Get Good

Business, Marketing, Start Ups 0 Comments

There’s a distinct difference between those who are good at something and those that aren’t. I see this all the time in marketing. There are people who are really good at checking off boxes on a to-do list or at looking busy for their boss, but don’t drive real returns. Many careers allow these people to continue to exist.

If you want to make a difference, get good at something really valuable. Not just better than average, but WAY better than average. Commit to make it work. Dig in with both feet. Endure the struggle.

On the other side is success. Most people aren’t really good at their jobs. If you can get good, you can make a difference.

It’s not about your passion. It’s about finding something to get really good at. If you do that, that thing often becomes your passion.

Hustle vs. Talent

Business, Life Lessons, Making a Difference 0 Comments

I used to think it was talent was the most important thing for success. Now I’m convinced hustled is the most important thing.

Talent can’t be controlled. Hustle can.

Talent is good. Hustle is better.

But like peanut butter and jelly, they are best together.

Talent + Hustle = Unstoppable

The Drive By

Life Lessons, Living Like Jesus, Relationships 0 Comments

It’s easy to criticize. It’s easy to take cheap shots in a tweet or on social media.

It’s easy to be snarky or sarcastic. It’s easy to play armchair quarterback.

It’s easy to launch drive by insults. We do it all the time – against celebrities, politicians, friends, and strangers.

Stop. Get to know someone. They will be just fine without your commentary.

Forget the drive by. Ask them to take a ride with you.

What You Don’t Say

Life Lessons, Politics 0 Comments

Lately, it seems best to keep my mouth shut. There are always opportunities to say inflammatory things. It’s easy to spout opinions. It’s easy to want to be right or to argue.

It’s easy to talk. Listening is hard. With all the conversations around politics (and any other controversial topic), it’s easy to want to speak. And I do so more than I should.

In fact, I have a blog post in draft mode for this blog that you’ll never see. It will never get published. Because sometimes it’s just better to keep your mouth shut. Why cause conflict when we’re not going to do anything positive?

I’m not at all afraid of conflict. But it also isn’t helpful to cause conflict if you’re not going to change anything.

So maybe try keeping your mouth shut. I’m trying it. It’s making my life better.

Decide to listen more. Talk less. You never know what you’ll learn.

Persistence FTW!

Business, Life Lessons, Making a Difference, Spirituality 0 Comments

There are literally thousands of lessons from trying to start and run a company. I’ve learned more in the past 5 months than I have at many other points in my entire life.

One of the lessons that has been a theme for me over the past year and a half is persistence. I used to be really bad at being persistent. If I didn’t get results, I’d give up. If I didn’t feel like doing something, I’d give up. When things got hard, I’d give up.

But giving up never really gets you anywhere. The difference between the people who make a different and those who don’t is largely due to persistence. At least we’ll put it this way: If you’re not persistent, you won’t make an impact. If you are persistent, you have a chance.

But there is also some wisdom. There are things being worth persistent about. And there are things that aren’t. Figure out what things are worth pursuing, and then don’t give up. Be persistent. Let everything else go.

The Dip

Life Lessons, Making a Difference, Start Ups 0 Comments

Seth Godin talks about The Dip. The Dip is the point in any venture where it gets hard. The Dip is when effort doesn’t seem to be getting results. It’s the point where most people quit.

The-Dip

And The Dip is real. I know because I’ve spent time there. In some areas of my life I’m spending time there now.

This is my second season on a snowboard. I’m in The Dip.

Five months ago I went full-time with Analytive. I’ve been in The Dip.

At various other point in my life from programming, to marketing, to dancing, to guitar playing, I’ve spent time in The Dip.

But getting out of The Dip is what matters. Pushing through when things aren’t going well. Keeping the pedal to the floor when the tires just seem to be spinning.

And in just the past few months I’ve talked to some companies that have given up. They’ve thrown in the towel on growth or even the whole business. They settled down to get jobs somewhere else.

They didn’t survive The Dip.

The truth is, you have to decide whether you are going to push through The Dip before you even start. Otherwise, it’ll be way to easy to give up.

So before you decide to snowboard, start a business, or learn a language, you must ask: Are you willing to push through The Dip? If the answer is no, don’t even start. If the answer is yes, then let’s go.

I’m Grateful for Books

Business, Life Lessons 0 Comments

I love reading. Not just a little bit. I love it immensely. It might be a borderline addiction.

Knowing that I will never get a chance to sit down with all the great theologians, physicists, marketers, evangelists, investors, and (insert a profession here) is troubling. There’s so much knowledge that they’ve gained over the year that I want to tap into. But because I have books, it’s like getting a four hour personal interview with each of them.

That is priceless. With books one idea can cause a major pivot in your life. One idea can change the way you approach something. An idea can change you.

So start reading.

P.S. As a rule of thumb, if you read books over 40 years old, you’re far more likely to stumble onto something good. The good things tend to stick around.

Belief and Action

Life Lessons, Living Like Jesus, Making a Difference, Spirituality 0 Comments

There’s a tendency in our church culture to focus far more on belief than action. Belief is certainly important, but so often we excuse ourselves from action because we “believe” the right things. Or we waste time and energy arguing over what we should and shouldn’t believe.

After all, check out this parable:

Matthew 7:24-26

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (emphasis mine)

For the longest time I thought this parable what about believing the right things. That somehow believing in the rock was enough. But when we read it, it clearly implies action.

So believe the right things. That is important. But also, do the right things. That’s where you’ll build a foundation.

The Hero, the Villain, and Complex Issues

Life Lessons, Politics 0 Comments

There’s a huge temptation to see people as heroes or villains. We look at politicians, business people, artists, and we make snap judgements. There’s no room in our minds for someone to be anything else.

But issues are complex. Example: I love the humanitarian work the Gates Foundation is doing. I also completely disagree with the Gates/Microsoft stance on privacy.

It’s like this with nearly every issue. So let’s try and avoid making people heros or villains. Most of the time, they are just doing the best they can. Issues are complex. People are complex. Acknowledge that complexity.

What Do You Deserve?

Life Lessons, Living Like Jesus, Spirituality 0 Comments

One of my least favorite words in the entire English language is the word deserve. When people use it around me, they use it fundamentally differently than other similar words like earned. To deserve something often seems to imply a moral obligation that you get it. Earning something implies that you did something and are now being rewarded.

When people see something good that happens, they’ll often comment that I deserved it. Although I wince inside, I smile and nod.

The reason I have a problem with the word deserve is mostly spiritual. When I look at my life with all it’s problems, when I am forced to see the sin that is so often present, I realize that I deserve nothing. I’m not entitled to anything. I’m saved by grace and not works.

One of my favorite passages in scripture is in Luke 17:10. Jesus just finishes telling a story about how slaves work all day then come in to prepare the dinner for the master. Only then does the slave eat. And Jesus tells us that’s exactly how we should be.

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.    – Luke 17:10

We don’t deserve anything. On our best day, when we’ve loved and cared for the broken, when we’ve given away everything we have, our pride wants to step in and remind us how good we are. Christ wants to remind us that we’re only doing our duty.

So next time someone tells you that you deserve something. Smile. Nod. Be thankful. And remember that just maybe that good thing you don’t really deserve at all.

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