GarthBox

It’s incredible, the laundry list of reasons and excuses we can put together that stall us from doing the work.

I’m hungry.

I should answer our emails first.

If I put a load of laundry in now, it’ll be ready when I’m done.

Ope, did I just get another email? Better respond to it.

And, take writing a novel for example, there are some really good excuses, too!

Should probably figure out the plot first.

And maybe write some backstories.

And read what other authors in my lane have written.

Then let’s google about writers block. I think I have it.

And so on…

But here’s the reality: if you have enough time to do the distractions before you do the work, then you have enough time to do them after.

If it’s really that important to you (as rationale of an action as your brain is telling you it is) then do it – but after you do the work that needs to be done.

Stay Positive & We Need Your Art First, Excuses After

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You can have all the right people at the table: the CFO, the lobbyist, the alderman, the landlord, the marketer, the lawyer.

They all play a role in getting an idea approved for execution, no doubt.

But there’s no one more convincing than having the target at the table.

The audience that everyone can rally around, the tribe that everyone else is there to serve.

If you’re struggling to convince a gatekeeper, bring the one person they have to let in.

Stay Positive & Even Better, Start With The Target

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There’s the GAA model in tech for getting better at innovating.

Gather data: In order to gather data, you have to take action, deliver and present. There must be an actual forward movement for data to be created. No data is created when standing still, so no data can be gathered in a state of zero motion.

Analyze it: Not just some of the data, but all of the data. The trends as well as the anomalies. Meditate, ruminate and discuss the data with others for a complete analysis.

Adjust your work, your path, your mission: You’ve learned, not it’s time to do the touch work of pivoting.

The model doesn’t just apply to technology products or services, it can apply to our work, our relationships, our own missions.

Stay Positive & Gather, Analyze, Adjust

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There are two moments in life that we need to get better at recognizing.

The moment when we’re pitching an idea, sharing a narrative, selling our change to someone and they’re not having it, they’re not reacting the way we want, they’re not buying in.

By all means learn what you can from the moment, but more importantly understand “this must not be for them” and then carry onward with your mission.

No need to let a “no” undermine all you’re working for.

The other moment is when the critic, naysayer and someone you never pitched speaks up with disdain for what you’re working toward.

It must not be for them, either.

Recognizing who it’s NOT for is as important as recognizing for whom it is.

Stay Positive & On Path

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Problems are wonderful to have and great to gather.

The more problems you have, the more you can solve.

And not just for yourself, of course, but to solve others’ problems is a steady way to success; to be sought after; to create meaningful change.

Stay Positive & Be An Avid Problem Gatherer –> Solver

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The person who roots for you when you’re on top as well as when you fail; the one that’s there for you to consult with as well as there to pull you forward.

They’re the real champion.

They’re there at both ends of the spectrum and everything in between.

You don’t need many champions in life. One, two or a few will certainly do.

And the best way to find one?

Is to be one.

Stay Positive & Time To Champion Up

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You can certainly train someone so they know something and can do it to the book.

But, inevitably, you’ll want to teach them more on top of the natural learning they’ll make as they continue to do what you taught them as the world around them changes (which is inevitable, too).

Then, just as they learn more and learn different, they’ll need to be trained (as a reminder) of how to do things they learned before.

And what about the training you gave them on the brand, not just the task you hired them to do? Or the training you did on how to work with the other departments in the organization?

Stay Positive & Training Is An Ongoing Effort (Just As Learning Is)

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