our team even when it seemed that we might have to close up shop like so many other great teams that we were seeing.
This made all the difference and is why we are where we are today.
How Can You Live This Core Value?
This core value will take a lot of discipline to live by, and it’s one that you may consistently have to battle against your “natural” reactions to achieve.
Essentially, it is really just a choice of whether you “Stay Excited and Upbeat” during challenging times or if you let those challenges bring you down and suck out your energy.
That being said, I really just have a few suggestions that might aid you in making that decision, but it will ultimately come down to what you decide.
One—focus on the long term. Like I said, this core value fits perfectly with our other core value to “See the Big Picture.”
If you don’t want to be dragged down by tough times, you have to be able to look at things through a long-term lens. Where do you want to end up? What do you eventually want to be doing? How will today’s reactions and attitude toward whatever is currently happening affect those long-term goals?
(P.S. No matter what it is that you want in the end, I can almost guarantee that a positive, excited attitude will help you get there much more than a down-trodden and deflated attitude will.)
The second suggestion that I have is to look for the growth in your trials. What have you learned from past trials? What can you be learning from your current ones? How can you grow and develop because of what you’re going through?
I promise that you’ll be much happier and more positive if you’re constantly looking for growth and learning opportunities.
With this one I also have a book recommendation for you to read: “The Obstacle Is the Way” by Ryan Holiday. He expounds on the message that I’m trying to get across here and does it in a much more eloquent fashion with statistics, studies, and stories to back up the claims. It’s a phenomenal read that will help you understand this concept more.
I promise that you will see a massive change in your life, for the better, if you strive to live out this core value.
And, no matter what situation your company is going through, we promise that we will always be excited and upbeat as we try to help you with your digital marketing needs. If there is any way that we can do to help your business to grow on the digital front, we want to be doing it! Please shoot a message over to our team! We’d love to help you!!