Life Lesson

Inspiration is a fickle source of energy.

Here’s the secret about it.

It shows up when you command it to.

It shows up when you do.

It shows up when you quit waiting for it.

 

Stay Positive & Go Commando

I’m no martyr. Not when it comes to long form writing, at least.

Or 60 slide presentation decks or 5 page reviews of movies or never-ending RPGs.

One of the few moments I listened as a kid was when I was told what I created was too long.

Making it shorter allowed me to spend less time on fluffing it up, it stopped me from hiding, it forced me to take more responsibility.

I’ve made a habit since middle school to write less, hang around less in meetings, present less than what’s prompted. I make things shorter. That’s not to say it’s easier. Quite the opposite.

In the end, though, short is ultimately more pleasing and easy for others (as well as yourself) to enjoy.

Above all, remember you’re creating something for another human who only has 24 hours in their day. How much of that time do you want to take away?

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Waste Their (Or Your) Time

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Certain things have to happen for you to maximize anything.

The sandwich shop wants to maximize so they get more efficient, they begin timing their deliveries, they take out the interesting spices in the lineup, they simplify the names of subs from “The Godfather” to “italian sub.”

The fault in maximizing is you settle, you work to fit in, you devalue your product until it satisfies the average joe (who just so happens to go through life expecting crap). So, really, you’re turning the value you deliver to a few people into crap so you can make more, deliver more, sell more.

Don’t try to sell the most of anything. We have enough crap.

 

Stay Positive & Why Not Try Raising The Bar? Sell To Fewer? Make Things More Remarkable?

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Your character matters when selling, when applying for a job, when marketing, when interacting with a tribe.

So does what you value and your passion and your grit.

However, what I’ve seen time and time again is what most people (leaders, bosses, teachers, influential marketers, CEOs) want is someone who promptly seeks help or counsel when needed from appropriate people.

There’s no waiting until last second. There’s no asking your buddy because you’re afraid to ask your boss. There’s no giving up because you can’t do it alone.

Seeking the right help at the right time says more about you then what you’ll have created in the end.

 

Stay Positive & Attain The Quality

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More importantly, nothing lasts forever if you don’t want it to.

The rut you’re in doesn’t have to last.

The job you’re doing doesn’t have to last.

Why would you not try, do, love, care, make something new?

If you don’t like it, it doesn’t have to last forever.

I think to the time I wanted to try splitting logs for this orphanage in Cambodia. The girl (yes, girl about half my age) handed me an axe. I tried it. I was (somewhat) successful for a short period of time. Many would see taking the axe as a commitment to split all the wood. Not the case.

I gave the axe back to her and she went back to showing me up while all the other kids laughed at me. It was cute.

Or this buddy I’m mentoring through the Madison reading project. It’s new. It’s scary. It’s challenging. (Yes, being a mentor is hard. Who would have guessed?) Yet, I don’t have to do it forever. Nor do you. Nor does anyone.

Don’t let the fear of commitment, of permanency, stop you from trying something new. Things last as long as you want them to, often times shorter than you want them to.

 

Stay Positive & You Only Fail When You Don’t Try

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As sure as the night will come, things will change down the line for you.

Your beliefs will change, your clients will change, your work will change, your eating habits will change, your passions will change, your dreams will change.

The fact that things will change doesn’t mean you ought not stand up for something now.

 

Stay Positive & Build The New

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I used to think remarkable businesses and brands hired workaholics and that’s how they got to be so successful. I thought putting more hours in than anyone else got you ahead. I was sold on the idea of working from a source of fear: being last place, not being good enough, not turning in more work than others would scare me so much that I wouldn’t let it happen.

Through a series of fortunate events that I’m still working to comprehend (and share, mostly through this blog) I found myself loving the work I do, staying as late if not later than others, being good enough, and turning in remarkable work. The only difference is that I’m working from a source of passion rather than fear.

Agencies, brands, businesses are catching on. They’re not hiring workaholics, they’re hiring passionate workers – workers who show up not out of fear, but because what they do is more of a hobby than work. (A hobby that pays I may add, and who wouldn’t be game for that?)

Maybe when I was growing up, it was hard to find jobs that called for passionate workers. I get that… with the industrial revolution and all. That time has passed, though, and businesses are designing positions that call for the passionate.

If you’re having trouble getting a job, you might want to consider that it’s not because you wouldn’t enter it and work hard; it might be because you’re not passionate.

If you’re having to sell yourself, it’s likely your work is from a source of fear because passion radiates itself, there’s no need to highlight it on your resume.

 

Stay Positive & To Be, Not To Seem

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