Gravity—by definition is a natural phenomenon by which all physical bodies attract each other. On Earth, gravity gives weight to physical objects employing a downward force to keep them grounded. The fact is, as we learned at a very early age—gravity happens and you cannot do anything about it.

Gravity, like life, happens—it could be snow, it could be illness, it could be the economy, it could be the political situation in your area. It happens and you cannot do anything about it.

So when I reflect on the businesses I interact with as to what they accomplished during the paralysis of the marketplace during the February winter storms, I found varying degrees of success and accomplishments. Many conveyed that it was the worst performing month in quite a while, while others communicated results were on target.

What causes this? Apathy, frustration, complacency, ain’t it awful mentality, or a making lemonade out of lemons mentality. As I have known for many, many years it is not what happens that matters, it is what you do about it. Since there is nothing you can do to prevent the storm (gravity), how you choose to use your time during the “break” is critical.

Some watched the snow, complained about it. Some saw it coming and planned on how to get to work or work remotely. Some watched TV, while others made it a family time and played with the kids—another lemonade result. Personally, I completed my tax preparations and got the information to my accountant. The best snow story about making lemonade out of lemons is as follows.

I coach a therapist that has several clinicians working for her. One of the clinicians dealt with the canceled/postponed appointments by marketing her business. What she did was to telephone past clients to find out how they were doing. What a concept! Market to past clients because it is much easier to sell to someone you have sold to in the past than to find new prospects/leads and sell to them. The relationship is there, and people vastly prefer to buy from someone they know. Take advantage of it. Result: 50% of those she contacted made an appointment. Now that is making lemonade.

In 2009, when the Real Estate market was devastated, I was working with a Realtor. One of the strategies we implemented was to reach out to everyone who she had ever sold a house to and see if there was anything we could do to help them. This realtor sent a Christmas wreath to her past client list—a relatively expensive investment. Within two days of sending the wreath, she received a call from a past client who thanked her and told her that she had not thought about her in some time and it prompted her to note that her friend was putting her house on the market. She communicated to my client that she thought she would be perfect to handle the listing. She connected the two and my client got the listing. Lemonade!

What did you do in during the snows of February 2015? Did you make lemonade? If you did not, what are you going to do the next time GRAVITY happens!