Intimidation is Good

…when you push through it, it’s good.

Yesterday I joined a new gym. We’re not talking new treadmills, a pool, some cybex machines kinda-gym… we’re talking a weights in a big warehouse, loud music, chin up bars, chalk everywhere kinda-gym.

I’ve been training hard for years and am in “great shape” according to 99.9% of the gym-going population. Trouble is, I want to be more like the .01% of the gym-going population.

So I walked in and felt a bit intimidated. It was a great feeling. It was scary. It was powerful. It motivated me to not fall flat on my face. It worked. 

What was the last time you put yourself in that situation? 

 

(PS – as it turns out, it was just my perception of “new and different” that was intimidating. The others there looked intimidating, but were some of the nicest, most supportive people I’ve worked out with!)

The 147 most Creative People

I read an article in the latest Fast Company magazine the other day: “100 Most Creative People In Business”. 

Great article indeed. Truly remarkable, creative people. 

I mused to myself however, that it would have been more CREATIVE if the article had been entitled “THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN (yes, spelled out) CREATIVE PEOPLE IN BUSINESS”.

Don’t you agree? 100 is such an un-creative number

Running Towards the Danger

Watch the videos of the blast and notice how so many people run TOWARDS the blast even while others run away. Police officers, race personnel, other racers… they are certainly heroes. So proud of them, whoever they are. Wow!

I often ask myself how I would respond at a time of need. Ask yourself that from time to time and consistently try to do difficult things for others… you never know when it might really count.

Asking for directions

Asking for directions…

When lost, some of us are quick to ask for help. Bicycling in the countryside, driving to the shore, or trying to find a museum downtown, the best bet is to ask a local who knows the way. The sooner the better, unless of course pride gets priority.

Like directions when traveling, getting direction in life is vital. How often do we seek advice/guidance for the “how to get there” questions we all face? Don’t let pride get in the way of asking for help.

Here’s a tip: ask someone who knows the way, not necessarily the shortcuts.

Triple “sow cow”

Tonight, my plan was to break out my best move, the “triple sow cow” (or “Salchow” properly) at the local ice skating rink.

Well, actually my goal was to just keep upright and not make a fool of myself. You know, being one of the worst at something in a group can bring on some real embarrassment.

I decided that my inability to wow a crowd with a great move would be just fine,  and that gingerly going in counter-clockwise circles has it’s place in life.

Is it true? Is it kind?

My mom has some good sayings. One of the most memorable is a set of two short questions:

Is it true? Is it kind?

She would pose this to me and my brother, usually after one of us had just said something nasty to the other. (Keep in mind that “questions” from a mom are generally statements). We would almost always answer with an exasperated “uh yesss mom” to the first, but then to the second we’d fumble around, trying to conjure up how the nasty statement was actually kind. We couldn’t of course, and her point was made: Keep our mouths shut if it didn’t pass both tests.

I’m going back to the basics for some of my 2013 goals and these two questions are in the lineup.

In 2009 I had a breakthrough year, led by the banner goal of “honesty in ’09″. I hadn’t been lying but needed help being more direct and forthright. I had great success, but in the process have lost some of my kindness.

Being direct is good, but being direct and kind is great. Thus I’m re learning the “is it kind” portion for 2013 and I encourage you to consider that as well.

I’m no Captain Jack

I’m not a sea faring fellow like Captain Jack Sparrow, but I’m excited that I have at least one good boating analogy. Here it is.

When navigating my 21 foot speedboat rental through a canal lock system on my way out to the Gulf of Mexico this week, I realized how difficult it is to NOT be moving forward. If the saying “you can’t steer a parked car” is true of land loving vehicles, it is doubly true of boats. You see, there is no steering those darned things through the water unless the bow is making some waves.

Floating there without movement creates problems (running aground, getting tossed dangerously into another boat’s wake, hitting another vessel) that forward momentum can erase.

The best and safest boating however, was when we were making waves across the bay out to the Gulf. We were clipping along into the waves with a clear goal in mind, at a relatively high rate of speed.

You can see the correlation to life, yes?

DIS-comfortable

The goal of many people’s career or business is to build it to a place where they can then kick back and “live the good life”.

Is that real success for you? I would propose that real success should be measure on a different plane than what derives comfort. That may be part of the goal, but what drives a person should not be the drive to simply gain a comfortable life.

The drive will look different for each of us, but methinks we should  stsrt getting comfortable being a bit uncomfortable in our pursuit of a great life.

Finish this sentence: anything truly worth having is worth _______ for.

A capital idea, sir!

My waiter tonight was stellar. He was stellar because he was different. What comfirmed this difference was his personality, tone of voice and most impressive to me and my friends, his choice of words.

There was no “Hi my name is ___ and I’m gonna be taking care of you guys tonight” crap. He used ACTUAL WORDS, and then surprisingly, he waited to hear what we said, listened and responded with intelligent language. That’s right, language. No one liners. No cliché. No “I’m-pretending-I’m-listening-but-I’m-actually-just-waiting-to-leave”.

He said things like “that is a capital idea sir” and “I’ll speak with the gentleman in the kitchen about fetching you some of that dish”. My personal favorite: “I like the cut of you jib on that one my friend”.

Who speaks like that nowadays anyway?  You want to know who? Some one who gives a you-know-what, that’s who.

Let’s practice giving a rip by listening and then responding with thoughtful,  intelligent language!

That’s not even inspiring

I heard a statement the other day in reference to an around-the-building line at the Mickey D’s drive through.

“THAT’S NOT EVEN INSPIRING”!

We could say “I don’t like that” or “that’s stupid” to something we personally refrain from, but let’s try putting things in the bucket of inspiring or not.