Archives for November 2020

Show gratitude always

In a few days it will Thanksgiving in one of the oddest years most of us will have ever experienced. In thinking about writing about being thankful or gratitude, I thought back to posts from the last few Novembers. I can’t say it better, so here is my annual blog for the week of Thanksgiving.

This is a good time of year to think of gratitude generally and what you’re thankful for specifically. At the same time, it’s a great time of year to spread good feelings, which you can do by letting others know when you appreciate something they have done for you. In the time of the pandemic it may mean a phone call, email or text, but it’s import to take the time to reach out, thereby investing in your relationships.

Those of you who have younger children (or older ones…) know you end up reminding them to say “thank you” all of the time. That is because thanking someone or showing gratitude is a learned behavior. If it came naturally or from observing others we wouldn’t have to teach children to do so.

Hopefully you remember to thank people as appropriate in your daily life. In a usual year, this may be thanking someone holding the door for me when I get to my office, for holding the elevator for me, or for making a pot of hot water so I can have tea and get that needed caffeine injection upon arriving for work. In this year, it includes thanking people on my team for coordinating between those working in the office and at home to complete tasks needed to serve my clients’ interests. Many of these situations are universal to all of us, but I am sure we all remember holding a door for someone and they walk through without saying anything.

Of course, if you go through your day looking for when people should be thanking you, you likely will be disappointed. Instead, I think about how I want to come across to others, as well as ways I don’t want to come across to others.

We all have bad days, but most days we should recognize when thanking someone is proper and appropriate. This time of year is a reminder to says things you may usually only think to yourself. Positive feedback is energizing, and hopefully the person you provide it to pays it forward. Plus, it has the added bonus of making you or the other person feel good, making it a great way to go through life.

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Hard work matters

Success doesn’t just happen. Show me an “overnight success” and I’ll show you someone who worked hard for a long time to enjoy what seems like overnight success. True success usually only is possible where someone has put in the proverbial 10,000 hours to master their craft or business.

Hard work and investing in yourself pays off, in the long run. If you aren’t willing to put in the time, your chances of success are minimal to none. You also have to know that working hard doesn’t guaranty success, but it provides a better chance. It breeds luck and opportunity.

Ask any successful sales person how many doors they knocked on or calls they made before becoming successful. The answer will be “a lot!” Then you will hear stories about how doing so turned into success. The common theme will be about the knock or call that became a big sale, or a connection to a number of other sales. Sometimes it was the knock or call they almost didn’t make when they felt like calling it a day. When you are willing to put in the time, there’s a better chance “luck” will be on your side.

This type of investment in and commitment to whatever you are doing gives you the best chance to succeed. I have heard story after story from people in different industries or businesses who tell similar tales where people think their success was immediate when it wasn’t. What those asking don’t realize is the time and energy these people invested in themselves leading to that success, and the failures they experienced along the way.

That’s right, most successful people have endured failure during some point in their career. You know the saying, “you learn more from failure than success.” This is true. Sometimes you work hard and fail. When this happens you need to pick yourself up, take time for self reflection to learn from the experience, and move forward.

That is the usual route most of us take, working through small successes and small to large failures on the road towards success. Again, hard work doesn’t guaranty reaching your idea of success, but it provides the foundation to give you a better chance.

Ask most successful people you know and you will hear a good story about what it took to reach where they are. What may surprise you is these same successful people continue to try to improve. They know that gaining success is only part of the journey. You also have to continue to work hard to maintain success.

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Follow your inspiration

Where does inspiration come from? There isn’t a single answer. Something that inspires you may not inspire me and vice versa. What inspires me today may be different than what will inspire me tomorrow. The source of inspiration is ever changing, which is why it is different day to day and can hit you at times that seem unlikely, such as the middle of the night or when you are in the shower.

Inspiration may be conscious or may sneak up on you . This reminds me of a lyric from the Pearl Jam song Release: “I’ll ride the wave where it takes me.” You have to be open to inspiration and embrace it when it comes. If you don’t, it will be gone in an instant, like a wave. The challenge is your best thoughts or ideas can come to you at any time.

I encourage you to embrace inspiration whenever it is there. This may mean having paper and a pen on your night stand or walking out of a shower dripping wet to write down an idea. You need to be open to and accept inspiration whenever it appears. That is the only way you will have the chance to follow the muse and see where it can take you.

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