Indigenous Teachings in Business - How to Level Up Indigenous Success by Packing a Good Canoe

Now, if you've been following my videos for a while, you know that recently I celebrated an anniversary, a business anniversary, and that I'm now officially in my 15th year in business. There's only one reason I can say that. A bunch of contributing factors, but one solid reason. That's what I want to talk about today. So let's talk about it. Bonjour. Mishko Paganan Kwei Nidhinkas, Mang Dodam. Hi, everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River first nation in Treaty 3 territory in Northern Ontario. And this week we focused on an indigenous worldview. And if there's one thing I take great joy from, it is the fact that I have been successful in business for now, going on 15 years. And I didn't have to give up who I was to do that. I didn't have to be give up being Anishinaabe Kwe, being an indigenous woman. In fact, to be successful, I had to remember I was Anishinaabe Kwe. And that meant following my teachings, following my traditions and customs, and consulting and listening to my elders. Now, I lost a very dear elder just this year in May, and I still miss her presence every single day. And at the beginning of this video, I promised you that, or I shared with you that I am successful. I AM in my 15th year in business for one reason, and it was one of Nana's teachings that is the reason why I'm here. If there was one thing that Nana constantly reminded her followers of, it was asking them, reminding them, telling them to pack a good canoe. Because the reality is, every single day, we make choices. And our choices can either prepare us for what comes next further down the journey, or it can weaken us and make us vulnerable to what comes next. The reality is there are storms in life. Rough times are going to come in. By the way, it's not because creators out to get you or. Or that someone's out to get you. It is literally life. Every river has rocks and boulders, also has beautiful shores and amazing views. But if you're in the middle of a calm time, understand that is the perfect time to prepare for the rapids you know are going to come at some point. That's the squirrels gathering all the nuts, preparing for winter. They could just be lazing around, enjoying the weather, but they know harder times are going to come. And if they prepare for it, then it's not going to be as hard. I am still in business because at different times I didn't pack well enough. I didn't behave in a way that honored my health or honored my relationships or honored my business. And I paid the consequences. And each time it hurt a little bit more and it got a little bit harder to get up. But it taught me to pack a better canoe. Just this week, when I'll admit I was getting cocky and bragging about how good of a canoe I had packed, I hit rocks and I realized that I had to up my packing game, which I did. I made some adjustments. I adjusted to how much money I'm going to set aside when money is coming in. It was most definitely a cash flow issue, in case you were wondering. And I'm now prepared for the next storm. Not because I see it coming, but because I know it's out there somewhere. So the question is, are you one of those fly by the seat of your pants people that you're just going to live for the moment, then that's fine. If that's who you are, that's who you are. Don't complain when the storm comes. And don't expect me to rescue your butt because we all know the storm's coming. As adults, we gotta learn to pack a good canoe. I hope that made sense. And I hope your canoe is absolutely flippin amazing. If it's not, I hope you're not in the middle of a storm. Because if you are, write it out. Pack a better one next time so that the next storm doesn't take you out of your knees. We're gonna thank Nana for that teaching until next week. I hope you have an amazing weekend. I love you. Take care. Bye bye.