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It’s the Universe Calling: Time for Plan B
A few months ago, I was invited to speak in June during a one-day program for members of the Pennsylvania Bar Association on the topic of recovering from a catastrophe. Attorneys who attend will learn about the things they need to do should something devastating happen in their lives (an accident, caregiving for a loved one, a fire, whatever….) About ten days ago, I heard from a dear dear friend that he has been diagnosed with a terminal disease. Prognosis, just a few months. I am devastated – my heart just aches for him, his family, and yes, for myself, too. And I wonder…. he is a small business owner…. what will become of his business and his clients? Then this weekend, I was approached to review a new book, written by a doctor who, as a result of a devastating car accident in 2005, became a patient himself and dissected all that was wrong with his care. Included in his story is the fact that he has given up his thriving practice of gastroenterology, a practice which had to take a back seat as he recovered from his injuries. Which is when (yes, I’m slow….) I realized that the universe was telling me something. Or at least posing this question: As advocates, as people who others rely on, how prepared are WE for devastation in our lives and, importantly, how that will affect THEM? How many of us have a Plan B? If something happened to you, if you all of a sudden, with little or no warning could no longer do your advocacy work, what would happen next? How would your clients be notified? Could anyone else access the records you have kept on them? Can someone else get into your email to check it, and to respond when necessary? What if your phone rings and it’s a potential client…. Does someone else know what to tell them? Who else needs to be notified? Vendors? Accountants? Virtual assistants? And of course, the list goes on and on…. We all need a Plan B – a Crisis Plan. If…
