GarthBox

Instead of being overwhelmed with your workload.

Instead of being frustrated with events in your life.

Instead of feeling like you want to break down and cry.

Ask someone close to you how they are doing.

Chances are they are not having their best day.

Just yesterday I asked a coworker how the heck she was managing the workload + home life – and I only knew half of what she was working on and just that was a lot.

“One more thing and I’m going to break down and cry. I had my melt down yesterday and now I’m just trying to take it one thing at a time.”

Shit.

Ask about others and listen. It not only makes our problems seem smaller, but it gives us motivated compassion to do work that helps others.

And as ol’ Zig always said. “The key to having everything you want in life is to help enough people get what they want in life.”

Stay Positive & Don’t Struggle In A Silo

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The talented, the powerful and the awesome keep a beginner’s mind no matter how expert they become.

A beginner’s mind remains humble; it doesn’t know everything.

A beginner’s mind keeps curious; passionate to learn and grow.

A beginner’s mind offers forgiveness; a free pass to fail and learn and fail again.

A beginner’s mind provides the push to connect; to ask for help, to collaborate more often with others and to learn from the best (and, I suppose, the worst, too).

All that growth potential is possible by hanging status up at the door and keeping a beginner’s mind.

Stay Positive & Always As If You’re Starting

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Reaching out to someone can be a miracle in disguise.

It could also get them to think you’re up to something. It could backfire and put more work on your plate. It could take more time than you thought it would.

But, again, it could lead to a new idea, a fresh connection, a conversation that makes your life, work, relationship smoother.

There’s always a risk in reaching out.

But there’s always reward, too.

Stay Positive & After All, This Is The Connection Economy

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Do you love him?

Tell me a thought that’s been stunk in your head these days?

What’s been the biggest challenge this week?

For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

Tell me about an experience that completely changed you?

Is there anything that is too serious to joke about?

How long will you accept the reasoning “we’ve always done it this way”?

So many tough questions. Meaningful questions. Important questions.

Just as important are the answers we give or listening to the answers of others.

Q&A isn’t just the most important part of a webinar, it’s the most important part of the work environment, family, relationships and everything else that involves us interacting with others.

Stay Positive & Ask More

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Checking if we’ve crossed the line is simply good standards.

Is the social post we’re about to publish crossing the line?

Is the work we’re giving away for free too much?

Are we over charging? Undercharging?

The beauty is that in most cases we’re drawing the line for ourselves based on the information and world views we have.

But there’s always a line.

Stay Positive & Consider Dancing By It Rather Than Crossing It

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When there’s no deadline, the space of almost done can be deadly.

Almost done is very rarely about the work itself; it’s about the mental state of the creator.

We’re not ready to share this with the world yet. We’re not ready to hear if people hate it. We’re not ready to be judged, assessed and given candor that may create even more work for us.

Alas, being almost done prevents others from getting value out of the work we should be shipping. And that’s just rude, right?

Stay Positive & Sign And Deliver

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There’s very little that got me as much experience, connections and knowledge than playing my student card when I was in college. It got me into talking to CEOs, reporters, owners and dozens of people who would have otherwise said “no.”

When big shifts happen in the world, it puts a card in our hand. It’s a card we can use when we pivot and change our work, or process or culture (for the better, of course!).

We’ve had a few cards put in our hand over the last few months. Cards we may not have asked for or wanted, but cards that offer us the chance to play up or double down; a chance to lean into progress we hadn’t been able to; an opportunity to change things for the better.

Stay Positive & Cards Are Only Effective When Played

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