The theme of 2023

By Donald C. Porter, CEO, United Recyclers Group (URG)

URG chose Limitless Horizons as the theme for its 2023 URG Educational Conference.

Why focus on horizons? The URG team believes you can better set your organization up for success by focusing on the horizons that lie ahead and expanding those horizons to meet future business needs.

Most commonly we think of the horizon as a line in the far distance where the sky meets the land or the sea. You’ll hear people referring to the sun rising or setting on the horizon. Horizon can also mean the edge of something in a figurative sense. When you are reflecting on your life, it can be difficult to foresee beyond where you are. We are comfortable and not willing to reach out to experience new adventures. Teenagers often have a difficult time imagining beyond the horizons of young adulthood. It is hard for them to conceptualize how everyday experience and association with others of diverse cultures will help shape who they will become in the future.

The original meaning of horizon is “boundary” or “limits,” and our sense of territory probably came from this. We also have personal and business horizons and need to understand that those boundaries do not remain static, they grow with our life experiences, our horizon should have no boundaries, and be limitless. When we look at the actual horizon does the sky touch the ground? Yes, it does! It touches the ground all the time and it changes constantly every time we move or take a step. You may ask “but where and how?” The sky touches the ground in our perception. In perception things are the way they appear, the way they seem. No rigorous, critical thinking is involved. And this happens so many times, and in fact it is happening now. It happens every time we are not thinking deeply, with attention and effort. It happens every time we fail to allow other perspectives, other possibilities, and other possible interpretations to emerge.

We need to acknowledge that remaining in a fixed position is not in the nature of the horizon. Every stop is temporary and transitional in our journey. The horizon keeps moving and it invites us to keep moving toward it, keep working, keep meeting people, keep exploring, keep looking, keep reading, keep writing, keep thinking, keep talking, and keep wondering. We need to do all in our power to gain the insight needed to broaden our horizons.

We have unlimited personal and business horizons we can achieve if we so choose. An issue we all have is a tendency to focus on what we find familiar. That can be good for some things but not always the best idea. One of the most important things you can do is to broaden your horizon by learning from different people, visiting different places, and creating new experiences. Horizon is about setting up a life stage where good things can happen if we choose to set our direction and then do the necessary work. A person’s horizons are the limit of that person’s ideas, knowledge, and experience.

I recently read an article intitled “7 Ways to Broaden your Horizon.” Here is a brief recap of that article.

1. Understand what is holding you back. One of the obstacles in broadening one’s horizon is fear of failure, which could stem from past mistakes. Make certain you do not stay stuck in a loop or safe zone which may make it difficult to make changes. If you are scared of taking risk, try and understand where it is coming from. Once you understand where the emotions are coming from, you can work through it and get out of the loop.

2. Build healthy relationships. Being able to widen you horizon is being able to expand your knowledge base and mindset. This can be done by developing the right kind of relationships. Every individual you meet has a different perspective on life and business. We can learn from everyone we come into contact.

3. Leverage on technology. Technology gives us so much power to expand our insights into today’s world and the problems being faced. It provides us the opportunity to broaden horizons, expand our expertise and knowledge, by reaching out to more people.

4. Try a hobby you have been scared to do. Getting out of one’s comfort zone is scary but can be extremely rewarding. The more you take on risks the easier it becomes. Success is a great motivator.

5. Start your own business. Although this may not be an option, simply reinventing your business, expanding the market, adding products and services can all help in broadening your horizon.

6. Find out where you are self-satisfied. The first and the best way to broaden your horizon is to find out where you have become too comfortable and stagnant. This could be when you find yourself doing the same thing over and over again with nothing different about it and no excitement. Look for ways to bring excitement back into the business.

7. Think about time and money. You need to consider that broadening your horizon, could require a few sacrifices in time and money. You will need to be committed in providing both.

The process of attempting to broaden one’s horizon can produce substantial benefits. It can help you experience new things; you will learn more skills and gain additional knowledge. It forces you to build relationships with different people and gain a different perspective on life. Finally, you will be able to look at things from another point of view, making it easier for you to take actions and not be intimidated by the unknown! I want to take this time to personally invite you to the URG Educational Conference, April 27th-29th 2023 in Orlando, Florida. This could be a great fist step in broadening your personal or corporate’s horizon.

We look forward to seeing you there.