GarthBox

It can also be a journey or a challenge or a dance.

It can be whatever we label it.

But one thing is for certain: It’s not going to be easy.

The moment there is contentedness, the next moment will be upheaval. The moment there is momentum, the next moment there is a bump in the road.

The trick then–since there’s always going to be a hiccup or change of tune–is to work toward controlling it.

If provided a void, the universe will work to fill it.

But when you make your next challenge yourself; to expand into outdoor seating, to pursue online ordering, to surprise and delight 10 people per week, to bring in a new vendor, to coordinate a digital festival … that’s when progress is made with intention rather than reaction.

And more often than not, the growth you produce from the changes and challenges you make often puts you at an advantage against the external forces you don’t have control over.

Think of it like getting ahead of the universal and competitive curve.

All for trying something new, crafting with intention and caring more than you did yesterday but not nearly as much as tomorrow.

Stay Positive & It’s Hard, But It’s Also Simple

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Double down.

Double check.

Double tap.

Double play.

Double edge.

Double click.

Double team.

Double duty.

Two is better than one, and providing someone reassurance at the end of an exchange by double checking the work is the best gift you could give.

Stay Positive & Double Clap

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It’s common knowledge that there’s always room for improvement.

The challenge is typically what to improve?

Close your eyes and listen. What can you do to make what is heard better? How can you appeal to what people hear (upbeat jazz music?) or what people don’t hear (eliminate echoes or the AC unit’s buzzing)?

Now close your eyes and plug your ears and take a deep breath through your nose. What do you smell? How can you appeal to what people experience through scent? Do you light candles or purchase a new purifier to clean the air?

And so on. Onward through the senses.

When you make improvements to all the senses, that’s when you level up. That’s when you focus on adding value rather than trying to best a competitor.

Stay Positive & Appeal To The Senses, Not The Masses

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It’s hard to listen to anything that follows the word “everyone” because it’s simply not true.

“But everyone loves that brand.”

“Everyone is saying it’s safe to go out.”

“Everyone knows the earth is round.”

We show our lack of empathy when we think it’s everyone. In fact, it’s even a little disrespectful to the some that really do fit what follows.

Some people is better than everyone, anyway.

Some is more personal. Some is seen. Some can be nimble and create the change they seek to make. Some can tip the scale.

There’s no such thing as an “everyone” concept.

There’s no need for everyone, either.

Stay Positive & Some Will Do

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Ideas aren’t just behind your computer screen or found in your office.

They’re at the coffee shop that’s finally opened.

They’re with friends at the park.

They’re on the road while you’re driving to get groceries.

They’re in the apartment, just outside the apartment and maybe … if you’re cool enough to have a key, on the roof of the apartment.

They’re hanging out by the capitol square and the water and deep in the park nearby.

When we think we can only come up with ideas in one or two places … well, it’s extremely limiting.

There are ideas all over waiting to be found, waiting for you to be curious enough, waiting for you to see them where they are and stop forcing them to be where you want.

Stay Positive & Being Curious Helps, Moving Around Helps, Too

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Now more than ever, as businesses across the world are reopening, we’re seeing more signage.

Signage about opening. Signage of thanks. Signage of support. Signage of new hours.

Handwritten signs. Signs painted on whatever material was available. Professional signage. Vinyl signage and marker and paint.

So much signage.

Now more than ever, as businesses across the world are reopening, it’s important what happens after the signs work.

The work can’t stop after signage is created. Change and progress and improvements need to be made from the front door and throughout.

It’s not as easy as putting up a sign, but it’s much more worth it.

Stay Positive & Everything Is A Sign

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That’s the recipe for not only a surprise and delight moment, but to make an impact that will be remembered long thereafter.

Do what no one would imagine you doing and then do it with more heart than anyone else.

Note, this recipe doesn’t have to produce a big batch or be a lot of work. It can be subtle. It can be a handwritten letter, a free tasting, a gift.

Actually, it should always feel like a gift, because it is.

Stay Positive & What Can You Unexpectedly Do Today?

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