by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Opportunity, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 3 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Magic is about to happen
— From A Year Without Fear: 365 Days of Magnificence: 5-Minute Mind-Set Shifts by Tama Kieves
Someone recently described life as “a work in progress” and it deeply resonated with me. At some point or another, one or more areas of our lives are indeed works in progress, with all the chaos that this might entail: ups and downs, decisions, craziness… and lots of learning for sure! Our work is, in the words of Michelangelo, to discover the statue inside us and chip away the stone to reveal it to the world.
This made me think about a very brief but oh-so-beautiful idea from Tama Kieves, one of my favorite authors, that I’ll share in its entirety with you:
“In a Macy’s department store, I saw a sign in front of a boarded-up construction area.
It read: MAGIC IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.
It didn’t read: DISASTER IN PROGRESS AND A LOSER CAUSED IT.
So, let’s place that MAGIC sign in front of the unpleasant aspects of our lives.
Reconstruction guaranteed.”
Next time certain parts of your life are under construction, shift your mindset and think of it as something beautiful and magical that is about to happen.
“It’s still magic, even if you know how it’s done.” –Terry Pratchett
And if you are in the New York City area on April 19, come hear Tama Kieves at the Business Library: guaranteed to cause some magic in your life! (It’s free.)
ACTION
TODAY: Examine which areas of your life are “under construction.” Shift your mindset and apply the “Magic is about to happen” sign instead. What would you like the outcome (that is, you) to be/do/have once this magic masterpiece is completed? Set that intention and take one action today that will start or further lead you down that path.
FUTURE: Resolve to change the “under construction” or “work in progress” sign in your life and business to the “Magic is about to happen” one. Visualize and determine what you would like the outcomes to be/do/have once the construction finishes. Set your intentions/goals and work towards them, yet be open to them changing and turning into something much better. How many times do we say, well, I set out to do this, and as it turned out, I ended up with this other thing/result that is so much better… You want to be open for the same to happen to you!
Know someone who needs some magic in their lives? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 59 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Age excusitis Part 2 – “I’m too young”
— From The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D. (Read an excerpt here.)
Yesterday we looked at the “I’m too old” variety of age excusitis. Today we’re looking at the other side: “the ‘I’m too young’ variety of age excusitis does much damage too. Youth is a liability only when the youth thinks it is. You often hear that certain jobs require ‘considerable’ physical maturity… That you’ve got to have either gray hair or no hair at all… is plain nonsense.” While it’s true that insecure people try to block younger folks’ career paths using age as an excuse, true leadership will give young people as much responsibility as they think they can handle.
To cure youth against age excusitis, Schwartz gives three recommendations:
- “Don’t be age conscious.” Your number of birthdays doesn’t matter, what counts is your ability to get the job done. “When you prove you are able to handle the job… you’re automatically old enough.”
- “Don’t take advantage of your new ‘gold bars’… show respect [for the other people around you, regardless of their age]. Ask them for their suggestions. Make them feel they are working for a team captain, not a dictator. Do this and [people] will work with you, not against you.
- “Get used to having older persons working for you [and alongside you].” More and more leaders are very young nowadays, be comfortable with that thought. If you don’t think this is true, simply take a look at all the 30 under 30 and the 40 under 40 lists and awards in all business categories, you’ll be blown away.
“Remember: your age won’t be a handicap unless you make it one.”
ACTION
TODAY: Do you suffer from this variety of age excusitis in any area of your life? Are you holding yourself back because you think you’re too young? Whoever offered you the job or extended the opportunity thought that you were old enough and capable enough to do so, otherwise they wouldn’t have done it. Honor their belief in you and your skills. Be aware when this excuse pops up in your mind and then ask why 5 times (or as many as needed) to get to the bottom of it. Once you know what is making you create an excuse (Fear of failure? Fear of success? Dig deep!), you’ll be able to realize that age doesn’t matter and you can move forward and create the change you want. Promise yourself that you won’t let age hold you back!
FUTURE: When age excusitis pops up in your head, or when you hear it from someone else, simply be aware and empathetic, as we all go through this once in a while. Look forward to new horizons; invest time in doing what you really want to do. Remember what Schwartz said: “It’s [too early] only when you let your mind go negative and think it’s [too early].” No matter what, believe in yourself. As Tama Kieves (renowned author and speaker) says, “Opportunities do not come to fill a lack. They come as an expression of a fullness you already have… If you want to attract opportunities to you, use the ones you have.”
By the way, if you are in New York City on April 19 (6-7:30 PM) you are invited to see the wonderful Tama Kieves at the Business Library (New York Public Library) talking about her latest book Thriving Through Uncertainty: Moving beyond fear of the unknown and making change work for you. It’s free. Reserve your spot.
And if you know someone who needs to be cured of age excusitis, please forward this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 55 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Age excusitis Part 1 – I’m too old
— From The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D. (Read an excerpt here.)
No matter where we are in life, at some point we are going to suffer from age excusitis or hear someone else complain about it. If we’re the ones that use age as an excuse not to do something, it sounds perfectly logical to us… yet if we hear it from someone else, we immediately know that it is simply a masquerade for fear or unwillingness, and most of the time it comes to our utter astonishment that the other person sees him/herself that way because it’s not how we see them. Hmmmmm, why can’t we see it for what it is? What can we do about this malady?
“It’s unfortunate. This excuse has closed the door of real opportunity to thousands of individuals. They think their age is wrong, so they don’t even bother to try.” Luckily, David J. Schwartz, the author of The Magic of Thinking Big, says, “Age excusitis can be cured… I discovered a good serum that both cures this disease and vaccinates you so you won’t get it in the first place.”
He tells the story of Cecil, who wanted to change careers. Cecil said, “I’d have to start from scratch. And I’m too old for that now. I’m forty.” Schwartz told him “you’re only as old as you feel,” to no avail, as sometimes there are people who respond “but I do feel old!” So, Schwartz asked him, “Cecil, when does a man’s productive life begin?” Cecil said at about 20 years old. Then Schwartz asked when it ended, to which Cecil replied at about 70. Schwartz said, “a lot of folks are highly productive after they reach seventy, but let’s agree with what you’ve just said… You’re forty. How many years of productive life have you spent and how many have you left?” It was only then that Cecil understood he still had over half of his productive years ahead of him and realized that “how old we are is not important. It’s one’s attitude toward age that makes it a blessing or a barricade.”
“Curing yourself of age excusitis often opens doors to opportunities that you thought were locked tight.”
Schwartz tells another story of a relative of his who wanted to become a minister, but was 45 years old, had three kids and little money. Fortunately, “he mustered all of his strength and told himself, ‘Forty-five or not, I’m going to be a minister.” Five years later he was ordained and many years after that he said to Schwartz, “if I had not made that great decision when I was forty-five, I would have spent the rest of my life growing old and bitter. Now I feel every bit as young as I did twenty-five years ago.”
“When you [get rid of] age excusitis, the natural result is to gain the optimism of youth and feel of youth. When you beat down your fears of age limitations, you add years to your life as well as success. […] Defeat [‘too old’] by refusing to let it hold you back.”
ACTION
TODAY: Do you suffer from “too old” age excusitis in any area of your life? It is not necessarily tied to business life. Maybe you are ok there but feel, say, that you’re too old to take on a new sport, class, or hobby. Simply be aware of this excuse and ask why 5 times (or as many as needed) to get to the bottom of it. Once you know what is making you create an excuse, you’ll be able to realize that age doesn’t matter and you can move forward and create the change you want. Promise yourself that you won’t let age hold you back!
FUTURE: When age excusitis pops up in your head, or when you hear it from someone else, simply be aware and empathetic, as we all go through this once in a while. Look forward to new horizons, invest time in doing what you really want to do and apply Schwartz’s mindset: “It’s too late only when you let your mind go negative and think it’s too late.” Think instead, “I’m going to start now, my best years are ahead of me.” Remember that you are not your past and that you can create a wonderful path forward by giving yourself an A.
Have you ever dealt with age excusitis? How did you defeat it? Want to share your experience? I’m sure it’ll benefit us all! Please leave a comment or let me know via email. And if you know someone who needs to be cured of age excusitis, please forward this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Collaboration, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 16 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Believe
— From Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
The U.S. Navy SEALs are back, yay! In their fabulous book, Extreme Ownership, SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin state that knowing the reasons why, understanding and, most importantly, believing in the ultimate goal, is the absolute basis for a team to work well together.
It begins with the leadership, but it must permeate to all levels of the team or organization. “In order to convince and inspire others to follow and accomplish a mission, a leader must be a true believer in the mission.” This resolute belief, the authors state, “is far more important than training or equipment. […] Actions and words reflect belief with a clear confidence and self-assuredness that is not possible when belief is in doubt.”
But what to do when belief is in doubt? It all boils down to one simple question: WHY? “Leaders must take a step back, deconstruct the situation, analyze the strategic picture and then come to a conclusion. If they cannot determine a satisfactory answer themselves, they must ask questions up the chain of command until they understand why.” When you don’t understand why your company established that new sales policy, ask why. When your client is giving you a particular instruction or a change in scope and path, ask why. When your favorite non-profit asks you to change your volunteer tasks, ask why. Leadership in this instance is wide and varied, and has nothing to do with rank.
At the same time, it is also important for you as a leader “to take the time to explain and answer the questions of [your] junior leaders so that they too can understand and believe… [you must] explain not just what to do, but why.” And also, goes without saying, but you must continually emphasize that you are open and accessible for your team members to further ask questions on their quest to understanding why and believing.
The authors share a case where many managers did not understand a new policy implemented by the CEO, and didn’t ask for clarification for fear of looking stupid (despite them all agreeing that the CEO was smart, experienced and not unreasonable). “People talk about leadership requiring courage. This is exactly one of those situations. It takes courage to go to the CEO’s office, knock on the door, and explain that you don’t understand the strategy behind the decisions. You might feel stupid. But you will feel far worse trying to explain to your team a mission or strategy that you don’t understand or believe in yourself. […] If you don’t ask these questions, you are failing as a leader and you are failing your team.”
And it goes both ways. It is the responsibility of the leaders to ensure that the team understands and believes; yet since leaders are not mind readers, the team members are also responsible for asking for clarification until they fully understand and believe too.
ACTION
TODAY: Where are you unclear about a directive? Who do you need to ask in order to understand and believe in the project or mission? Go ask why today, you’ll be glad you did! Conversely, if you recently started a project, who do you need to make sure is on board with you? Ask them if they need further clarification to fully believe in what you are doing.
FUTURE: I’ve found that Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions at the beginning and end of a project—as well as throughout—are a wonderful source of information (above and beyond one-on-one sessions with team members). How can you make use of such sessions, that you can run in any scenario (from your family on the living room couch, to your teammates at work, to a group of volunteers at your favorite nonprofit, to your company’s Board members at the quarterly meeting) to make sure that everyone fully understands why, and thus is truly on board and believing in the mission?
Know someone who needs to believe? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Illusions of agreement
— From REWORK: Change the way you work forever by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been involved in putting together a report that is still sitting on a shelf somewhere accumulating dust… Oh, geez, both of my hands are raised!
Fried and Hansson in their excellent book Rework, say, “The business world is littered with dead documents that do nothing but waste people’s time. Reports no one reads, diagrams no one looks at, and specs that never resemble the finished product. These things take forever to make but only seconds to forget.” So true.
What they suggest is removing layers of abstraction and “getting real.” But what does this mean?
“Instead of describing what something looks like, draw it. Instead of explaining what something sounds like, hum it. […] The problem with abstractions (like reports and documents) is that they create illusions of agreement. A hundred people can read the same words, but in their heads, they’re imagining a hundred different things.” That’s why this famous cartoon about a tree swing is so funny and so on point!
It is similar to when you and your friends read a book: you all have different ideas of what the characters look like in your heads. And when you all go see the movie, you know exactly what each character looks like. “That’s when you get true understanding” and only then, everyone is on the same page.
The authors go on to cite the case of Alaska Airlines building up the Airport of the Future. “They didn’t rely on blueprints and sketches, they got a warehouse and built mockups using cardboard boxes… The team then built a small prototype in Anchorage to test systems with real passengers and employees.” The result was a success, as it increased efficiency by decreasing wait times and passenger frustration.
But this doesn’t apply just to large projects. The book quotes renowned furniture craftsman Sam Maloof who “felt is was impossible to make a working drawing to show all the intricate and fine details that go into a chair or stool.” He would simply get out the appropriate tool for that job and start working on it.
What project are you working on now where you could take out your proverbial chisel? Let’s avoid the illusions of agreement and have something real that we can indeed agree on!
ACTION
TODAY: Take some time to think about the many projects you are working on. Which ones are being handled under illusions of agreement? Don’t feel bad, it’s natural to work that way as we’ve all been conditioned to think it’s the best way. But now that you now the benefits of getting real you can speed up your goal by avoiding the distractions that come with abstractions. (Ha! I’m a poet and don’t know it…)
FUTURE: Keep in mind the distractions and the time spent on illusions of agreement. Share this info with your team and clients. For each project that you start, big or small, get in the habit of asking yourself and those involved, How can we make this real? That will push you to find better ways to accomplish your goals.
Know someone who needs to get real? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Productivity, Resolutions, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 33 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Leaders and limitations
— From Common Sense Leadership: A Handbook for Success as a Leader by Roger Fulton
As I was going about finding an idea for today, I came across this one that I loved: it’s what leaders do when faced with limitations. Normally, I intertwine my thoughts and takeaways with the idea from the book. Yet, on this occasion, the idea is so brief, so concise and so perfectly written, that I’m taking the liberty of sharing it in its entirety here. Since we are all leaders, whether formal or informal, paid or voluntary, of large corporations or of our households… I think the thoughts apply beautifully to all. Enjoy!
“Leaders understand their own limitations, but they are not necessarily limited by them.
As an example, budgets can limit available resources, but a true leader will find a way to get the job done with the resources available. Staffing three shifts can’t be done with only two people, but a true leader will make the most efficient use of those two people to cover the shifts.
Time is always a limitation. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Yet a true leader will make the most efficient use of time available. Luckily there are some things that know no limits:
Dreams.
Human ingenuity.
Love.
Even though you may not be able to conquer the whole world, you can comfortably conquer a small part of it, even taking into account many of your limitations.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think of some limitations or constraints that you are facing in business or life, and put them to work for you. What are some creative ways in which you can deal with them? How can you make the most out of them? Fortunately there’s no limit to human ingenuity: set some time to brainwrite, and remember that there’s no such thing as a shortage of ideas.
FUTURE: Let’s turn limitations upside down and use them to our advantage. Try imposing a few limitations on yourself or your work to see if you become more efficient and effective. For instance, try to answer most emails in less than 3 minutes (the email game). Or try to finish a particular project or chore in 25 minutes. Need more time? Add another chunk of 25 minutes as opposed to giving it all your morning. How about cutting down meeting time from the calendar’s default of 1 hour to 30 minutes instead, and do it standing up to further keep it short? Cut your daily cooking time in half and devote the other half to playing a game with your family or to start working on a personal project. You can be as adventurous or as traditional as you can with this. Create some limitations and put them to the test, see if they work for you and if you become more efficient as a result of them. Then you can decide whether to keep them or not, or tweak and keep testing until you find the ones that work really well for you.
Know someone who would benefit from reading this post? Please share it via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
