Josh Allred's Blog

The tools controlling the means of productions are given to anyone with an internet connection.

You now have a microphone to say something, a platform to build anything.

Here are three rules (of many) to remember…

1) “These go to 11.” Actually, they don’t. Screaming louder than anyone else will fall on deaf ears to the masses. And even if it gets through it’s not the kind of attention you want. Attention doesn’t mean we trust you either. Trust is earned with one quality interaction at a time. Little by little.

2) Online you can link, source, curate, edit the perfect comeback. But when is the last time a tweet changed our minds?

3) Once the curtain has been lifted, you can’t maintain the facade as the great and powerful Oz.

Act accordingly.

There are 300,000 commonly used words in the English language.

However, there are over 600,000 forms of nonverbal communication.

Actions like our posture, our facial expressions, our hand gestures speak louder than words. Texting severely inhibits the way we communicate–it is a form of hiding.

The first mistake you made was to reprimand someone through email, text or Facebook.

The second mistake you made was apologizing through email, text or Facebook.

It would have been far better at the beginning to take the extra step of looking someone in the eye, ask some questions and seek clarity.

Convenience is now one click away. But convenience almost always fails to make a real connection. That will require more than just a few faceless interaction.

You peek through the curtain and to your disappointment there are only a few seats filled. The house is wide open.

It’s not fair. You’ve worked so hard for this moment. And while it is easy to take your anger out on the audience, you then realize it’s not their fault…they’re the ones who came.

And it is natural to focus all your energy to pull in that one person in the back that refuses to participate or is distracted on their phone.

But it’s not for them. No, it’s for the ones who came.

Your art, that cause you fight for, your life’s work, your movement, it’s not for everyone, it’s for someone–the ones who came.

This. This post is for you. For the ones who came. The ones who have showed up.

Today is my 600th consecutive blog post. From the bottom of my heart thank you. Thank you in the deepest ways for reading and being part of this journey.

If only I had more money then I could help the poor and needy.

If only I had more time then I would start a business.

Resources are finite for everyone. Wishing for more is a trap.

What are you going to do with more money if you can’t manage the money you already have?

What are you going to do with more time if you can’t stop binge watching Game of Thrones?

It is unlikely that more will give us the leverage we seek.

Learning to work with what we have is usually enough to start the change we seek to make.

It easy to visualize what we will have for lunch today. We can easily picture ourselves in a restaurant or in the break room. We’ve had lots of practice. We did it yesterday and the day before that. We will do it again tomorrow.

Much more difficult to see ourselves doing something that we have never done before.

We can’t see ourselves finish our first marathon when we haven’t crossed the finish line before. Because right now, all we see is a mountain that is unclimbed. We don’t know for sure if it is even possible and the chance for failure is high.

It is tempting to stick with what we know. In this sphere, we are competent. Competence goes out the window when we step into the void.

The thing is, no one remembers what they had for lunch two weeks ago. But you’ll never forget the important contributions you make.

You can’t say it out loud without first hearing what’s within.

If you can’t say what you have to say in seven sentences or less, then you are having a monologue not a dialogue.

Monologues are one-way streets. There are very few people that can deliver an effective monologue that inspire us enough to elevate our performance.

On the other hand, dialogue helps us understand intent, who we are and where it is we want to go. Dialogue is what bring us closer together.

Most of the time, monologues go in one ear and out the other. But when we enroll others to participate, make it okay to contribute, real magic can take place.

Nostalgia is the believe in a world that no longer exists. It is the bug that people catch fighting for things to stay the same tomorrow at they are today.

For thousands of years, the status-quo didn’t change much. You hunted for food and you gathered for food. Then we grew food. Suddenly, we could stay put and innovate. Eventually, the industrial economy came and provided jobs. For the first time, millions were catapulted out of poverty, creating a middle class in the process. Fifty years ago, we started the internet. It has given unprecedented ways to connect, create and collaborate. Ten years ago, Apple unveiled the iPhone. Smart phones have totally revolutionized the way we communicate.

Do you see the pattern?

The gap of taking the next giant leap forward is shrinking.

The pace is faster than ever before. Faster than many of us are comfortable going. If you are insisting, bargaining and reasoning for things to slow down, you are going to be left behind.

It is hard to see when we are in the middle of a revolution. History has shown that none of us usually live long enough to see these kind of changes occur. We don’t need more people to defend the status-quo. What we need is to find the courage to continue to challenge it.

Me against the world mentality is a useful tool in preserving ourselves. It also elevates us to challenge the status-quo, to do something remarkable.

This posture, however, can hinder us as we deepen our relationships with family, friends, neighbors and strangers.

Because this story isn’t just about you overcoming the world, it is about us. Us against the world.

When we see that we share the same struggles, we learn to treat outsiders as insiders. We quit dehumanizing people and see them for who they truly are and what they can become. We develop empathy. Real empathy. And then we can better ease the burdens of those around us. Because it isn’t about going fast.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.