The Kelsey Roll

I don’t want to brag too much, but I’m related to a celebrity.

 

Well, a minor celebrity.  A minor, regional celebrity.  Ok, you’ve probably never heard of her.  But if you eat sushi regularly at a locally owned restaurant in my hometown and have ever asked for something that wasn’t on the menu, then you know my cousin, Kelsey.  Because she has a sushi roll named after her.  The Kelsey Roll.

 

So how does one rise to local sushi stardom?  Well, if you’re my cousin, you become the only 5-year-old regular at the counter.  Eventually the head chef will name the custom roll your mom orders for you in your honor.  And it is an honor, by the way.  Because it’s rare.

 

So how does a 5-year-old become a regular at the counter?  You can thank my aunt for that.  She’s a big sushi fan and a single mom.  So when she heads out to dinner she takes her daughter with her, and she becomes a fan too.  Because that’s what’s great about kids; they learn what we teach them.  Want your kid to appreciate sushi? You have to take them to a sushi place and not cave in when they want to order off the kids menu.  Because they will eat it; as long as you lead them there.

 

Now, that doesn’t work if you put sushi on their plate and then order lasagna for yourself.  They aren’t going to be courageous and open if you’re not.  But if you lead them, they will follow.

 

The same is true when absorbing a new hire to your company culture.  If you surround them with people who truly love it, and offer them no options but to embrace it, they will usually decide to at least give it a try.  And, assuming you have a tasty offering, they’ll quick become a regular, raving fan.  It takes effort, but so does getting a 5-year-old from the country to love sushi.  And I’ve see that happen before, so I know it works.

 

20/20

It's amazing how quickly hindsight can give us clarity.  A decision made today can start changing the world tomorrow and almost instantly, we realize we've done something tremendous. 

What's even cooler is how the bigger the decision, the quicker we tend to see results.

And here's one more thing to consider- sometimes the biggest decisions we make are the ones to simply change our attitude.  Do that for a day, and you'll quickly realize how tremendously your old way of thinking was holding you back.

Don't Just Teach- Inspire!

My Weekend with Dave Ramsey; Lessons from EntreLeadership & Total Money Makeover Live!

Don’t Just Teach- Inspire!

If you’re not familiar with Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership, you need to start here by watching the first lesson online.  That’s how I got started and it took only that 45 minute online lesson to convince me that this was something special.  Not new, not revolutionary, but special.  See, that’s the magic of what Dave does.  He’s not reinventing the wheel, he’s not always breaking new ground.  But he’s making you believe you can do it.  He’s proving it works.  And by proving it works, he’s giving us hope and inspiring action.  And that was my first lesson from EntreLeadership.

As a trainer, a teacher, my job has to be about more than just transferring knowledge.  Yes, that’s important.  No doubt about it.  But it’s not enough.  Because in many ways, what I teach isn’t new, or extraordinary, or even profound.  Most of the time, I’m teaching common sense and expectations.  So what makes me, or any trainer, special is if we can get the people we teach to take these thoughts and put them into action.  When your words have the power to transform in to real energy and momentum- that’s when you’re successful.  And watching Dave on stage for two days was like a master’s course in motivation.

So what can I share with you about it?  Here are few things I’ve realized.

1)      You Have to Believe What You’re Saying.  I know how simple that sounds, but a lot of trainers teach material they didn’t write.  I know I do.  What I realized is, as a participant, you can feel the energy Dave has because he lives what he’s saying.  It creates an emotion in the knowledge that acts like glue and makes it stick. 

2)      Great Materials Can Keep You on Schedule.  I think that “Ramsey” is originated from an old Irish word for “ramble.”  And as a trained trainer, I noticed when Dave would stray a little too far from the timeline and have to make it up in the talking points.  It’s not his fault, and honestly, I might have some “Ramsey” heritage myself as I can easily get side-tracked when a good story is making a good point and the audience is right there with me.  But Dave’s materials are brilliantly designed to help him make up the time.  Key words are highlighted, there’s ample white space for note-taking, and he puts all the answers to the fill-in-the-blanks at the end of the chapters.  So even when rushing a bit on the book points, the audience has the knowledge they need.  It’s going to make me re-think a lot of my design.

3)      It’s the Details That Make It Amazing.  You have to get the little things right.  The books have to be spelled correctly.  The slide deck has to work.  The colors and fonts can’t be distracting.  The lighting should be good.  Give everyone a pen that writes well.  All these little things won’t make a training good, but any one of them can become a distraction that makes a training bad.  So take the time to get the details right.  It clears the way for participants to focus on nothing but the message.

The bottom line is, you have a job as a teacher that is more than just knowledge transfer.  You have to inspire action based on that knowledge.  It’s not easy, but it’s really the only part that counts.

 

My Weekend With Dave Ramsey

Yup, that’s me on the left, my darling wife Melanie on the right, and in the center- Dave Ramsey himself.  How did that happen?  How did we go from having a simple, cheap, weekend planned to being backstage with Dave Ramsey himself?  I’m still not quite sure.  But here’s what I remember…

It all began back at the end of last year when Dave announced that he would be coming to Orlando, FL for both his EntreLeadership 1-Day Event and Dave Ramsey LIVE! in March.  Melanie and I have been working on Dave’s Total Money Makeover for just over a year now and we’re down to our last debt (my car, I’m an idiot, and it’ll be paid-off by December).  We had missed Dave’s live event the year before and we promised ourselves if he came back to Florida, we’d go.  So when the email alert popped in my mailbox that we could get advance tickets at a low price I thought- “Score!  See Dave AND save money!  That’s just a double good idea!”

 So Melanie and I looked at all the ticket prices and options.  The DRLive Team has so many great ways to enjoy these events.  VIP seatings, lunches, backstage meetings- the works!  But being on Baby Step 2, Melanie and I opted to go cheap- the lowest priced, general admission tickets to both events and a deep discount hotel night.  Everything paid in cash and a weekend trip that wouldn’t follow us home.  Turns out, it’s one that will stay with us forever.

Friday, March 16, 2012; EntreLeadership 1-Day Event

Mornings and I have always been “frenimies.”  I appreciate them, but I hate them.  My bed is ridiculously comfortable (we call it the marshmallow) and getting out of it just seems stupid.  So to have to wake up at 5:30 am is asking a lot.  But there we were, up and getting ready for EntreLeadership.

I’d been once before to a simulcast last year.  It was a game-changer for me and gave me a completely new perspective on how I approach people, leadership, and my work.  Melanie had never been, but was a big fan of the Podcast.  So we were both looking forward to a great day.

And a great day it was.  We got motivated.  We got informed.  We even got to meet Chris LoCurto, Dave’s VP and one of the original EntreLeaders!

Me, Chris, and Melanie at EntreLeadership 1-Day!

It was an amazing day filled with great knowledge and huge inspiration.  I filled a note book with ideas and my Twitter timeline with quotes (you’re welcome followers- the rest of you missed out BIG!). 

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing a lot about my take-aways, but let me start with this; you have more power to influence and affect your work, your team, and your success than you realize.  Want to make changes?  Want things to improve?  Start with you and the rest will follow. 

Saturday, March 17, 2012; Dave Ramsey LIVE! Event

After such an inspiring day for work on Friday, I couldn’t wait for Saturday to be inspired about my own life and money.  I had no idea just how amazing it would become.

We planned to arrive at the UCF Arena around 11:00am.  The event didn’t start until 1:00pm, but the bands play early, there are opening speakers, and the seating was general admission.  So we wanted to be early and ready to take full advantage.  So there we were, standing in line with our $20 tickets, listing to Dave’s IT team rock the stage.  When suddenly, this couple comes up to us and says, “come with us, we’re going backstage.”  Turns out, they were from Magnify Credit Union in our very own town of Lakeland, FL.  They had purchased the full Backstage Experience and somehow had extras.  Without knowing anything more than “we were there” they decided to extend to me and Melanie the chance of a life time.  Within moments, we were being taken around the side of the building and ushered into the VIP area where we ordained with badges and put in a line to meet Dave Ramsey himself.

Our Key to the Kingdom!

The day was incredible.  Want to know how good our seats were?  Check out these photos from our seats to the stage…

I had one big goal for the day- to meet Jon Acuff.  I am such a huge fan of his blogs, his books, and his work.  So my day wouldn’t have been complete if I hadn’t had the chance to have him sign a book for my brother and take a quick picture.  And wouldn’t you know it…

That’s an official “Side-Hug” right there.  Doesn’t get much better.

I still am not sure how it all happened.  Frankly, the math just doesn’t add-up.  We spent a total of $300. That included the event tickets, the hotel room, Financial Peace University at the event price, and a couple of books.

I ran the math.  We ended up with almost $700 worth of stuff! 

I think Dave would be proud of that.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing a lot about what I’ve learned.  While the suitcase is empty and the laundry is done, I’ve still got a lot of unpacking to do from that weekend.  But right now, I just have to say this.

Thank you.  Thank you to Dave Ramsey, Chris LoCurto, Jon Acuff, Rachel Cruze, and Becky from the DRLive team.  And thank you to each and every team member and volunteer.  You all made for one of the most memorable, inspiring, and truly incredible weekends I’ve ever had in my life.  The memories are priceless and I can’t wait to take everything I’ve learned forward.  It deserves to be shared and share it I will.  So thank you all for the gift and know that I plan on using it to the fullest.

Thank you to the people of Magnify Credit Union in Lakeland, FL for unexpectedly making our day that much better.

And thank you most to my wonderful wife, Melanie, for making it that much more fun by being there to share it all with me.

Now, time to get to work…

Put Good In, Get Good Out

Subject: Put Good In, Get Good Out

Everyone knows that eating junk will make you fat.  When it comes to something like weight, we all understand the equation.  Too much bad in will not equal a positive result.  Not that it stops us from eating bad stuff, but at least we recognize the consequence.

 

Why don't we do that with our minds?

 

It works the same way.  If all you allow to enter your mind are negative or demotivating thoughts, what do you think your outlook will be?  When you allow yourself to be immersed in pessimism, what do you think will be the result?

 

So here's a solution- go on a mental diet.  Stop feeding your brain junk and expecting it to perform in top condition.  Try it for even a month and you'll be amazed at the change you see.  Here are a few suggestions based on my own experience and absolutely NO research or expertise.

               

• Turn off the general news.  Stop watching the morning shows, the evening shows, or any of the other shows.  Skip the big papers.  Maybe even tune out of talk radio for a bit.  If you still want to be informed, limit yourself to just the headlines.  You'll be amazed how informed you can be just by scanning the leads but you'll rid yourself of all the junk and bias involved.  And try looking for some new sources.  Blogs, trade specific journals, Twitter feeds- something different.  Mainstream news is written to make everyone feel like a victim.  Avoid it for a while and see how different you'll feel.
• Start your day with something good.  Now that you've cut out the crap of the news, replace it with positive messages.  There are lots of great websites, blogs, and email lists that send out daily inspirations- pick one and see how it feels to start each day with something positive.
• Read more.  Of anything you enjoy.  Turn off just one rerun of Simpsons that you've seen too many times anyway, and pick up a magazine on your favorite hobby.  It's all about stimulating your thinking.
• Make time to think.  Here's the hardest one of all.  Make some time to just think.  Maybe keep a journal.  Or maybe schedule coffee with a friend or coworker to talk (not gossip, but actually talk).  Or go for a walk or sit outside.  Or if you're me, grab your favorite cigar.  But whatever it is, just make some time to be with your thoughts. 

 

Put good in, get good out.  It works for your brain too.  Give it a try and see what happens.

 

What are your favorite ways to put good into your mind?

 

Put that on a rock on your desk

Years ago (which always sounds weird to me when I say it given my age- but it’s the truth) in my Disney days I stumbled across a really cool piece in an Art of Disney store.  It was a collection of quotations by Walt Disney that were etched onto glass which was shaped like a cut rock.  There were like 3 or 4 different quotes, but one of them immediately struck me.

“You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world…but it takes people to make the dream a reality.”

Since I’ve always been passionate about training and development, this quote has continually and perfectly captured a piece of my soul- that without great people, nothing else matters.  It was a beautiful desk piece with an even more beautiful and profound message.

I should have bought it.

I don’t know why I didn’t right there on the spot- but I didn’t.  To this day I cannot remember what ridiculous reasoning would have led me to that dumb decision.  But even without the piece, the quote and its spirit have remained with me forever.

And that’s profound- because rarely in life can you find the perfect combination of words that says so much with so little.  That ideal phrase that simply and elegantly explains great depths of thought and principle.  Like a true work of art- the words are beautiful at a glance and masterful as they are studied.  No wonder you would want that sitting on your desk everyday- keeping your mind focused on what’s right.

Which is why for years in my training and coaching when someone says something truly profound I have often responded “put that on a rock on your desk.”

Because when you can find a simple statement that can capture so much and keep you so centered, you want it to feel permanent.  And you want it there every time you look up, reminding you of what really matters.

This year my tireless efforts and relentless pursuit of Walt’s words have paid-off as I am now in a job where every day through training and development I am impacting the people I work with to make our company better.  That rock on the desk of my mind has kept me focused in my pursuit of my dream and the rewards are really starting to materialize.

And then, last weekend at a charity yard sale, sitting half-covered in bin full of knick-knacks,

I found that rock. 

When chasing a dream it’s important to have a constant focus.  So ask yourself this question-

What would you put on a rock on your desk?

The Unpleasant Truth

The unpleasant truth is this- you are the problem with your team.  As a leader, who you are- your strengths and your weaknesses- are the same that your team will face.  They cannot outgrow you.  You are the lid on your team’s growth and success.

 That’s the bad news.

It’s also the good news.

Because you can fix it.  You can learn more, grow more, and become more than you are now.  And as you do, your team will grow with you.  They will become what you become.  You are in control.  You can fix it right now- ready, set, go.

Every moment you spend thinking, studying, analyzing, or blaming your team, your peers, or your situation is wasteful.  The problems your team faces can be seen in your mirror.  When that person is who you want them to be, your team will become what you desire.  And as long as that person is not who you want, your team will never be either.

That’s the unpleasant truth.