As I drove south for spring break I kept noticing signs that I was entering different watersheds. A watershed is an interesting geographical designation. It means that a drop of rain that falls in that area will flow into a specific river, sea or other body of water. And while it is poetic to think about the flow of that pure drop of rain, the forces of a watershed work just as well on a spilled can of Mountain Dew or that 40-ouncer you poured out for your homie.
Attitude Flow
The same dynamics that govern water in a watershed also apply to your thoughts and attitude.
Negative thoughts land in a negative watershed where they will collect with other negative thoughts. They create a river of negativity that will naturally flow into a sea of negativity. And in that sea, everything sinks. No one wants to go there. Yet almost everyone ends up there at some point. Kinda like a funeral home. Or the Newark airport.
Conversely, your positive thoughts land in a positive watershed and will naturally flow into a river and ultimately a sea of positivity. That Sea of Positity provides boundless buoyancy. It is where everyone wants to be. And the cost of admission is simply a positive attitude.
Key Takeaway
Your attitude determines your thoughts. Your thoughts determine your future. This flow of thoughts into watersheds is a universal law as reliable as gravity. So choose your attitude carefully. Because it will dictate your destination.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Last week I traveled from Milwaukee to Florida for work. While it should have been exciting to leave below-freezing temperatures for 80 degrees and sunshine, things kept going wrong.
First, I couldn’t find a parking space because the 6-story parking structure at the airport was reduced to only 2 active levels. Which felt like an April Fool’s joke. But it was March 9th. And March Fool’s Day is still not a thing in Wisconsin.
Then, after clearing security I heard an announcement in the terminal that some silly rabbit left their keys at TSA. After patting my pockets I realized that I was that silly rabbit. So I bunny-hopped back to security with my cotton tail between my legs to retrieve my little lost fob.
When I finally reached my gate and attempted to board the plane, my mobile ticket came up as invalid. Even though I had checked in 24 hours earlier and had a QR code for boarding, apparently when I deliberately changed from my complimentary seat upgrade back to my original exit row window, the system unchecked me. Because I was no longer checked in 30 minutes prior to boarding, they gave away my seat.
They rebooked me in the last row of the plane. But when I got to the last row, someone was already sitting in my seat. And he was more Papa Bear than Goldilocks.
All of this happened before 5:45 am.
It would have been easy to decide that I was having a bad day. Or that I was unlucky. Or to take it all as a sign that I wasn’t supposed to leave Milwaukee that day. And maybe that is all true. But I interpreted it differently.
I recognized that some days you run a sprint. Some days you run a marathon. And some days you run hurdles. And I was running hurdles.
Things go wrong all the time. It is the nature of a world run by humans, Mother Nature, and ever-present gravity. It doesn’t mean that life is bad. Or that you are unlucky. It’s just how things work, or don’t work as the case may be.
Key Takeaway
Keep life’s challenges in perspective. Life is good. Challenging situations are just part of the deal. Don’t let the hurdles of life stop you. Clear them and keep going. That’s what successful people do.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Earlier this week I was on a flight from Milwaukee to Atlanta when the plane encountered significant turbulence. I wasn’t worried about my personal safety. But I was concerned about my MacBook Pro’s electrical circuits as the flight attendant passed a very bouncy cup of orange juice over my laptop at a low altitude.
After several long minutes of bouncing, I felt like a pioneer crossing the prairie in a covered wagon. Except this wagon featured wi-fi, a lavatory, and lighted signs and placards.
Finally, the pilot decided it was time for his State-of-The-Cabin address. He announced, ‘We are dealing with a lot of chop here. So we’re going to try to find a better altitude.’
I immediately loved the idea of finding a better altitude. Not just on a bouncy Boeing. But anytime you encounter chop that doesn’t come from a butcher.
When you find resistance and rough going, you can suffer through it. Or you can look for a better altitude. Which means trying a different path, adjusting your angle, or altering your approach.
Exploring different altitudes can help you find a better way to solve problems, reduce resistance, and connect with others people. But most importantly, exploring different altitudes can help you find the best attitude. And that often makes all the difference.
Key Takeaway
When things are bumpy look for another altitude. There are many different paths to take. Some are better than others. There is no single approach that works best all the time. But you won’t find a better alternative unless you look for it. Because a little trial and error is often the best way to find the best way.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
There is a cute story about 2 young fish who are just hanging out when an older fish swims past. The older fish says to the younger fish, ‘Hey boys! How’s the water?’ The younger fish smile and wave. Then, after the older fish passes, the younger fish turn to each other and ask, ‘What is water?’
It is a reminder that we often miss the things that surround us. In human life, it is not the water that we miss. And it’s not really the air either. Unless you are hiking at altitude. Or have emphysema.
The thing that humans don’t recognize is life itself.
I try to remind my family and friends of this regularly. When good, fun, beautiful and interesting things happen I take a moment to say, ‘This is your life.’
It is my way of saying, enjoy this. Recognize that thismoment is life. Because your life is really just a collection of moments. Some are small. Some are large. But all are valuable.
Your life is not about what is coming. It is not about your hopes and dreams. It’s not about someday when you’ll be living in a big old city with Taylor Swift.
Your life is not the destination at the end of the journey. Because, spoiler alert, the end of the journey isn’t that great. Just ask Steve Perry.
If you don’t take a moment to recognize the moments of your life, as your life, the whole experience will pass you by without you even recognizing it.
Don’t let that happen to you.
Key Takeaway
Your life is happening right now. Don’t miss it. Awareness enables you to enjoy and appreciate the great things, large and small that make up your experience. Don’t waste this gift. Don’t settle. Do the things you have always wanted to do now. There is no other time.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
As humans, we lose perspective on just how lucky we really are on a daily basis. We think about the things that go wrong and the things we don’t have. We take all the great stuff we do have for granted. You know, things like oxygen, water, and Panera.
Here’s a little reminder that 99% of the world is nothingness. It’s just a vast empty space, called space. It’s a dark and nearly endless void between the very rare somethings.
It is a frick’n miracle that you are here, on Earth, with the best resources in the known universe. Including chocolate, Wi-Fi and Magic Erasers.
It’s time to put what you have into proper perspective. You have amazing opportunities and privileges. To complain about what you don’t have misses the point by a lightyear or two, Buzz.
Forget your FoMo. Earth is the only life-sustaining stage, show or opportunity that you could reach within your lifetime. And yet you were born here. You are one lucky dog, Dawg.
Key Takeaway
Appreciate your life. Even the smallest details. Embrace the opportunity you have been blessed with. See it for what it really is: A miracle. Enjoy it to the fullest extent allowed by law.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Every January we think about the year ahead. We set goals and resolutions and dream about how we are going to be different in 365 days. It’s a beautiful idea. But it doesn’t really work. Because while there is no shortage of goals, dreams or plans, results are harder to find than a squeezable pack of Charmin in 2020.
A major part of the problem is that a year is just too long. It gives you too much time to slack off. Think about the hare from the law firm of Tortoise & Hare. That bunny had too, too, too much time on his hands. In a one-minute race, the rabbit would have dominated. It was the perception that he had plenty of time for a comeback that ruined him.
The Solve
The best way to crush your goals like red pepper is to stop measuring your progress in years. Instead, focus on having great hours.
Start each day with your success list. Then block your activities on your calendar. Those time blocks are your building blocks for success. By stacking several great hours together daily, and doing that day after day, you will build great weeks, months, and years.
It all starts with the hour you are in right now. (Like Van Halen said.) Focus on making this hour great. Then, think about grading your hours every day. If you do what you intended to do with an hour, give it an excellent grade. If you didn’t do the work, workout, reading, rest, socializing, or play that you intended to do, that hour gets a poor grade.
The feedback is immediate. And motivating. Experiencing a bad hour will inspire you to respond with a much better next hour. Which means your comeback is always less than 60 minutes away. (Although L.L. Cool J won’t call it a comeback.)
There are 168 hours in every week. Which translates to a lot of opportunities for progress and happiness. Make them count. And you will turn your entire life into a success story.
Key Takeaway
Shorten your measurable units of success. The power in a great hour is instantly recognizable and controllable. An hour well spent provides a great return on your investment. Which has a compounding effect. Remember, great hours are the building blocks of a great life. And you will start to see the results in just 60 minutes.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
I commit to reading at least 24 books every year. That’s 12 physical books and 12 audiobooks. If you are good at both math and calendars you’ll recognize that I am reading one of each type every month. If you are into donuts or eggs you may think they have been a big influence on my goal setting. And you would be right.
My physical book reading list for 2023. I am now reading my 3rd book and listening to my 3rd audiobook of the year.
This year I modified my plan a little. I gathered 12 physical books from my own library that I had not yet read to create my 2023 reading list.
As I sifted through my stack of books to determine which one to read first one of them grabbed my attention for several reasons. And while you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, if this book cover was a person it would be a hottie with a karate body.
Factfulness by Hans Rosling, with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rohnnlund started with a strong first impression. Its cover was an excellent advertisement for the book itself. At the top of the cover is an attention-grabbing quote:
“One of the most important books I’ve ever read – an indisputable guide to thinking clearly about the world.”
-Bill Gates
Not only is Gates a fairly successful businessman who boasts an impressive money collection, he is also a voracious reader, who takes vacations alone every year simply to read and think. That is next-level nerdery. So when he drops such a strong endorsement I am picking it up.
But if I wasn’t already sold the subhead would have sealed the deal. It explained the book as ‘Ten reasons we’re wrong about the world- and why things are better than you think.’
Not only do I love a good you’re-thinking-about-this-all-wrong message, but I’m also an optimist. So to hear that the world is better than we think is totally up my alley. (I don’t actually have an alley. But nobody says ‘That is totally up my circle driveway.’)
There was also a New York Times Bestseller sunburst on the cover, which sealed the deal.
Wow!
I dug into the book and couldn’t have loved it more. The basic premise of Factfulness is that we need to look for the current facts about the world. And not just facts about the world as we think we know them, or as we used to know them. Because the world is improving at a rapid rate. And life on the planet is now better for nearly everyone on nearly every measure. Which makes this book like the Magic Eraser of gloom-and-doom.
The Roslings drop incredible amounts of data that prove their point. But it is presented in easy-to-digest charts. These charts include 16 Bad Things That Are Decreasing and 16 Good Things That Are Increasing. And even Alex Trebek would say these are no trivial things.
The book debunks the myth of the gap between the haves and have-nots. It provides a much more useful way to classify people into meaningful groups, and to see that all groups are not in permanent situations, but instead on a positive trajectory of improvement. Best of all, it shows how each group is likely to arrive at the next level sooner than you think.
Factfulness introduces 10 basic instincts that all humans naturally rely on to formulate their worldview. (This includes Sharon Stone.) But these instincts repeatedly lead to inaccurate conclusions. The book teaches you how to disarm those instincts to prevent conclusion-jumping and ultimately see the world as it really is.
Key Takeaway
If you are looking for a better outlook on the world and the human condition, pick up Factfulness. It provides a perspective-altering look at the world that will change the way you think about everything from the news to vaccinations, to gender equality and education. Gift this book to the most cynical people you know. Because the world is good and getting better. Because humans are making it happen. In fact, the only thing that is truly lagging behind is our ability to see the positive planetary change. And the Roslings are committed to changing that too.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Most people consider me a very happy person. I am lucky that my baseline is happier than most. I see the good in people and in situations. I find silver linings in setbacks. (I can also find a silver lining inside one of my favorite sportcoats.)
I study happiness like Tim McGraw. Because I like it. I love it. And I want more of it.
But I also embrace unhappiness. Because I have discovered that unhappiness in high enough doses leads to greater happiness.
Mild to moderate unhappiness, as they say in drug commercials, is fairly useless. It simply makes you feel bad.
But serious unhappiness is a gift. When you experience a significant level of unhappiness, whether acute or accumulated, it provides motivation for change.
Motivational unhappiness comes in several flavors, including sadness, frustration, anger, and disappointment. (But not dat-appointment.) You can use any of these forces to your benefit.
So when you feel unhappiness, don’t just feel sorry for yourself. Feel it until it fuels you to make a change. Those emotions are there to tell you to change directions. That’s why your response to unhappiness can save any day. And it can change your entire life for the better.
Key Takeaway
Happiness is the ultimate goal. But sometimes the path to happiness runs directly through unhappiness. Because in great enough doses, it provides the motivation you need to move forward. Recognize the gift. And use it to your advantage.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Over the weekend my daughter Ava and I went to a concert. As we left the venue and walked to our car, we couldn’t help but laugh at how good the whole experience was. Because despite long odds, lucky things kept happening to us. And we felt like we were Forrest Gumping.
Our string of good luck was especially evident because the Noah Kahan concert we attended had been sold out for months, and we didn’t have tickets. Then in a strange twist, the concert in Milwaukee switched venues, and a few extra tickets were available for a couple of hours. Not only did we snatch up 2 regularly priced tickets, we stumbled onto the last two special-access wristbands at the venue. Then, we got pictures with Noah and talked to him after the show.
Ava is in the front row in the green jacket. Noah Kahan is in the second-row middle. I am in the back row on the right side, wearing a hat and a smile.
As we reflected on our amazing experience at the end of the night, Ava noted how this type of thing always seems to happen to me. She looked at me as if I was Mr. Miyagi and asked,
‘What is your secret Dad? Why is it that things always seem to work out for you? Teach me your ways!’
-Ava Albrecht
I laughed. But I knew she was right. Things tend to work out well for me. After a moment I said, ‘There’s a lot to it. Let me think about how to share this with you.’
The next day, while we were driving from Milwaukee to Madison for some discus training I told her that I had an answer to her question about why things seem to work out well for me most of the time.
The 4 Ps of Good Fortune
There are 4 important factors that help create opportunity, positive outcomes and luck. And as luck would have it, they all start with the letter P.
People: People are your links to opportunities. Most people miss this. But the majority of your great opportunities will come from other humans. The more people you know, and the more people who like you, trust you, and want to spend time with you the more good things will come your way. People send invitations. People open doors. People re-write rules. So befriend people. Keep them close. Treat them well. It will lead to good things, just like the Fine Young Cannibals said.
Place: Opportunities happen at specific spots on the planet. Sometimes that means being in the right country, state or city. But it often means being at an event. It could mean you should position yourself within a few feet of a specific spot or a person. Because that is the place where an opportunity is going to appear. Recognize those spots and put yourself there. Remember that today, many of those places are digital. So be on LinkedIn. Engage in social media. And snatch up those opportunities that are only available online. I found the concert tickets online when Nohan Kahan announced there were a few new tix available on Instagram. I also found my 100-year-old typewriter on Facebook.
Ava put herself in a place where she would be noticed.
Preparation: Preparing yourself for opportunities is extremely important. If you know there is a chance to interact with a person in a specific place, you can prepare to have that interaction go well. Preparation means doing your homework.
It means wearing the right clothes. It means having the right question, request, or introduction ready. It means bringing your baseball glove to the ballgame so you can catch the homerun ball. It means having your eclipse glasses on you when the sun slips behind the moon. It means having money saved and ready to buy the priceless piece of art you find at the yard sale.
Noah Kahan literally called Ava out of the crowd for wearing her Dan & Whit’s shirt, from his home in Vermont. #preparartioon
Positive Energy This is one of the most valuable resources on the planet. Humans are drawn to it like gold, sunsets, and street performers. You have to learn to tap into your own positive energy. Let it flow from you.
In the same way that humans like to gather around the heat of a campfire, we enjoy standing near the glow of positive energy. It magnetizes you. Which attracts both people and opportunities. (According to Notorious B.I.G. it can also attract Mo Money n’ Mo Problems. But I haven’t reached that level yet.) To tap into the power of your positive energy simply smile more. That is where it all starts.
Key Takeaway
You have the ability to create your own great opportunities. Start by treating people well. Put yourself in the right places. Prepare to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. And share as much positive energy with the world as you have to give. That is how good luck is made.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Before I launched the advertising and ideas agency, The Weaponry, I read an article about Pharrell Williams in Fast Company. In the article, the famously happy singer, songwriter, and producer talked about his success and inspirations that have helped him along the way. He didn’t mention the Arby’s hat.
Williams raved about the book The AlchemistbyPaulo Coelho. In fact, he claimed that this book was like his Bible. And since The Bible is my Bible, I figured The Alchemist was probably also worth reading. So I bought a used copy. And I devoured it. (In a literary way, not a digestive track-way.)
The book helped me think about the story of my life and my personal legend. It made me start paying attention to all the signs the universe was sending me, encouraging me to follow my own path. This was highly valuable because at the time the universe started putting up neon signs everywhere. Like Reno.
Those signs were telling me that I should launch a new ad agency. So I did, in part because The Alchemist helped me recognize the signs, and taught me that when you want something enough the whole universe conspires to help you get it. (Except maybe for short sellers. Those people love a good dumpster fire.)
Shortly after reading The Alchemist, I started my entrepreneurial adventure. That was 7 years ago. Entrepreneurship led me to blog. Which led me to write my first book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? Which has led me to amazing speaking opportunities. Which has made me think a lot about what’s next for me and my personal story.
So I recently picked up The Alchemist again. I eagerly read through it in 3 days. But I also recently read a quote (or maybe it was a fortune cookie) that said You never read the same book twice. That was definitely true of my reread of The Alchemist.
This time around I didn’t feel like I was just starting my journey. I felt like I was in the thick of writing my story every day, with the universe as my co-author. And the story keeps getting better. Today I feel a little like Clark Kent or Bruce Banner must have felt once they began understanding their superpowers. Except my superpowers are more like smiling, offering encouragement, and dropping random pop culture references. But I’ll take what I can get, yes I’ll take what I can get. (And then she looked at me with big brown eyes and said…)
Key Takeaway:
Read The Alchemist. Or re-read it if you have read it before. You will find something new and inspiring. I am sure there are signs the universe is giving you right now that you don’t recognize. This book will help you see.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Adam Albrecht Blog 