The best time to plant a tree was yesterday.
The next best time?
Now.
Now is the time to invest in a better, brighter future. Because the problems of today won’t simply go away on their own.
The next generation just inherits them. Compounded with more interest.
The good news is that next-generation also inherits the good decisions we make today.
Investing takes patience and imagination. Without it, how are we ever to create a better world than how we found it?
Are you an investor or day trader?
At Costco, I overheard a couple discussing if they needed more diapers. To which one replied, “I think they will have more in stock later. I have nine boxes anyway.”
What a shame.
Look, since no one was around for the 1918 Spanish Flu, we haven’t seen or been through an actual epidemic where it requires us to change our behaviors. So, we let fear in the driving seat. Why? Because we don’t have the experience to draw on.
Who knows what happens next? But I do know what’s changed in the last ten years is that we have social media to actively feed our fears. Because a rational person knows you don’t need 200 rolls of toilet paper to survive the next month.
The internet, used correctly, is also one of the most powerful tools we have available too. Choose wisely.
Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that by simply washing your hands you can reduce the spread of germs.
A remarkable discovery in the 1850s. And it helped lay the groundwork for germ theory.
Except, it took the medical community 20 years to change its habits.
The question is, was it painful to change or just uncomfortable?
The longer we wait the more painful it becomes.
[How many would have been spared if they simply washed their hands? Choose your metaphor.]
Last year, Americans spent more money on storage units then they did going to the movies.
Ironic really. Even the things we don’t ever use have a home while many others here in Salt Lake still struggle for a place to live.
What’s your narrative about the junk you have?
The more stuff you have the less valuable it gets.
One of the best ways to spread the word for Pivot Adventure is through direct email marketing with the schools.
With each school district, we usually average about 500 hits on our website with each blast.
One time, however, we put the actual price of the course on the flyer and only had 50 hits.
Why?
Because the story people told themselves about money and mental health treatment doesn’t match.
It’s worth noting that price is a story. And you might need other pieces of the story before you talk about price.
Ever miss a deadline and now the person on the other end you were counting on isn’t answering your phone calls or emails?
The problem isn’t that this person isn’t available to assist you. The problem is that you are out of time and they are now your only option.
It’s important to remember that everyone has a different timetable than you. Lack of preparation on your part doesn’t constitute an emergency on theirs.
It’s worth repeating for our own selves.
It also stands as a reminder for that person who just cut us off, or the teenager who breaks a promise, or for anyone who just gets under our skin…
Although we don’t always believe it, the world is far better for having you in it. And the same for the others.
Because each of us has the capacity and the opportunity to make things better.
“When you’re 60, you’re old. When you’re 70, you’re old. When you’re 80, you’re old. When you’re 90, you’re old. When are you old? I don’t know. At some point in time, I began to take seriously that I wasn’t going to be here. And I couldn’t sell the company.” – Bob Moore
That is an artist. Right there. As one of the largest natural food exporters in the world, Bob could have sold the company for an obscene amount of money. But he didn’t.
Because in the end, would it had mattered?
Did it matter to have another zero in the bank account?
He chose to share this journey with others who also believed in the mission. To provide good food for people. And that is why he will be remembered. Because he chose to be generous with his work. He shared it. We benefited. And now his legacy gets to continue since he gave the company away to his team.
That’s what Linchpins do.
When is the last time you looked someone in the eye?
Nathan Dvir did a great piece of commuters finding new ways to avoid each other on a New York subway station.
As he points out, no one is making eye contact with each other.
Why?
There’s a combination of things at work.
Culturally, we have found it acceptable to keep out of other people’s business. It’s almost weird now for someone to make small talk with us. Or maybe there is something more hierarchical going on? Maybe I’m just a low person on the totem pole. As always, status plays a role here.
I also think that when we avoid eye contact, we make it is easier to hide. To hide from the shame of not feeling good enough. We can also distract this narrative for a brief moment when we become lost in our digital world. This makes me think, deep down we just don’t think our lives are that interesting anymore.
Why should we talk to anyone? I’m just Josh from California.
Are we that worried about what others think of us?
We work so hard to avoid exposure. When the truth is, that is what we are all desperately craving. For someone to see us. To lean into someone and hope they will catch us.
There is an unlimited amount of things we can pursue.
Sex, money, power, status…
Or perhaps opportunity, generosity, equality, art…
Where you look is where you go.
