Month: December 2014

One of the common themes
in media
is to interview someone
who has done something
for a long time.
This could be
stay married,
have a career,
or
simply remain alive.

The assumption is…
these people must have learned
something
from doing this thing
all of these years.
They must have wisdom
we don’t.

The other assumption is
they’re doing this thing well.
Their marriage is fulfilling.
They’re great at their career.
They have a happy life.

These are two huge assumptions
but they do show society’s expectations
of us.
Society expects us to be become better.
Society expects us to only continue something
if we’re doing that something well.

Society also expects us
to make a difference
even if we’re well past retirement age.
(Seth Godin has a great post on this)

Are you becoming a better,
more knowledgeable person?
Are you contributing to the world?

Henry Ford
said
“If you always do
what you’ve always done,
you’ll always get
what you’ve always got.”

That’s as true now as it was then.
For creatives
–writers, product designers, marketing folks
— mixing it up is a must.
We’re being paid to provide new experiences.
For others,
progress in careers
only come when there’s change.

Aprille Janes
shares

“Being vulnerable is
the willingness to accept
either success or failure.
It’s being all in and playing full out
even when it’s messy
and less than perfect.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say
you can’t succeed
until you’re willing to fail.
It starts with stepping out
of your comfort zone
(which looks more like a rut,
don’t you think?)”

Try something different today.
It could be taking a new route to the office,
adding chocolate sprinkles to your coffee,
using a pen with green ink.
Change something.

What is holding you back?

I can almost guarantee
that the answer to this question
is…
you.
You’re holding yourself back.
Yes, things go wrong
and yes, there’s an element
of luck
in every success.
But one of the biggest determinants
of success
is knowing yourself,
knowing your strengths,
your weaknesses,
your psychological blocks.

I know I like to flit
from project to project,
never finishing anything.
I’ve put checks into place
ensuring I finish projects.

I know I have a terrible memory.
I have systems in place
to compensate for this.

When I see people fail,
it is usually because
they’re not aware
of their weaknesses.
They don’t realize
they’re doing this to themselves.

Take a good long look
at yourself.
Ask for input,
specifically requesting insight
into your weaknesses.
THEN craft systems
to compensate.

VERY few businesses are successful
from day one.
It takes some time
to determine
whether or not a business will work.

How much time?

Kevin O’Leary,
entrepreneur and venture capitalist
on Shark Tank,
shares

“The best rule is,
if, after 36 months
you’re not making money,
take it behind the barn and shoot it.
It’s not a business.
It’s a hobby.”

Don’t expect to turn a profit
day 1
(though that would be nice)
but expect to see one
day 1096.

Corbin Bernsen collects snow globes.
“The unusual collection began
while he was shooting “L.A. Law,”
visiting cities
and being gifted the tchotkes
as he went.
By the end of the show’s eight-year run,
he says he had collected
about 25 or 30
before finding an antique snow globe
priced at $240.”

What does this have to do
with business building?

The holidays are coming.
We’ll likely receive gifts.
We have two choices
— we can give loved ones
suggestions about what we want
or
we can survey what we receive
and figure out
how to make the most
out of the gifts.

Allow your loved ones
to help you with your dreams.
Put their gifts
to the best use.

As we enter December,
one of the things
I do
is review my goals for the year.

Are there goals
I’d like to achieve
but haven’t yet tackled?
Can I push myself
and my team
to achieve these goals
before the end
of the year?

If I can’t achieve these goals,
I add them to my list
for the next year.
They form a base
for 2015.

It isn’t too late
to achieve some of your 2014 goals.
WORK it!