Archives for February 2021

Be kind, be cool, be courageous

Posted on: February 24, 2021, in:

Do people see you as you see yourself? If so, is that a positive? Are you kind to those you deal with throughout your day? The point of these questions is kindness is a choice . If you practice it, your path likely will be smoother and people will see you in a good light.

They may think you are cool or courageous, or simply nice. Any or all of these support a good reputation. I think kindness is cool and can be courageous. The situation dictates how something like kindness is interpreted by others. I sure would rather be thought of as kind than unkind.

Some people view kindness as a weakness and would rather be thought of as tough or hard. There is a difference between being kind and being a pushover. Kindness is a strength. It doesn’t mean letting people take advantage of you. It helps if you are good at sniffing out those who aren’t honest or have bad intentions.

Try being kind and see what happens. People will look at and think of you much differently if you don’t treat people well or are okay rolling over others on your path to success. At the end of the day you get to decide how you deal with people.

Don’t you want to do your best to leave a positive legacy? Of course, others write legacies, but you are the one who provides the underlying substance they use to write it. Choose kindness.

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Destroy apathy

Posted on: February 17, 2021, in:

I heard someone being interviewed and they mentioned a goal to destroy apathy. Given that apathy is the lack of motivation, this makes sense. It can seem pervasive at times with your children, younger employees and others. You know you have felt it too. I heard this statement and thought “that’s right, we need to destroy apathy” and show people the steps to success.

Many people look at success and see an image in their mind. Some see the hard work and motivation it takes to become successful, but some don’t. A lot of people see how it’s portrayed on television or otherwise think there’s an easy road to the top. There’s not.

It’s important to teach people, from a young age, about the work and motivation it takes to reach goals and achieve success. You can start with small or short term goals, which are a stepping stool to larger and longer term goals, which may be potentially more meaningful. It’s possible to inspire motivation and beat apathy. Being honest about the process and what it takes is a good place to start.

Help other by providing them with strategies.  It may be more practical to break big tasks into smaller parts. It depends what small hill or large mountain the person is trying to climb. You can help them understand what it takes. Doing so will give them a better chance to succeed and, when they do, you both will experience the satisfaction.

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Life begins at the end of your comfort zone

Posted on: February 10, 2021, in:

Comfort is a killer of creativity and improvement. When you’re comfortable, there is a feeling you can coast, doing the same old, same old, and it causes many people to stagnate personally or professionally. That doesn’t mean they won’t be happy or maintain their position and role, but they will be stuck under a false glass ceiling they created.

When you come up with ideas and try new things you are trying to break through the artificial ceiling you have allowed to stop your growth. It’s part of growth and improvement for you and your business. Some ideas will work and others won’t. But you don’t know unless you stay creative, which includes you stepping out of your comfort zone and inspiring others to follow you out onto the ledge.

Not all great ideas will be outside (or far outside) of your comfort zone. Some may improve your days, your health, a role or process at your company. Those types of ideas are important too. Any continued growth allows you and your business to stay competitive and successful.

The ideas outside of your comfort zone are different. These types of ideas allow you to have the chance to make significant personal changes or be thought of as an innovator and person of vision. Big risk, big reward.

Which type of person are you striving to be or are you? Are you staying in place stagnating or being worried about losing success, or are you out on the ledge trying to dance? Nothing is wrong with being either type of person, but it’s important to have the self awareness to know who you are. Either way, if you try to go past the end of your comfort zone, not only is that where life and adventure begin, the inspiration and exhilaration you feel are intoxicating and hopefully will keep you creating throughout your life and career.

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The I forgot to post earlier this week blog post and the lesson I learned (or remembered)

Posted on: February 05, 2021, in:

It’s Friday. I like to post new blog posts in the middle of the week when you likely are ready for a short break from the work in front of you. We all are too focused and busy on Mondays, and by Friday we are trying to get things done before people shut down for the weekend.

I missed that window this week. I could list the reasons this happened, but, if I’m honest with myself, I could have found time to write and make a post prior to today. I was really busy this week, but I could have done it. I didn’t.

I know how I work and why it didn’t happen. I just needed to block out some time on my calendar. I failed to block out time or put writing and posting a blog post on my to do list. Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, didn’t.

Then I had a choice. I could just take a mulligan, move on, and post next week, or do what I did. I decided maybe what resulted in my lack of a blog post earlier this week has happened to you. We all have arrived at Friday morning (or afternoon) and remembered something we meant to do, but didn’t. Upon such a realization, you have the option to push other obligations to the side and get on it, or move it to the next week.

I had that choice this morning. Of course, if you’re reading this you know my choice. This is my way of reminding myself, and you, to make sure to focus on however you organize yourself, such as to do lists and calendaring. The takeaway for you is to figure out how you work and follow it as best you can.

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