Month: July 2015

It’s human nature
to make a decision
and stick with it,
to defend it
because we want to be right.

But the world is changing so quickly
that a ‘right’ decision made today
might not be right tomorrow.

It’s okay to change
that decision
to reflect your new reality.

As Seth Godin
shares

“Those critical choices
you made then,
they were based
on what you knew
about the world
as it was.

But now,
you know more
and the world is different.

So why spend so much time
defending those choices?”

It’s okay to change your decisions.

I don’t have any ‘free’ time.
This means
if I want to do something new,
I have to stop
doing something old.
I have to let go of tasks.

You have to also.

Scott Eblin
shares

“The only way
you’re going to create the space
to pick up the stuff
you need to do to get new results
is to get clear about
what you’re going to let go of
to create the space.
Getting clear on
how letting go is vital
to creating new results,
and can help build the confidence
and momentum needed to let it go.”

Unless you wish to do
exactly what you’re currently doing
for the rest of your life,
you need to learn
how to let go of tasks.

None of us succeed
on our own.
We all have been helped
by others.

Whenever I’m interviewed,
I mention three or four
writers who have helped me.

A funny thing happens.
These writers share the interview
AND they tend to mention me
in future interviews.

Bruce L. Gewertz, MD
saw the same results.

“… I assumed a lower profile
and instead put forward colleagues
who had contributed to the project.
And a funny thing happened.
In their public comments,
nearly every faculty interviewee
gave me generous credit
for enabling their contributions
and for creating a supportive environment.
The praise was disproportionate
to anything I had done.”

Giving credit to others
isn’t merely a nice thing
to do.
It also usually results
in more credit
being given to you.

Share the love.

I have a very bad habit
of saying yes
when I’m not certain.
I don’t want to lose the opportunity
so I agree to it.

Once I agree to it,
I HAVE to follow through
and do it.
I gave the person my word.

A friend of mine
advised me to,
instead of saying yes,
reply with
“I’d like to hear more.
What do you need from me
to go to the next level?”

This communicates a maybe
but with some commitment
behind it.
The person pitching the project
knows I’m willing to do something,
I’m serious about the project,
but I might not agree to it.

If you’re not certain,
say maybe,
not yes or no.

I was born with a heart defect.
One day,
it could be today
or it could be tomorrow
or it could be twenty years
from now,
it will kill me.

Living with this defect
has been a blessing in disguise.
I’ve never waited
to make a difference,
have never put off
changing the world
until tomorrow
because I might not have
that tomorrow.

And,
as Steve Jobs
shared

“Remembering that
you are going to die
is the best way I know
to avoid the trap
thinking you have something to lose.
You are already naked.
There is no reason
not to follow your heart.”

You’re only on this earth
for a short time.
Make that time count.

I email four writers daily.
All five of us
are successful in publishing
but we’ve all reached that level
in very different ways.
There’s no right way
to be successful.

Dick Costolo,
former CEO
of Twitter,
shares

“I don’t have any ego about
“You have to do this, this way.”
If there’s one thing
I think that I’m aware of,
and self-aware about,
it’s that there are
so many different ways
to be successful.
And having some specific
“this is the only way to do that”
never is a good way
to think about things.”

Are you looking at different ways
to become successful?

One of the most important things
and, for me,
the most challenging things
to do,
when asking for an opinion,
is actually shutting up,
letting the other person speak
and LISTENING
to that opinion.

The knee jerk response
is to explain,
to make excuses,
to try to direct the response.

Michael Lee Stallard
shares

“On a regular basis,
get in front of the people you lead
and share the issues
you are working on
and thinking about.
First, tell them what you are thinking.
I call this
“putting your cards
on the table.”
Next, ask people
what they think is right, wrong
and/or missing from your thinking.
Let them speak.
Just listen.
Don’t criticize.
Resist the temptation
to be defensive
if your view is challenged.
I also recommend
having someone else take notes
so you can give your full attention
to each speaker.
Thank people
when they share
their opinions and ideas.”

Ask others for opinions
and then LISTEN
to those opinions.

No one wants to hear
about your job,
no matter how interesting
you think your job is.

The challenge
that an entrepreneur
or an artist
or anyone who lives and breathes
her ‘job’
faces
is our ‘jobs’ ARE our great loves,
our number one interests.
We WANT to talk about them
but we risk boring ‘normal’ people.

As an anonymous entrepreneur
on Reddit
shares

“Most ‘normal’ people can’t relate
and don’t enjoy talking
about being an entrepreneur,
so when you’re socializing
with those people
you have to keep your mouth shut
about what basically encompasses
your whole life.”

The solution?

Make friends with entrepreneurs
(or artists or whatever your passion is).
I meet once a month
with a group of writers
simply to talk
and it’s a beautiful experience,
well worth the time.

Consider reaching out
to fellow entrepreneurs.

One of my buddies
was giving me a rough time
about not getting my nails
professionally done.

Her argument?
“Everyone gets their nails done.”

I’m not everyone.
Everyone doesn’t build businesses.
Everyone isn’t trying
to change the world.
Everyone doesn’t have
more important sh*t to do.

You’re not everyone either.
What is important to you
isn’t important to the average person.

And we should focus on
the important things.

As Donna Skeels Cygan,
author of
The Joy of Financial Security
shares
(referring to financially successful people)

“It’s about paying attention
to what makes you happy
and not just doing
what our society tells us to do.”

You’re not everyone.
Make your own decisions.

I was working my a$$ off
yesterday
and a dear friend flippantly told me
“Work smarter, not harder.”

My reply?

What is working smarter?
What should I be doing?
Do you know?
Because I’m working like hell
trying to figure that out.

It takes years
of hard work
to work smarter.
Yes, I share tips here
about what might help
but it is exactly it
— it MIGHT help.
You don’t know until you try it
and trying it means working hard.

As Scott Ginsberg
shares

“And so, before we start
calculating efficiencies,
what’s more important right now
is volume and momentum and rhythm.
Putting boots on the ground
so we can gain traction.
Cranking out piles of work
so that we might find
our authentic voice.”

The first step to working smarter
is working harder.
There’s no escaping the hard work
so get to it!