In creating websites for clients over the last six years, I’ve met many different types of people, all within the context of a specific task at hand: developing a website. The process requires planning, thoroughness, and vision. It also requires the ability to idealize, on paper and in one’s mind, prior to making the website a reality.

Our process affects our customers in many different ways, usually bringing forward many emotions related to decision-making. We’ve refined our process to lead to a focused, calm, assured, and effective result. However, we’ve found someone’s internal emotional state often has the ability to influence any external endeavor.

I think about how this reflects in my daily life.

• Why am I here?
• What do I represent?
• What guides my daily decision-making?
• Who am I in my marriage, my business relationships, and my family?
• How do I do the right thing as a parent, volunteer, and member of my community?

Stephen R. Covey, in Seven Habits of Highly Succesful People, writes about character development. He researched the history of self-help and personal growth articles, and he notes that in the first 150 years of the United States, the literature focused on character-building. The tools promoted were related to character traits, such as integrity, honesty, personal responsibility, and honor — these are more “internal” qualities. In modern times, he found a shift in the literature towards technique-building. The tools promoted were related to influence, such as relationship management, networking skills, and personality-shaping — these are more “external” traits.

Covey encourages us to live from the inside out. He speaks to the importance of understading and focusing on our internal assumptions and beliefs, prior to us attempting to “change the world.”

Essentially, he challenges us to walk our talk.

Many of us are in business in the first place because doing what we do gives us unlimited opportunities to literally embody our values. Many of us believe we are here for a reason, we provide important services to our customers, and we use our skills to our greatest ability. My business practice is a way for me to take my core internal beliefs and project them outwards to the world in the form of my products and services.

What is your core set of principles you live by? Does your business reflect those principles? How can we move into greater alignment between what we believe and how we operate in the world?

I invite your feedback on how this works for you.

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