Auteur/autrice : marc

Day 509. We often hear about the number of useless meetings, of emails, of information, etc. Like entropy, some things then to increase with, what seems, no limit. However, it’s in our decision space to accept and to change those things. In my professional environment, I’ve experienced over the last years, shorter meetings and the decrease of small talk. This has not happened because something is in the air. It has been a conscious decision. Even leadership meetings of business reviews have gone through a serious diet.

This is a clear signal to our various stakeholders that we need to act more and to talk less. Being on a diet is not just about changing the way we eat, it’s also about exercising more or, at least, differently. It’s the same with talking. Talking less means not only taking faster decision, it’s also about acting more, being more in the field, creating more connections. Look at your days, do you spend too much time talking? Reject meeting requests, reduce meeting time, and deliberately connect with one more people every day. Not only your productivity will increase, your happiness and your bottom line will too!

Ready, get set, go!

Day 508. Success is not about succeeding all the time, it’s about failing more. What if we were succeeding every time we start something? We would probably lying. I do not know somebody who did not fail at one point. May be if you are not doing anything you might not fail, true, but you will not succeed either. Success and failure are brother and sister. They cannot live without each other. People who are complaining all the time are generally the one who never failed because they have never done something significant. Is there something wrong with this? Yes, they tend to undermine the actions of others who might try.

Our own pursuit of happiness should tell us to do, to at least try. Yes this might fail, so what? As Edison said, he has not really failed 10,000 times while trying to create the incandescent bulb, he has found 10,000 ways that did not work. But those 10,000 failures, let’s call them like that, were necessary for the one success. I personally always remind myself of Edison’s story because it shows that delivering, failing and persisting are the best ways to learn. But once you fail, try again. As I was saying yesterday, what matters is not the end it’s the journey. You do not learn anything by reaching your goal, you learn by working towards your goal. Subtle but profound difference. Because if failure occurs and you do not reach your goal, you still have learned a lot on this journey that lead to failure.

The issue is we are taught to succeed and we are discouraged when we fail. We remember the one that gets the gold medal and forget all the others. We all know the world is not fair. Well if you don’t, you’d better learn this fast. As Abba was singing it, the winner takes it all. But the losers get the same learning and experience. Failure to deliver, failure to show up, failure to try are real failures, because they tell a negative story, a story of somebody who has not even try. Do it, ship it, deliver it, show up, it might fail, and it’s great!

Day 506. The title of this post is a quote from Robin Sharma. It resonated with me this morning on two fronts. First, the « so good ». This is in line with what I think, what I try to do every day and with my post on mediocrity. Mediocrity is a killer, average is horrible. full stop. Second, the song from Frankie Valli « can’t take my eyes off you », that I rediscovered last year in the movie « Jersey Boys ». Remember the lines « You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off you ».

Find the song, the video, the movie and listen to the song. Let the music walk you through a day full of energy. Yes, it’s a love song, but it was so good it has been sung millions of time, including by artists like Gloria Gaynor. Whatever you do, do it to your best ability and be so good at it, we can’t take our eyes off of you. It requires efforts and dedication, for sure, but it’s the only way to avoid mediocrity.

Each of us has something unique, find it and sharpen your saw every day.

Day 505. As with mediocrity, it seems more and more people, with the never ending crisis that medias relay relentlessly every day, have downsized their dream. They are trying to weather the storm and keep their profile low. The fact is there’s no perfect time to dream big. Dreaming big means imagining a world in which each realizes his/her wildest dream and strives. This is independent of what’s happening outside. In fact, I truly believe there has not been a better time to dream big. The world is in a middle of a vast transformation and there are many opportunities to grab.

Dreaming big is not an end, it’s a beginning. Every day, you need to do your part to make your dream come true. Look at an ant, whatever the distance, it will carry a bigger load than itself and will walk relentlessly. The same applies to all of us. If you do not think you can realize your dreams, all that you have to do is standing still and watching TV. But then do not complain if others are making progress, or showing off, or living a wealthy life. If you are serious about realizing your dreams, then start acting upon them. Describe the path to your dreams, describe each step that you need to make and make them, once at a time. You know the saying: « how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! ». It’s the same with your dreams. Move to them, once step at a time and be prepared for setbacks, because there will be some. So when one happens, regroup, refocus and do the next step again.

Water will dig a hole in a rock one drop at a time. It succeeds because of consistency. Do the same, add your daily step to your routine, and make it a habit. One day, your dream will come true. Not magically, but because your walked the talk. It’s as simple as that. But hey, I said simple, not easy! Go!