Nine short months ago, I was just an entrepreneur. I was one really, really pregnant entrepreneur – but still, not a mom. I had been in business for almost 6 years at that point – surely nothing could change my outlook on business so drastically that I would find myself doing something else entirely within a year.

And then it happened.

I became a mom. And the world, my work, and my life was never the same. In the last nine months, I’ve learned many things about business from my daughter – and I’d like to share them with you…

1. Don’t cry over spilt milk, even if it gets spilled across your keyboard. There are too many variables in life to get upset when something goes differently than you expected. Things change, priorities shift, and people act (and react) in unexpected ways. Get over it, clean up, find a way to make things work and move on.

2. One person can make a difference. I know this because my daughter has already completely changed the world for me, and she can’t even walk yet. Now I’m more involved with changing the world, more passionate about my beliefs, and more willing to take a stand for what I believe in than ever before.

3. Don’t get attached to things, because they don’t matter in the long run. Your impact on the world, the people you connect with, and the family you have – they matter. Your coffee table, your car, your house, even your wedding band – they’re replaceable things. So is paperwork. I’d rather see my daughter’s smiling face as she rips apart and tries to eat a memo than take it away from her to “save paper.” I use recycled paper anyway!

4. You’re going to look different. On the other side of my journey into motherhood, my body looked completely foreign to me – but it turned out to be more powerful than it ever had before. The same holds true for business. Don’t get attached to the way things look, because if you’re doing something that really matters you’re going to look completely different when you come out the other side.

5. Always stand up to poop your pants. (more…)