Would You Hire You?

Can we talk candidly with each other for a moment this morning?  Forget about everyone else, right now it’s just you and me.  Friends, talking over a drink outside the four walls of the office.  You know the setting, a place where you and I can get real and honest with each other without consequence or retribution.

You good with that?

Great.  I wanted to ask you a question that I was challenged with this past week.  And the more I thought about it the more intrigued I got about the idea.

Would you hire you to do the job you currently do?

It’s a question that the more I ponder, the more relevant it has become.

Last week we discussed the idea of leaving a mark, and I’ve since added the idea of seizing the moment to that on my own personal journey, but along the way I’ve recognized that if I’m not up to the task of doing what I’m supposed to be doing, I’ve got some adjustments that need to be made before I’m situated to leave that mark.

Which raises the notion that if I wouldn’t hire me to do what I’ve been hired to do, were did the breakdown occur and what steps am I taking to correct it.  In other words, if on a daily basis I am in effect simply phoning it in and not giving it my all - why on earth should I continue to get paid to simply half-ass the effort I’m bring paid money to do.

The fact is, if we aren’t giving it our all, we are not only letting ourselves down but those around us as well.  And I for one don’t want to be the topic of conversation as others sit around drinks each night bemoaning the fact that we aren’t carrying our fair share of the workload.  I don’t want to be the one singled out for subpar performance.

I want to be the one setting the world on fire and tackling each and every task as if my life depended on it.  To accomplish that means I need to be giving my all - all the time.  I know that seems unrealistic, and in some cases it probably is.  But what I know is absent that desire the throws of mediocrity will quickly set it meaning your role within your role quickly becomes marginalized with others most likely having to pick up the slack.

I’ve got a friend who recently shared with me how annoyed they were as a co-worker spends most of their day tackling the mind numbing chore of managing  fantasy sports teams.  This really irritated my friend as this co-worker was a cohort on a project that bore both their names.  

As we dove deeper into the discussion, my friend revealed that their co-worker had never even set themselves up on a particular software program needed to complete the project meaning my friend ended up completing most of the project.  

Getting down to the brass tacks revealed that most, if not all the frustration with this co-worker was predicated on that fact that at the completion of the project both names would appear even though one did the majority of the work.  

I don’t know about you, but for me being that other person who slacks off is not a role I want to assume.

So let me ask you the question again this time within the context of our conversation here.  Would you hire you to do the job you are currently doing?

If the answer is, “Yes”,  Great.  If the answer is, “No”, what things do you need to start doing today to effect the change necessary to change that No to Yes?

It may not seem like a hard question but it is a needed challenge.  This week, spend time making sure that job you are doing is meeting or exceeding the job you were hired to do.  And if it isn’t, make this the week to start the change.

*****

Personal Success Coach is pleased to offer coaching packages starting at $299 per month.  Each session is intentional and deliberately designed with you in mind to address the issues important to you taking you from where you are in life to where you want to be.

Dear Younger Me

Dear Younger Me,

Well, here it is, the first day of the second half of the year.  How are you doing on the goals you set for yourself back on January 1?  

Have you accomplished, or at least set into motion those things you wanted to see achieved this year?  

Are you happy with the progress or have you stagnated and fallen behind?

Have you fallen back into old habits or have new habits resolved in January stuck and become a new normal for you?

Has life mastery gotten easier for you, or have you continued allowed life circumstances hamper progress?

Have you refined and challenged goals set at the beginning of the year, or have you simply given up on those goals?

I mean, let’s face it, there’s always next year, right?

Do you have the time to stop and reflect or are the things in your life still controlling you versus you mastering them?

When you get a minute, drop a line and let me know how you’ve done.  I’m excited to hear a good report.

Sincerely,

Current Me

*****
Dear Current Me,

I am (choose one [happy] [sad]) to report that things are going (choose one [better] [worse]) than expected.  

Thanks for checking in, I’ll see you at the year end (choose one [celebration] [support group]).

Sincerely,

Younger Me

*****

If the first half of the year isn’t quite playing out the way you hoped it would on January 1, maybe it’s time to engage with a Coach and get your plans back on track.

*****

Personal Success Coach is pleased to offer coaching packages starting at $299 per month.  Each session is intentional and deliberately designed with you in mind to address the issues important to you taking you from where you are in life to where you want to be.

Take Control of the Mess Instead of the Mess Controlling Me

Several weeks ago I had an opportunity to golf in a charity golf tournament that benefited my kids school.  I was fortunate to get paired with a guy that I have known for close to a decade along with the drummer for a prominent country artist.  It was a great day of golf (is there every really a bad day of golf?) that had the 3 of us striking up an immediate rapport along with some friendships that will last well past the afternoon of golf.

During our time together we were discussing careers and other fun stuff when one of the guys commented on a situation he was currently facing stating that he was taking control of the mess versus allowing the mess to control him.  The idea isn’t foreign, but the way it was articulate made had me quickly making a note on my phone with the intent to write about it in an upcoming Monday Morning Minute.

A few years ago, I was assisting a friend of mine with whom I had fallen out of touch but then reunited after about 10 years.  As we caught up on the time missed he revealed that he was in a lot of legal trouble with several lawsuits going on between him and some former business partners.  Lawsuits have a funny way of snowballing, what starts as just a singular action between 2 parties often grows as different affected parties jump into the fray in an attempt to protect their own interests - and such was the case here.

All in all there were 3 or 4 different actions taking place, as when the initial business relationship broke down those affected, including employees, shareholders, and a disenfranchised landlord all filing various actions to memorialize their positions and seek to recover that which they thought they were owed.

It was a hot mess.  There is an old saying when it comes to lawsuits that suggests that when people sue each other, the only people who actually win are the lawyers.  This was certainly the case here, with hundreds of thousands of dollars being billed and paid to lawyers as the various actions worked their way through the court system.

I offer up these details to prove a point though, my friend who was involved had a bad habit of avoiding crisis, including the pending legal actions.  Because of this, some of the items that now were being litigated could have, in theory been discussed with appropriate parties instead of being litigated, possibly (and yes, the key word is possibly) avoiding some if not all of the legal actions taking place.  Based on what I was able to garner from the conversations I had along with the information learned from reading the various lawsuits, it just seemed possible that all of it could have been avoided if the issues present within the business had been faced head on in a proactive manner versus the ineffective method of hiding under a rock and hoping it would all go away.

I’m convinced in my friends case, the business was going to fail anyways.  Given the industry it was in, and the complete and total meltdown of the US Economy in 2008-2012, the industry this company served slowed to a crawl so quickly, an event few if any actually saw coming or thought would happen.  But it did, and the business my friend was involved with along with others failed and shuttered their doors.

What’s the lesson here?  I’m glad you asked.  Without oversimplifying situations, especially one that you might be facing right now, facing crisis head on is more effective than pretending it doesn’t exist or ignoring it.  Or, as my golfing partner stated, take control of the mess instead of the mess controlling me [or you].  Having the ability to get out in front of an issue you are facing gives you the opportunity to mitigate the circumstance, and in some cases even control it.  Furthermore, it removes some level of unknown from the process.  As the business crumbled around my friend, communicating with all the affected parties could have created a situation that avoided legal remedies.  

Of course, each situation is unique, but knowing and understanding that it is never a good idea to avoid that which we need to face means that facing an issue head on will, in my humble opinion, lead to a better outcome than if you don’t.  To illustrate my point using my own kids, several months ago my 9-year old daughter downloaded an App that she somehow managed ended up subscribing to a paid service that was not only wanted, but one that we would never use.  

When I asked her about her downloading the particular App, she repeatedly told me no denying that she had done it.  I told her that I knew she had done it, and despite this she continually looked me and her mother in the eye and denied.  As a result of her denial, she lost technology for 2 weeks as a punishment, and her mother and I told her that we weren’t made about the App being downloaded, on purpose or otherwise, we were mad because she lied to us about it.  She certainly didn’t intend to create the mess she was in, but at that moment she recognized she was in a mess, rather than face it head on she chose to deny it.  The outcome for her was much worse than if she just faced it head on and allowed it to play out.

This week I am sure you will face something that needs addressing, or perhaps you left the office Friday with something looming over your head.  My encouragement to you this week is to tackle it head on, face it, address it, and ultimately seek ways to resolve it.  My guess is, in a lot of cases, its a mess you made, why not take control of it before it takes control of you,  I promise you that you will be glad you did.

(Did you know you can get Monday Morning Minute delivered to your inbox every Monday morning?  Go to PSCoachTN.com and register to have Monday Morning Minute waiting for you each Monday as you start your work week.)

Make Something Happen - Today!

If there is one thing I can’t stand listening to, it is someone who continually reflects back to the things in their life using the “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” as a lament and an attempt to get pity from myself or others.

Truth is, we all have had at least one would’ve, could’ve, should’ve moment in life.  This week I want to deal with how we dealt with that and offer a suggestion moving forward.

When working with clients, one of the ideas I love to suggest is the idea of living life without regrets.  Sure, there will be things that get missed out on in life, but having a plan, sticking to it, and being unapologetic in your approach and intention is a great set of traits.  Wayne Gretsky once famously said, “You miss out on 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  When you don’t take the shot, you will miss out creating another would’ve, could’ve, should’ve moment in life.

Granted, not every shot you take ends up being a winner, but that is OK.  Life dictates that you need opportunities to learn and sometimes learning comes from taking a shot and failing.  But here is the thing, AT LEAST YOU TRIED.  You gave it an effort, you made an attempt and my guess is you probably learned a thing or two along the way.

So as we head off into a new week, and a new month.  While others around you engage in the Aprils Foolery nonsense, why not be intentional about getting something done in your life.  Reflect back on something that you regret not having tried and position yourself to give it a try. 

Think about it for a moment, what if a month from now you’ve incorporated 1, 2, maybe 3 or more items that you’ve wanted to accomplish and started actually accomplishing them.  If there is one thing I’ve learned in life about the would’ve, could’ve, should’ve mentality, it’s simply this.  When you are actively engaged in setting and achieving goals in life, there is very little time left over for remorse for the things you didn’t attempt.  Better than that, the reality is as you get engaged those items that you perhaps have shown remorse for not trying may end up being accomplished as you seek to fulfill the things in life you want to accomplish.

The challenge then is very simple.  This week - in fact why not start today - make something happen.  That’s it.  Seems simple enough, doesn’t it?  

Let’s meet up again next week and be ready to share what you accomplished.

(Did you know you can get Monday Morning Minute delivered to your inbox every Monday morning?  Go to PSCoachTN.com and register to have Monday Morning Minute waiting for you each Monday as you start your work week.)

The $1.6 Billion Dollar Question

Stop and think for a minute and ponder the following.  For the last few weeks millions upon millions of otherwise sane and logical people have stood in line to tender their hard earned money for the chance at the opportunity to win what is now the largest jackpot ever in a government run lottery game.  The odds are stacked against the players, 1 in 330 million or some astronomical number like that.  I think you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than you would winning the lottery - but honestly who wants to get struck by lightning.

Here is the part that fascinates me, and within that I believe a lesson in life emerges.

Ask anyone of the people standing in line waiting to buy a lottery ticket what they will do if they win.  The depth and detail of the answers are amazing.  The thought that has gone into planning should they win is often times very detailed and specific.

They know the house (or houses) they will buy, they know the cars they will drive,  They know the vacations they will take.  They know who they will share their winnings with, and more importantly know exactly who won’t be benefitting from their new found wealth.

In a lot of cases an exit strategy from their job is part of the tale. I always chuckle when I’m told how they will quit their job and what they will tell their boss.  I always enjoy the really descriptive tales that include telling their boss where to go and what to do when they get there.  I mean, come on, I guess if you win the big prize you’ve earned the right to tell off a person or two.

But let me change up the inquisition for a moment shifting it from lottery winner to career planning or family planning. Often times you’ll hear crickets long before the requisite Ummm or well that is typically followed by a “I don’t know.”

So you ask more specific questions.

What steps are you taking at work to move yourself forward or advance yourself?

What steps are you taking at home to engage your family in a plan that sees your family accomplishing more?

When challenged with what to do with a grand prize they will never win, a full and complete answer emerges, however when asked to define the steps taken to better ones life in the circumstances they have the ability to affect, normally stone cold awkward silence is tendered in place of an actual plan.

Here is what I can tell you.  Intentional people make plans for their lives using the circumstances of their lives as the tools and/or reason why they don’t want to stay stagnate.  Instead they choose to move their life forward to a different level than they are currently at.

Much like the person you interview in line waiting for their chance to part with hard earned money on a pipe dream called the lottery, intentional people can outline the who, what, where, when and how they intend to achieve the goals they have set forth for their lives.

In the interest of full disclosure I will tell you that I did buy a lottery ticket even though I know I won’t win.  However, let me poise this question to you this week.

In your life, is your lottery plan better thought out than your life plan?

Sure, we’d all love to win the lottery - and granted a fantasy that involves instant riches is fun to dabble in for a minute - but the truth is none of us will win the lottery.  

Here is the better bet though, a plan that takes into account the things in life you can control, moving you forward to achieve the goals you can achieve using the life you have been given.

Knowing you only get one spin on this thing we call earth, why not be intentional planning the things you can control.  I’d hate to get to the end of this thing looking back at ones life knowing that we didn’t accomplish the things we wanted to accomplish because of not winning the lottery.

So why not spend some time this week making a plan that you can win. 

Need help? 

Working with a Life Coach can help set you on a path for success.

And in the end, when you achieve those successes you can look back on a life well lived - even if you never picked the winning numbers. 

(Did you know you can get Monday Morning Minute delivered to your inbox every Monday morning?  Go to PSCoachTN.com and register to have Monday Morning Minute waiting for you each Monday as you start your work week.)

Stop Living Life Like a Firefighter

Stop Living Life Like a Firefighter

I would wager a bet that you didn’t realize you were a firefighter.  Most people will never realize the truth that they live life as a firefighter.  I know what you are thinking, I’m not referring to a literal firefighter.  No, quite to the contrary, most people live their lives rushing from one crisis to the next, always reacting to the moment.

I don’t need to tell you how much stress that can bring to one's life.  Crisis management is a great skill, but certainly not one that needs to come into play day after day after day.  And yet day in and day out people rush around seeking to avert one crisis after another, never getting the time to stop given the need to react to crisis after crisis.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Lack of planning on your part does not equal a crisis for me”?

This concept is as relevant in your personal life as it is in your business life.

Living life intentionally and on purpose is a great way to get out of the role of firefighter and gain.  Proactively planning your life is a great way to start getting out of the reactionary lifestyle and makes for a much calmer day.  

An intentional life is one that is well thought out, planned and deliberate.  That doesn’t always mean a crisis can be averted, however when you seek to put structure and order into your life, the likelihood of a crisis is exponentially diminished.  Even better - when a crisis is presented - your intentional planning mitigates the circumstances leading to a better outcome than the people presenting the crisis expected.

So what is the takeaway?  

How about spending some time this week being intentional about your calendar.  Put your time to work for you.  

Own it.  

Master it.   

Most importantly make it your own.  Be intentional, be proactive, and hang up your firefighting suit once and for all.

(Did you know you can get Monday Morning Minute delivered to your inbox every Monday morning?  Visit PSCoachTN.com and register to have Monday Morning Minute waiting for you each Monday as you start your work week.)

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