Life Lesson

No matter the title, role or responsibility next to a name, there’s a person behind it.

A person as human as you or me. A person who enjoys the idea of getting some sun with an effervescent drink in hand. A person with others looking up to him or her. A person with dreams that we may not be chasing in this exact moment.

You’re going to be in a position where they do the questioning and you’re there to answer and to sell in an idea or yourself or a product.

In the moment, you’re feeling human, too and it’s great to do the talking.

But it’s worth remembering you can also ask questions.

“Where did you grow up?”

“Do you ride motorcycles, too?”

“What do you try to do in your free time?”

When we open the door to connect on a level other than what we met to connect on, everything gets easier and more enjoyable for both parties.

Ask as many questions as you answer.

Offer up moments to connect on something other than the agenda items.

Don’t stop yourself from having an interaction that could end with a hug rather than a handshake.

Stay Positive & You’re In This Journey Together The Moment You Connect

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Hiatuses can be healthy.

When you step back from a project for awhile, you give yourself the opportunity to gain fresh perspectives that can make the work stronger.

If it’s work worth doing, you’ll also be missed. Your readers or family or colleagues or friends will be happy when you return. You’ll sense it and be fueled by it.

The work you’re doing is stressful and exhausting, I’m sure. A hiatus is a great way to let your body and mind recover and re-energize.

But, ultimately, what makes any hiatus worth it (or not worth it) is whether or not you make the commitment of returning to your work with more gusto than you left with.

There has to be that commitment pre-hiatus. The if, then statement must be bought into if the hiatus is going to be effective.

Stay Positive & Otherwise It’s Just A … Hide-Atus

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Consider what little it takes to make your day.

A sincere compliment or someone who goes the extra bit for you.

A surprise gift or hearing a goofy story.

A step in the right direction of a new idea or an email from friend from the past.

It doesn’t take much for a day to be made.

It doesn’t take much for us to make someone’s day.

And one day made often leads to another, which is the brilliance of it all, really.

Stay Positive & You Know What To Do

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Yesterday’s advice was to interact every time you hear an expert share a word or concept you don’t understand. Doing so will level you up.

If you’re so inclined, you can also increase the average in your industry by sharing the information, too.

A collection of information can make you better, but a collection of better people can make the entire network of professionals better.

It’s the responsibility that comes with being an expert, after all.

Stay Positive & Play Both Student And Teacher

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We can work the adage of “a little goes a long way” to our advantage.

Every time we come up to something we don’t know or understand – a word or strategy or idea – we can ask.

A little piece of information here and a little piece of information there collectively adds up to a major advantage over those who never asked.

Stay Positive & One Simple Way To Get (And Stay) Ahead

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Waiting to respond doesn’t usually result in a desired outcome.

When you wait to respond, you lose your place in the front of someone’s mind and priority list.

When you wait to respond, you actually deliver a signal that the sender isn’t important to you.

When you wait to respond, you’re sure to get bogged down with more emails, to-dos and requests you need to respond to.

A client of mine has a rule: Every email, phone call or letter gets a response within 24 hours.

The catch is that a response might be “Thanks” or “I’ll follow up on Tuesday” or “Approved.”

Something simple and direct, but a response, nonetheless.

There’s enough happening in this world that will bog us down on our pursuits. The least we can do is try not to be part of the problem for others … or ourselves by responding.

Stay Positive & Send A Signal That You Care

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When I get in front of people to speak from the POV of a Certified Cicerone®, I’m uncertain how many I will actually resonate with.

But the uncertainty is vastly different than the risk.

It’s a low risk that what I’ll say will resonate with no one … even if it feels like a huge risk.

So, I carry on knowing full well the desired outcome may not be the real one.

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Just because we don’t know for a fact what the result of something we do will be, doesn’t give us the right to not do it.

Just because there’s a chance the future might not align with how we want it to, doesn’t give us the right to back down.

Just because the outcome is uncertain, doesn’t give us the right to not see what it could be.

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Same can be said for when we have a feeling of risk.

Stay Positive & Try, Learn, Repeat

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