You can have all the solutions.
But until there’s an antagonist or pain-point or problem, nobody has the capacity to consider your solution.
Giving your boss two weeks notice is like breaking up with him or her.
“Hey, I’m moving on. Movers will be here in two weeks.”
How do you expect this person to react?
Well, let me rephrase that.
How would you react if you were just dumped?
There you go.
Don’t take it personally.
It would be easy to skip the conference. Easy to use the same lesson plans. Easy to tell the same jokes. Easy to take the promotion. Easy to choose the largest offer.
But…
Easy is often the least satisfying, least fulfilling, least wise decision to make.
So…
Your move, decision maker.
Traveling for work can be a struggle.
When you’re not dreading your destination, those things don’t go away.
They’re just not really a struggle.
In baseball, you practice hitting off the tee. You practice hitting whiffle balls. You practice hitting 50 MPH lobs in the cage.
You practice your mechanics until you croak.
Then the game comes and you can stop thinking so much.
You’ll crush the fastballs.
And you’ll even be ready to handle the curveballs.
“Let’s put together a deck.”
Heard that before?
That’s the go-to solution for Big 4 consulting firms.
Any decision, big or small, that’s the answer.
A PowerPoint deck.
The irony is that the decks are intended to make these consulting firms look like they have all the answers. Yet, they actually do the opposite.
Copious words and bullet points? Flow charts and meaningless jargon? Excessive company branding?
C’mon.
Might as well add a slide at the end of the deck showing what they charged to put it together. And, don’t forget to include all participants’ billable hour they’ll charge for the meeting that unveils the fancy deck.
How about a 10-minute phone call instead?
Stats don’t lie.
In last night’s MLB Wildcard game, The Kansas City Royals came back to tie or go ahead three times. They stole seven bases. They won in the bottom of the 12th in a game that almost lasted 5 hours.
But stats don’t tell the whole story.
“That’s the most incredible game I’ve ever been a part of.”
“That will go down as the craziest game I’ve ever played.”
“It was absolutely epic. You don’t write a story like that.”
The guys on the field who have been playing elite-level baseball their entire lives don’t even tell the whole story.
To get the whole story, you have to see it.
Feel it.
Last night’s MLB Wildcard game was one of those stories.
You had to see it to believe it.
What a story.
Some of the best, most exclusive, most sought-after jobs inevitably end in an abrupt change.
The abrupt change is not usually because of failure.
Rather, it simply became time to move on.
Sure, some people keep those jobs forever. But, then don’t we yearn for the abrupt change everyone else gets?
(The coach that should be fired. The on-air personality that is tired. The politician that is coasting. The parents with grown children who still live at home.)
The key is to not fear the abrupt change. Seek out the best, most exclusive, most sought-after jobs.
And when the abrupt change happens, take joy in the opportunity you had and the future that lies ahead.
I know it isn’t making me any money.
In fact, it costs me.
It certainly doesn’t save me any time.
In fact, it requires lots.
So why do I do this blog thing? I write and publish every day about objective advice I’m giving to myself and others.
Well, according to a 2005 study, this blog is quite therapeutic. The study said that one can use expressive writing as a therapeutic tool after surviving trauma.
No, I don’t write about traumatic events, per se. It’s mostly just me coming to grips with stuff that drives me nuts.
But, if you’ve recently experienced a traumatic event, consider writing a bit. It helps.
Assuming I’ll continue to be traumatized by incompetence, ignorance, and hypocrisy, you can expect me to keep doing the same.
There are two ways to look at sleep.
Because of the former, I used to be very afraid of sleep. 4-5 hours was all I used to allow myself.
Now, I subscribe to the latter.
And while I still carry a you-sleep-when-you-die attitude, I think there’s more opportunity cost that comes from NOT being well rested.
Sure, 7 hours of solid sleep can be tough to come by sometimes.
But, being present at half speed isn’t really being present, ya know?