Action

In The Box Podcast

Episode 41: Tip For Starting A Business, Actionable Conversations, Keeping A Commitment And More (Podcast)

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast we got real about turning conversations into actionable items, if we’re projecting stress on others or feeling it ourselves, one way to help us keep a commitment, one tip for someone looking to start a business, and if the internet us powered more by bragging than drama.

Episode 41: Actionable Conversations, Projecting Stress, Keeping A Commitment And More

Conversation – First thing you should do to turn a good conversation into action?

Projection – When you are feeling stress/anxiety toward someone, are you really just projecting?

Commitment – What is one way to help you keep a commitment?

Bragging and Drama – Which has more power on the internet, bragging or drama?

Bonus – What is one tip you have for someone looking to start a business?

 

Stay Positive & Best Way To Listen Is To Download Us On Itunes

Thinking Harder May Not Be The Best Option

Garth Beyer

but thinking differently certainly could be. (Hint: it is)

The best writing, jokes, puns, speeches, services, projects, ads, advice, adventures, plans, business ideas… come from thinking about things differently. Of course, then you must apply action to the thought.

It’s unlikely your idea is original, but the real life creation and implementation of that idea is.

 

Stay Positive & See, Think, Do Things Differently

Why Do Your Best At Everything (Even What Doesn’t Matter Much)

Why Do Your Best At Everything (Even What Doesn’t Matter Much)

Garth Beyer

Do Your Best Work, Leave An Impression

An ol’ professor of mine asked the class to raise their hands if they truly believed the grades on small assignments mattered. Some students kept their hands down signifying only the large assignments mattered. The professor responded with one of my favorite sayings.

Everything matters.

He went on to say the grade itself matters, sure, but more importantly it’s the impression that matters. “Everything, no matter how little or big, leaves an impression,” he said.

His words resonate with me still to this day.

Every action we take (and don’t take) leaves an impression. The 20 poor ideas you pitch during the brain storm session, they may have been rated poorly, but your impression of pitching 20 ideas matters. It shows you’re committed, willing to risk ideas while others play it safe, and able to use your imagination.

Inaction (which I have to point out is still an action) also leaves the impression.

Earlier today I was at an event to listen to Mariah Haberman speak. I noticed a handful of guests standing around waiting for the event to start. No conversing with other attendees. No networking using the twitter hashtag for the event. No engagement at all. You can imagine the impression they left.

I, and I’m sure my ol’ professor (and you now?), can’t stress enough how much everything we do matters.

Forget the “grades.” Focus on the impressions.

 

Stay Positive & Start Asking Yourself “What Impression Am I Leaving?”

[Lucky for you SMBmadison recorded the presentation. You can listen to Mariah here.]

Photo credit

Using All Your Potential: Bullying And Psychological Cardio

Garth Beyer

There’s extreme power in balance, in meditation, in flow. I just don’t believe you can use all your potential that way. If you think of an idea and proceed to ruminate, perhaps you’ll reach a symbolic conclusion. Then what? What if you think of an idea and then run with it, try it out, make it happen? Psychological cardio.

Forget all adjectives used to describe ideas. An idea is an idea. The real meaning of it is defined by what you do with the idea, how far you run with it, what you shape it into. Don’t tell me what kind of idea it is. It doesn’t matter. Show me.

How do you run with an idea? That’s where bullying comes in. I’m not fond of the connotation bullying has taken on; it’s completely negative. There’s so much more we can learn from it. We are our own best bullies.

Track coaches are great bullies too. They push you to run further, they yell at you to run faster, they blow their whistle to get you to try the jump again, only this time, jump higher.

B2B bosses are great bullies too. They’ll tell you to go back and do something again until it’s right, they hold meetings with you just to tell you where you are failing and how to improve, they adapt negative reinforcement strategies into their training.

And as I said, we are our own best bullies. We have the chance everyday to steal our own lunch money, to trip ourselves up on a project, to hate on ourselves when we half-ass something. However, we can also yell at ourselves to get up off the ground, to blow a mental whistle signaling to try something again (practice, practice, practice), and to threaten ourselves with unemployment.

Every person I’ve spoken to who states they are self-employed, also tells me “my boss can be a real ass sometimes.”

Rightfully so! As a friend Tweeted at me yesterday, it’s not about seeing just the forest or just the trees, it’s not all in or nothing. She means that it’s a dance. We can institute positive reinforcement, but if we want to reach our fullest potential, there must also be negative reinforcement. To get the most out of our rumination, we also need to act on our thoughts. Think about it in terms of bullying.

What you hear about bullying is only the negative extremes of it. You never hear of bullying gone right even though it happens in our lives everyday and turns out some of the most talented artists.

You have a chance to redefine bullying, you have a chance to build up your psychological cardio, you have a chance to use all of your potential. You can read all the inspirational quotes you want, but follow them up with the crack of a bull whip.

 

Stay Positive & Yes, Bullying CAN Be A Good Thing

Don’t forget to help stop the bad bullying

What Matters Most About Your Reach

Garth Beyer

It’s about what people keep of yours, right? They keep and hoard your books and are the first to buy one when it’s released. They keep their name tag they got at your event they attended. They keep the t-shirt with your logo you gave them. They keep remnants of you in their memory box or inspiration folder or Safari bookmark. Was any of this your goal?

I think it’s better to be talked about, to get someone to wear the t-shirt in hopes someone else asks about the logo, to encourage your tribe to share the books they buy with friends who can also benefit from them and to create an online space where like-minded followers can connect with each other.

Impact is about moving, about connecting, about shaking people into action, not about storing memories.

 

Stay Positive & What Are You Getting Your Audience To Do?

The Why And How Of It All

Garth Beyer

Speaking as a journalist and a continuous learner, “why” is the great word in the world. Second up is “how.”

“Why” encompasses research, in-depth reporting and focuses on cognitive and emotional answers. “Why” is philosophical, inquisitive and sometimes life altering.

“How” is a lot less about priorities, lists and steps. It’s more about doing. Doing right away and then ask why what happened happened.

If there’s one thing we oughta know about plans it’s that they will never happen the way we want them to. Time focusing on the details of “how” is time wasted because the details are going to change once you start doing.

“How” might be a question word, but the answer is experience.

 

Stay Positive & You Acquire Experience From Doing Then Asking Why

Two-Pronged Tactic To Change

Garth Beyer

To change your life in whichever way you want, you have to change your thinking, your view, your thoughts, your mind – change what you think. You have to change what you see, and the quickest way to do that is also the fastest thing you can do: change what you think.

With hundreds of thousands of thoughts every day, changing your mental pictures isn’t difficult. I always take respite in knowing that the single most sure way to stop any negative feelings is to stop thinking about what is causing those feelings.

  • To change what happens on the outside, just change what happens on the inside.

The second tine in the two-pronged attack is the real battle: changing our actions to reflect our thinking.

If I am feeling lonely (everyone is) and I start thinking about hanging out with friends, the change in thought and feelings are only temporary. I have to then perform praxis. I have to do the action which is the result.

Praxis is about boldness and boldness is the willingness to initiate action without guarantee of results. And you can’t be bold until you come to terms mentally.

  • “What we do comes out of who we believe we are.” – Rob Bell

 

Stay Positive & The Two-Pronged Attack Is Actually A Cycle

Garth E. Beyer