The “magic,” of course, is energy ordered to the needs of maintaining the integrity of our businesses. For energy to flow there must be a “circuit” for it to flow through, whether we are talking about the simple circuit found in a flashlight or the more sophisticated energetic circuits found in living beings. The kind of circuits that we are looking at here are not just the electrical energetic circuits of the nervous system, but the subtler energy of the business such as may be found throughout the operations baseline or benchmark performance standards. This energy is born out of our higher states of business consciousness and flows in the direction of least resistance. Energy flows from an origin to a ground. This is the dynamic shared by all energy flow.

So, as a first step, what does it mean to create a “ground” for business energy flow? What does it mean to be “grounded?”

Groundedness is not a thing. Groundedness is an experience and a state of business consciousness. Thus, like describing life itself, there can be no mechanical definitions, but rather a series of descriptions that characterize the experience of groundedness. It is a state of being focused and centered. It is a state wherein our business consciousness can clearly be focused on a specific issue or event and not consumed in a sea of fleeting thoughts, moods, emotions and ideas. (Chaos diffuses energy.) Groundedness is a state of clearly knowing “what my business does.” It is a state of being mindful and present in the moment, in the here and now.

Groundedness might be experienced while playing volleyball or tennis just as the ball is speeding directly toward your head. In order to return the ball effectively, in order to score a point and not be injured by the experience, one must have a clear sense of purpose in that moment, a clear sense of being able to hit the ball in a certain way at a certain angle at a certain speed. This is a focused response. If you are thinking about other events or activities at that moment, then you will not be able to effectively return the ball.

Being able to clearly focus one’s thoughts in the moment in a specific direction is one manifestation of groundedness. When we are constantly thinking about many other things and experiencing many different moods simultaneously, this chaos consumes little parcels of our business conscious energy and our consciousness, thus diffusing it and preventing us from truly being focused, centered and grounded in the moment.

There are many things that consume our consciousness to the point of diffusing our energy and disabling it from helping us in the management process. Some of the more common things that consume our consciousness are fear, worry, guilt and depression. (Often these are sourced in external and uncontrollable events such as the recession.) These feelings stifle our creative business directing flow of energy.

Passion, however, can move our energy and fuel our will so we can manifest our unique business model and express it in the world around us. Passion is the movement of energy at a very high rate of speed in a short period of time. It gives us the opportunity to respond quickly. If I ask you “What do you do for fun?” I am really trying to discover your passions. If your answer is “nothing,” as many men and women actually respond, this gives me more information about your prognosis than any analytic s could ever give, and it isn’t good. But if that were your answer, it’s not too late to change . . . if you start NOW!