Organizational and personal development is all relative

I launched a new website from a coffeeshop last night. The site is for a painter I know, who did an above-and-beyond painting job on my house. After meeting with a couple of developers and seeing huge bids, he had asked me for some advice on other ways to get a new site. He didn’t need a custom build, and his needs were basic, so I offered to meet up with him a few times, pro bono, and give my advise. He and his daughter met me over three sessions, and he ended up designing it on his own using a templated web design and hosting service. It looks great. It does just what he needs, and he can update it on his own. With a click of “submit,” it was live.

You’ve never seen someone so happy. He built this painting company from the ground up, and it has been growing more and more recently. To have a website just for his company is a BIG thing to him. A sign of “arriving.” An emotional milestone. He left with a spring in his step.

Now, to many of you, having your own company website may not be that exciting. You’ve probably had one for years. It’s also easy to look at his situation, and decide that he is very early in the development of his company, and has a lot to learn to get up to your level. And that’s likely true.

What seems advanced to him, may seem basic to you.

But here’s the kicker — what seems advanced to you, is basic to someone else.

That’s because organizational and personal development is all relative. And that’s a beautiful thing. It reminds you that you control your own ambitions. You can choose to expose yourself to new challenges and reinvent anything and everything: your outlook, your products, your operations, your knowledge levels, and especially how you spend your time.

Your next step? Decide what is advanced to you, and go there, with the help of someone for whom it is basic.