Are You Being Productive, or just Active...?

That's a Tim Ferriss quote from his book, The Four Hour Workweek. It's also one of my favorite affirmations ever.

It's easy to trick ourselves into feeling productive. Check your email, read the latest blog updates, maybe drop-in on a co-worker for a quick chat. But just because you're moving doesn't mean you're doing anything worthwhile. So ask yourself with each task you take on- "am I being productive, or just active?" Then, find a way to dump the "active" and focus on the productive.

Remember- we all only get 24 hours a day. Success is about learning to use them the best way possible. Eliminating the active in favor of the productive will help you do just that.

Sorry I missed you...

I took a few days off last week- including Friday- which is why there was no new blog post.

 

It was amazing.

 

Sometimes we forget how much information, how much volume is being poured into our brains on a daily basis.  If you don’t take some time to empty it out, it’s a problem.

 

Think about when you pour water into a glass until it gets full and then keep pouring so it overflows.  That’s what our minds are like in this digital age we occupy. Think about the water in that glass.  It’s churned up.  There’s a lot of waste.  The new stuff can’t get in and the old stuff can’t get out.  So sometimes, you have to turn off the flow and empty the glass to start over. 

 

That’s what I did last week and I can say I do feel refreshed, open, and ready to receive what’s next.

 

So sorry if I missed you Friday, but I’ll be back at it again this week on schedule.  Cheers!

Give it Time to Fail

Here’s something you don’t hear often enough.  If you’re going to try something new, you have to give it time to fail.  Don’t just abandon it after the first failure.  Don’t just throw in the towel after it flops once.  Give it a chance to fail a few times.  Let it crash and burn on a couple of occasions. 

Because one of two things will happen:

A)     You’ll learn why it really fails and know how to make it better or

B)      It just might succeed.

Where do I start?

The problem with a blank page is that it can be anything.  I've come to encounter this problem quite a bit as an aspiring blogger.  It seems that too often as I stare at the blank page, trying to decide what to write, I'm overwhelmed by all the possibilities. 

 

There's often a trap that can be fallen into when faced with unlimited choices.  That's why you would never ask a four year old what they want for breakfast.

 

What do you want to eat this morning? 

 

Waffles!

We don't have waffles, pick something else.

 

Pancakes!

We don't have that either, pick something else.

 

Hot Dogs!

You're not having hot dogs for breakfast...

 

... and then the hissy fit ensues.

 

Anyone with a kid knows how you're supposed to do that.

 

Do you want cereal or a pop-tart?

Hot dogs!

 

Not an option, do you want cereal or a pop-tart?

Pop-tart!  And then you can move on with your day.

 

Starting from scratch can be achieved the same way.  Instead of trying to choose from unlimited possibilities, just try to choose from the first two you think of.  Quit worrying about the rest.  Keep it simple and realize that you only starve when you don't decide.  And there's always another breakfast tomorrow if you pick the wrong one.

 

Limit your options, make a choice, and move on with your day.

 

The Ultimate Leadership Challenge

People hate change. Knowing, understanding, and embracing this simple truth is one of the most crucial, yet most difficult, parts of leadership. As leaders, our very existence is predicated on the idea that change must happen. No one needs a leader to stay where they are- you need a leader to take you somewhere. And going anywhere, even somewhere you want and need to go, requires change. People hate that.

That's why teleporting is so popular in movies. It's requires almost no effort to make a change. How cool would it be if we could just teleport our teams to the place we want to take them?

The funny part is, people hate change even when they want the change and know it's good for them. I, for instance, want to be thinner and know all benefits that would come from being in a healthier place. Yet just try to get me to swap a steak for a salad. The change of lifestyle just seems overwhelming and exhausting. Even though I'm uncomfortable with where I am, I'm even more uncomfortable with the change.

It's all very discomforting.

Breaking through that barrier, convincing people to act and change, is what makes great leadership. It's more than having a vision or a destination, it's more than being able to communicate, and it's more than being admired. You need all those things, but you need to be able to use them in a way that creates action.

That's the ultimate leadership challenge.