Life Lesson

The thankful. The appreciative. The leaders.

It may not feel like it or sound like it; the news might not cover it, but it’s true.

Thank you for being you.

Stay Positive & Numbers Are Looking Good

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There’s no shortage of ideas you can come up with. The problem is in the idea squashing.

Once we have an idea, we’re quick to think of reasons not to execute on it. It takes too much time. We don’t have permission. The resources aren’t available. It’s hard work.

There’s no shortage of reasons not to execute an idea the same as there’s no shortage of ideas.

Which means the best move we can make is to act on an idea when we have it. If anything, to test the waters.

I woke up today and had the idea to email businesses about purchasing six-packs of beer for their employees for the holidays.

I could have thought: they can’t invest in that, they won’t care, isn’t it obnoxious, they don’t have the time, I have bigger initiatives to work on, I’d rather go eat breakfast, is email the right path?

Or, you know, I could just have sent 10 emails and we’ll see what happens – which is what I actually did.

If any of them work, I’ll send 10 more.

And if they don’t, I’m sure I’ll have another idea by lunch and a hundred excuses not to act on it then, too.

Stay Positive & Willpower Is There, We Just Need To Choose To Use It

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Trying to get others to act how you want them to.

Holding yourself to insanely high expectations.

Not listening to your heart.

Working to prove someone wrong.

Watching the rest of a movie that you dislike after 15 minutes.

Breaking a promise.

Never learning to smell the roses.

Forgetting about who the work is really for.

Any others?

Stay Positive & If We Know It, We Can Work Around It

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We can focus on what’s not clear. Struggle with it. Try to figure it out. Spend time evaluating.

Or we can focus on what is clear, no matter how minute.

In doing so, we often find clarity around the edges. Either that or we figure out the right questions to ask, people to ask or next step to take to get the clarity we need to keep on going.

Don’t let the unclear parts distract you from doing the work you know you could be doing.

Stay Positive & Do The Clear Things First

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When a decision has been made, life gets far less stressful.

Until we make a decision, we’re investing emotional labor into evaluating whether or not to commit.

So it begs the question of how do you know once you’ve decided?

Is it written down?

Is it on the calendar?

Have you told your friend what you’ve decided?

Once we know the mark of a decision, we can use that to our advantage and get to decision-making faster, and thus have more time to execute and contribute.

No need to wonder if you’re stalling if you know you’ve already decided.

And no need to keep questioning a decision once it’s decided, too.

Stay Positive & Decide And Onward

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Location doesn’t matter as much as we make it out to matter. That is, if we define location as a physical space on a map.

But if we view location in regard to the people around it, the kind of community, the culture of the area.

Then it certainly does matter.

It’s really “people, people, people” than “location, location, location.”

Stay Positive & Find The Cohorts

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When we sell, make a statement about our brand, include fine print, write a scope of work – essentially, communicate what we’re giving for what – we’re making a promise.

And if that promise isn’t clear, that’s not a reason to make an excuse, under deliver, skirt the lines, change how you share your goods based on how it benefits you.

Nope.

An unclear promise means that you’ve allowed wiggle room to customize, surprise and delight, remain flexible in how you add value to the customer or client’s experience. An unclear promise isn’t a way to hold back; it’s a way to leap forward.

It’s risky and often not always in your favor. But it is worth it if you know what you’re signing up for.

And if that’s not your cup of tea; then make the promise clear in the first place.

Stay Positive & The Root Of Loyalty Is A Promise Made And A Promise Kept (Again And Again)

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