Month: May 2024

Remember that even your small steps move you forward.

There are days when you can put massive effort towards your goals.

You have time.

You have energy.

You have inspiration.

You ate your Wheaties for breakfast.

You’re cranking the Rocky theme song on repeat on your Airpods, headphones or boombox.

Those are days that you feel like you are taking one giant leap forward for you-kind.

But…

On other days you don’t have the same resources.

Your schedule is challenging

Your energy is low.

You can’t find your Airpods. And your boombox is out of batteries.

Your motivation has secretly been replaced with slowtivation or notivation.

On those days, lower the bar.

Do something small.

Invest a few minutes instead of hours.

Move forward a few inches instead of miles.

Read a page, not a book.

Spend a few quality minutes not the full day.

Remember, small steps save the day.

And they set you up for bigger, better steps forward tomorrow.

Key Takeaway

Don’t be an all-or-nothing person. All-or-something keeps you moving forward. Do what you can. Support your habits. Maintain your momentum. Tomorrow, you will be glad you did.


*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Here’s a great way to give graduates valuable life lessons.

We’re in the thick of graduation season. High school and college seniors are transitioning into a very different phase of their lives. If they were caterpillars, they would be busting out of their cocoons and butterflying away with a diploma in one hand and their parent’s health insurance card in the other.

This graduation season is the most meaningful to me since my own graduation from Hanover High School in Hanover, New Hampshire. Because my daughter Ava is graduating from high school this year. Well, she should be graduating. But I am a little worried that her high school will realize that when I called her out sick saying she had a combination of Scurvy and Malaria, she was really just skipping school to go to Six Flags.

Today, I am thinking about all the important life lessons I would like to share with Ava. Luckily I have been thinking about this for a few years. (Cue the flashback…)

In March of 2020, at the beginning of the COVID lockdown, I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. Especially the typing part of my hands. So I began writing my book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? It’s a collection of 80 of the best life lessons I have learned. I wanted my children to have access to this wisdom and inspiration when they left home. Or when I was no longer alive to share the lessons with them. Whichever came first.

Today, as I am thinking about graduation, I am thankful that I took the time to write this book and share these lessons. Because I did, Ava and other graduates will be able to benefit from my learnings and experiences. These lessons are some of the most valuable gifts I have to offer. And right now I am thinking about lesson 47 on page 152, which says:

Today’s Success Was Born Yesterday.

The relationships you developed yesterday strengthen your support system today, The progress you made yesterday becomes momentum today. The exercise you performed yesterday creates today’s strength, endurance and health. The time you invested yesterday becomes the time you saved today. The reading you did yesterday creates the knowledge you have today. The traveling you did yesterday becomes today’s memories and experiences. The preparation you did yesterday makes you ready for today.

The Special Offer

When I first published What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? the two most common comments I got from readers were:

  1. I wish had read this when I was younger.
  2. This book makes a great gift for graduates.

I always see a spike in book sales in May at graduation time. And tomorrow, Saturday, May 25th is my birthday. To celebrate, and to help get this book of life lessons into the hands of more people who could really benefit from it, I have reduced the price by 25% on Amazon through midnight on Saturday. Which makes this the best time to buy the book as a graduation gift, or to stock up on copies for other occasions.

Happy My Birthday!

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

-AA

Why it is so important to be in the right place at the right time.

I spend a lot of money on gasoline. And airfare. Then there are the trains, subways, ferries, and those incline thingies in Pittsburgh and Chattanooga.

Why do I spend so much on transportation?

Because place matters.

So we pay to be in the place where the thing is happening, Hot Stuff.

We pay to be in the place where people gather.

If you want to be included you have to be in the place.

If you want to be seen you have to be in the place.

If you want to develop or deepen your relationships, you have to be in the place.

If you want to influence the outcome, you have to be the ace in the place, with or without the helpful hardware folks.

Being in the right place at the right time makes magic, Mike.

It unlocks doors. It finishes the job. Or starts the next one.

As Woody Allen said, “80% of success is showing up.”

If you don’t show up your world shrinks. This includes your engagements, relationships, opportunities and learnings. And no one likes shrinkage.

So show up to the places that matter.

Be in the room where it happens.

Put yourself amongst the people.

Be in the human traffic flow.

And good things will happen.

Key Takeaway

Regardless of technological advances that enable you to work from anywhere, physical locations will always be important. Be where the people are. Attend the events. Increase the chances of chance encounters. Increase your familiarity. Be seen and become known. Be missed when you are not there. Better yet, be the reason others show up.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

What gets you high?

A couple of months ago I was at the airport in Atlanta, along with a few hundred thousand travel buddies, when one young man’s sweatshirt caught my attention. It was a simple black hoodie. On the front of the shirt, it said:

Music Gets Me High.

I loved the shirt. Not because music gets me high. But because the young man wearing it knew that music gets him high. And while I haven’t consulted with the Food and Drug Administration or Nancy Reagan, I expect that music provides a fairly safe way to get high. And somebody should tell that to Willie Nelson.

The shirt, and the young man wearing it, made me think that everyone should know what gets them high.

So the question of the day is:

What activities make you feel heightened and alive? Or euphoric? Or in flow?

This is a far more valuable question to ask yourself if the answer is not related to drugs or alcohol. In fact, the point of this prompt is to find the activities that make you feel great without the chemicals. This is particularly interesting to me because I have never drank or done drugs. But I engage in activities that make me feel great. But because my activities are positive and healthy, unlike Amy Winehouse, they are not trying to make me go to rehab.

So what gets you high?

Discover your most highly rewarding activities.

Find ways to do them more often.

And you will live a highly enjoyable life.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Why brainstorming is a bad idea and what to do instead.

I have never liked brainstorming. Ok, that is not entirely true. At first, I loved brainstorming. You know, the classic meeting that sounds like barnstorming, but without the barns, biplanes and scarves. In brainstorming sessions, a group gathers in a conference room with markers and candy to generate a collective storm of creative ideas that come from the brain.

In the very beginning of my career, I loved these meetings because I was good at them. Brainstorming sessions allowed me to show off just how stormy my brain was. I would blast the room with my ideas. I would build on the ideas that others stormed. I felt like I was in my element. Like a hottie in a swimsuit contest in Panama City on Spring Break.

But then I started realizing what was really happening in those brainstorming sessions.

  1. A small number of people shared a large number of ideas.
  2. A large number of people shared a small number of ideas.
  3. Too many people weren’t sharing any ideas. They were just eating the candy.

Boo.

The key to valuable ideation is volume and variance. You need to generate a lot of ideas. Because great ideas are a percentage of total ideas generated. You also need variance because you want different types and styles of ideas to compare and contrast with each other to weigh the relative benefits of each approach. If your volume is low, or your variance is low, your options are low. And your creative possibilities are limited.

Social dynamics also degrade the potential power of brainstorming sessions. The loudest and most influential people tend to Boss Hogg the air time. They create a hierarchy that prevents others from wanting to share ideas or stick their neck out with contrarian ideas. Which is what brainstorming sessions must have to provide maximum value.

Once I recognized how inefficient these group thinking sessions were I became a born-again non-brainstormer. And I have never liked them since.

A Better Solution

The best way to create the most ideas is to have people think on their own and write down as many ideas as possible. By ideating independently, each person maximizes their thinking time, which leads to more ideas, and a greater range of exploration. An hour spent with 10 people generating ideas independently means everyone has 1 hour of air time. That’s 10 hours of idea generation. Which beats 10 people together sharing 1 hour of air time every time. (See the talk show The View for proof.)

For maximum effectiveness, the ideas should be collected and shared anonymously, so they are evaluated without biases towards their creators. Once all of the ideas are available it is valuable to gather, evaluate, discuss and build on the ideas as a team. And you can still serve candy and sniff markers.

At The Weaponry, the advertising and ideas agency I lead, we’ve created something we call Seed Sessions. In these sessions, we share a broad range of pre-generated ideas that we call seeds. Each seed is shared as a slide with 3 elements.

  1. The name of the idea
  2. A short paragraph summarizing the essence of the idea
  3. A visual representing the idea

In a Seed Session, we may sow anywhere from 20 to 40 seeds. We discuss the ideas and build on the favorites. Everyone in the room has the opportunity to feed and water them. We shine sun on the favorites. And by the end of the session, the seeds have grown into vibrant plants full of potential.

The Seed Session process offers a great way to maximize idea generation and utilize the collective intelligence of the group to identify and build on the best ideas. Which is exactly what brainstorming sessions are intended to do. *Unless brainstorming sessions were actually created by candy companies to sell more candy to adults. Which is a pretty sweet idea.

Key Takeaway

Great ideas create competitive advantages for organizations. To generate the best ideas you should maximize both the volume and variance of your ideas. This is best done through individual ideation, which maximizes thinking time and minimizes social inhibitors and biases. Share the generated ideas and build on them together. It’s the greatest way to harness the collective brain power of your team.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Thank you, Moms.

Where would we be without Moms?

We wouldn’t be here.

We wouldn’t be anywhere.

Not in a box.

Not with a fox.

Without Moms we don’t have a chance.

Moms care for us when we can’t do a thing to care for ourselves.

Then little by little, they teach us how to do everything.

How to eat, talk, and walk.

How to dress.

How to stop pooping and peeing in our pants.

Moms teach us how to learn.

They teach us colors, numbers and directions.

They teach us to read and write.

They teach us how to love and show gratitude.

They teach us manners.

And responsibility.

And patience. (Because all we need is just a little patience.)

Mom’s teach us how to say I’m sorry and mean it.

Mothers teach us selflessness. And unconditionality.

They teach us about the life-sustaining power of snacks and naps.

Moms model behaviors for us to follow.

They flag all of our bad behaviors, in case we didn’t know.

Moms teach us how to cook and clean, to launder and shop.

They teach us to give. And to forgive.

They teach us to sacrifice, without harming sheep.

Moms are superheroes who can save you with a hug. Or a smile. Or a strong right arm across your chest when they are driving and suddenly have to brake really hard.

Moms teach us about growing and changing. And that there are many layers, phases and chapters to life.

They teach us that everything will be alright in the end. And if it is not alright, it’s not the end.

Moms give us roots. Moms give us wings.

Moms teach us to pray. And that there is a bigger force out there. Bigger than Mom. Much bigger than Dad.

And Moms teach us how to become Moms and Dads and raise good children of our own.

Thank you, Moms. You are appreciated.

*If you know a Mom who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

If you really want to be inspired look for these amazing people.

When you don’t perform well there are always excuses available. Something about the situation or the conditions can be called on to explain away your subpar results. And often times those excuses sound really good. Like Zooey Deschanel singing in the shower in Elf.

But there will also be people who could have used the same excuse but didn’t. People who could blame the weather, the short prep time, lack of sleep, the economy, or their plantar fasciitis. But the people in question didn’t need to use any of the available excuses. Because they performed at or above the expected standard anyway.

One of the best habits you can create is to surround yourself with the people who perform anyway.

The people who perform anyway are those who experienced challenges and setbacks, were thrown curveballs, had additional constraints, or deficiencies. They had all the same excuses that the excuse-makers had. Yet they performed anyway. They achieved anyway. They succeeded anyway. They finished the job. Even if they weren’t Finnish.

When you train yourself to see the people who performed anyway, you will find a winner’s mindset. You’ll discover people who rise to the occasion, not sink to the condition. These people are found in every area of life. In every corner of the globe, in every sport, business and school. They are found in every economic class. And they will inspire you to perform at your best despite the challenges you face.

Key Takeaway

Excuses are always available. But never necessary. Rise to the occasion. Don’t settle for the situation. Do what you set out to do, regardless of the challenges you face. You will not always be a person who performs anyway. But by looking for those who succeed despite their challenges you will change your view of what’s possible. It will raise your expectations. And you will dramatically increase the percentage of times you perform anyway. That shift will transform your life.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Have you thought about your personal curb appeal?

Everyone who has ever shopped for a home knows the term curb appeal. It refers to the immediate impression that a home makes when you pull up to it. It’s the real estate version of judging a book by its cover. Only it’s a really big book. And the cover features a circle driveway, begonias, and a couple of garden gnomes.

Brand Curb Appeal

Brands and businesses have to think about their curb appeal too. You have an opportune moment to impress your potential customers when they first encounter your brand. That first impression can either help sell or unsell customers before you even mention the advantages of your non-caloric, silicon-based kitchen lubricant on cereal. Or sledding hills.

Personal Curb Appeal

But it’s also important for us to think about our own personal curb appeal. When people encounter you for the first time what do they see? What do your clothes, shoes and hair signal? What does your posture say about you? What message is your face sharing with the world? Do you have RBF? Or PMF? (Post Malone Face)

Is there something in your personal curb appeal that helps you stand out from the crowd and makes you interesting, unique and memorable? If not, think about what that could be. What’s your signature attribute? Just as a home benefits from a beautiful door, noteworthy landscaping or remarkable lighting, you also benefit from your memorable differentiators.

If you don’t yet have any memorable differentiators, now is a great time to discover something that serves you well. It could be something about the way you dress. Hats, shirts, ties, pants, belts, socks and shoes are all great options for creating interest and distinctiveness. So are other accessories, like watches, glasses, purses, canes and monocles. And you will really stand out if you rock 2 monocles at once.

But your personal curb appeal can also be enhanced by the way you carry yourself. Your visible energy, warmth, friendliness, happiness, charisma, kindness or professionalism can make a strong first impression, even from across the room, or across the street. Those attributes help make you immediately noticeable, likable, recognizable, and several other ables that are able to create immediate and lasting advantages for you.

Key Takeaway

It is important to consider your personal curb appeal. A home’s curb appeal helps increase the perceived value of the home. Your personal curb appeal will do the same for you. It helps you get noticed. It helps people remember you. It will inspire others to seek you out. Which helps improve your network and exposes you to more and better opportunities. You’ll find that life is better when great people and great opportunities are magnetized to you.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.