Month: April 2016

In our 20’s we tend to sprint everywhere we go.

We sprint to get to work.

We sprint while at work.

We sprint to get back home.

We sprint while at home.

We even sprint in our sleep.

How many of us actually get 6-8 hours of sleep each night?

The Wasatch 100 mile endurance run finished last month in Salt Lake City. You can review the results of those who completed the race here.

Out of the 313 runners that started, 203 completed the race.

What was the average runner’s age to finish this year?

42.

There were only 9 runners under the age of 30 that finished the race.

The occasional sprint now and then to hit a deadline is a useful skill to have but most winners pace themselves. Our endurance increases with time. Our careers need to do the same thing.

Try nothing you will succeed every time.

Trying nothing means there is no risk, failure or shame.

We already “know” it’s not going to work. By raising the white flag you bypass the whole experience and go straight to the end. If your only goal is to reach the end then by all means don’t try. Why bother right?

Try nothing and you will succeed in getting nothing.
Try nothing and you will succeed in changing nothing.
Try nothing and you will succeed in learning nothing.

Try something and you will succeed in getting, changing or learning something.

What if we weren’t going to keep track of who did what for who today?

Externally someone may not do their fair share of the project. Internally this creates frustration. Frustration that we have lost something (pride, time, money, etc.). Someone may have crossed you the wrong way, looked at you and said something that didn’t make you feel good. So you keep count. If the score improves then they can be back in our good graces.

What if we removed the scoreboard? What if instead we start keeping track of what we have done to help someone else today? No more even steven. No more going half way, instead we go all the way.

What have you done to create something beautiful for someone to enjoy? What have you done to make someone’s life a little easier or better? What have you done to make someone feel better about themselves?

How many of our relationships at work, at home, in our marriage, in our schools, churches could improve by simply not keeping track of the score of the opposing team?

Start keeping track of what good you have done in the world. Stop worrying about everyone else is score and just keep improving your own.

There is your story, my story and the truth.

The truth on what we think happened; it’s just the story we tell ourselves. It’s not how it is though.

We tell ourselves that it’s okay to eat one cookie. One cookie was good. So now I will have two cookies.

We tell ourselves a story that is favorable to the hero (which is us). To shield us from blame, shame, failure so that we can remain safe and secure.

“It’s okay; you’ll do better next time. You really didn’t want to blog anyway.”

Don’t let this story drive you away from actually doing something meaningful today.

Prejudices, biases, experiences, nature, nurture have all shaped the stories we tell ourselves. Maybe it’s time to stop listening what it going in our head and start telling ourselves what we are going to do.

I have never, ever heard anyone admit that they don’t pay their credit card on time. Here are some stats:

Credit cards are the cigarette of the financial world. It’s time to cut them up.What about the points? Who cares about the points! I don’t have to sit around looking at my bank statements and worry did I pay this off in time?

But what about 2% on all purchases? Again who cares?
That is 2 cents off every dollar.
20 cents for every 10 dollars.
2 dollars off every 100 dollars.
20 dollars off every 1,000 dollars.
200 dollars off every 10,000.
2,000 dollars off every 100,000.

None of these points or cash back bonuses or flights will change your life. It only takes one time to be late. One time for the credit card companies to get a $39 late charge for them to win.

Credit card companies are not your friends. They are not trying to make your lives better. They are selling bondage.

Don’t sell yourself so cheap for cash back gimmicks. Your time and attention are far more valuable than what they can offer.

Do you want to be remembered? Don’t be predictable.

We have an expression among our circle of friends: give them the onion, make them cry.

While a flower is nice and multiple flowers are even nicer, it is common. There is nothing special about the flowers. Sure you went to the florist, picked out the arrangement they would like and opened up your wallet to purchase them but anyone can do this. It isn’t remarkable. No one remembers anyone by being ordinary.

Que the onion. The onion is so random, so spontaneous; they can’t help to ask “Why did you give me an onion?”

You have them hooked. Now you can tell a story. Any story will work. Those who bring onions will be remembered.

Start thrashing now. Do it early while it is cheap. If you wait it is only going to get more expensive.

Over 150 years ago, Henry David Thoreau said “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours … In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty, nor weakness.”

Be wary of blanket statements such as: “I need to have my cell phone.” “I can’t get up without my morning cup of coffee.” “How do you live without a DVR?”

Why surrender so much power? You don’t need this. You don’t need that. What you need is essentials (shelter, food, water, clothing) not luxuries.

Try thrashing to the point where it is uncomfortable. A little discomfort in a comfortable world is not a bad thing. Who knows you may even like it. You can always bring that thing back in your life.

Ask yourself one question when deciding what to thrash; do I need this item or am I using this thing to distract myself from the world? If you don’t thrash this item this time and you are on the fence commit to saying if in 3 months I don’t use this item then it needs to go.

The cost of not thrashing, not taking away the distractions, can be insurmountable. We have more time and access to knowledge and resources than we ever had before in the history of the world. How are we using it? How are you abusing it?

We have all met someone who is purely transactional. That person always needs something from us. They need our money, they need our time, they need our attention.

It won’t be enough though. Ever.

Simply smile. Apologize that you can’t help and move on.

It may seem cruel. But completing the transaction will only make you feel worse. It will make you feel sticky and cheap.

Help everyone you can. But provide the kind of help that can change lives. The kind of change that can help us grow more than it will help others.

When is the last time you can say you tried something new for the first time?

If your answer is “it’s been a while.” Maybe it’s time to step into the unknown. There is a problem. We don’t want to start something new unless we can see the ending. We are afraid. Afraid of shame and guilt. We are afraid of failure. So unless we have a map or set of instructions; we won’t start.

So…start. Start walking down the tunnel of uncertainty. Embrace the fear. Use your candle; it doesn’t have to light the whole way. It just needs light the next step. Then take it. And then another. And then another.

Pretty soon we will make it through this.

We can enjoy the outcome. The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat.

But it is not over. We need to start again.