It’s one of those “mom scenes” you never forget.
Not quite as funny as the time my son pooped on the kitchen floor after scalding his sister with hot tea, but close. (I’m still trying to figure out how to work that one into a blog post).
Both of the kids came running into the house screaming. My son was spitting on the floor and my daughter was holding her hands out.
“What happened!? Calm down! What is going on!”
“I ate a cactus on accident.”
Apparently (after learning from the Wild Kratts that cacti store water and in a pinch in the desert, survivalists can find water inside them), my son decided to drink from a potted cactus.
yum! yum!
The result was not a refreshing beverage, but a mouth full of tiny, impossible to remove cactus needles. The positive? I learned a new word, “glochidia,” in the process. Writer’s win!
As I was using an old pair of pantyhose (Thanks, Google!) to remove the needles from the inside of his mouth and because I’m a good mom, I was making this a “teachable moment.”
So, in the spirit of great parenting, here’s what we learned from the soon-to-be-infamous “cactus incident” (surprisingly applicable to many areas of life):
Cactus Lesson #1: What you see someone else doing isn’t always the right play for you
Recently, a big marketer launched a product that seemed to appear everywhere. Some people I admire were touting this “new” approach to marketing as revolutionary. The course was in the $2K+ price range. The copy was aggressive, even from the affiliates — if I didn’t buy, I was going to be left behind. It’s what everybody is doing. I am experiencing a very busy time in my business and couldn’t justify adding “one more thing” to my repertoire right now. But I had a bad case of FOMO when the launch ended. But you know what? Because someone is successful using another approach, doesn’t take away my success or halt my growth. So, just because the Wild Kratts say it’s cool, doesn’t mean you need to jump on board.
Cactus Lesson #2: “Life hacks” and “insider tips” are rarely as simple as they seem
Marketers are really good at selling “secrets.” But the truth is, there’s only one formula to get fit, build a successful business, or find true love: time + work = success. Yes, there are tips, tricks, and tools that can speed up the process or make hard things easier. But, there is no secret method or app that will eliminate the work. Can you get water from a cactus if you’re dehydrated in the desert? I’m sure you can. But, as my son learned, there’s a little more to it than that.
Cactus Lesson #3: Don’t panic. You’re probably not the first to have this problem, no matter how weird it seems.
Every single day you see it in online forums and groups. People are freaking out all over the place. Help! Facebook blocked my ad! Help! My page won’t load. Help! Help! Help! Remember that no matter what problem you have in business (and in life), someone else has been there and they probably wrote a funny, informative blog post about it.
Just ask the girl who Googled “How to get glochidia out of your mouth” yesterday.
Leave a Reply