Life Lesson

In any case, we’re either the doctor or the patient, the owner or the customer, the creator or the amplifier.

And sometimes, the best way to change the culture of those leading is not to shout about the bad or complain the loudest; it’s to set out on our own mission to lead the good or amplify the good.

If it boggles your mind how a receptionist of a company can treat a caller (you!) so poorly, you have two options.

You can either amplify the good by seeking out companies with receptionists who treat you well and then sharing and talking about those companies.

Otherwise you can create your own company wherein you are the receptionist or you hire one who does treat people well.

Focus on the good or create the good are far better options than to put our energy on what we can’t stand.

Stay Positive & Focused On The Good

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Look for those moments when you long for 5 more minutes.

5 more minutes to make the work better. 5 more minutes to add some polish. 5 more minutes to prep or tweak or to cut.

Those 5 more minutes is momentum speaking up, urging you to carry on with the energy you’ve got.

It’s a shame when we let something like time stop our flow. Even more so when we’re actually longing for more than 5 minutes to do more work that’s meaningful.

They say if you’re going through hell, keep going. Same could be when you’re going through a period of passion.

Stay Positive & Embrace It

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You may be following a path, but you’re also paving one.

There’s no way you can take and fit into the exact steps of another as you pursue connecting with a community of your own. (Not if you wish to succeed, anyway.) You’re leaving your own footprints.

So, while you’re thinking about what’s next and how to keep moving forward, it’s important to consider those who will be after you.

Turns out there’s as much to learn and grow from leaping forward as there is helping others to do the same.

Started a podcast? How can you help others do the same? Opened a business? How can you help others do the same? Made team virtual meetings better? How can you teach your version of digital pictionary to others?

As ol’ Zig used to say, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

Stay Positive & You Help Yourself When You Help Others

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You might as well learn before you’re forced to.

You might as well try it before you’re forced to.

You might as well care more before you’re forced to.

Of course, you’re never really forced to.

You can give up, stand still, sell out and back pedal to a place you’re content with.

But that doesn’t sound fun at all, does it?

We can choose to level up today and every day.

Word on the street is today is the last day for the story skills workshop, organized by Seth Godin and taught by Bernadette Jiwa. It’s worth it if you want to control where you go from here.

Stay Positive & It’s Your Narrative

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There’s no shortage of surveys circulating the web from businesses and brands asking what their customers, fans and followers want them to do.

All the data in the world doesn’t make a hard decision easy. It doesn’t ensure that there won’t be a group of those who are frustrated with your decision (there always are). Most importantly to remember, doing what the “mass” suggests doesn’t mean you will succeed.

The hard decision comes down to what you want for your business and brand and how that entwines with the narrative the customers, fans and followers you want are creating.

Now’s the perfect time to draw a line in the sand.

Without one, no one knows where or with who to side.

Stay Positive & It’s On You (Always Has Been)

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It’s not more of what you sell that will make the difference.

It’s more than what you sell. It’s the empathy and care and attention you put into it. It’s the kindness and patience and help you provide.

Consider the reviews that move us.

“Works as described” and five stars isn’t good enough for us to be convinced.

“Easy to use and the level of support is great. Louis got us set up with exactly what we needed and kindly answered every question we had” is what moves us.

Care enough to care more. It’s the key to creating loyalty. The key to word of mouth marketing. The key to business growth. The key to being proud about what you’re offering.

Stay Positive & Extra Product Is Simply Hiding

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When we come across someone else who is clearly defensive, the tried and true next step is the one we take away from the person.

Pushing and prodding to open them up only leads to them building the wall higher. Smile and carry on.

However, there are plenty of times when we notice that we’re the ones being defensive.

The tried and true next step is the one we take toward curiosity. When we do the asking, it puts the attention and onus on the other. When we lean in to observe or listen, we give ourselves permission to not act, and simply to absorb.

It’s not easy to stop being defensive; but it is worth it.

For you and those you’re being defensive to.

Stay Positive & Curiosity Is The Best Defense

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