The little voice with a big microphone

In each of our heads there is a voice.

It’s a small voice at first. Familiar but barely noticeable.

As you tune in you can hear it louder and clearer.

That voice is telling us that "It's too risky. Too scary. Looks like a lot of work. What if they make fun of you? You don't want this shame."

Don't listen to it. Nothing remarkable ever happened to anyone that listens to that voice in their head.

Take away that big microphone. Don't give it an audience. Without a microphone or an audience it has no power or control.

Hold your applause until the end

Starting something is applauded.

College: We celebrate the end of high school and acceptance into college. Yet, only 54% of college students will actually finish.

Marriage: It certainly is interesting to see how big of a celebration people have compare to those who have been married for 10 years, 25 years, 50 years. Unfortunately, 50% of marriage ends in divorce (FYI it is actually lower if you don't factor those on their second, third, etc.).

Other examples include: joining a gym, birthdays, New Years, starting a business, getting into a mortgage. The list goes on.  

A new chapter in our lives is exciting and there is something to be said about sending someone off on the right foot. The reality is nothing has truly been accomplished until we finish what we started. 

Why do we see alarming rates of unsuccessful completion? It's much easier to start then it is to actually finish. 

Don't start anything unless you are prepared to invest in the end.

Here is your brick

In the right hands, a brick can be used to build an orphanage, a hospital or a home.

In the wrong hands, a brick can also be used to break your car window or used as a weapon. 

It’s all about whose hands it’s in. The brick doesn’t care.

Money is the same thing. So is the internet.

They are all tools. How are we using them? 

Are we using them to watch cat videos or to push the work forward?

Gone fishin'

There is no guarantee we will catch a fish today or even tomorrow but that doesn't stop fishermen from trying. They have faith that preparation and opportunity will meet in the right moment. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

Fishermen do not let their fears overcome their faith. The most common phrase in the Bible is "have no fear" and "do not be afraid." These two phrases appear in the Bible over 150 times.  

Are you a spectator or a participant? We have no chance of catching a fish today if you never cast your line. Be a fisherman. Chance always favors those who are prepared.

Rigor is the opposite of hard work

A young entrepreneur wanted to know how to make a startup successful. So he goes to a seminar to listen to a wise entrepreneur talk about how he made his dreams come true.

During the presentation, the wise entrepreneur states that rigor is the opposite of hard work.

Afterwards the young entrepreneur spoke with the wise entrepreneur to clarify what he meant.

The wise entrepreneur replied, “Let’s do a challenge. I want us to do 25 pushups everyday for the next year. Are you in?”

The young entrepreneur bewildered; shrugged his shoulders and agreed.

The young entrepreneur stayed with it for a while. And then life happened. Bills started to pile up, family came into town, then there was that one week where he felt under the weather, deadlines needed to be met…the list goes on and on. To get back on track the young entrepreneur makes up all the pushups he missed in one night.

The wise entrepreneur checks in with the young entrepreneur the next day and asks, “How are the pushups coming?”

The young entrepreneur explains what happened, how soar he is and that he can hardly move his shoulders.

The wise entrepreneur smiled and said “That is why rigor is the opposite of hard work.”

Social media doesn't do this (yet?)

Music creates bookmarks in our lives. We can flip back to a time when we heard a song for the first time or when a particular song matched our mood. That feeling can make an impression that lasts a lifetime. 

Social media doesn't do this (yet?). Social media does not conjure up the same feelings as listening to a song you haven't listened to in ten or twenty years. For millennials, social media doesn't transport us back to high school since it was in its mere infancy. For those that are older social media didn't exist.  

Noise is not memorable but when filtered through rules and principles noise can create music, something desirable to listen to. Social media not filtered through rules and principles is just noise, unremarkable and not memorable. However, if we can discipline ourselves to filter social media through rules and principles (to communicate and connect) then maybe it becomes memorable.

Maybe someday social media will transport us back in time the way music does. Maybe someday we read or watch something on social media that makes a bookmark in our memories and not on our computers that we can flip back to. 

Quit running from saber tooth tigers

For thousands of years, making a decision based on fear was a good thing. It helped us run from saber tooth tigers. We need this type of decision making to stay alive. However, we don't live in an era where we have to run from saber tooth tigers anymore; yet this is how our brain operates. It moves fast and is quick to react.

There are two types of risk: real vs. perceived.

Real risk means that the consequence of failing can crush us. We are in true danger when running from the saber tooth tiger (we fear that we will die if we can't escape).

Perceived risk is an emotional reaction when something feels risky ergo we must be in danger (we fear that if our boss gives us a poor review then we will be fired, we won't be able to pay the bills, we will go homeless, we will go hungry and then we will die).

Most of us are afraid to do work that actually matters because the fear of failure means we will bring shame upon us. However, this shame is a perceived risk. Getting crushed doesn't mean we are going to die by the jaws of the saber tooth tiger.

There is a way to combat fear and that is with faith (believing without seeing).

Have faith that what you made and created is worthy putting out there for the world to see. You may be criticized but the work wasn't for them. The work was for the person that got better when they used your product, good or service. Quit running from saber tooth tigers. Time to start making decisions based of faith.

The big misconception of remarkable

The big misconception of being remarkable is tenure, the holding of an office.

We really should just call it what it is: lock in. If you are remarkable then you don’t need tenure. However, the owners of the factory want lock in. Lock in is part of the race to the bottom (faster and cheaper).

I have a suspicion that there is someone in your organization that you are thinking of right now with tenure that won’t be missed when they are gone. What a waste.

We won’t ever be able to repay the remarkable ones for the example they have shown the rest of us. You will be missed.

Ducks

If it swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's not a mongoose.

Every duck I have ever seen is really good at being a duck. They swim, fly, quack, eat. They are extraordinary at being a duck. Ducks know who they are and they don't try to be something they are not. Ducks are great at being ducks.

Don't be something you are not, like being average. We are supposed to be great. 

Don't be anything else.

Move on or stand still

If your project is important to you, don't have someone else do it. There is no substitution for your work. It'll never be as good as you want it to be because of how you have injected it with a soul.

However, surrendering control is a necessity in order to move onto new projects. There is going to be learning curve for the person that you surrender the project to. Failing to trust your team will cause you to stand still.

Move on or stand still. Make your choice. Just make sure the choice you are making is for the right reasons.

You're only half way there

You have reached the top of the mountain but you are only half way there. 

Getting to the summit is optional.

Getting back home is mandatory.

The Zen of hiking

There is a peak called Grandeur Peak, 15 minutes from where I live in Salt Lake. It is known as a great training peak. To do it under an hour says that you are at a great level of fitness.

When trying to break the sub hour mark, I was stuck at 1 hour and 2 minutes. I tried over and over again and without fail I would finish at 1 hour and 2 minutes with a round trip time of 2 hours and 30 minutes.

How could one break 60 seconds when I already felt that I was going as fast as I can?

Tactics needed to be changed.

I armed myself with a GU packages and did some experimenting. I knew that my body would hit a wall at the 50 minute mark, so at 45 minutes I would pop a GU pack in. I also decided to run the flat spots. There is one major section at the beginning to gain some time (dangerous to exert yourself so early) and 3 more sections throughout the hike. I finally told myself to shoot for 58 minutes in hope that I would finish seconds before the hour mark.

The time came; pushing through to the top I hit my wall in the final 7 minutes on the summit ridge.

Gasping for air and willing myself through to the end, I pulled out my phone to hit the timer. I had finished in 56 minutes, crushing my previous PR (personal record). The round trip time was still 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The Zen of hiking:

• Finishing the goal, there was no prize or certificate of achievement, just the satisfaction of doing something hard was all that was gained. Finishing this goal left a whole that needed to be filled. A new challenge was needed.
• A change of tactics was needed to get a different result. Doing the same thing over and over again saw no improvement. 
• The last 7 minutes might have been the hardest 7 minutes (physically) in my life. Was all this effort to finish quicker to the top worth it when the round trip time remained unaffected? It's an interesting question. In some ways yes and others ways no. The key is to learn that when putting maximum energy into something you will only be a little better by shaving a few minutes. The key is to be intentional; knowing when getting the extra results is needed and when giving effort (without killing yourself) can achieve many of the same results.
• I love hiking but at the beginning I stated, "to do it under an hour says you are at a certain level of fitness", I was living in a world of measurement. I was measuring myself to others. Instead I need to learn to live in a world of possibility, that hiking is something that calms my soul; it helps me challenge myself to get over the hurdles we see in everyday life. I aimed for the 58 minute mark and surprised myself with 56. Makes me wonder about the mental constraints we put on ourselves everyday.

The art of saying no

One of the keys of success is learning to say no. You have to say no a 36,600 times before you can learn this key principle to success.

Why 36,600 times?

Let’s use the example of eating a healthier diet. The plan is to say no to eating junk food such as cookies, ice cream, chips, etc. When the Resistance finds out your plans to improve your life he will wage a war upon you. He will begin to fight harder and you will inevitably see more free treats at the office, a friend stopping bye to drop off a plate of your favorite cookies and going away parties will increase. More treats and unhealthy meals (and for some reason their always free) will pop up more than ever before. It's just the nature of fighting the Resistance.

So you have to learn to say no.

If you learn to say no 10 times a day then your chance of success to stick with your goals and battling off the Resistance is extremely high. 

If you continue to do this for a week that is 70 times you have practiced the art of saying no.

For a month that is 280 times.

For a year that is 3,360 times you have said no.

If you do it for 5 years that is 16,800 times.

If you do it for 10 years that is 33,600 times you have practiced the art of saying no.

What discipline!

No one is saying you can’t have bowl of ice cream again. Before you say yes, learn to say no. Say no 10 times today before saying yes to something you want, not what you need. 

Money amplifies character

If you are generous, kind and giving before one becomes wealthy; you will most likely continue to be generous, kind and giving. 

The flip side of this is if you are selfish, inconsiderate and greedy before one accumulates wealth; money will amplify those characteristics.

Riding out the storm

You would be surprised to find that a tarp with grommets, paracord, couple of sticks, and rocks can keep you dry during a storm. It really is that simple. It's not the most elaborate solution but the cost is cheap, it can be built in minutes, and most importantly it will keep you dry when you weren't planning on encountering a storm.

Do you have the skills, tools, or knowledge to ride out the storm? What about the storms we face at school, home, or work?

Perhaps you are caught in a storm that you weren't planning for. You need shelter. Click here to follow my blog via email. It will do the job.

The box and the horizon

Finite. Finite is limited. Finite has boundaries such as a box. The box is a designated field of play, structured. You cannot go outside these boundaries. Your cubical is a box. Your job is a box. Your car is a box. Your house is a box.

Infinite. Infinite is limitless. Infinite is opportunity. Think of a horizon. A horizon goes on forever. You can never get closer, you just see more horizon. You can create art anywhere. Your work never stops. Your travels are unlimited by imagination, just turn on the key. Your house are just walls but your home (the people and memories you fill in it) can never be priced. 

The logo is not the hard part

Designing the logo, picking a name for the startup, printing business cards, getting the website operating, starting the project, listening to critics, setting up meetings is the easy part.

The hard part is assembling the tribe; building their trust and earning their attention. The hard part is exerting emotional labor. The hard part is committing to finish the project once you hit the dip. The hard part is working on the project day after day.

The hard part is expensive if you wait until the end (overtime, overnight shipping, fixing shortcuts, missing the ship date).

Do the hard part first.

Mentality of the factory

You may work at a place where the attitude of management reflects the mentality of the factory.

The manager's job is to follow instructions and make sure others are following instructions as well.

Mangers develop policies and procedures as a long list of mechanical rules - show up on time, follow the steps, do no less, we will pay you.

So much time has passed now that these mechanical rules have become a matter of form over substance.

Playing devil's advocate

There will always be someone that wants to play devil's advocate.

If you are going to play that “what if” game, do it early.

Lay out all your fears. Write down every reason why the project could fail. Get everyone to contribute and wrestle with it. Decide if you are going to be crushed if the project fails. What is the cost of not doing the project (who could have benefited from this project that now isn't)?

If the outcome of failing will crush you and if you are not going to commit to pushing through until the end then there is no project. Find something else to do.

However, if it's just the fear of failing that is outweighing the potential of success then there is no choice. You have an obligation, an obligation to do the work and to push through the fear.

Once the work begins, the fear of failing (deciding, discussing or dissecting) can no longer be injected into the project. No more playing devil's advocate.

The devil is fine. He doesn't need an advocate.

How do you want to be remembered?

I would like to be measured by what the people who learned from me taught other people.

No speedometer

Formula 1 Racing Cars have no speedometer in them.

The message here is no one is worried about how fast you’re going. You just need to worry about going as fast as you can. Never mind what the number is.

Move as fast as you can.

Double down

When we make a mistake we tend to feel guilt or shame.

That brings a whole new set of emotions such as anger or resentment.

Then kicks in our adrenaline and we chose to fight or flight.

The odd thing is when we make a mistake, instead of saying you are right and simply move on, we justify or explain our reason. By justifying or reasoning the mistake we somehow insulate ourselves from our own negative emotions or self-talk and subsequently fuel the ego.

What's worse is when we try to challenge it. That is the double down.

The double down is when you make a mistake and you make a second mistake to justify, reason or insulate the first one by distracting or attacking the "perpetrator." What I mean is: how dare anyone challenge my divine authority on this matter? (insert sarcasm font)

Foolish people will double down on mistakes they made. Just accept that we made a mistake and simply move on. If you remove the scoreboard and quit keeping track of how many times we have been right in the first place, it shouldn't matter anyway.

ME, Inc.

Regardless who signs our paycheck we are all self-employed. That is why we should all start a business. If you haven't started a business, today you can. There is no paperwork to file, no insurance you need buy or a website to build.  

You are in the business for yourself (Me, Inc.). Since you are the CEO, CFO, President, Vice President, Regional Manager, Assistant Manager, Sales Associate, Customer Service Agent, IT Support and Front Desk Assistant; you get to decide how well this company functions. You get to decide how generous of a company you can be. You also get to decide which projects to invest in and which ones to cut.

Your business is to lead in these 7 areas:

1.    Physical

2.    Spiritual

3.    Intellectual

4.    Financial

5.    Career

6.    Social

7.    Family

Pick 3 or 4 people to be part of the board of trustees such as a spouse, neighbor, family member, friend, mentor or spiritual leader.

ME, Inc. will not grow bigger then the person running it. So get bigger and better. Find people that can keep you accountable and will help support you as you work to improve in these 7 areas of your business.ME, Inc will not grow bigger then the person running it. So get bigger and better. Find people that can keep you accountable and will help support you as you work to improve in these 7 areas of your business.

Your true value in the market

Technology is moving. It is getting faster and cheaper by the day. They say that many jobs are being replaced with machines. That worries people. It shouldn’t. I say that machines are replacing our many jobs. There is an opportunity here with more free time, information and communication than ever before to be remarkable. The market is now valuing emotional labor over physical. 

If you think about your job for a minute you may find that many parts of it could be replaced by a piece of hardware or software. However, your true value in the market will always be making a connection with another human being. That is irreplaceable. That will never go away. 

The only way to avoid criticism

The only way to avoid criticism is to:

• Do nothing
• Say nothing
• Be nothing

When this post was written, the #1 Paperback and E-book on the New York Times Bestseller list was The Survivor by Vince Flynn. Head over to Amazon to read the reviews, you will see a 4.5 / 5 star review. Sadly Vince Flynn passed away in 2013 but I know he could not write as many New York Times Bestsellers if he listened to the critics and trolls.

Out of the 330 customer reviews 86% gave the book 4 stars or better. 7% gave it 2 stars or less. The majority of people agreed it was fine work.

Are you going to stop producing your art because not everyone liked it? 

There is no way to avoid criticism if you are going produce anything that matters. Don't give the trolls the attention they didn't deserve. Not every product is meant for every single person. 

No one has ever got any better at their craft by just reading the 1 star reviews.

20 mile marches

When we set out to navigate an uncertain world we have two choices:

1. You either let the weather determine your pace - good weather you go far/bad weather you wait until it improves.
2. We determine our pace. Good conditions or bad. We march 20 miles every day.

Those who are most successful find ways to exert self-control in an uncontrollable world. Make the commitment now to march 20 miles every day. 

Did they get the joke?

Finding an audience is one the hardest things to do when overcoming the Resistance.

You are going to spend a lot of time telling the joke. You are probably not going to get the reaction you were hoping for at first. This can mean:

1) The joke (product, service) is bad and the audience (customers) you are trying to serve won't get it.

2) The joke is good and that particular audience doesn't get it. You just need a new audience to tell it to.

If it is a bad joke then log it in the idea folder and move onto the next project. One word of caution: don't throw away the joke too soon. You may have just delivered it wrong. Your audience just might not get it yet. No one used Twitter or Instagram when it first started, doesn't mean the creators were telling a bad joke.

A go-to line for angry customers

When a customer calls and is upset about a product or service that fell short of expectations, resist the foolish choice to tell them what is in the hand book. Instead ask them what happened and how you can help. Let them talk. Don’t interrupt the customer. Be silent on the other end of the phone. Remain silent when getting invitations to engage in the confrontation. This is the customer trying to bait you into their emergency. Remember it is not your emergency but you are there to help seek clarity.

You may notice they will start going back in circles and telling the same story again. This is when you know the customer is done talking. When the time is right and it is your turn to talk, here is a go-to line that will help everyone win this interaction: "You are absolutely right. I can see why you are upset. If I were in your shoes I would be upset too." When appropriate add an apology.

You have now validated the customer. Proceed with what you can do (not what you can’t do). This is the next line you use: "After hearing your story, I think we all want the same thing."

Customers may not leave the conversation completely happy but they will leave knowing they have been heard and at least have clarity on what happened.

Don't take what the customer has said to heart when they are upset. You have done all that you can. This product or service was just not meant for them and you have done what you can to fix it. No product or service is meant for every single person.

Microwave instructions

I noticed someone wrote and posted instructions on how to use a microwave. Who needs instructions on how to use a microwave? Even if it is a new microwave no one needs the manual. You just do it. You do it because the risk of failing is small. You are not going to be crushed if you can't figure out how to use the microwave.

It’s also important to ask why. Why was it so important that these instructions needed to be written, edited, printed, laminated and taped next to the microwave?

Step 1) Cover your food.

Stop right there.

Someone had wrote the instructions in hope that someone would cover their food so they (whoever wrote the police and procedure) did not have to clean up after someone else. That is why policies and procedures are written. They are not written to keep us safe but to make sure that we clean up the mess we make so someone else doesn't have to.

Customers are worthy of your time

It is difficult to help someone after a long day. Ordinary people will say, "I will do it later." This is a natural reaction. Instead of reacting try responding. You may be tired but can you give just a little more? It may only be answering one last phone call or sending one more email. It will only take a minute. Can we give 60 more seconds of our time and attention to help someone? Consider the message you are sending by not helping. I could help you right now but you are not worthy of my time, attention or labor.

In that moment, you can be extraordinary to someone. Be extraordinary enough times to enough people, they won’t see you as ordinary person anymore. 

Draw a line in the sand

Be careful what compromises you make.

Shave a little here, a little there; no one may notice except you. It’s a slippery slope though. A better path, a hero's path, is to never make compromises on your integrity. Everyone has to draw that line in the sand. That line that says this is as far as I go. Draw the line once and never cross it. Villains on the other hand will draw a line, cross it and draw another over and over again. 

Your integrity is not for sale. It is far too valuable. Make the decision now on the type of person you are going to be. Later when faced with a temptation you won’t have to make a decision. You will have already made it.