You should never pass up a teaching opportunity.  If you are knowingly doing this - shame on you.  If you are someone in need of learning more (that's all of us) and do nothing to attain that knowledge - shame on you as well. 

Education needs to be both shared and sought.

In my life, every minute of every day is tied to some sort of sales pitch.  From my wife trying to sell me on getting a new car- to record companies pushing new artists-to account executives trying to convince me to do more or something unique for a client-to a bunch of random "pitches" from various people throughout my day.  It can, at times, be a bit over stimulating.  Everyone is pushing or hustling something in life and at some point you have to tell them "no".   That doesn't always go over so well.

Despite how bad this could come back to haunt me, I actually try to help these people sell me on their ideas.  Sometimes these interactions get heated and these "pushers" are so emotionally attached to their idea or product, that they end up doing more damage to their cause than good.  They lose their cool and get fixated on their needs.  They get blinded and throw rationality and common sense out the window.  Instead of debating with them, you should try to help.  Not in a way that comes across as pretentious or condescending, but more in a way that shows them you want to help them get better at selling you.  These actions go beyond the workplace and can certainly be used in all facets of life.  

This week I had a discussion with someone who all but blamed ME for HIS lack of success.  (Read that previous sentence again if you need to).  His message was scathing, accusatory and riddled with assumptions.  Would you buy an infrared cooker from Ron Popeil  if he used those tactics rather than the catchy disarming phrase of "set it and forget it"? Nope!  This tactic must have worked for him at some point, because all my previous interactions with him contained glimpses of these things. His intention, even though he reversed his message once I started to break things down for him, was to attack ME so that I would be blinded and less focused on the facts and his lack of overall research on the topic.  Yet, despite how much fun it could have been to go all karate kid style and "sweep his leg" with my words, I took the opportunity to break down his message and demonstrated a way for him to be more effective in selling me.  You have to resist the need to be right.  It's a challenge for all of us, but the message comes into their brain clearer if it comes from a place of benefit to them.  

If I am going to spend my time being hustled all day, it might as well be by the best pitches from the best people pitching them.  If not, then it's just a waste of time for both of us.  

If he is smart, he will take this knowledge, regroup and fine tune his pitch.  I really hope he does.  There is nothing more flattering than having someone embrace your words and use them against you.  

A very talented friend of mine was recently fired from his job.  At the end of the day, one could make an argument that the people the company kept were not as talented as he is and anyone, from the outside looking in, could look at the situation as unfair and ridiculous.

Not me.  I can see why they did it.

If employers are not looking to change over or fix a situation, then they are looking for cohesion.  Many employers say that they want to employ "trailblazers" and people with "out of the box ideas".  What they really want is cohesion.  A system.  A group that shares one idea.  Even if that idea or philosophy prevents them from taking the company to the next level or growing, they still prefer to have a group of people moving as one.  Even if members of that group are capable of more-cohesion and shared ideas will beat potential everyday.

Using a football analogy-Let's say your favorite football team has an opportunity to draft a super fast deep threat wide receiver.  A real game changer that can start on day one and add another potential  weapon to the offense.  Yet, your team is designed to run the ball and your quarterback is not a downfield passer.  So why draft a guy that doesn't fit into your current system?  Especially if you are successful with that current system.  Teams that draft for needs and for their systems will be more successful than those who draft names or superstars for the sake of taking the "best" player available. 

Going back to my friend-It's easier to remove one person from the group, opposed to changing the philosophy or removing several people.  So, no matter how talented you are or how awesome your résumé is, you will not survive unless you make sense for that system.  You might be brought into a situation thinking your job is to change the culture of the building or business and  find yourself being the last one hired and the first one fired.  

If you do not personally own the business, then you have limited power in changing the culture.  Sure, you can make changes that help the group be more productive, but as long as you are not answering to just your customers for a living, your hands will always be somewhat tied.  In the employers eyes, unless they have a need to make big changes, it will always be easier to remove one person from the mix opposed to rebooting the whole group.  

In short, sometimes you are part of a system and sometimes a system is built around you.  Figure out what works best for you and pursue opportunities that fit your goals.  Are you a system guy like Tom Brady or do they build a system around you like Peyton Manning?

  If you get canned, just remember the old adage....."one man's trash is another man's treasure". 

#football #playoffs #systems #tombrady #peytonmanning

The common mistake many successful people make is, that when they start to see great gains in what they do, they freeze up in an attempt to not ruin what they created.  They feel that by doing the same thing over and over again , they will be able to hang onto their momentum and live off that successes forever.  You will be successful, but for how long? Continuing to do the exact same thing over and over again will put you in a rut and cause your "product" to become stale.   

This, as you know,  is not healthy. 

Yes, you certainly don't want to derail the success you created and alter too much of the "secret sauce" that got you to where you are.  Change for the sake of change is never a good thing.  Change for the sake of growth is key.  

No matter how good you are right now, you will always need to look into the future.  Never run you business or your life shortsighted.  Your vision needs to be both in the "now" and downfield.  It's imperative.  Too often we are congested with issues of today that we forget to, or run out of time to, think about where we are headed or what we will be dealing with in the near and distant future.  You can't predict what will happen, but if you consistently apply focus on the future, you will be met with fewer unfortunate surprises.  

I have worked with and continue to experience people who essentially lock up once they get a taste of success.  They get to a place where they start to win or see the benefits of their hard work and hold on for dear life!  Do you really want to be the person putting a strangle hold on your dreams or do you want to be the person, hacking away and swinging for the fences while you are enjoying the fruits of yesterday's labor?  Athletes have to search for new ways to be competitive every day.  Once a pitcher is figured out by hitters, he has to create something new to trick batters with.  Once your competition figures out your "secret sauce", you better have another recipe ready to go!

We are nomadic people. We are constantly moving and progressing as a society and as individuals.  Why would we cling to today without a plan for tomorrow? Yes, enjoy the success.  Celebrate it!  Give as many high fives as you can! (Who doesn't love high fives?!)  Just known that everything changes and so should you.  Live and work like you are supposed to!  Guns blazing and swinging for the fences!  Always look into the future for new ways to run up the score and achieve new levels of success.  "Hanging on" is something that people do on their death bed.  If you are reading this, chances are you are not dying. If you are dying, make better use off your time and quit reading my silly blogs. 

#blogs #blog #baseball #secretsauce #dying #living #change

We all need a vacation or at least a break from the daily routine (fill in the words to Chicago's "hard to say I'm sorry").  It's healthy and you deserve an occasional breather.  We all need to go to the Bahamas and drink something with an umbrella in it at least once in our lives!  That's not what this is about.

This is about the people who go too easy on themselves.  Those who give rewards and passes when they don't deserve them or when they are counterproductive to their goal.

"I can cheat on my diet tonight because I was so good for the past 2 days".  

Chances are you were not all that great for those two days.  If your goal is to drop the weight, then don't stop till you get there!  Time to get real with yourself and quit giving undeserved passes.  

We do, we let up on ourselves in times where we don't deserve it.  If you don't force yourself to live up to your potential, you will never succeed.  We're all weak and probably not as "hard" as we think we are.  Instead of getting ahead on a Friday-we leave work early.  Instead of running the whole distance-we walk a little.  When given the opportunity to do the right thing-we do what's easier.  We are a society of big sissy babies and I am as guilty as anyone. 

If you set out to do something and your plan is both challenging and detailed, make sure you do what you originally expect from yourself.  When putting these plans together, our initial thoughts and intentions are the purest.  It isn't till we get to the challenging steps or when we see start to see a little progress, do we begin to give ourselves passes and bastardize the journey.  The inner sissy inside each of us wins more than it should and we all have to learn to not listen.  We all wanna be winners, but the loser in all of us makes a compelling argument at just the right (or wrong) time.

 Stop rationalizing yourself away from your goals.  Just when you feel you are at your breaking point, push a little farther.  We are all capable of amazing things and no amount of support from others will get us to our full potential.  It's all on you and your passion to succeed and grow.  The blame for your shortcomings or misses should never be placed on others.  Sure, others can cheer for you along the way or even attempt to derail you, but at the end of the day, the journey is yours and yours alone. 

Don't be a big sissy baby.  

#baby #inspiration #diet #goals #chicago