Author: Garth Beyer

There’s plenty to learn from when you observe past work, but it’s the mental reaction that’s most rewarding – and daunting.

The majority of time we look back at past work, watch our speaking engagements, read our writing, reflect on a project we led–we see that it wasn’t that bad.

It’s that same mental reaction, however, that stops us from ruminating on the past work to begin with.

In doing so, we know that we’ll be giving ourselves permission (or better yet, the responsibility) to do the work again and maybe slightly better.

After all, it wasn’t that bad the last time despite what we’ve been telling ourselves about it, so why not go at it again?

Not looking at what we’ve created is simply a form of hiding.

Stay Positive & You’re Not Hiding, Are You?

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Let’s imagine you’re in a car race. You’re at the starting strip and the countdown is underway.

3…2…1…

You’ve likely waited until after the 1 to go. You erred on the side of being too late than too early.

After all, you know there’s a penalty in a race for going too soon.

Yet, that’s not the case in life. If anything, we’re rewarded more often when we act before 1 or before 2 or even before 3.

It may be time to stop treating everything as a race. Doing so is likely holding you back.

Stay Positive & Go, Go, Go

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Before Johnny Cupcakes started selling shirts, there were positive-minded people who listened to screamo music.

Before Sbux introduced PSL, there were people already obsessed with pumpkin spice.

Before the Honest Company started selling their baby products, there were parents wanting to use the best baby booty creams.

We don’t invent tribes; we simply find the others and connect them with our brand.

Stay Positive & Carry On, They Are Out There

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Most businesses can get a bit more efficient, but to get as cheap as possible, they will have to cut corners, sacrifice quality and take benefits away.

At some point – not far from where you’re at – cheapness becomes a descriptor and not a signal of efficiency.

It’s worth noting that no brand was ever known for being the cheapest. And if they are, I’d bet they’re no longer in business.

Two thoughts on a pricing solution:

• Charge enough to cover slightly more than the cost of creating the goods
• Charge less enough to ensure people feel they are getting more value out than the cost they’re putting in

Stay Positive & What’s Your Cost Again?

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It may not be original to everyone, but if it’s original to the consumer you’re targeting, then that’s a win.

It’s not about creating something new for everyone, it’s about creating everything new for someone.

Original is all in the eyes of the person you’re trying to reach.

Don’t try to convince yourself something’s not original and shouldn’t be shipped.

Stay Positive & Keep Shipping

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The customer service you provided, does it pay for itself?

How about the quality of products you decided to order?

Or the unsolicited phone call you’re about to make?

Or the hours your office is open?

Of course, the answers are wrapped up in your story – if you believe in doing work that brings a greater return than the cost of doing it.

That being written, it’s likely we’re still doing a lot of things that don’t live up to that story.

Stay Positive & Gut Check The Actions

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What makes any task as difficult as it is is uncertainty.

When expectations are not clear, it’s tough to do a good job because we don’t know how “good” is being defined.

When we’re told to do better without an explanation of what better means in that moment to that person, there’s a small likelihood that we’ll actually do better.

If you want a server to kick ass at your dinner table, tell him the type of people and situation he’s working with. “I’m meeting a couple of buddies” and “We’re trying hard to woo these new clients” can influence how the server serves.

Setting others up for success is just as easy and important at work. When a colleague walks into a room, does she know what her responsibility is in the meeting? Is she a note taker? Ideator? Challenger? Silent listener? What’s her role and does she know it?

The saddest part of all of this is when we get mad at others for not living up to our expectations when we never shared them.

Or, perhaps worse, is when we don’t live up to anothers’ expectations because we never asked what they were of us.

Stay Positive & Ask & Tell

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