Author: Garth Beyer

Every effort can benefit from a little air to breathe, a little slack, a little decanter time.

That’s not to suggest standing still. In fact, it suggests the opposite.

When you prepare for one thing then to jump to preparing for another, you’re setting yourself up for good things to fill that void, and subsequent voids.

Consider this question. If you could invest a little today to get something special a week from now. Would you?

That’s the reality of the world we live in. And if we choose to invest a little into many things each day, then we’re setting ourselves up for a good chunk of future benefits.

And then by preparing more, we compound those.

The work we put in always has a reward so long as we keep putting work in. The beauty is that momentum builds and the benefits get bigger without more work being necessary.

Stay Positive & Allow For More Prep Time

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There’s such a thing as the minimum viable audience (MVA). It’s the smallest amount of fans, followers, customers, etc. you need to sustain your business.

It’s a far less stressful and much more successful endeavor that trying to reach the masses.

However, there’s part of the MVA that still gets overlooked when it comes to marketing and community.

That piece is inclusiveness.

Just because you’re keeping your customer base small, doesn’t make it okay to abstain from inviting minorities, different genders, and those with disabilities.

Yes, find the smallest audience you need, but do so without exclusion of those who deserve to be in your MVA.

Stay Positive & Make The Door Wider If Needed

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Sometimes all you need to start moving forward is to pause.

Grab your laptop or notepad and pen, then hunker down.

Walk yourself and your gear to a coffee shop and take a seat.

You know how in conversations if you stay quiet, the other person will fill the empty space with their voice? (Interview 101 skill)

The same happens when we pause with our work in front of us. No distractions. No racing from one thing to another.

If we merely make the time to hunker down, some of the deepest focus and best work will happen.

Stay Positive & Make Work Happen

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If you’re reading this, you likely have something you’re tasked with today.

It might involve you exercising your expertise on a subject.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), the expectation is that you’ll do more than the one thing you’re really good at. You’re expected to do more better.

And rather than racing around to learn how to code, understand the psychology of colors and balance a spreadsheet, consider where the project will be at 5 steps from now and where it was 5 steps before now.

How can you make it better for those who are about to touch it and those who will start it next time (eventually handing it over to you).

The more we can see just outside our blinders, the more smooth our execution can become and the less likely the work we touched will come back to us to be fixed or improved.

We don’t have to be masters of everything, but understanding the nuances of a project before and after we touch it can make the entire system stronger.

Stay Positive & Lead The Trifecta: Hindsight, Focus, Foresight

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If you’re not willing to ask questions that make you feel uncomfortable then you’re never going to get the answers you need to keep moving forward.

You’ll miss out on the answers that enable you to connect on a deeper level with someone.

You’ll be weighed down with regret (which, IMO is way worse than temporary discomfort).

You need to ask to move on, up, quickly and on the right track.

Stay Positive & Find The Guts To Ask, We Need You To

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If you’re defined by what you do, reason would have it that the stronger definition comes from making more promises and keeping them.

The weaker definition is from not making any commitments at all – inaction.

The worst definition is making promises, but not keeping any of them.

This isn’t only how others define us. It’s also how we define ourselves.

Stay Positive & Can You Feel It?

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Moving fast can certainly get us to reach a destination more quickly.

However, it might not be the destination we sought out. In an effort to keep moving, we may have veered off the path or taken a short cut.

It’s worth taking a pause to ensure you’re making the change you seek to make; that the effort you’re putting in is fueled by the why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Stay Positive & Ironically, Sometimes A Pause Helps Your Momentum

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