A SIX YEAR OLD, HER LITTLE LEMONADE STAND & A BIG LIFE LESSON

On Monday, when I went to pick Gracie up from school, she hopped in the car and out of nowhere immediately started telling me what her afternoon plans were going to be when she got to her Grammy's house (Grammy, of course, had no idea of what she was in for).  Evidently she had been thinking about this all day and she then proceeded to tell me that she was going to set up a lemonade stand and offer lemonade and snacks to the neighbors.  She was going to get a big piece of paper and write, "Gracie's Lemonade Stand with Charlee (her cousin)" on it and hang it on the front of the "stand" and when the people come, she was going to serve them lemonade and it was going to be {FREE}!  I was totally digging her entrepreneurial spirit and how at the tender age of 6 she already knew how to create a business plan... until she said the word {FREE}!  By this time we were at Grammy's and she jumped out of the car so proud of herself and super excited to get in the house and pitch the idea to Charlee and Grammy!  I left and as I was driving back to work I chuckled to myself as I thought about her innocence and naivete and the fact that she thought that she could run a business for FREE!  I, momentarily, longed to be 6 years old again when life was much "simpler", and just like that, my cell phone rang with work things that needed to be taken care of and I quickly snapped back into reality.  I didn't think much else about Gracie's endeavor until I went back to pick her up later that evening.  When I pulled into my mom's driveway, there G was in the front yard with her lemonade stand all set up!  I got out of the car and she excitedly yelled for me to come look at what all she had done.  She had drug a little white table outside, had 2 stools (one for her and one for Charlee), had a pitcher of lemonade, cups, & snacks, and had made her a sign (just like she said) and hung it on the front of her "stand".  She was having a great time and was so proud of herself.  I think that particular day, her and Charlee drank most of the lemonade themselves. I mean, you have to sample your product, right?!?  We had to get going, so I helped her clean it all up and then we headed home.  The very next day, after school, she was just as excited about her lemonade business and was super eager to set her little stand up again.  The thought crossed my mind... how awesome would it be to feel as excited about my job as G felt about her lemonade stand?  I wish I was still just as eager to work when things weren't producing income as I was when things were producing income!  Haha!  On this particular day, she had several of the neighbors stop by and she was tickled to death to serve them {FREE} lemonade!  Later that night after we were home she pulled out a Ziploc bag and laid it on the counter. The bag had several dollar bills in it and some loose change.  I was puzzled and asked her where she got it from and who did it belong to?  She told me it was the money that she had made from her lemonade stand!!!  What?!?!?!?  You mean to tell me that you made money off of {FREE} lemonade?!?!?  She said that when the neighbors came to get lemonade, she told them that it was {FREE} but they gave her money anyway!!!  I was in total disbelief as I counted the money and realized that she had made $9.25 all from {FREE} lemonade!  She was smiling from ear to ear and was so extremely proud of herself.  As she was walking away to go watch one of her TV shows in another room, she was already telling me what her "business" plans were going to be for the next day! 
That's my girl!

The more I thought about it, I decided that I was going to quit work and go run the lemonade stand with Gracie (if she would hire me).  No, not really...but seriously, the more I thought about it the more I realized that G just might be on to something.  What if we all ran our "businesses" in this manner.  What if we adopted more of a "what can we do to help you" attitude, instead of a "what's in it for me" mindset.  If Gracie would have charged $.25 for her lemonade, how many people do your think would have tried to get her to come down to $.20 or wouldn't have come at all?  Isn't that the norm these days?  However, she wanted to offer {FREE} lemonade and it was never about the money.  She poured her heart and soul into her business endeavor but money was never her focus. Her focus was the happiness and satisfaction that she gained from (a) creating her own business and  (b) offering a great product to others, and as a result, the money came! WOW! Couldn't we all apply this to our business lives in some way? I cannot believe that Gracie's little lemonade stand turned into a BIG life lesson for her mommy.  I, like most of us, am guilty of having tunnel vision when it comes to my business. My eye is always on the prize, always crunching numbers, always trying to figure out how to make it profitable, always wanting more, always worrying, always stressing, etc. and it turns out that maybe if I would concentrate more on the parts of the business that make me happy, the reasons that I was drawn to it in the first place, that all that other "stuff" would just work itself out.  Maybe, just maybe, if I turn the focus off the success of the business and turn it onto the love for the business, the glass may start to look half full instead of half empty?  Ya think?
Oh, to be able to see the world "through the eyes of a child" again.
Thank you Gracie for that big "Ahhh-Haaa" moment! Mommy & Daddy are so proud of you!

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