I’m wrong
If I’m not wrong, I’m not learning.
Never accept it.
“The better a man is, the more mistakes he will make, for the more new things he will try. I would never promote to a top-level job a man who was not making mistakes… otherwise he is sure to be mediocre.” – Peter Drucker
“Enough time” is a myth.
Time is fixed, inflexible, constant. We all have the same amount of hours in a day, and what you get from them is directly tied to what you do with them. You can accomplish your goals if you focus on priorities, productivity, pricing and worth.
Fortunately, the solution is as simple as the problem:
You don’t need more hours. You need an increase in effectiveness. Answers to this problem include learning more, organizing better, working smarter. Forget working longer.
This post was inspired by Fictive Cameron’s post You can’t transfer will.
Despite a plethora of information on the topic, one in five Americans smokes cigarettes, a statistic that hasn’t changed since 2005. We’re the most educated people group in history. Look at stats on obesity and the numbers are even worse. One third of American adults are obese, and the problem is getting worse, not better.
With arguably the most well-developed communication systems in history, we’re still unable to raise a generation that makes proper use of the knowledge they have free access too.
Education gives facts, figures, equations, algorithms, schedules, procedures, processes, best practices. Education provides knowledge . All good and well, but not world-changing. What creates change is leadership. Leadership gives motivation, direction, vision. A powerful leader can even over-ride education, leading people down paths they already know better then to take.
Students learn. Disciples follow. Students memorize. Disciples imitate. Students internalize. Disciples propagate.
Education can only equip. If you want to create change, lead us.
Life is a constant battle for attention. We don’t have enough friends, or fans, or followers. Our friends have more friends than we do, and we’re sure they are happier than we are. We constantly seek approval from others, many of whom we’ve never met. We make lots of noise in an increasingly hopeless attempt to be heard by everyone. We take volume over value, hoping to make up for it in the long run.
Of course, we never will. The chaos is too great, the crowd too loud. Companies are spending billions to out-shout you. People are sacrificing their dignity for 15 seconds of Youtube fame. Meaningless, unoffensive content is taking up mental space, filling our entire lives with white noise.
There is an alternative to this endless race to the bottom: forget “everyone” and focus on “people that matter”. People who listen even when you don’t have something shocking, funny or insightful to say. People who know your opinion and listen anyway. People who miss you when you’re gone. People who will re-friend , re-follow, re-subscribe. These are the people that matter.
Unfortunately, all to often we forget about them in the mad scramble for more likes, more interactions, higher numbers on bigger graphs. We ignore those who listen the closest. We confuse measurable with meaningful.
Quit shouting. You already have someone’s attention. What are you giving them for it?
In 2011 I discovered the power of initiative. I released a piano album. I quit my job to start a business. I launched a monthly entrepreneur’s meeting. I tried to swap a teddy bear for a car. I did a bunch of other little things, much of which I’ve forgotten already.
I was unprepared to do any of these things. They were scary. Many people didn’t like my decisions. Sometimes they were right. Sometimes I failed, though not as often as I should have. Sometimes I over-promised and under-delivered. Much of the time I didn’t know what I was doing.
Along the way, people started to look at me different. Some thought less of me. Some predicted my demise. I managed to offend some of my closest friends, and countless acquaintances. Others, though, started taking me seriously. Some started contacting me to discuss business ideas. Others started acting on my advice (a risky choice). 2011 was the first time I discovered people I didn’t know who knew me.
In 2011 I learned that the greatest failure is to do nothing at all.
This coming year, I want to change the world. By world, I don’t mean the globe; I mean the lives of the people around me. I want to buck the trend, challenge the status quo, do all of the great things that motivational coaches and speakers and leaders have been calling us to do. And although there are hundreds of methods, plans and tips for creating change, there’s only one way to make that change happen.
Do something.
Here are a few things I want to do in 2012. If you’d like to get involved, let’s talk.
You should follow me on Twitter, subscribe to me on Facebook or send me an email.
To make a long story short, they’re gone. After months and months of posting nothing on this blog, I decided it was time to start over with a clean slate. The old posts were respectfully retired. Don’t worry, you’re not missing much.
If you’re looking for my thoughts on small business, check out the Candid Lion blog; if you’re interested in life from a narcoleptic’s point of view, try the narcoleptic blog.