Businesses and charities are desperate to reinvent themselves.

After all, dogs do that every day.

If you’re not a dog and need to uncover a bright new direction, check out these four steps.

Step 1:Move from“closed” to“open”

Frustrated by closed doors? They’re actually clues for a new direction.

In his great work, Masks of Love and Life, Hanns Sachs includes a chapter called “Locked in a Room with Open Doors.”

He talks about two brothers.

One of them could never tolerate an open door.

He’d jump up and shut anything standing open.

The other brother was annoyed by this and told him, “one of these days I’m going to lock you in a room with open doors.”

Why did he say this?

Because his brother could only see closed doors.

Restaurants, for example, that only see traditional dine-in are closing.

But, Panera Bread is looking in another direction.

Instead of choking on traditional dining-room traffic, the CEO, Niren Chaudhary, is searching for open doors.

He recently shared that his executive team noticed the struggles people face when buying groceries at the store.  So, they started selling groceries.

“We had the infrastructure, the e-commerce plumbing, the operating system.  In 48 hours, the team said, ‘Yes we are going to do it.’”  Niren Chaudhary, WSJ, 4/24/20

Never stop imagining a new application for yourself, your family, or your business.

Step 2:Move from“material” to“people”

I believe a brighter future begins with a desire to make a difference in the world.

Most folks I know want to do more than just occupy space, consume goods, or make and spend money.  They don’t want to merely occupy space, but as the philosopher said, “we want to plant a tree under which we may never sit.”

William Manchester, in his book about Winston Churchill, said that Churchill delighted in having guests for dinner both at noon and at evening.  He liked to host people who were doing something with their lives.

There’s a tendency to sit back after you’ve made a certain amount of money, raised a family, paid off a house, or sold a business and say, “That’s it!”

But, it’s not it.  Money doesn’t mark the end of work.  Property doesn’t either.  People mark the measure of our contribution.  What makes a difference in life is you and other people.

Step 3:Move from“dead-end” to“u-turn”

How did people like Winston Churchill or the Apostle Paul become so productive?

They were sensitive and open to change.

When the doors closed, they U-turned.

Maybe God wants to move you in a new direction.

• Talk to people you’ve never talked to before
• Open up to new information never considered

There’s a fear of information, as if information is going to corrupt us.

Socrates said his mission with the young men of Athens was to lead them from unconscious ignorance to conscious ignorance.

In other words, realize that we don’t know all there is to know.

So, keep an open mind and open spirit.

 Step 4:Move from “hurter” to“healer”

We’re not here to inflict wounds.  We’re here to wash wounds.

Everyone has the gift of healing.

• Heal a relationship by forgiving
• Heal a relationship by accepting forgiveness
• Heal discouragement with affirmation

Every one of us can heal people with a word or a look.

Charlene Hunter Gault was one of two black students attending the University of Georgia during the worst clashes of the civil rights movement in the sixties.

She was at a sit-in at a lunch counter in Atlanta.

People were saying horrible things, and the tendency was to respond in kind.

Charlene later recalled, as a TV journalist, that the leader of the sit-in was a woman named Ruby Smith.

As Charlene recounted the story, she said, “Ruby would keep walking beside us and behind us during those terribly tense moments, and she’d whisper these words, ‘Don’t forget why you’re here.’”

Not to fight, but to love and forgive.

We’re here to . . .

• be open
• love people
• embrace change
• heal and not hurt

What life changes are you facing?