Bumper Bowling Business?

Have you ever thought about how your spiritual journey and your business planning are similar to bowling? Yes, it's true. Well, at least in my mind it is true :-). Let me show you why I believe that.
With bowling, there is a starting place, momentum, hazards, help along the way, and an end (goal) in sight. The ball is the action you take. The pins are the goal. The lane is the path/methods you use to get there. The gutters can derail your progress, OR you can set up the bumpers (unless pride won't allow you to use them).

Take a moment and visualize a bowling alley lane in your mind.

- The shiny wood planked floor, the gutters on each side and the white pins at the far end, standing in precise formation.
- You see where you need the ball to go.
- The small arrows along the path all point in the direction of the targets.
- Ah yes, and who can forget the bowling shoes smell.
- Hear the sound of the heavy ball hitting the wood.
- The dreaded sound of a gutter ball!! Nnnoooooooo......!

We can take a lesson from 5-year-olds. Put up the gutter bumpers and feel good about doing some bumper bowling. They don't care at all if their ball zig-zags all the way down the lane, as long as it reaches the pins.

Sometimes, it is more important that we're moving in the right direction, rather than waiting and doing nothing until we know our plan will run perfectly straight. Did you catch that? Feel OK with being on a path to purpose and bumping down all the way if you have to. When you hit the side, it will cause you to do some re-adjustment, but you are still moving forward.

What kind of "bumpers" can we have in our spiritual growth walk and business life? Here are just a few ideas of some guiding structure we can set up in our lives:

• Consistent Prayer
• Mentors
• Accountability partners
• Establishing disciplined habits
• Setting up systems
• Girding and motivating ourselves
• Setting goals and planning
• Being dedicated to growth and learning
• Getting clarity of vision and purpose
• Surrounding ourselves with positive, like-minded people

At Koinonia Business Women, we've done some bumper bowling ourselves in our organization's forward movement. For example, we plan to launch KBWomen chapters in various cities in early 2010. Plans for how to make chapters happen effectively have morphed several times! Our hearts are in the right place and we're thankful for those who can extend grace during the planning and re-adjusting process! More information on our 2010 plans is coming very shortly.

Here's to all of us and our bumper bowling business and spiritual progress...CHEERS! Or should we say...STRIKE!

Posted by Krista Dunk
www.KBWomen.com