Re-Composition

In the past couple of weeks we have examined the power of reflecting our our positive achievements along with the benefits of constructive disruption. Once you've realized your good fortune and used it to silence your critics, it's time to rebuild your life strategy.

I often speak to young people who are driven to succeed but unsure of how to navigate the system. Those same people often propose the idea of leaving corporate America ten years later. We all face our frustrations. We question if we are doing the right thing. We wonder if there is a more-beneficial way to live our lives.

The litmus test is simple:

If you look forward to Monday as much as you do Friday you have a great job. 

If you are laughing right now... the joke is on you! I'm not suggesting that we are going to leap out of bed, joyful that the weekend is over, ready to catapult ourselves into 50 hours of work. But, living Sunday evenings under a turning stomach is unacceptable.

You are not performing well because your product sucks.

Your Manager is not supportive.

Your Manager is too involved in your business.

Leadership has no vision.

You are working too many hours for not nearly enough pay.

The solution: Quit!  

If you are laughing again... the joke is still on you!

You don't have to drop out, grow a beard or work on a fishing boat. You also don't have to make money a priority.

You can find work that means something, you can find a Manager you like, you can find a CEO who believes she can change the world....

...You're just too afraid to start searching....

Your lack of happiness in life is directly correlated to your lack of engagement in your job. If you try hard enough you can re-discover the real importance of professional bliss.

My friend Corey Ciochetti recently told me that he has never met a person who put money first that is truly happy.... have you?

There is a prominent law firm that has a divorce pool. Most of their lawyers are divorced before they make partner.

Every blue-haired CEO I have met has told he wished he had spent more time with his kids.

A female business mogul I know once told me that her daughter had grown to mistaken her nanny for her mom.

... what the fuck are we thinking ....

You can exist within "the system" while maintaining your personal identity.

Here's How:

Perform Well
Your odds for gaining audience with your critics drastically increase when you are notably good at your job. Before your hand goes up to contribute, your position on the ranking report is surveyed, and your input qualified accordingly.

Do What You Gotta Do
The easiest way to get to the things you want to do is completing the things you have to do. This means filling out the stupid report, reading the assignment, populating your CRM and finishing your expenses. You would be surprised how much easier your day can be when you get the mundane tasks completed.

Provide Insight 
As noted previously, you are allowed to challenge any idea as long as you have a better one. Opposing the current state without proposing a more-brilliant solution is only complaining. No one likes a complainer.

Be Creative  
We are at a generational impasse in the workforce where former contributors are riding out old methods and leaning back on process to maintain them. The only way to move forward is to have more relevant tactics and real time data to defend the need for change.

We need not storm the tower, stage a sit in or strike. Adaptation is necessary for survival. Why not be the first to try the new way and set the standard for others to follow....?

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Deconstruction

The late 80's were the high point of my skateboarding career. Skateboarding for me was the perfect combination of athletic ability and creativity. There was nothing else like it. At the time, Matt Hensley was the greatest skateboarder in the game. At the height of his noteriety he stopped skating professionally.

The greatest running back in professional football, Barry Sanders, retired long before his ability had been maxed out.

Bobby Jones quit golf to become a lawyer.

More recently, the Great Marshawn Lynch left the Beast Mode on the field in an effort to keep his brain intact.

...And so we understand that those who are outstanding in a given field, have the ability to be outstanding in a variety of life pursuits. There are those who fear change because they think themselves incapable of achieving an alternative skill set.... more disappointing are those who do not change because things are steady......

......Steady Sucks.....

People are born with talent. The perfection of a skill has to be earned. You can be gifted but you have to put the work in to make your dream a reality.

Change is consistent: if you are relying on the standard, your ability to evolve is in danger.

The Difference Between Complaining and Evolving
I always tell the students I teach that they are allowed to challenge any idea as long as they have a better one. Raising your hand to refute instruction for the sake of disruption will put you on the complainers list. Commercial Insight emerges when you challenge the process with an intent to progress.

The Myth of Disengagement
We've seen all the surveys that indicate that 70% of the workforce are disengaged. It's bullshit!

Look around you. Can you honestly say that 7 out of 10 people in your organization hate their job. Of course, not.... and if they do, your odds for getting promoted are pretty damn good!

I don't have to jump for joy, greet every co-worker or attend a company social outing to love my job. Participation in age-old tradition does not measure engagement. Whether I have a best friend at work has nothing to do with my ability to do my job well.

Matt Hensley was the best skateboarder in the world... he was creative, athletic and daring. He didn't win a lot of contests but that has no reflection on his ability to perform at a mind-blowing level.

One's level of engagement may not be in lock step with what a survey determines. Let's face it, most surveys do not reflect to whole story.

The Gift of Creativity
Process is predictable and predictability can be the father of results. But it makes no difference.

Why would you want to do work that wasn't making a difference?

Disruption does not guarantee progress. Deconstruction is the result of dismantling the system of predictability in an effort to create something better... something different.... something more inventive... something less standardized.

You don't have to tear down walls to build news ones. You can find an abandoned field and build something where no one else thought to.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Foundation

I had a great revelation the other night.... I was sitting in bed and the greatest feeling came over me. As I soaked in the vibe, I totally forgot what provoked my fresh feeling, but I still felt wonderful!

How wonderful the joy of Positive Recall can be. How often it is overlooked. In fact, this usually works in counterpoint:

• Ever catch yourself hung up in negativity without knowing exactly why your mood had been altered to such a defeated extent?

What keeps us up at night is terminology usually affiliated with worry. It is so much nicer to sit up reflecting on all the good things we have experienced in our lives.

Do you struggle to recall when life was simpler? Have you forgotten how to love yourself?

Remember the little league championship you won, the first girl you kissed, the first time you heard your favorite song, the time you walked in the park with your dad, when you were awaken by your dog licking your face.

Remember your mothers laughter, the concert that changed your life, the time you did drugs and thought you would never be normal again.

Remember the best teachers and coaches you have ever had, the guy at the record store who introduced you to Black Sabbath... the time you beat up the bully, won the contest, stuck up for your sister....

Remember the look you got from the most beautiful girl in the world from across the room... and the day you married her.

Remember the time your Dad cried in front of you, when you lost your job, when your friend died or the time the girl you loved stopped loving you.

There is glory in the little things and every silver lining has a touch of grey.

There will never be a time when everything is perfect and there is something absolutely perfect about that.

Would your younger self look up to you? What advice do you have for her? Have you listened to your own advice? Have you ignored your true goals because mustering the courage to conquer them took too much work?

• There was a time you laughed.
• You have been a winner.
• There was a time you were so proud of yourself that you left your feet in joy. 

These are the things we should reflect upon.... EVERY DAY!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave