Avoid #1
Imagine having a hierarchy of effectiveness.
1 = Not Important (Easy)
2 = Important (Moderate)
3 = Very Important (Hard)
As humans we like the path of least resistance. We like easy more than hard because hard is.. well, hard. So we start with #1. The problem with #1 is, it’s infinite. It’s infinite because “not important” is easy and obvious.
The more hidden, yet effective, option is #3.
Our natural inclination is to be distracted by the velocity and availability of the unimportant. It lures us in and feels like work.
Pro Tip: The quickest way to nowhere is the path of least resistance. When it gets hard, look for effectiveness.
Picking Tools
Tools can be an invisible time suck. Especially digital tools. Digital tools that promise to save you time or make you money. Who doesn’t want that? So you download the neat tool.
Over time, you have so many tools to check in with, you’ve run out of time to do important work.
Flittering from tool to tool feels productive, but it’s likely a waste.
Pro Tip: Audit your tools and eliminate a couple of them today. They’re likely a distraction to real work that only you can do.
Plane Trance
There is something relaxing about an airplane ride. 30k feet and 500 mph, yet it feels like you’re sitting still. For whatever reason it’s a good time to think.
When you find yourself in a relaxed state, take advantage. Allowing space to journal, read, or think can produce a level of deep work that can straighten the mind.
Don’t be a sucker for frivolous entertainment. It will be there anytime you want it.
Problem With Prodigies
The prodigy is highlighted, celebrated, and admired. Especially the young ones. When we see a snippet of something amazing, our jaw drops and the seed is planted. The seed that provides an excuse to sit still.
“I’m no prodigy so why bother?”
The seed keeps people from intentional practice and deep work.
Pro Tip: The prodigy is an anomaly. Good ol’ fashioned fortitude over time will get you to jaw dropping results.
Serendipity?
“Some people get all the luck.”
At least it seems that way.
Sales people depend on a level of serendipity. “I was at the grocery store and there she was… we chatted in the cereal aisle and I got the deal.”
Figuring out ways to increase serendipity is a complementary tactic to hard work.
Serendipity can go both ways…so be mindful of where you hang out. Make a string of good decisions and the luck will no longer surprise you.
Psuedo Pals
One of the key elements to personal growth is environment. We are faced with ecological decisions that accrue. They accrue to help or hinder.
It turns out people are the most influential element of our ecosystems. The good news is we have a choice.
Pro Tip: Avoid pseudo friends who prioritize niceness and civility over being real… Your growth depends on it.
Hope as Strategy
Ideas and dreams rarely go anywhere for two reasons.
You share them with a skeptic
You don’t take action because of doubt
When you share them with a skeptic it can put a black mark on your hope. Be careful who you spend time with. Skeptics have their place but keep them away from the things you’re hoping for.
Pro Tip: The people that are taking action on their own ideas and dreams will almost always blow wind in your sails. Find them… they are the key to your success.
Depending on Happiness
Expecting someone else to make you happy while you do everything in your power to make them happy is a clear picture of codependency.
If you’re responsible for your mate’s happiness, you’re doomed. You're doomed because when they’re not, you feel at fault...when you feel at fault you get defensive.
It turns out owning an outcome that isn't your responsibility is a death spiral of misery.
Pain
It is unavoidable yet we try to avoid it. We sidestep, ignore, shift, and anesthetize it. It turns out time doesn't heal it either.
If we could use logic or reason to think our way out of pain we would have already done it by now.
It requires work in the emotional realm. There are no tricks or hacks to circumvent….
(I checked)
Working through pain via prayer, an empathetic friend, and perhaps a skilled therapist will free you to be the real you.
Ways to be Unhappy
Unhappy people are slaves to their circumstances. when circumstances change you’re a victim at first but after a while choices emerge.
Will I continue to lament what I can't control?
Take action
The excuse Loop keeps people from making a difference in the world. The excuse loop keeps people away from happiness.
I’d _________ but _________
If only ______ then ______
I wish _____ so I could _____
If you stay in the loop, misery is nearby.
“I’m Disappointed”
Disappointment has a key requirement. A requirement of effort, judgment, and desire about someone or something.
It requires expectation.
It turns out that it's worth our time to manage our expectations. Our response when things fall short of what we expect tells the story.
Asking yourself why you expect what you expect might… just might… be connected to your happiness.
Movers and Shakers
Movement feels productive because you’re moving. Being a mover and a shaker seems like a good idea but usually doesn’t pay. It doesn’t pay because the moving is for the sake of moving. It’s for the sake of a good feeling and appearance.
Taking actions towards your goal pays because most arent willing to do the work to produce. Action pays because there is less competition. Action pays because its usually uncomfortable.
Pro Tip: Moving and shaking is fine as long as you know you’re NOT actually working.
Productive Slacker
Some of the most productive people seem to be highly disciplined. The truth is they’re slackers with an awesome behavior framework.
Our brains will naturally take the path of least resistance. The question is… What's on that path? The productive slacker (PS) designs the path to contain low friction, high output behaviors. Behaviors that move them towards their goals. The PS will make it easy to eat healthy by having almonds nearby instead of Cheetos. Cheetos taste better but since they aren’t in plain sight the almonds win.
They win because they’re on the path. The path of least resistance.
Watch The Feet
Part of being attuned is noticing body language. When you're telling a story or getting into the weeds about the details, watch their feet.
If they're angled away or their shoulders begin to turn down that's your cue. It's your cue to land the plane.
If you're having trouble getting people to listen to you it might be because they're scared. Scared they will get trapped in your long-winded monologue. Tune into body language and know when to be concise.
Many “talkatives” mistake politeness for interest.
Problem Solving
The most profitable players are excellent problem solvers. They can identify them clearly and attack them quickly….but they have a secret.
The common first move is to find out “why” it happened. It feels like it's solved when you find out “why” but there is no profit in blame.
The secret is deconstructing how the problem works. Problems are usually process-oriented and not isolated events. The lazy approach is to blame, reprimand and move on.
The profitable approach is to adjust the framework until the problem is gone.
Touchy Feely
One of the goals of business is to grow profit through standard operating procedures and monitoring key performance indicators.
The other goal is to have fun doing it. We are people, not droids.
It’s easy to set aside the subjective more touchy feely elements of a business.
The CFO will often look at activities that can’t be measured as a waste… especially if it costs money. And that’s her job. It turns out a business with excellent culture and negative cash flow ain’t sustainable.
The good news is that the immeasurable things are also free… or very low cost. Tune into the people around you and build relational equity.
Why build a business where everyone can’t wait for the weekend?
Placebo
The placebo effect points to the notion that what we think really matters. If the doctor gives us a pill and says it will make us better and we believe his authority, then we will likely feel better. Even if it's a sugar pill.
The “no”cebo effect is the opposite. Oftentimes we focus on the negative and it produces a negative outcome. Most golfers know what happens when they focus on the tree they want to miss.
Pay attention to what you DO want.
Pro Tip: Our brain doesn’t process the “don’t” in “don’t hit that tree.”
Warning to Tacticians
Scaling your business by searching for tactics and hacks can actually get in the way of real work. Tactics are vital but must align with your principles. Making tactical moves that don't align with the fabric of your mission will set you back.
Take a deep breath and calmly evaluate your principles. Confirm they are durable and make the world a better place. Then and only then will your principles inform useful tactics… Tactics that advance your mission.
Pro Tip: Every single durable principle is in the Bible. Look for yourself…
(Proverbs is a great place to start…)
How’s Your Reputation?
Working on your reputation by "showing off" good behavior is kind of like working on losing weight by wearing a bikini. It works a little but the energy and focus is misplaced.
The timeline of outcomes starts way earlier. Your reputation is a result of your character and your character is the sum of a million decisions. Decisions are mostly made while all alone.
Habit Paradox
A “bad” habit is typically defined as a consistent action that solves a short-term problem but has long-term negative consequences. At the time the action seems like a reasonable solution.
If the problem is stress or anxiety the short-term relief might be junk food or alcohol. The long-term effect is a debit to your health. At first, it's a credit because it feels great which makes the action reasonable at first glance.
The transaction has a “fools gold” effect because you’re fooled on the front end. The paradox is that the “credit" of a good habit isn't realized on the front end. This explains why bad habits are easy to start and good habits are hard to keep.
Pro Tip: It's worth paying attention to the habits you have been sold to solve recurring problems.
MG: Atomic Habits