This is on the wall of the bedroom (old office), hung there in 2007. Anita was fond of focusing on discovering principles that could be used to guide decisions both in personal and business matters. This is her list for her business. You can see, they are not really goal oriented (like “get 10 new clients this month”) or even practical (”always end the day with a clean desk”) but ideas that would guide her in her daily work and interactions with others.
10 Principles of Operation
1. Be grateful — for everything.
Counting our blessings and giving thanks daily.
2. Tell the truth.
Anita was one of the most honest people I ever met. And to people who knew her closely, she would “tell it like it is”.
3. Pray unceasingly.
She turned to prayer a LOT in times of struggle.
4. Be curious.
Not only would she investigate many, many things that she ran across, but but she would do it until she really understood them.
5. Prioritize, then execute.
She always struggled with this one. She constantly had to remind herself (and I reminded her) that instead of “putting out fires” or answering emails as soon as they came in, she needed to find what was most important that day and take the time to do it. But she really struggled with both parts.
6. Find the opportunity in the problem.
Looking at a problem in a different way often helps suggest a solution or a learning situation. This is a really though one, I think, when we are in the midstof the situation – not always as hard when reflecting back on something.
7. It’s never about the money.
Our philosophy is that money is neither good nor bad, but the Devil tries to make us so focused on money that we forget God (he does that with a lot of things, I guess). It was difficult for her, though, to not focus on money too much but enough to pay the bills.
8. Think first.
Unlike me, who is quick to act, Anita was always thoughtful and diligent before she did or said anything.
9. Focus on the process, not the outcome.
This was her self reminder to be less goal oriented (she was extremely goal oriented earlier in her life). Living your life for God is usually not quantifiable.
10. Do just one more.
A victim of her own whims, Anita (and I) often did what we “felt like”. She devised this maxim to encourage herself to just go one step beyond her (dis)comfort zone and, over time, accomplish much more.
