GarthBox

A thoughtfully written email can make a difference.

So can handwritten letters. And eleven minute and ten second songs (thanks, Metallica).

And a carefully built custom motorcycle.

The sad part is that these meaningful creations take time and taking time doesn’t scale – There’s not enough time to do all those things for too many people.

But the happy part is that if you’re happy keeping it small, then keep it small.

Not everything that matters has to scale for the masses.

Stay Positive & Go Ahead, Take Your Time

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What if – now hear me out – we made a list of all the things we want to do, but don’t often do.

Things like read or write or create or experiment or start.

And what if we made a list of all the things we do currently.

Things like watch TV or look in the fridge for food every hour or surf Imgur.

And what if we connected the two so that every time we went to watch TV, we actually chose to write more of our novel? Or when we look in the fridge for food, we read 15 pages of a book instead?

Habits don’t change with a flip of the switch. It’s far easier to integrate a new habit into our life by swapping it out with a habit that doesn’t help us as much as we’d like it to.

That way we’re not trying to create more space or more work for ourselves; we’re investing as much as we were before, but in a new direction.

Stay Positive & It Starts With Your Lists

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Note takers are by far more productive and retain information better.

Those who write down three things they are grateful for each day are more positive throughout it.

You’re more likely to become an expert in a field when you write regular reviews about the product or service you’re interested in.

One will always love more strongly when cards are written and sent to the significant other.

The best hobbiest of any hobby is one that writes everything down about the hobby.

Those who grocery shop are more likely to end up home with everything they needed if they had written it down in the first place (quite ironically, even if they forgot the list at a home).

Writing it down does magic.

Stay Positive & Time To Be A Magician If You’re Not Already

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You won’t always hear feedback from a customer that the product mix you put together was just what they were looking for.

You won’t always hear from colleagues how grateful they are to have you on their team.

You won’t always hear compliments, reassurance, words of support and encouragement. (And you definitely won’t always hear it when you need it most.)

But that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Nor does it mean you can’t double down and reassure yourself.

Confirm the work you’re doing is target-centric. Collaborate in a way that – if you were others – you would miss you if you were gone. Tell yourself that you’ve got the power to push through and that you’re a rock star.

Suppose you can always hear it if you choose to.

Stay Positive & Ears Open

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Good or bad timing; there’s really no such thing.

The kind of timing isn’t something that just is or isn’t.

The type of timing is something we assign, attribute, and pin.

There’s no universal checklist for what qualifies as bad timing, nor good timing.

No example list.

Because the type of timing is a choice.

If you want to see something as bad timing, you can.

Same for good timing.

Stay Positive & It’s Always A Choice; The Story We Choose To Tell Ourselves

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The unstated commitment to create change with ones work is the sign of an artist.

After the layers of becoming an expert, doing the reading and showing up regularly – it’s about the change.

Taking something from over there and applying it to your work. Trying something new. Listening further to what the target wants and changing with them.

If you don’t find yourself thinking “this might not work” then you’re not committing to the power of change.

Stay Positive & Enroll In The Path Of New

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One might think the sign of a great leader is that they don’t need to check up on work they’ve led others to do. They set others up for success, after all. No need to check up.

Au contraire.

Leaders are recognized for their excellence precisely because they check up on the work, the employees, the target, etc.

Remarkable leaders put as much effort into new forward movement as they do ensuring the path they’ve previously placed continues to function.

Stay Positive & Do More Than Rely On Hindsight

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