Life Lesson

Talking about your competition puts them top of mind for those you’re talking to.

You can’t talk about their weak spots without it sounding like you’re degrading them.

You can’t talk about their strong suits without making it sound like they’re better than you.

Face value, it may seem like copying something new a competitor does prevents them from having an advantage, but really it is a way that keeps the average, average.

You know what works and doesn’t work for your brand, so there’s no need to bring any of your competitors into the discussion of progress.

Do more of what does and less of what doesn’t.

That’s how you compete.

Stay Positive & You Do You (Well)

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If you’re going to feel fear, feel it around the idea of being done.

Because if it’s a mission worth journeying to complete, it’s a mission worth continuing.

The only question you need to have at the finish line is, “What’s next?”

Stay Positive & More Doing

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From time to time, you’ll have the chance to inject more into your work than you thought.

You might be provided a stretch of extra time or capital or resource of some sort.

What you put that into can make all of the difference.

If what gets enhanced helps the whole, then you’re likely to be building something meaningful. If it helps enhance profits, you may not be building the business we need.

We need organizations that make things better for people, not the other way around.

Stay Positive & Are You Ready?

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You can attempt to plow right through it, but no doubt more will add up before you can catch up.

You can let it continue to grow, but that usually puts you in a bind, too.

Or you can prioritize the log and ask for help.

The only shame in it is the shame you bring, but if you leave that at home, the work can get done and you can get back to investing your time on meaningful work.

Stay Positive & The More Help The Marrier

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There’s something relieving about adding “V1” to the end of a project name, file or email.

It gives you permission to accept that it may not be perfect.

It gives you reassurance that the person or people on the receiving end of it will understand that there’s more to come and more room for improvement.

Heck, they may even weigh on on how you can make it better.

I bring it up because we hurt ourselves when we don’t mark things as V1 and respect that meaningful change is made over time with multiple versions and tweaks and improvements.

Stay Positive & Free Yourself From Perfection Expectations

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You can react to someone. It’s usually snappy and your answer isn’t always right or what they want. Reactions use judgement and stereotypes and shortcuts for the sake of speed.

You can also respond to someone. It’s usually more thought out. You’ve processed the event and can act and feel better about it. There’s often flow in a response, but it may not always be right.

You can also see and hear someone. It usually means you’re asking another question, repeating the request and truly listening. It requires empathy and removing your internal dialogue and ego from the situation. Your action is usually right because it’s about them and not you.

If you think about yourself being in the situations above–the one who is being reacted to or responded to or seen and heard–can you imagine in which space you’d prefer to be?

Stay Positive & Others Are Just The Same

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Believe it or not, watching motivational videos isn’t what gives you confidence.

Promising others that you’ll take a specific action doesn’t give you confidence either.

Nor does being completely prepared.

They all might give you hope and encouragement, but not confidence.

The only way to have confidence is to do something you think a confident person would do because confidence is the result of an action taken – it doesn’t precede it.

Stay Positive & Enjoy The Outcome

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