FINANCES, JOY OF LIFE, AND TIME IN THE INTERNET
As I’ve embarked in my new venture, I must admit that it’s been quite a roller coaster; long days of work and exhaustion, as well as surprises galore and a priceless amount of learning. Opening my own business has been far from mind-numbing and daunting. I have strengthen some of the skills that I had already gained throughout my career in communications and teaching, received amazing advice and support from professionals who are already way ahead of me, and learned new concepts and ideologies that before were a mere thought, just a chapter from a book or a scene in a movie. I have watched so many online videos, participated in a high number of teleconferences and webinars, completed business plans, worked on growing my contact list, registered my company name and domain, worked on website design and content, planned new programs to promote, and developed a marketing campaign, among other necessary tasks. As you all business owners very well know, the list goes on and on; this is the norm if you want to reach a high level of trust and success.
While engaging in all this, one of the things I did in my investigative process was to run a search on the most commonly used key words in the internet. I must say I was truly surprised as I read the report put out by the company who originally published these results, SiegeMedia and Ross Hudgens. It was remarkable to see that, within a list of the top 100 key searches, some of the first terms that were important to online visitors were: calculator, USA jobs, social security, finance, euro to dollars, and lotteries. This demonstrates a highly increasing concern about money and financial stability fret that a vast majority of people encounter in their daily lives. And that is also, one of the most significant trends among clients that I’ve had the honor to serve and help during my coaching sessions. They either start with this focus, or come back to it at some point in our discussion, when presented with the question of where you want to start and what aspect of your life you feel you have an immediate need to improve.
Another slightly more extensive group of words that called my attention is one that listed inspirational quotes, flowers, funny jokes, funny pictures, free games, music, hotels, and flights. This shows that we are still candid and hopeful that our journey through life is more than material preoccupation and despair. Although other evident issues as war, crime, violence and drugs (surprisingly not mentioned) are an indisputable reality in our daily existence, people still look for ways to find in the little things a grain of enjoyment, a drop of hope, and a touch of beauty to go on living. People believe in authentic Happiness. And my clients have certainly attested to that. In my sessions, wanting to be happy, having fun with friends and family, acquiring the appropriate means to be able to travel, and laughing form part of an ideal life that somehow for many is not that simple to attain.
Additionally and interestingly enough, the number of searches pertaining to time was high; food for thought that made me think about how many times within a day we wonder “what time it is.” Everyone may have a different reason, even strong enough to look it up in the internet: election time to finally cast my vote, break time from the office, time to eat, to go to the gym, to decide on buying a house, having children, getting married, time to walk the dog, to take that medication. Time to fly, to exit, to be free. Time to plan our next step, or take that big breath, or let go of anything that is holding us back. Time to progress and move forward, the core principle of my coaching business.
So, I wonder if people always had this mindset, or is it technology that allows us to have a closer look at our beliefs and thinking trends? Often, when I ask my mom about something, she kindly directs me to the internet and tells me that Google, for sure, has the answer. My dad is always reading and getting information from the search engines. And my friend’s grandmother cannot part from her precious tablet. It seems that people from every generational group not only feel and think alike, but are happy to have found a way to have access to a world that doesn’t discriminate and won’t judge.
