4 Business Lessons Learned from the 911 Crash in Our Front Yard
Last week a dry cleaning delivery truck crashed head on into a tree in our front yard. A 23-year old man sustained life threatening injuries and was rushed to the hospital by a medical helicopter, Medflight.
Fortunately, I was working in my office and my husband, Tom, had the day off work, so we were both home. Our dog, Twilight and her barking, tipped us off to the accident.
My husband looked out the window. As soon as Tom saw what had happened, he was at the truck in a matter of seconds. The truck tires were spinning and the motor was still running. Tom pried the door open to find an unconscious man, strewn across the seat, pinned by his legs in the truck. He was bleeding profusely and having a hard time breathing.
Tom was talking to him in a calming, reassuring voice. Tom noticed the man was gurgling and having a hard time breathing. Tom spotted a wastebasket near the front of the truck. He quickly poised it under the man’s head so he could breathe again.
I made it to the truck shortly after Tom. He told me to call 911 and get blankets so we could keep this man warm. The man was shaking and in shock. It was a frigid day with subzero temperatures.
The first responder was on the scene in minutes, with several ambulances, sheriff and police cars and fire trucks not far behind.
Shortly after, a large red and white medical emergency helicopter, Medflight, kicked up a massive swirl of snow as it landed in the prairie adjacent to our neighborhood.
The emergency response team extricated the man with the jaws of life. The medics transported him with Medflight to a nearby hospital.
Afterwards, my husband and I were talking about what had happened.
Tom shared with me his internal and external experience. Surprisingly, I realized there were some similarities of the questions that went through Tom’s mind in the emergency to those that go through heart-centered entrepreneurs’ minds when they are called to step up with their gifts in a new way. Both can be distressing and well outside of the comfort zone of the known. Even though it is NOT the same as a life and death emergency, the internal concerns for heart-centered entrepreneurs are important, nonetheless.
Let me explain.
When we are asked to do something that sends us right out of our comfort zone and into the territory of the unknown, like the 911 crash in our front yard prompted my husband to do, there are questions that automatically come up, either consciously or unconsciously. The key is that, like Tom, these questions don’t need to stop you from taking vital action:
What is this going to be like?
911: When my husband stood at the door of the truck, he had no idea what was waiting behind that door and what he was going to see. He was nervous, but instinctively knew he had to open the door and take the next step.
In business, we never know what the next unfamiliar step will be like, until we take it. The key to remember is that if we were brought to the situation, the Divine will bring us through the situation.
Who am I to do this?
911: My husband literally passes out every time he has blood drawn. There is a reason he chose to become a mechanical engineer rather than a doctor. He has many strong suits, but blood, wounds and trauma are not his, typically. During the emergency, Tom followed his guidance and stepped up to handle the situation with dripping blood, flesh wounds and all. And he didn’t pass out!
When we are in unfamiliar territory with our business, our own self-doubt and feelings of not being enough can arise having us question what we are doing in the first place. This is natural when you are in a new situation, but the bottom line is that you don’t need to believe every thought you think or let it stop you from moving forward. What if you are stronger and more capable than you think?
What if I don’t know enough?
911: As he quickly assessed the situation, Tom saw the man pinned in the truck and heard his troubled breathing. He was concerned about what he would do if the man stopped breathing, because the man was wedged into a position where Tom couldn’t easily get to him. Tom stayed present and responded to the situation as it unfolded.
When we are faced with a new situation in our business, there is often a learning curve. Sometimes the fastest way to learn is to jump in and do your best, despite not feeling adequately trained or qualified. If you let your doubt take over, you may never get out of the starting gate. Because the situation came to you, it is inviting you to trust you have what you need or can access it to successfully navigate the situation.
What if I can’t handle this?
911: As Tom stood there holding the man’s head so he could breathe, Tom was guided to use the nearby wastebasket to help prop the man’s head up in a position where his breathing wasn’t compromised.
Tom reassured him that help was on its way and encouraged the man to hang in there. He comforted him with a gentle rub on his shoulder and by covering him with blankets to try and keep the man warm.
In our heart-centered businesses, we often act as Angels to others helping guide them through their next transformation, to their next step, level of well-being or healing. We each play an important part in the bigger orchestration of life. That is why it is so essential we show up fully. We never know whose life we will make a difference in or how that will ripple out to others.
Know that no matter what, you are always Divinely guided, protected and provided for each step of the way. If you show up and step up into what is in front of you, what is yours to do, you will be shown. Yours is not to do everything, just your part. You are asked to show up fully AS YOU. Know that you are enough. And it is enough.
UPDATE: We later learned that the man in the accident was 23-year old Josh Yohn from a small town nearby. He survived the crash and as of this writing is still being cared for in a local hospital. They are conducting further evaluations of his brain and leg. Please join me in sending him healing energy so his full health is restored.