GarthBox

One tip for succeeding in reputation management: Only do what you will be proud of.

 

Stay Positive & It’s That Straight Forward

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If you’ve failed (which is all a matter of perspective) or are nearing “failure” of any of your new year resolutions, consider this: a tweak toward a goal is still a success.

Tweak your workout to be five minutes of in-home jogging and stretching in place. Skip writing 2,000 words today and just write two sentences. It’s still progress.

The interesting element of action is that once you start, it’s infinitely easier to keep going. Sure, maybe you won’t reach that lofty goal in one sitting, but who cares? What matters is progress.

 

Stay Positive & Keep At It, Little By Little

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You can ask another if you could do what they are doing to get a greater understanding of their position, but you’ll likely miss the point.

You might learn the process, the task, what’s working and what’s not–but you won’t learn what they are thinking and feeling.

Consider the moment in a recent film or show that you began to speak outloud to the characters in the screen. “Don’t go in there! You idiot! Why would you do that?”

While the commentary might be annoying to those sitting beside you, it’s beneficial to you. You begin to answer your own question; why would they do that? What are they thinking that lead them to go in there? What were they feeling? What were they hoping to get out of going in there?

You have the power to do the same in the office in hopefully less anxiety-filled and fear-based situations. “Oh, you’re not answering my email! Why would you ignore it?” It’s a win-win when you begin exploring the narrative around the answer. You’ll learn how to connect stronger with another at the same time you let go of your original frustration.

There’s a reason. There’s always a reason and it’s almost always an emotional one, not a logical one. The quickest way to get there is to understand the narrative of others, and to let your own go.

 

Stay Positive & So What’s The Story They Are Telling Themselves?

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The brewer, software developer, and teacher think in advance of the future.

They look ahead to see that which what they want to create, the impact they want to make, the change they desire to be the force behind–then they do now only what will increase the chances of making that visualized future happen.

Advanced thinking isn’t about how quickly we can change someone’s behavior in this moment, right now; it’s about the long haul.

The future’s less crowded than the present. See you there?

 

Stay Positive & Gives Thinking Ahead A Fresh Meaning, Doesn’t It?

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Many-an-innovator is swept away by the product launch.

As is the organizer bringing 45 smart people together in the same room.

Same with 1-1 year-end reviews.

They are all distracting highs, keeping minds away from what truly matters: the long run.

What happens after the product is used? What happens when the people leave the room? What happens to your performance tomorrow and the next day and the next?

How skillfully you write a meeting invite or how huge of a party you host for launch doesn’t matter nearly enough as what happens after.

 

Stay Positive & What’s Tomorrow Going To Look Like?

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Which statement compels you more to purchase the product without knowing what it is?

1) “Worked as needed.”

2) “I’ve used it for years and it finally broke. I contacted the company and they sent another one, free of charge. Incredibly, with it, they also sent a showcase box that I could put the old broken one in to remember my time and connection to it.”

It’s great when what you’ve created works as needed, but what happens when it doesn’t? More importantly, are you pushing it to become something that might not work?

Innovation doesn’t happen by thinking of what’s safe, unbreakable and what removes the need of a customer service team; rather, it’s stepping away from the mundane of only being “good enough” to being “I never thought I needed this, but I’m so happy I have it now.)

 

Stay Positive & Yes, Even If That Something Is Only A Hammer

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Over years the perception of how one practices shifted and not for the better.

The way most practice is done now requires a lot of time. People now practice using this method: intake as much information as possible and wait for the moments when they can apply it.

Perhaps they may seek a moment or two to apply it, but not nearly enough.

You can cut the years of practice required in half by doing what musicians do.

1. Learn basics.
2. Play others’ music.
3. Play their own.

The three-step process can be applied to any other profession. Writing?

1. Learn basics.
2. Write what others have written.
3. Write your own.

The new age way of practicing has sadly removed the second step and the result is that it takes so much longer to become an expert–this is the workaround your lizard brain has come up with to avoid being vulnerable.

Follow the three-step process to going pro. Want to become a speaker? Learn the basics, transcribe your favorite speaker’s speech and perform it and after repeating the second step enough times, you’ll naturally flow into writing your own speech.

You have to stop letting the fear of putting yourself out there crumble the processes that work for turning you into the person other people will learn from.

 

Stay Positive & Do As Others Do, Then Do It Better

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