As I stare at this blank Word document, which will fill with words, I remember back to when this column first debuted in April of 2014. I was so grateful to have an audience, particularly an audience as wonderful as those who live in and around Carson City.
I love this town and I love the spirit of the people who live here. Yesterday, I was having a conversation with a gentleman who is about my age. He grew up here and went to Carson High School. We spoke about how Carson City is special in its quality of being an incubator.
You may know an incubator as something that keeps chicken eggs warm until the chick hatches. However, within the context of business and personal growth, being an incubator is a very special thing to be. Think back to your experience living here. How often have you felt safe wearing what you want to wear, when you want to wear it?
How about trying new hobbies or activities without fear of not being entirely excellent. If you are a business owner, how welcome did the Carson City community make you? How business friendly is Nevada?
This and more, my friends, is the hallmark of an incubator. It’s a place where individuals and business owners can be reborn, grow, feel safe, and nurtured. It’s a culture of “it’s OK to fail.” Trust me, it’s something is not as prevalent in larger cities.
In Carson City, I can grow in a warm (yes, it has been more than a little warm these past few days) and supportive environment. For the past 11 months, I have been so blessed to be the marketing director for an amazing startup called Chargerback, Inc.
This company, which you probably didn’t know is in your back yard, provides lost and found software to the nation’s top hotels, airlines, and amusement parks. This wonderful company incubates and grows right here in Carson City, and a touch in Reno. And, today, I am proud to call them friends versus my employer.
This means, What Works Coaching is back open for business! I will be opening my office in Carson City and holding regular workshops throughout Carson City, Carson Valley, and Reno. I will be writing again, not just for Carson Now but for other sites as well. I am so happy to be back.
This week’s exercise: If you are facing a situation where you feel jarred and out of control, consider you it may be a call to grow. Remember this poem by Erin Hanson. Or better, scroll, double click on the graphic, print it out and carry it with you.
“For a star to be born,
There is one thing that must happen;
A gaseous nebula must collapse.
So collapse.
Crumble.
This is not your destruction.
This is your birth.” — Erin Hanson, Poet
In the photo, this is me leaving for Reno Compression, a pre-Burning Man event. Living in Carson City helped me discover a level of self-comfort that puts me in business clothes for work, hiking shoes to explore our beautiful area, or fur to wear to Burning Man events. I love Carson City! #CarsonProud
ABOUT DIANE HANSEN
Diane Hansen is the Chief Inspiration Officer of What Works Coaching, a coaching firm that has helped people worldwide with their businesses, careers, mindsets, and profit margins. She brings to Carson City more than 17 years of experience with a wide array of clients, ranging from top corporations, motivated entrepreneurs and individuals hungry for a fresh start. Her column returns every Monday, and sometimes Tuesday, on Carson Now.