Sometimes the best solution to a complex problem is to select ‘D. None of the above.’
Leaders don’t have all the answers.
Leaders make difficult decisions.
Try ten.
And when shouting from the rooftops isn’t attracting the attention you’re seeking, try whispering.
The internet has gifted everyone a microphone, a platform, a blank page.
Yet, our first instinct is to ramble, to be louder than the person next to us, to treat everyone like they fit in a box.
Why spend all this effort in stealing attention?
Wouldn’t we better off trying to earn it?
Trust follows attention. Attention follows trust.
How are you going to change a million people if you can’t change one?
In Harrisonburg, Virginia, Bob Norris is quietly making a ruckus.
He is changing people’s lives by building AFO’s (Ankle Foot Orthosis) and SMO’s (Supramalleolar Orthosis) braces to support weak limbs.
Not just for anyone.
For dolls.
Bob designs plastic AFO’s and SMO’s to go on toy dolls.
You don’t have to scroll very far on his Facebook page to see the joy and delight he brings to the world.
It turns out, you don’t need a degree in engineering to design AFO’s, you just need to care.
Caring is the only prerequisite we need to do work that matters.
Most of the work we do is predetermined or simply shows up.
We make checklists, prioritize based on the level of urgency, put out fires, try to stay on top of the constant bombardment of emails and phone calls…
Regrettably, most of the day is spent filled with busy work, not productive work.
This type of busy work will never go away. The inbox never stays at zero. There is always something left undone to do.
So why do we prioritize busy work over productive work?
It’s another form of hiding.
It’s rare to be able to have the emotional energy leftover to do the hard, arduous work of doing things that might fail or something that has never been done before.
“I’m too tired” lets us off the hook today until tomorrow comes again.
What we need then is to define our work:
Do work worth doing. Do the hard part first. Delegate, trash, use whatever means necessary to free up the time to solve complex problems.
Urgent and busy isn’t the same as productive and important.
Define your work before it defines you.
Once you learn how to code, everything about computers feels different.
And once you understand terms like opportunity cost, sunk cost, debt, ROI, tax sheltered plans, compound interest—investing doesn’t seem so intimidating.
If you get a chance to watch how books are printed and bound, the mystery behind them goes away.
Once you learn how to make something, it changes the way how you see things.
It’s easier to do something we can imagine.
Chances are you are in a situation where there is no easy choices left to make, only hard ones.
We amplify our troubles by hesitating, by blinking, by second-guessing. We let fear get in the way. We bargain with the lizard brain, pleading for things to be different.
And too often, we fall into this trap of waiting, waiting to get all of our ducks in a row before we decide.
The thing is, none of us have a crystal ball. We have no idea what the future holds.
So instead of waiting for the path from A to B to be perfect, free of every hazard of every possible scenario, merely begin.
Begin by taking your first step into the void and then see what happens next.
Take a step into the unknown and let the light follow.
Repeat.
Instead of worrying about whether someone will steal your ideas, focus on making ideas worth stealing.
Share your best work, your best insights, freely and generously.
Give credit to everyone around you.
True, authentic generosity won’t go unnoticed forever.
Besides, ideas are cheap. They aren’t worth anything until someone decides to take action.
Act as if the decisions you make today impact the world tomorrow.
Act as if you were a writer or a poet or an expert in your field.
Act as if you had the next seven seconds to decide how to make things better.
How would this posture change the way you made difficult decisions?
Climate Change. The evidence is clear, our atmosphere has cancer resulting in the rise and fall of temperatures and precipitation, droughts and heat waves, ice caps melting, seal levels rising, etc. But first, we have to find a way to reverse the narrative on Climate Change. There are still too many skeptics and too much doubt surrounding the issue. Crony capitalism has played a significant role in this—the people were duped. This is the worst example of short-term profit grabbing in exchange for long-term prosperity. The economic damage, human cost will continue to rise over the century before it gets better. It is time to look in the mirror (looking at you ExxonMobil).
Wealth inequality. The middle class is fading. The world’s eight richest have as much wealth as the bottom half. The rich are getting richer, the poor are staying the same, eliminating the middle class. The same middle class wage in the 1960’s is not paying for the same lifestyle today. It is estimated that by 2030, the top 1% will own 2/3 of the world’s wealth.
From production to consumption. In the 1950’s, people didn’t spend more than they had putting marketers in a pinch. How could they get Americans to spend more money? In comes the Credit Card. The paradox: We buy a car to get to work and we work to pay for a car…around and around we go. In 2016, banks spent over 17 billion dollars in their marketing. We have never seen a product so heavily marketed.
Opium epidemic. One in seven Americans are struggling with some sort of addiction. Only 10% are receiving treatment of any sorts. The economic impact of drug and alcohol misuse and addiction amounts to $442 billion each year.
Pornography. The heroin addict can attend rehab, move out-of-town, start a new life and can mostly stay away from areas where temptations are too great. This is totally different from someone addicted to pornography, where temptation is always one click away. It is difficult to build a life without the internet. It is embedded in our culture.
There are plenty of problems waiting to be solved. We can’t do it alone but maybe we can do it together.
It starts with people like us asking questions like this:
How do we help someone rehabilitate from a life of crime?
What can we do to help generations of families break the cycle of poverty?
Where can I go to help others receive essential resources?
How do we change a culture that doesn’t know how to?
Fight for whatever it is you’re called to do.
On the street I live on, the city decided to tear down over two dozen, beautiful, 80 year old oak trees.
The reason?
Roots were destroying the sidewalk.
What a waste.
Shortcuts are a fast solution to an urgent problem. The problem with shortcuts is that they lead to more shortcuts.
Small, seemingly inconsequential decisions and cost cutting measures don’t look all that bad at first until the Band-Aids begin to peel.
