Month: October 2018

No one cares about the foundation.

Why?

Because we can’t see it.

We just see the beautiful house that sits on top, not the countless hours of work that went in below.

The work is intense, making it tempting to looks for quick, easy to use, short-cuts to skip the groundwork.

Except when things fall apart, everyone will blame the foundation.

But when done right, it can do anything that it was designed to do.

Maybe when things are not working, it’s important to ask,

Is this a foundation issue or cosmetic?

The idea of a sprint is to move as fast as you can in a limited amount of time.

Of course, you can’t sprint forever, so you must choose a beginning with an intention to end in the near future.

Once we make a conscious decision to switch from a marathon to a sprint, our tactics change.

No longer are we stopping and re-assessing each situation. We go. Fast. If we stumble, we get back up and keep moving.

How long should a sprint be?

I’ve found that “in a day” is good length to have a productive sprint.

Anymore and the productivity starts plummeting.

What could you do in a day?

It’s not a bad mantra.

Good stories tell themselves.

No need to qualify or change them to fit the narrative of those around you.

When we water it down to appeal to the masses, we end up helping no one.

Speak your truth.

And let what sticks stick.

But maybe yours is set so high that no one could ever pay.

Because, your movement is far too important, far too pure to be sold for magical digits and bits on a screen.

When you can make that choice, you’re no longer operating under the same rules as everyone else.

And that frees you to do the things the rest of us can’t do.

Thank you Banksy for reminding us that it isn’t about money.

Sometimes it’s worth destroying what you love in order to protect what is important.

Going, going, gone…

It’s not forever.

The world record is held by a German free diver, Tom Sietas, who held his breath underwater for 22 minutes and 22 seconds.

That’s an incredibly long time. And yet, everyone, must stop and take a breath.

The same can be said about working a dead-end job. You know, the one you have not the one you deserve.

How long do you go without feeling appreciated?

How long before you realize you did exactly what you did yesterday only faster and cheaper?

How long are you going to be a cog in a machine?

How long can you hold your breath doing this type of work?

If one person is high jacking the conversation by refusing to stop talking, you’re having a lecture not a discussion.

If someone must lose in order for you to win, you’re having an argument.

Discussions fall right in the middle of these two engagements.

The best discussions, however, end with the chance of someone changing their mind.

Something to think about: Has anyone ever changed their mind after an argument or a lecture?

To avoid an argument or a lecture, maybe we should be clear what kind of dialogue we are about to have:

If no one is willing to move then there is no way we are going to have a discussion right now.

From the outside: You can change your circumstance.

Or

From the inside: You can change how you view your circumstances.

Difficult to change what happens to us since we live a life that is so fragile and unpredictable.

But there is always a choice how we view or perceive what happens to us.

It’s a simple question really.

Who are you waiting for to step up, to change things?

Why not you?

Why wait for someone else to fill the need you see that needs to be filled?

[Dangerous to pretend that you are not designed to do great things. You have far more power than you can imagine. Others have done much with far less. Act.]

There was a stretch where I lived out of my backpack and slept on the dirt for 150+ days.

I also hitchhiked from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles.

And for a minute, I experimented with dumpster diving. (While I never went as far as eating food out of a dumpster, I did recover a bunch of stuff that was perfectly good to use. It’s still amazes me what people will throw away.)

I tried this and that but haven’t felt the need to repeat most of those things.

I didn’t know who I wanted to be, and so, I lived many different lives.

The difference between now and then, is clarity.

At first, you really don’t know who it is you want to become. But once you do, none of the other stuff matters.

What matters now is the work and the mission.

That’s what clarity does. It focuses your intentions.

Speak in public settings often. The more you do it, the better you get.

You’re never ready. It is always too early. Go do it anyway.

Find a space that you’re uncomfortable to be in to practice your craft.

If no one knows you yet—great. Then they probably won’t remember you if you bomb.

Plan on the microphone not working (or the speakers being too loud or the lights too bright). At least this way, you won’t be surprised if something does go wrong.

Hold the microphone dead center of your chest. Six inches below your mouth, 3 or 4 inches away.

Take your wallet and phone out of your pocket. It just looks better in the pictures.

Um…don’t say um.

Skip the thank you’s for being here and the thanks you’s as you leave. We have your attention, don’t squander it.

Start with Why.

If they give you 5 minutes, take 3. Studies show that we will only remember the first 5%, the last 5% and the punchline.