Pressing Reset

The first video game system we ever got was the Nintendo 64. It was awesome. Starfox, Mario Kart, and of course, Goldeneye. That system was everything that you wanted in a video game. But it wasn’t by any means perfect.

For one, it froze a lot.  Not during a critical point in the game when you haven't saved yet.  That was a move perfected by the PS2.  No, the N64 was more likely freeze at start up. Plug in the cartridge, light goes on- but nothing. Not even the well-established "blow on the cartridge" move will save you.  Only one thing left- push reset.

Pushing reset is a video game linchpin. Whenever you messed up big, you pushed the button and it was like nothing had ever happened. Fresh new start. Reset could fix just about anything.

Sure you lost all your progress, but if your progress was in the wrong direction, so much the better.  Get lost?  Go back to the beginning.  Reset.

Sometimes in life we need a reset button.  For when things get so complicated that we feel lost. When we're so stuck that we can't move. Sometimes in life- we just need to reset.

The barrier is trust. See, when we reset a machine it gives up just enough of its recent memory to start fresh. That's much harder for people. Not impossible though- you just need a lot of trust.

Trust that we are both letting go of the past.

Trust that we are starting from the same place.

Trust that we are trying again- this time to win.

There's no rule against a reset. That's why the button is there; because we have the choice. Purists may frown but who are they to judge?  It's up to each of us to decide if a reset will work for us.  The button is there because the choice is ours.

Sometimes we need a new set of lives and to go back to the place we know. Even if it means re-walking some paths we can walk them quicker having walked them before. We get better each time. It just takes the courage to push that button.

Make it Magical

There's a new product hitting the late night TV airwaves that I'm in love with. It's called the Insta-Hang and if you haven't checked it out you really should. Not because this is an ad, but because this thing is a powerful lesson in product design.  

 

See, for years, the movement in the invention world has been to add-on to a problem.  We continually complicate everything.  Hanging a picture used to involved hammer and a nail.  Now we need hammers, nails, anchors, stud finders, laser lines, levels, and even “picture hanging kits.”  I think at this point the only people still putting their diplomas on the wall are structural engineers.  Us liberal arts types can’t handle it.

 

While it’s no doubt that all those tools ultimately result in a better picture hanging, it’s all too much for us to handle.  That’s where the Insta-Hang comes in.  Rather than adding one more tool to the mix, rather than even improving an existing tool, they asked this- “what if, knowing everything we know now, could start over and redesign the whole picture hanging experience?  What would we do different?”  The result is one of the most elegantly designed tools I’ve ever seen.  Everything in one simple place.  Not complicated to use, has everything you need, makes doing it right simple.

 

It’s the same playbook that has made Apple such a raging success.  Before the iPhone, there were Palm phones and Blackberries.  They had apps, they had cameras, they ran software and surfed the web and got emails.  And for years these two went back and forth building on each other’s latest innovations, piling on the features.  Until Apple stepped in and said- “what if we could design a phone that did everything the way you wanted right out of the box?  What would that look like?”  No more stylus to lose or trackball to malfunction?- Done.  Want your phone to have a camera and your music?  You bet.  Want the real internet, not some watered-down “mobile” version?  All yours.  We’ll even ditch the keyboard for you.  And they created the device we all wanted.  Not by finally adding enough on; but by taking enough away and making everything work together.  Simply.  Magically.

 

And Insta-Hang does it too.  They took a very common process, re-thought the whole thing, began with the end in mind, and created a magical picture hanging experience.  It’s the future of product design for sure, but here’s my thought:

 

It’s a new year and many of us are working up our resolutions.  We’re going to do this, we’re going to stop doing that, and on and on, trying to build a better “me.”  But before you make your resolution laundry list, take a moment and consider this-

 

What if, knowing everything you know now, you could redesign your life?  What you would you put in?  What would you take out?  How are you going to make it all work together?  Instead of looking for the one more add-on that will change everything, what if you actually began with the end in mind and changed everything? 

 

I’ll bet your life would be magical.

Why Common Sense is None Too Common

It’s not because we don’t know.  That’s almost never the reason.  It’s because we don’t do.

 

See, 80% of everything is the try; the do.  Knowing about something is never more than 20% of getting it done.  So it’s rarely that we don’t know what to do or what is right- it’s just that we don’t do it.

 

Common sense is not really about knowing what’s right, it’s about doing what’s right.  That’s much harder.  It’s not always popular or easy.  It usually takes more time, more effort, or more hassle.  But it’s right.

 

And every time we sanction what’s wrong by allowing it, we’re making it worse.

 

Do it.  And do it right.  That’s just common sense.

 

Quote Me on It!

Consider the following quotes:

"Stress in life comes from making things more important than they really are. Failure comes from making things less important than they really are." ~ Tony Robbins

"A man with experience is never at the mercy of a man with an opinion." ~ Dave Ramsey

"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do" ~ Henry Ford

"The only way to coast is downhill" ~ Zig Ziglar

"True leadership only exists if people follow when they have the freedom not to" ~ Jim Collins

"Lack of direction, not lack of time is the problem. We all have 24 hours in a day." ~ Zig Ziglar

"Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty" ~ Tim Ferriss

"One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time" ~ Andre Gide

"Things that look like shortcuts are usually detours disguised as less work" ~ Seth Godin

And here's one from me-

"My goal is to be the dumbest person I know."

It's up to each of us to surround ourselves and fill our minds with good things. Put good in, get good out. Every day I make sure to put quotes like these and so many more into my thinking because I know that it will help me stay true to my mission. And if I do it right, I will surround myself with so many smart people and good ideas, that maybe a few of them will stick. Because, frankly, if I'm the smartest person I know then I've reached the end of my ability to grow.

What are you doing each day to be influenced by someone smarter than you?

Playoff Math

With the final weeks of the regular NFL season upon us, you’ve probably been hearing one of my favorite sports phenomena popping up- Playoff Math.  What’s Playoff Math you ask?  Playoff Math is my term for the convoluted calculations die-hard fans start making to see if their team can still make the post-season.  As a Bucs fan, I gave up worrying about Playoff Math back in September of this year.  But last night Bronco fans were running the kind of complex mathematical scenarios usually reserved for keeping space stations in orbit.

 

 

Playoff Math usually goes something like this.  If my team wins, that one loses, that other one loses, and Jupiter aligns with Uranus, we can squeak out a wild-card spot.  It’s hard to follow, but when your team exists like Schrodinger’s Cat in the third quarter it matters.

 

 

Well, that’s not true.  I realized last night who doesn’t care at all about Playoff Math.  Winners.

 

 

See, if you’re the top team in your division and clenched your playoff spot back 3 weeks ago, you don’t care one bit about Playoff Math.  You’re not stressing about anything aligning with Uranus- you’re just winning.

 

 

And that’s a powerful lesson.  If you find that all too often your success depends on others, you’re not really winning.  If you’re hoping for someone else to lose to keep you in the game, you’re not really winning. 

 

 

Because if you’ve been winning all season- you don’t worry about Playoff Math.