Author: Adam Albrecht

Adam Albrecht is the Founder and CEO of the advertising and idea agency, The Weaponry. He believes the most powerful weapon on Earth is the human mind. He is the author of the book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? He also authors two blogs: the Adam Albrecht Blog and Dad Says. Daughter Says., a Daddy-Daughter blog he co-writes with his 16-year old daughter Ava. Adam can be reached at adam@theweaponry.com.

How experience and information made my 3rd trip to Europe feel so different.

My family and I just returned from a 2-week trip to Europe. We saw London. And we saw France. But according to my travel journal, we did not see your underpants. After Paris, we visited Bern, Switzerland and Munich. We also road 6 trains on our travels across the continent, which we felt well prepared for thanks to Thomas The Tank Engine.

A Very Different Experience.

Despite the fact that I had been to all of the places I visited in Europe before, this time felt very different. Mostly because I am different.

The first 2 times I visited Europe, when I was 15 and 38, I felt like I was trying to understand the local rules and customs. It was exciting and fascinating. But I remember feeling tentative and bumbling much of the time. Particularly in countries where English is not the native language. (You know, like not England.)

This time I felt very different.

Older, wiser, and perhaps more worldly, on this trip I felt confident that I was doing the right things, or at least the right things as far as I knew. What’s more, I recognized the things I didn’t know, and I wasn’t embarrassed or self-conscious about them.

Access To My Information Station

Another reason that this visit to Europe felt very different was that it was the first time I visited Europe with full access to my mobile phone. It was a great reminder that instant access to information has a profound impact on your experience, your ability to navigate new or foreign places, and your situational confidence.

Access to Google Maps ensured that we were never lost or directionless. We could check hours of operation, and reviews at any time. We could easily translate words we didn’t know. (Which is especially useful when ordering food so you can distinguish between raw beef and biscuits.) And we could quickly calculate currency conversions.

Lasting Impact

A trip like this always has a significant impact on your life. Which is why we undertake such adventures. The significant time and money invested in such a trip provide some of the greatest returns you will ever enjoy.

I returned with more amazing experiences, lessons, and insights than I can wrap my head around. (Although truth be told, I’m not very good at wrapping my head.) I am certain that the various non-physical souvenirs of my trip will provide inspiration for the rest of my life. Which means that I will also be writing about them for some time. Because the experiences of your life inspire your creative thinking.

Key Takeaway

Travel provides incredibly valuable experiences. Those experiences enhance both your knowledge and your thinking. You discover new places, new geography, new customs and new foods. You learn about different languages, different histories and different perspectives. But most importantly, travel teaches you new lessons about yourself. It teaches you what you like and what you don’t like. It reminds you of how much there still is to know. It helps you understand what makes your mind sparkle. And after seeing new places on the planet it is impossible to ever see the world the same way again.

*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.

Are you tapping into the great value of your personal exploration?

Last week my family and I toured several college campuses in the Southeast quadrant of the United States. My daughter Ava is entering her senior year of high school this fall. So she needs to find her next home after we kick her out of the nest.

Each school we visited had interesting and unique qualities. And I discovered how much has changed since my college days. And I’m not just talking about social media and Chick-fil-A on campus.

When I was in college at the University of Wisconsin, back before cell phones, you either had a declared major or you were considered undecided. Like a voter who dislikes all the candidates. But today at the University of Tennessee, you either have a declared major or you are on the exploratory track. And I love a good exploration.

Flashback

During my first 3 semesters of college, I thought I knew what I wanted to study. But I wasn’t enjoying it. So in the spring of my sophomore year, I decided not to take any classes in that major. Instead, I took a broad range of classes that I thought sounded interesting. This included classes in psychology, zoology, sociology, journalism, and philosophy. It was my self-made exploratory track. And it changed my life.

I enjoyed all of the classes. But I discovered that I loved my classes in psychology (Psych 101) and journalism (Mass Media and the Consumer). I decided to declare majors in both areas. (Although I still think that declaring is something that should be left to Founding Fathers and refined Southern women.)

I have been using what I learned in my two areas of study every day of work for my entire career in advertising.

The University of Tennessee visit reminded me of my own academic journey. And it reminded me that we should all spend more time in our own exploratory programs.

Areas of Exploration

Dating: Before you get married you should spend time exploring romantic relationships. By dating different types of people you discover what you do and don’t like and who you could live with for 50 years without stabbing.

Travel: Spend your life exploring new places to find the places you enjoy and to gain new perspectives on people, places and access to public toilets.

Food: Explore new foods, new restaurants, and new recipes. Opening your mouth to new foods will often open up your mind too. It helps you understand different flavors, ingredients and cultures. And it reminds you that on a dollar-per-pound basis, nothing beats pizza.

Friends: Explore new friendships, always. Everyone you meet has the opportunity to add new benefits to your life. But if you meet people who are really into that Netflix series on Jeffrey Dahmer I suggest you move quickly in the opposite direction.

Home: Explore different places and spaces to discover what feels most right to you. After college, I lived in 4 apartments and owned 5 homes in 3 different states. My current home is my favorite by far. But the first 4 homes helped me discover the size, style, layout, and yard I wanted. Exploration also helped me discover the state I wanted to be in (Wisconsin). Although recent exploration suggests that my next home should be in Switzerland. Next to Heidi and the Von Trapps.

Activities: Explore what you like to do in your free time. There are thousands of different hobbies and pastimes to enjoy other than watching TV and playing Pickleball. Explore them. Discover what activities provide you joy, entertainment, and fulfillment.

Key Takeaway

Spend more time in exploration mode. Look for new people, places, activities and things to add to your life to enrich your experience on Earth. Approach life like a college student. Keep your eyes, heart and mind open to discovering more of the great things that will add to your world.

*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.

How you can help a baby business grow to adulthood.

If you want to help people become really great at things you have to let them first be bad. It’s part of the process. Beginners need to know it is ok to fumble and bumble a bit as they find their way. When I started my advertising and ideas agency, The Weaponry, one of the best gifts I gave myself was permission to be an amateur. Because high expectations and standards at the start of a new journey tend to kill motivation, growth, and joy.

I have a client who just opened a new restaurant in a new town. Opening a new restaurant is a massive undertaking. It involves creating a new physical space and hiring an entire staff who have never run the operating system required to make the business work. The start is messy. (Kind of like the first draft of this blog post.) I have great respect for those willing to take on the difficult task.

My client had a soft opening event, where they invited people to come and test drive the restaurant, for free. This gave the chef, cooks, waitstaff and manager an opportunity to work out the kinks, like Ray Davies. Following the 2-day free-for-all opening, they remained open without fanfare for 2 weeks before their official grand opening event. Those 2 unadvertised weeks allowed the staff time to find their groove, like Stella. Or Madonna.

However, during those 2 weeks, a handful of people wrote negative Google reviews about their experience dining at this fledgling startup restaurant. They complained about the wait time or about the lack of niche condiments for their particular health challenge. And, yes, some wrote that their food didn’t come out to their liking. However, the outstanding reviews far outnumbered the negative, which offers an exciting and favorable glimpse into the future experience for everyone visiting the restaurant.

Support Baby Businesses.

When you visit a new store, restaurant or business, give them some grace. Just like a child needs time to learn, and a beginner of any age needs experience to improve, a new business needs time to become a well-oiled machine. Complaining publicly with negative reviews in the first month of operation doesn’t allow for the required maturation process.

When you publicly complain about an infant business you hurt its chances of ever becoming a full fledge business. And if we create an atmosphere where businesses don’t have time to learn and grow we will only ever have massive chain stores and restaurants. We would snuff out local entrepreneurship. Which would be McUnfortunate.

As parents, coaches and managers we calibrate our expectations to the age and experience of those we are trying to help. As customers, we should do the same. It is helpful for us to teach, coach, critique, and even complain about the shortcomings of our experience directly to the person or organization in question. But hold off on sharing your disappointment publicly through negative reviews until the organization is past the wobbly legs stage. Which I suggest is the first month of operation.

The new entity won’t work out every challenge within that first month. But they should figure out how to make their wrongs right with the customers through proper apologies, compensatory price adjustments, free extras, or an incentive to return for a second chance, like 38 Special.

Key Takeaway

If you want to encourage more great businesses in your community or spheres of interest, grant them permission to begin as amateurs. There will be mistakes and learning at the start. These are the occupational hazards of entrepreneurship and operating a new business. As customers, we owe it to newbies to offer honest constructive feedback to help them grow and mature quickly. Honest, early public praise is one of the most valuable assets a new business has. While early negative public reviews hurt a business’s ability to grow into the excellent resource you want and expect. By sharing early negative reviews directly with the staff, rather than the public, you become a valuable part of the improvement process. And you help accelerate their growth and maturation rather than hinder it.

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 the 4th of July should be thought of as Pursuit of Happiness Day!

On the 4th of July, we take a moment to reflect on our freedoms. That includes our right to vote, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, our freedom to wear skimpy American flag swimwear, and our freedom to protest beer companies who get too un-beery.

But today it is important to think about your pursuit of happiness. This inalienable right, as spelled out in the Declaration of Independence, is the most important freedom of all.

It is not only your right but your responsibility to determine what makes you happy.

That includes:

Surrounding yourself with people that make you happy.

Finding work that contributes to your happiness.

Discovering your happy places, and spending more time there.

Recognizing the activities that enhance your happiness, and finding more time for them.

Discovering and enjoying your happy meals, with or without Grimace and The Hamburgler.

Happy doesn’t mean easy. Or stress-free. The things in your happysphere can be strenuous or even grueling. But ultimately, they make you feel happy for having completed them. This could include hard work of all sorts, from physical exercise to mental, emotional, or psychological activities that lead to exhaustion before they lead to happiness.

Today, consider the great undertakings of your life that you have not yet started or completed, that will increase your happiness. Think about the travel you always wanted to do. Consider the business you always wanted to start. The organization you wanted to create. The book you wanted to write. The great challenge you wanted to take on. Or the music you always wanted to make. And make a plan to pursue it, and the happiness that comes with living the life you imagined.

Key Takeaway

Eliminate the limiting beliefs that prevent you from pursuing your own happiness. Surround yourself with people that help contribute to your happiness. Fill your mind with things that contribute to your own happiness. Remember, no one else on the planet is responsible for your own happiness. It should be your number one priority. And it is one of the core beliefs that our great nation was founded on. Happy 4th of July! (Emphasis on happy.)

*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.

To create more success and more impact focus on the long-term.

There are 2 main time frames you must always consider: the short-term and the long-term. (There may also be one in between those 2, but I have no idea what it would be called.)

The short-term is full of basic needs, primal desires, and eating the first marshmallow they give you. The short term is about scrolling social media, watching TV, and eating stuff with ingredients you can’t pronounce.

The long-term is where the magic is. Long-term thinking, planning, and preparation enable you to create a great life. It enables you to build momentum. It helps you create things that last. And it empowers you to change the world.

Efforts focused on the long term create the most significant return on your invested time, energy, and money.

Consider this quote from famed landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmsted (the original FLO) who created New York’s Central Park, Montreal’s Mount Royal Park, the grounds at The Biltmore Estate, and the landscape at the Chicago World’s Fair:

I have all my life been considering distant effects and always sacrificing immediate success and applause to that of the future. In laying out Central Park we determined to think of no result to be realized in less than forty years.”

– Fredrick Law Olmsted

Key Takeaway

Always think about what you can do over the long term. Consider what you can create, contribute and change over your lifetime, and beyond. Be willing to make sacrifices in the short term to magnify your impact deep into the future.

*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.

3 ways to make it easy for opportunities and people to find you.

Great opportunities are created through your interactions with other people. This means that your engagement with other humans is core to your experience on the planet, and presumably on the international space station.

However, before you can develop new friends, partners, collaborators, employers, employees or supporters you need to be discoverable. Like a Bluetooth device. And the easier you are to be found the easier it is for opportunities to find you.

The best way to be found is to do the opposite of what you would do if you were on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. Or Sasquatch. Or Olivia Newton John’s ex-husband. Because to be discovered by others, you must do things that raise your profile so that you ping on other people’s radars.

You can be discovered in a few simple ways.

  1. Show up. Be visible in the real world. Go to events. Be seen in public. Meeting people for meals or beverages isn’t just about showing up for the person you are meeting with. It is also about raising your visibility to everyone else at those establishments. This creates both a higher level of awareness and chance encounters. It increases your level of familiarity with others. That is where real relationships start. It’s also why the Loch Ness Monster never gets invited to birthday parties.

2. Share messages. Create and share your messages with the world. Make them easy to find. This includes blog posts, columns, letters to the editor, news releases, message board posts, podcasts, and video content. You can share social posts on any and all social media. Comments in those same places too. This makes it easier for people to see your name, your ideas and your personality. By sharing your messages you are reaching many people at the same time. This could be dozens, hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people simultaneously. Which is much easier and more scaleable than sharing your message one-on-one, like Hall and Oates.

3. Talk Value. This happens when you do something good, interesting, surprising, or noteworthy, and others start to talk about you when you are not around. This means that others are amplifying your message for you. When others share messages about you, recommend you, promote you, wonder about you, ask about you, or admire you aloud, your message spreads far beyond your ability to share on your own. This is how people like the Kardashians, Mother Teresa, and Santa got famous.

Key Takeaway

Great things happen as a result of awareness. Make sure you are being seen, heard, and talked about for the good things you do. That’s how great people and great opportunities discover 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.

Why your experience is worthless until you do this important activity.

There is tremendous value in experience. People with a great deal of experience are typically paid more and command greater respect and authority. I expect that’s why Jimi Hendrix kept asking about it.

But the true value of experience does not come from the experience itself. After all, Elizabeth Taylor had a great deal of marriage experience thanks to her 8 trips down the aisle. And Nick Cannon has a great deal of parenting experience thanks to the 11 kids he’s sired with 6 different women. But few of us would turn to either of them for quality advice on marriage or parenting.

The true value comes not from the experience itself, but from the time we spend reflecting on the experience. It comes from the evaluation of what did and didn’t work. It comes from considering the constants, the variables, and through reflection, the results. (Although I have also found True Value in those cute neighborhood hardware stores.)

It’s your reflection that creates learning and understanding. That’s when the value is gained. You don’t need to have a good experience to learn and grow. In fact, you will often learn more from a bad experience. Because it is the evaluation process that alchemizes both good and bad experiences into valuable experiences. Which means the only experience your won’t profit from is the one you don’t examine.

My friend Anne Norman once called me a master of self-reflection. I was surprised to hear her evaluation. Although, once I reflected on her comment I recognized that I do indeed make self-reflection a priority. It is the engine that drives my self-improvement journey. It is my greatest entrepreneurial asset. It inspires my writing. And it helps me recognize when I have a bat in the cave.

Key Takeaway

Experience is not inherently valuable. Your evaluation of the experience creates the long-lasting value. Take time to reflect on your experiences to understand why you got the results you did. Repeat the actions and behaviors that contributed to good outcomes. Eliminate those that contributed to bad outcomes. That’s how you convert experience into wisdom. And applied wisdom creates the greatest value of all.

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.

The 7 simple steps of the self-improvement process.

If you want to get better at anything it is important to understand the self-improvement process. Like a week, and a house full of dwarfs, it is made of 7 parts.

1. Desire is the root of all self-improvement.

If you have no desires you have no life force pushing you to improve or achieve. Or reproduce. So make sure you have a desire. Like U2. Or that streetcar in New Orleans.

2. Your desire leads to goals.

Goals are your wants clearly stated. This gives you a target. Which provides focus and direction. Or obsession. Like Calvin Klein.

3. Goals lead to plans.

Plans define a course of action to bridge the gap between you and your goals. The plan declares how you will get to your goal. It determines how you will change yourself or the world to obtain your goal. So make sure you plan, Stan.

4. Plans drive your calendar.

Your calendar determines what you need to do and when. The when, or the time you carve out to act, is critical. Time is the stage for change. You must first find and protect the time needed to act. Just like an Under Armor athlete must protect this house.

5. Your calendar drives your actions.

Action is the key ingredient of progress. It is the doing. Action is the step on the 1000-mile journey. Repeated actions create habits. Habits create more action. And more action and more action, Jackson.

6. Your actions drive your results.

Your actions create progress and momentum. Actions build the bridge. As you build the bridge you reduce the gap between you and your desire.

7. Your results deliver your desires.

Performing the right actions for long enough will create the results needed to attain the things you desire. Keep going. And keep investing your time until you get what you want.

Key Takeaway

Desire –> Goal –> Plan –> Calendar –> Action –> Result –> Attainment

Remember, the process is simple. Not easy.

If you know someone who could benefit from this formula, 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.

How to present an award in a more rewarding way.

The end of the school year is award season. There are awards for academics, music, sports, volunteering, spirit, and my personal favorite, attendance. I love rewarding great achievement, attitude, and general showing-upness.

But we can present the awards in a better way.

There is a common practice of awarding Nancy Drew-style. In this practice, we present the person without a name, and everyone in attendance has to guess who the mystery achiever is. The Nancy Drew-style presentation goes something like this:

This year’s recipient is an exceptional kid who has worked extremely hard. They are funny like Kevin Hart, caring like Mother Theresa, and more importantly, have had perfect attendance. They are one of my favorite kids ever. They will probably become the President of the United States, win a Nobel Prize, or even better, become a You-Tuber.

In this practice, we don’t reveal the name of the winner until after we have said all the great things about them. Then, after all the praise and credentials are announced, the mystery is revealed, and we clap for a few seconds as they walk up and receive their certificate.

Let’s flip this practice.

Let’s announce the award recipient first. Let’s get them in front of the audience right away. Let’s share all of the accolades and appreciation while they are basking in the spotlight. This way, all of the good things we say shine on the winner in real-time. Which means you can also film the moment and share it on the socials. Then you can enjoy watching the moment over and over. Or at least until the format you captured the video on is no longer supported by Apple devices.

My son Johann just won his Wisconsin state piano competition. That dude can really play!

This practice serves as an amazing way to introduce the award winner to people they haven’t met. It enhances the winner’s personal brand. And it provides a praise experience they will never forget. Which, in the long run, is more valuable than the award itself.

Key Takeaway

When you present an award, announce the winner first. Shine the spotlight on them as you share their successes. Connect a name and face with the achievement. Because that time in the adoration spotlight is the greatest gift of all.

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.

12 important life lessons for new graduates.

It’s graduation season! Students across the country are thrilled to finally be done with classes, done with books and done with teachers’ dirty looks. But what they will soon find out is that the real life lessons start now. Because suddenly your life becomes one big multiple-choice test. And if you thought you were done with all that writing, here comes the big surprise:

Now you have to write the story of your own life!

Looking back, I can see that I have learned far more since graduating from Hanover High School in Hanover, New Hampshire and The University of Wisconsin than I did in school. In fact, I read more now than I did in school. I ask more questions. I study people and events. I analyze cause and effect. And I know far more now than I did when I thought I knew it all. (Which may also be lyrics to a country song.)

If you are a new graduate, congratulations! Welcome to the club! Here are a few things that will help you in your exciting next chapter of life. They have been a huge help for me. Which is why I shared them in my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say?

12 Important Life Lessons For New Graduates.

  1. Kickstart your day with a smile. The first thing you should do every day, while still lying in bed, is put a big smile on your face. Science has proven that not only do we smile when we feel good, we actually feel good when we smile. Smiling is the easiest positive thing you’ll do all day. Yet it has the power to propel and protect you until you crawl back into bed at night. (So, if you haven’t smiled yet today, do it now, brown cow.)

2. Fill your attitude with helium. Life is unpredictable. One moment you feel like you are on top of the world. the next moment you feel like the world is on top of you. But a helium attitude rises anyway. Don’t let setbacks, curveballs, and negative people drag you down. Do what helium does, and just keep rising. Your attitude is everything in life. Make sure you fill it with the right fuel. (And if you ever need a good laugh, suck in some real helium and say ‘Luke, I am your Father.’)

3. Your Success Is Directly Related to Your Contribution. Success is easy to understand. If you want more, contribute more. If you want to earn more money, add more value. If you want more social capital, add more value. If you want more political capital, add more value. It is the value you bring to the world that determines what the world offers you in return, Jedi.

4. The best way to live a great life is to start at the end. By viewing your life from the end you can clearly see what you could have done and what you should have done. Do this now, while you can do something about it. And you will be able to turn your life into an epic story as big as your imagination. (And go to funerals. They will teach you more about life than death. Plus, there are always free ham sandwiches.)

5. It’s the first step that matters most. Far too many people dream about the things they want to do but never take a single step towards making it happen. Your dreams start with that first step. Take it. Make it happen. (And watch Hamilton. That dude did not throw away his shot.)

6. Let envy be your guide. Don’t get fooled into thinking envy is a deadly sin and try to squash it. Envy offers insight. Note the things you envy and truly want and add them to your life list. Then create a plan to make them yours. And get to work. (Sloth, however, is a deadly sin. Don’t mess with sloths, Sid.)

7. Nothing will happen unless you make it so. JFK said, ‘Things do not happen. They are made to happen.’ Remember that action is everything. It is the difference between dreaming and doing. If you want something to happen you have to force it and will it to happen through your vision, action, and energy. This wisdom applies to friendship, entrepreneurship, and every other ship in between.

8. Always bet on yourself. Don’t buy lottery tickets. Don’t bet on sports or horses. Instead, bet on yourself. Bet on your ideas. But on your intuition. Bet on your determination. And on your willingness to affect the outcome. Stack the odds in your favor. It is the easiest way to mitigate risk and set yourself up for an epic payout. (And add Take A Chance On Me by ABBA to your life soundtrack. It’s a real toe-tapper.)

9. Find your Sliver Mentors. Everyone will offer you advice. But only take advice from people who are already doing what you want to do be doing. And rather than have one mentor for everything it is useful to have many mentors for slivers of your life. Learn the tips and tricks of the people who behave the way you want to behave. Don’t listen to every voice in the wind. Instead, carefully curate the advice you accept from those who offer great examples. (And keep a good tweezer around for regular slivers.)

10. Ask For What You Want. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. A closed door will often open when you show just how much you want to go inside. Remember, someone holds the key to unlock every locked door. (Don’t simply take what you want. Unless you look great in an orange jumpsuit.)

11. Constantly Upgrade Your Thinking: You may have graduated, but you are not done growing. Never stop improving yourself. You are like an iPhone. You should constantly be creating better versions of yourself. Each one is smarter, stronger and more capable than the one before. (And now that you will start paying for your own phone you’ll want to put a screen shield and protective case on that thang. Because phones are freak’n expensive.)

12. Don’t Build A Network. Build Friendships. Throughout your career, people will tell you that you should network. This essentially means you should meet people who can help further your career. This is bad advice. Don’t network. Instead, befriend as many people as you can. Prioritize developing genuine relationships. When you make great friends you will have a great network. Because when you make people the most important thing in your life, everything else magically falls into place. (And keep eating Lucky Charms. They’re magically delicious.)

Key Takeaway:

Commit to a lifetime of learning and growing. Get a little better every day. Read. Think. Make friends. Find people who can teach you. And always bet on yourself. The best is yet to come. But it’s up to you to make it happen.

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

+If a $16 graduation gift fits into your budget, consider grabbing a copy of What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? for yourself or the graduate in your life. You’ll get 70 more important life lessons.