Well, here we are in what has become known as the " Great Pause." Inside of these unprecedented times there lies a great opportunity - and a lot of uncertainty. 

What will become the new normal? What will the salon industry look like? What changes to salon culture and structure will occur in response to intermittent closures and social distancing? These are just some of the questions that I am thinking of as we at La Luma are in our fifth week of a mandatory closure. 

I find myself moving between moments of anxiety and moments of peace in all of this COVID-19 uncertainty. I have done a lot of self-development and leadership training over the past decade and that experience has led me to this conclusion: 

I am responsible for what I make this all mean 

Afterall, we are meaning-making machines. We humans have been sitting around fires on the land telling stories for millennia. We are our stories and we live through our stories. So herein lies the opportunity in all of this; Rewrite the story. But how? Where do we begin? What if I liked it the way it was? 

What I have noticed about myself is this: If I can be with what is (and with my feelings about what is), then I have the power to choose something else - I have the power to create a new story. 

Here are some considerations I am exploring in my own life during this pause:  

1) What is the purpose of our lives and our businesses? Consider moving beyond making money and get clear on your “why”, so that money becomes a result of the “why”.

2) Legacy. What is our legacy? What do we want people to say about us and our impact? Is it important for us to leave things better than we found them?

3) Being present in the moment, slowing life down.

4) Consider all of our choices carefully. Own that everything is a choice and stand powerfully in our choices.

5) Examine our integrity so that our thoughts, words and actions are in alignment. To create the opportunity to examine if we have integrated them with our purpose and legacy.

6) Stand in love and compassion for yourself and others. Consider that with love all things are possible. With compassion comes understanding.

7) Consider carefully the words you choose. We create our world with language. Our world gets distinguished by language. Creating distinctions increases our ability to communicate with others.

8) Consider speaking less and listening more. The greatest contribution to others and to increase the workability of our lives is to be a great listener.

9) Gratitude, be grateful for all that is!

10) Authenticity, consider that being authentic is the gateway to getting things exactly how they are and exactly how they are not. This is the beginning of the new normal.