The Next Step
My Kinomi nuts are now available at Harvey Nichols. It is a very exciting thing for me as they are a premium department store and acknowledged as a fashion leader in the UK. But obviously this is just the beginning for Kinomi. So where to go from here?
I can just tell there’s another growth opportunity coming this way for me. Whee! (and I mean that sarcastically) While I know intellectually that growth experiences are good, emotionally I am unhappy about them. Why do I need to keep growing? I thought I was done, can’t be improved upon and all that. Growth periods are often uncomfortable, embarrassing and chaotic. You don’t notice for awhile after you come out of them because you’re still reeling from the experience.
It turns out that if you put yourself out there and take risks, then you continue to grow. Back in the 90′s, with two little kids, I thought I had achieved what I needed to in life. Obviously that’s not true, look what I’ve done since then. I now realise that it’s because I didn’t have time to think about me, I was too busy trying to keep two small people alive. That all got turned on its head with our move to Tokyo. Suddenly in addition to the wellbeing of the small people, I had to think about my adjusting to a new environment. Although I had family and geography going for me, it was still a tough transition. I managed, thrived and discovered that I was not cut out for suburban living. Then came the move to London which was much tougher. Children older, no support system and a pretty hostile environment compared to my warm fuzzy life in Tokyo. But I managed and 10 years later, here I am.
This is what I think. If you look back, there is a progression in your life. Things happen to prepare you for the next stage. Of course, stepping out into the unknown is scary. The thought of going out there and trying to sell my Kinomi nuts is pretty terrifying. But I have to remember that if I think it’s the right thing to do, then I’ve been logging experience all along to help me get there. Deep breath, off I go.
Here they are, on the shelf.
