Category Archives: Change

Contagious Behavior Season

It’s flu season.  Watch out for people that are contagious.  That is, unless they just have contagious behavior.

Communicate with an English teacher or writer and you’ll catch their proper grammar.  That’s contagious behavior.

Hangout with me enough and you’ll catch my healthy and smart eating habits.  That’s contagious behavior.

Meet with highly punctual colleagues and you’ll start being on time, too.  That’s contagious behavior.

One could argue that catching something that’s contagious is not a choice.  But with contagious behavior (good or bad, unfortunately), choosing not to catch it eventually makes you feel like an idiot.  And as the group grows, the contagious behavior becomes an epidemic.

Go catch something good.

The solutions that never go on sale

Free isn’t really free.  And free is often a bad pick between the paid alternative.  We know this.

But what about when it comes to fixing problems?

Have frequent heartburn?

  • P&G’s solution: Buy Prilosec OTC and take it every 24 hours for your entire life.
  • UL’s solution: Eat more alkaline foods.

Having frequent anxiety?

  • Privately practicing therapist solution: Schedule time with her every week.
  • UL’s solution: Exercise rigorously for 30 minutes, 4x per week.

Need to lose weight?

  • Sensa’s solution: Buy their white powder and sprinkle it on your food
  • UL’s solution: Employ both prior recommendations

So free isn’t always the poor choice.  Maybe it’s only when it’s the easy one.

Do I really have to crank tonight?

Energy is abstract.  It powers lights, appliances, cars.  And even though we pay an electric bill, utilities bill and cash to the gas station, energy remains abstract.

That is, until we think about having to hand-crank a generator.

Thinking about energy like this is valuable.  No, lights aren’t powered by a guy cranking a generator anymore.  But the energy required to power the lights is the same or more.

Why not turn off some lights, especially in corporate office buildings.  So many of them stay on all night.

C’mon.  Let’s give the guy hand-cranking the generator a break.

Papa John Peyton

Professional athletes are part-time athletes.  Their other job is to be paid endorsers.  Clothing, pain relievers, and food.

Since professional athletes are rational, they will accept money to endorse products that increase their net worth.  Even if it means endorsing products that are detrimental to society.

But if there is a stigma about endorsing products that are detrimental to society, perhaps the more prudent financial decision will be to endorse products that are more beneficial to society.

Looks like one stigma, professional athletes endorsing junk food, may be ready to drive social change.  Or at the very least, make endorsing junk food a poor financial decision for professional athletes.

Reputation is precious.  Threatening it, and the ability for a rich athlete to get more rich, is powerful.

I cannot wait to see Lebron dropping McDonalds.  Peyton dropping Papa Johns.  Serena dropping Gatorade.

And for the record, this grassroots-awareness-resulting-in-stigma-for-celebtrity-endorsers thing transcends junk food.  How can we use it more?

Who’s motivation is it anyway?

How could they?  What could possibly motivate them to act like that?  Happens to everyone.

Being asked to take on a new role at work?  What’s motivating them to ask for the switch?

Being treated poorly at the airport?  What’s motivating them to do this to me?

Being offered free services that normally aren’t free?  What’s their motivation?

Well, who cares about their motivation?  It shouldn’t motivate your decision, reaction, or appreciation.  Right?

[UPDATE] Who’s is embarrassingly spelled wrong.  It should be whose. Thanks, @ERGreenberg.  Sorry, Ms Ocar and Mrs Peterson.   I’m leaving it.

Cruising altitude

What do you do every morning on autopilot?  Drive to work?  Your morning shower routine?  A 30 minute run?

Having to figure these things out every morning would be exhausting.  New route to work every day?  Getting cleaned up in a different order every day?  Changing the duration and path for your run every day?

Exhausting.

Same thing with making breakfast.

Figure out 1 breakfast to make.  Turn on autopilot.  And basically, go back to sleep.

Just like the real pilots.

Did you hear the news?

Yeah, it’s crazy.

So and so famous person suddenly died?  It’s crazy.

Your company was acquired by a bigger one.  It’s crazy.

Last night’s madness on Breaking Bad?  It’s crazy.

The goings on are crazy, yes.  But why?  Because of what happened to them or it or the thing?  Or is it crazy because of the difficult question it forces us to confront?

New outlook on life?  New career path?  New standard for entertainment we invest our time in?

Time to reevaluate things.  It’d be crazy not to.

Keepin it 100

Ask any coach, executive, or leader of any kind.  It’s crucial to recognize and celebrate milestones.

Just wrapped up Spring Training?  Recognize and celebrate.

Just finished your first full year in business?  Recognize and celebrate.

Just published your 100th blog post?

Recognize!

Now let’s celebrate 100 blog posts by remembering some of the best:

Thanks to you for reading.  I write ’em for you.