I have been madly in love with an ordained Zen Buddhist priest for almost 14 years, and counting.  I think it is fair to say, a bit of training has seeped its way into my life.

I call them “Zagisms”, after the last name Zagarino I adopted when I took his hand ten years ago.  A Zagism is almost like the traditional Zen koan, a riddle or paradox to be meditated upon to abandon ultimate dependence on reason and to force one to gain sudden intuitive enlightenment.

My favorite: “A monkey is a monkey because he is a monkey.”  Seems silly, doesn’t it?  Ahhhh….. but wait.

Over the course of the next few posts, I’ll be sharing a few of these profound, yet strangely bizarre, Zagisms with you.  I am sharing this gold with you because it struck me recently how often I depend upon a Zagism to navigate my business, and how often I share a Zagism or three with my clients as my best solution to propel their professional visions into reality.

Let us begin.

1. CLEAN DISHES, CLEAN OFFICE.

I can tell exactly how you run your business by looking in your sink.  How you operate the daily routine of processing eating utensils is 93% likely to be parallel to how you operate the daily routine of processing your professional In-Box.

People are more consistent than they usually realize.  You want to look like you have a successful, well-oiled machine-like business?  Start with cleaning your space, your office, your dishes in your sink.  Don’t profess to be ready to handle a million dollar client, only to wake up each morning to a cluttered desk in the corner of your bedroom. Don’t tell me you’re a professional business owner if you are embarrassed to invite me to your office for a meeting, or your car for a ride, your house for a cup of coffee.

I appreciate Zen (and my husband) because it/he is direct, blunt, precise.  BEING starts with DOING, and your reputation depends upon the specific actions you take. How a client or colleague experiences and interacts with you reflects directly on how they value your business, and how they speak of your reputation, service, brand.

A monkey is a monkey because he is a monkey.
An athlete is an athlete because he is an athlete.
We are who we are because we are who we are.

Still think it’s silly?

Try these simple steps and share with us in comments below your experience.

A.  Start with your desk.  Create one IN-BOX, put every scrap of tangible matter not bolted down into it, and then EMPTY IT by depositing each item into one of three categories:

i. Trash it.
ii. File it.
iii. Deliver it to the appropriate person.

B. Get out the Windex, duster, vacuum and make your office sparkle so much you want to marry it. (If your office is indeed in your home, like mine is, get out the big guns and clean your home… and then your car).

C. Recommended reading: David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

Goal= a professional business looks like a professional because it is a professional business.

Stay tuned for Part 2: GOOGLE YOURSELF