Life Lesson

Watching the sun rise results in more than your belief that the sun is rising. It’s uplifting, positive; it changes your perception of the day. You’re a bit more optimistic.

Seeing ant and cockroach chemical spray bottles from the drive through window did more than make me believe there was a pest problem; I haven’t been back to the coffee shop since.

A messy house sends a signal. A website sends a signal. The gift you send sends a signal.

And the thing about signals? They ignite emotion.

It’s on us to make sure they ignite the emotions we want.

Stay Positive & What’ll You Show Today?

How much you make doesn’t matter as much as how much you spend.

Brushing teeth for two minutes actually makes a difference rather than one minute.

Washing the car, vacuuming, polishing, regularly now will lead to a greater trade in or resale value later.

The thing about thinking and the importance of it is that nearly always what’s most important is some long game, future-benefit that makes the present action actually matter.

Stay Positive & Think Ahead

Reckless isn’t as bad as we’ve framed it up to be in our heads.

Sure it means a reckless person is unconcerned about the consequences of their actions.

But it’s not that they are unaware of them; it’s actually the opposite.

They are so aware that there is no concern. They’ve learned to dance with the fear and still move forward.

Stay Positive & Go Ahead, Be Reckless

When it finally hits 60s after being freezing for so long, there’s extra energy; an interest in what’s possible or to come; a passion to make the most out of that window of time before the temp drops again for the night.

Now what happens if we treat our next project like it’s the start of spring?

Stay Positive & See What Happens

Here’s the thing about having people feel involved: they don’t have to actually do anything if they don’t want.

What people desire is that they’ve been considered, acknowledged, appreciated, valued.

If you’re planning an event, ask them for ideas.

If you’ve got tough decisions to make, ask them their opinion on the right choice.

If there’s an idea you want to chase, ask them for feedback.

Regardless of what you act on after involving them, there is one guarantee: they’ll be more okay with it if you involved them from the git-go than if you didn’t.

Stay Positive & Who Are We Missing?

At it’s finest (in the sense of the microscopic, the near undetectable, the heart of it) marketing sends signals.

An email sends a signal even if it goes unopened.

A hand written congratulations note may not be called for with a minor achievement, but it sends a signal to the recipient when they get it about where your heart is.

The flow of your website even before a word of copy is read sends a signal.

At it’s finest marketing is about sending a signal.

And the signal doesn’t always have to be positive? It can produce constructive tension. But even that is a signal.

The more signals, the more power marketing has.

And when signals are consistent – both in emotion and in cadence, that’s when marketing works.

Stay Positive & When It Works “Overnight”

I’ve had a friend that said I should dress better (at the time in my career, I was wearing khakis and t-shirts). So I started showing up wearing button ups and a sport coat with a pocket square.

I’ve had a leader that said I should be reviewing the pipeline numbers more regularly. So I started every day with it and often slacked him my read and action items…probably too often.

I’ve had an industry vet say I shouldn’t open a bar. So I did… and I made it award-winning.

If you’re willing to read on, here are two observations about going to the extreme.

The first is that it only feels extreme in that moment. Looking back, I could have done a full tailored suit, communicated to the CEO my findings in the pipeline, and, ya know, opened two award-winning bars.

The second is that going to the extreme helps more than it hurts. Have I ran into walls trying to reach the end of a spectrum? Sure. Fallen off the edge a few times, too. But in all the years of my career so far, going all in helps more than it hurts.

Think about this…

“I’m sorry I took it too far.”

vs.

“I’m sorry I did nothing.”

Sure there’s a middle ground, but no one recognizes it at first. Recall my first observation about extremes? It only feels extreme in the moment. In hindsight, the suit jacket with jeans was actually the middle ground.

Stay Positive & Go Ahead To The Extreme