GarthBox

It’s not easy for us to know when another person is going through a crucial time in their life, their work or their relationships.

Yet, you’ll be subject to criticism for not seeing it. You’ll deal with the consequences, begrudgingly.

Who could blame you though, for tuning into your own life?

They can.

They will.

They need you to see them; to ask more questions and to listen more than talk.

It’s too damn easy to brush empathy off, but both parties hurt when we do.

 

Stay Positive & It’s Not Fair In Short, But It Is In The Long Run

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Mind the gap, as in: pay attention to it, fill it, care for it.

In a world where it’s not worth competing on price or speed or size; what is it you’ll focus on?

Customer experience? Education? Flare? Connection? Philanthropy? Package design? Caring more?

There’s a lot of opportunity to differentiate yourself the more you think about it.

No need to race others to the bottom. Better to raise the bar.

 

Stay Positive & Mindful Of The Gap

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A lot of time is spent on “free time” activities like video games, movies and hanging out. Some spend that time excessively to which they’re confronted–”Don’t you have anything better to do?”

But it’s hard to think of anything worse than time wasted by showing up to an event or meeting, but not actually being present. Your better off staying in bed and listening to the latest top 40.

If you’re going to show up, the best action you can take once there?

Be there. Fully. Presently. Wholly there.

 

Stay Positive & If You’re Not Showing, You’re Weighing People Down

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Parkinson’s law.

It’s an easily forgotten, but just-as-easily leveraged law. It’s the adage that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

Even when we know the P-Law, we often ask for more time, we push deadlines back and we give ourselves as much cushion as possible because the more cushion we have the better our lizard brain feels because it doesn’t need to react or worry or work on the edge yet.

The reality is that the law works to our DISadvantage when we let our fears dictate timing.

Better to consistently give ourselves less time because eventually that becomes the new norm for our lizard brains. We freak out less when there’s a two-day turnaround. We worry less when the deadline is around the corner. In other words, we adapt.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Let Your Lizard Brain Tell You Otherwise

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We subject ourselves to a lot of negative self-talk.

Especially when we make a mistake or are asked to step in shoes bigger than the pair we have.

Even more so when we let someone else down, ruin something for the long-term or a break a heart.

A quick way to self-kindness is to talk to yourself the way you’d talk to a friend who made the same mistake.

Certainly you wouldn’t say the things you’re saying to yourself to a friend.

 

Stay Positive & On Your Toes

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A quick cop-out to opening a new door for yourself is that no one will notice you walking through.

That extra load you took on? No boss isn’t watching.

The fresh ideas you shared? No client listened.

The project you took on? No one asked you to.

Again, those are cop outs for not acting as if you’re in the position you wish to be promoted to or acting as if you’re the artist you grew up admiring or acting as if you have a bigger heart than anyone can imagine you having.

The person you want watching might not be, but that doesn’t mean no one’s watching.

And it certainly doesn’t mean you shouldn’t act as if you’re the bigger version of yourself you want to be.

 

Stay Positive & Carry On, We Need You To

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If you made a size 16 shoe, you could promote it to 99% of those on the planet.

After all, their foot does in fact fit in the shoe.

No doubt there are some serious consequences and turn offs to that.

Same with any business that tries to create an umbrella product for too many people.

Bernadette Jiwa relates it to a pie: At some point you eat too much and get sick.

Better to find what size is right, not what size fits all; better to make an impact with some than annoy a lot; better to build a tribe than a mass of minions.

Things need to scale, yes, but only to the right size.

And the best part is you get to choose that size.

 

Stay Positive & Scale With Intention

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