Category: self improvement

Yesterday I knocked off a very important long term goal.

Today people talk a lot about wellness. About taking care of ourselves. And about preventative care. But many of us are terrible at this game. And by some of us, I mean dudes. While women often have regular health checks of some sort (or multiple sorts), guys often go completely undoctored. Which can have serious consequences.

Health Slacker

Since college, when I still had regular health supervision through the athletic department at The University of Wisconsin, I have had very little interaction with doctors other than Dr. Pepper, Dr. Suess, and Dr. Dre.

Back in the Saddle

But yesterday morning I established care with a new primary physician. (The staff kept telling me that I was establishing care, or I wouldn’t have known that was what it was called.)

Part of the reason I hadn’t seen a doctor was that I have been healthy. But that’s not a great excuse.

The other reason I hadn’t seen a doctor was that I didn’t know who to see. So I finally asked my good friend and fellow Badger, Dr. Michael Brin, an Emergency Room doc in Milwaukee, for a reco. He gave me a recommendation. I called to make an appointment. And they told me that doctor was not accepting any new patients. So I instantly knew he was lazy. And an elitist. And I didn’t want to see him anyway.

Plan B

Then the woman I was talking to recommended another physician from the same office. This doctor was a woman. I politely declined, because I prefer a dude doctor. I have a policy against getting all naked on a papered table with a lady in the room other than my wife.

The woman then offered a 3rd option, who was a dude doctor, who was seeing new patients and was not fresh out of medical school. I said yes to the dress and booked the appointment.

Then, after I got off the phone I looked up the doctor online to see how he was rated. People seemed to love this guy. So I kept the appointment.

The Big Day

Yesterday was the day. And it was easy.

I scheduled the first appointment of the day to minimize waiting room time. I saw the doctor’s assistant very quickly and got to make a bunch of health jokes. When I was asked if I vaped or smoked I responded that I wanted to, but no one had invited me yet.

I got measured.

I was thrilled to still officially be 6 feet tall, and within single digits of my weight when I graduated from high school.

They found my pulse. Which is a really good sign.

My blood pressure was in the zone, like AutoZone.

I still had no reflexes in my knees. (Throughout my life I have had no response when physicians whack me on my knees with the tiny Dorito-shaped hammers.

The Big Question

When the doctor saw me he asked me a bunch of questions. But the most interesting one was, ‘Why are you here?’

I said, ‘Because I want to live a long time.’

He then probed further, ‘But what was the trigger event that made you want to come in and see a doctor now?’

I thought about his question more deeply. Then I shared, ‘On my birthday I set goals for the year. I had goals related to all the significant areas of my life. Including marriage, family, career, relationship, financial, and travel goals. My health goal was to finally see a doctor and establish a baseline for my long-term health, and to have a resource for the future.’

My new doctor (which sounds like nude doctor) said he thought that was good thinking.

We continued the rest of the exam. He asked me about my health, who lives with me, and about my parents’ ages and health. He asked about siblings. And I was happy to have no major issues to report about them.

The experience was enjoyable. I was able to honestly say that I don’t have any real health issues or concerns.

I didn’t have to have my prostate checked the old fashion way, because apparently there is a blood screening for prostate cancer. I had eaten breakfast that morning, so I had to schedule my follow-up labwork (bloodsucking) for next week.

At the end of our visit, my new doctor thanked me for coming in. When I apologized for being so boring, he said that boring is very good. He said it was a real pleasure to have a pleasant talk with someone enjoying good health and not dealing with any major challenges.

As he was leaving the room he turned back to me, smiled, and added, ‘Tell your wife you did a good thing today.’

Conclusion

I am really happy I finally saw a doctor. Now I have an answer to ‘Who is your primary physician?’ I have peace of mind that my blood pressure is right, that my moles are still the right kind, and that I still have both a height and a weight. Within a week or so I will know if there are any other invisible things I should be concerned about. But even if there are, chances are that we caught them before they were major problems. I am happy to know that I now have a literal health plan to detect new issues early. And someone I can call and say “What’s up doc?’ whenever I have a question.

Key Takeaway

If you haven’t found a primary care doctor, do it now. Ask your friends who they see. Call that doctor. If they are a lazy elitist, ask for another available recommendation. It’s easier and more important than you think. The key to good health and to preventing small things from becoming big things is early intervention. Your family and friends want you to be around to enjoy life together for a long, long time. So if not for you, do it for them.

Note: If you are in the Milwaukee area and need a good doctor, I am happy to share my guy with 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 new book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

The most important declaration you can make on this day of independence.

Happy Independence Day! On the 4th Of July in 1776 America declared its independence from, well, everyone who was not American. You may remember the Dear John letter the guys in Philly wrote, signed, and sent to the world. In essence, it said, It’s not you, it’s me.

In reality, it said:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

– The U.S. Declaration of Independence

Boom! I imagine the 4th of July fireworks are like the sound made when they dropped the mic after signing that bad boy. (Although the mic was actually a quill pen.)

Freedom

On the 4th of July, there is much talk about our freedom. Which is perhaps the greatest nepotistic gift our forefathers could have hooked us up with.

Today, we listen to great songs about freedom by Francis Scott Key, everyone who sings country music, and Wham.

We think about and thank those who fought and died for our freedom.

Happiness

But Thomas Jefferson saved the best part of that epic sentence for the end. Because the greatest adventure in life is pursuing your own happiness. And the most important declaration you can make is that you have found it.

The Pursuit

It is not enough to be free. Use your freedom to pursue your happiness.

Find your happy places.

Spend time with happy people.

Find work that makes you happy.

Work with other happy people who enjoy what they do.

Find hobbies and play that make you happy.

Perform volunteer activities that contribute to your happiness.

Eliminate addictions that make you unhappy.

Eliminate people that make you unhappy. #buhbye

Listen to music that makes you happy. #PharellWilliams #BobbyMcFerrin #MoreCowbell

Personal Note

My wife and kids thought that a dog would add to our family’s happiness. And I admit they were right. So maybe get a dog. Unless you are allergic to dogs. (Or to picking up their poop.)

Mini-golf, flip-flops and family time all contribute to my happiness.

Key Takeaway

Let the 4th of July be a reminder to relentlessly pursue your own happiness. Discover, embrace and collect all the things that contribute to your happiness. Eliminate the things that make you unhappy. If you are unhappy with your current situation remember that you can change your whole life in one day. Our forefathers taught us that on July 4th, 1776.

God Bless America.

Have A Happy America’s Birth Day!

*Please share this message with anyone you think would benefit from this reminder.

+For other ways to discover your own happiness check out my new book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

A good sign that you are doing things the right way.


One of my great goals in life is to provide great value to others. To become a trusted and valued resource for others. Like a human Google, Wikipedia, or Oprah.

A simple indicator I use to measure my value to others is the number of Non-Disclosure agreements I am asked to sign. The NDA is a legal document that says I will keep all the secrets I am told a secret. It’s the legally binding equivalent of the pinky promise. It contains adult language that essentially says that I will zip it, lock it and put it in my pocket. Or that I cross my heart, hope to die, and stick a needle in my eye.

I sign a lot of these NDAs. Because people and companies regularly approach me and my team at The Weaponry about secret new projects, products and plans. They are looking for insights, guidance and collaboration to help a big new idea become a big success.

I love being invited into the inner circle early. And you should too. It’s a great honor and indicator of trust.

Important Questions To Consider

Are people sharing inside information with you?

Do they bring you in early?

Do they want your input?

Do you get brought in to help plan, pressure test, and introduce?

Are you asked to problem-solve?

Do you find out about opportunities first?

Do you have a secret bat phone?

Key Takeaway

The inner circle is where you want to be. It is true in your career and in your social circles. It is a sign of trustworthiness. It means others value your opinions, ideas, and experience. It means you have problem-solving skills. Or turbo-charging skills. And it’s a sign that others enjoy spending time with you. When you get invited into the inner circle it means you are providing great value to others. Which is the greatest measure of all.

+If you found value in this post you will probably also find value in my new book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

When things go bad you are just getting to the good part.

I like it when things go wrong.

I love it when reality departs from the script and improvisation is the only way forward. (I just made that up.) In fact, most of my best stories are born when life doesn’t go according to plan.

It is the plot twist, that creates interesting stories. #ChubbyChecker.

When a wrench gets thrown into your plans it is a gift, not a grenade. Because on closer inspection you’ll see that that wrench is actually a memory maker.

The pop group AJR has a fun song called 100 Bad Days that talks about bad things that have happened to them. But it’s not a sad song. Far from it. It’s delightfully upbeat and positive. And I can dance to it.

Here’s the song’s hook:

A hundred bad days made a hundred good stories. A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties.

-AJR

I love that line. It’s a reminder to adopt a crazy straw mindset. Because when life starts to suck the twists and turns also make it fun and interesting.

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Key Takeaway

The best stories often start with something going wrong. Accept the challenge. Embrace the adventure. And overcome the obstacle that was placed in your path specifically for you to overcome. Then share your story. It will make you more interesting at parties.

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

+For more of the best lessons the universe has taught me check out my new book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Never yield to pessimism.

I am an optimist. Both by nature and by nurture. It enables me to see the good in people and in situations. It helps me see solutions and silver linings. And it continuously contributes to my happiness. Like pizza. Or laughing gas.

An optimist is hopeful and confident about the future and the potential for success. An optimist is not an eye doctor. (But an eye doctor can be an optimist.)

Optimism vs Pessimism

Optimism is the precious metal of mindsets.

While pessimism is useless.

It’s a dead end.

A forfeit.

Never yield to pessimism.

There is no value in being pessimistic about humans.

Or politics.

Or law.

There is no need to be pessimistic about our economy.

Or the state of humanity.

Or your future.

These are all things that we can influence.

Humans confront challenges and we respond.

We change things for the better

Errors get corrected.

New solutions are created.

New possibilities are created.

Humans always seek better answers and better outcomes.

We believe in happy endings. Like Walt Disney. And Robert Kraft.

And we make them come true.

Why I love my gaps and you should too.

I’m willing to bet that you are not as great as you want to be. If you are, you can stop reading here.

(I see you are still reading. Which means that either I was right, or the brakes on your eyeballs don’t work.)

You may not be as fit, rich, successful, kind, patient or brave as you wish you were.

In fact, you probably fall short of your ideal on a lengthy list of skills, states, and attributes.

That’s a gift.

The gap between where you are now and your ideal provides the motivation to act. It provides the motivation to improve. It creates the silent force that propels you. It fuels your hunger, drive, and growth.

And ultimately, your gap helps close your gap.*

*If The Gap at your local mall has recently closed it’s not your fault. Unless you were the manager.

The 2 things that can help anyone become happy, fulfilled, and successful.

Everyone has the potential to be highly successful. Everyone. Regardless of your background or socio-economic factors. Regardless of the opportunities you thought were or were not available to you. Even if you don’t currently maintain a minimum standard of personal hygiene.

The 2 Things

There are 2 things you need to achieve greatness, happiness and any other type of ness you are after.

  1. A Model

You need a model of success to follow.

Ask yourself some simple questions. Who do you want to become? What do you want to be like? This could be anything. A great parent. An influential teacher. A successful business person. An accomplished athlete. A great stay-at-home Dad.

Then look for your model. The person who has done what you want to do. A model that can show you what you could create or become.

Best of all, you don’t need to know what you want to do to find a great model. Simply start looking for people who are happy and fulfilled. When you find a person you admire or envy and want to emulate, you have found a model. But you still get to choose which model to choose as your North Star.

2. A Path

Once you have a model, you need a path. Your path is like your personal Yellow Brick Road. It is the course you must travel to achieve the model. And depending on your path it may or may not contain lions, scarecrows and trees that throw apples at you.

In short: The model is your destination. The path is how you get there.

The path provides the instructions and the coursework. The path includes the dos and don’ts. The path shows you the roads to travel, complete with onramps and interchanges.

The path includes books, schools, and teachers. It includes habits, practices and processes. And it may include other models to study.  And in my experience studying models doesn’t even feel like studying.

Mapping The Path

Once you find the model you want to follow you need to discover their path. Mapping their path becomes your research project.

Potential Questions To Ask Your Model

  • What did they do?
  • How did they do it?
  • When did they do what?
  • And where?
  • Why did they make the decisions they made?
  • Who helped them?
  • What would they do differently now that they know what they know?

Don’t guess. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Don’t spin your wheels either. The answers are there for you to discover. If your model is someone famous, or dead, research their story. You will find many of the answers you need through a little digging. (To be clear, I mean you can dig into their story, not dig up their dead body.)

Key Takeaway

Begin looking for your model today. And when you find that person, discover their path. The path is where the transformational magic happens.

If you have become a model, share your path. Share what you know. Inspire others. Bring others along. If you have found joy, happiness, success, and fulfillment in your life consider showing others how you did it. It may be the most valuable work you ever do.

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

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

Here’s what new graduates should do now to improve their careers.

Most high school seniors will graduate within the next week or two. High school commencement is one of the most exciting events in a human’s life. And with good reason. The best, most interesting chapters of your story start after high school. Unless, of course, you were in an epic high school-based movie. In which case, it’s all downhill from here.  (You can check the 50 Greatest High School Movies of All Time here to make sure you weren’t in one).

As you begin down the yellow brick road of life you will constantly encounter new challenges and opportunities. You will find people who are trying to help you, people who need your help, and people who just want to steal your slippers.

You’ll benefit from as much good advice from those who have traveled the road before you as you can get. So please allow me to contribute a little worthwhile advice from someone who has been there, done that, and discovered some secrets to a successful journey.

An Open Letter to High School Seniors.

Dear Seniors,

Four to ten years from now, when you graduate from college, finish your military obligations, or give up on your Hollywood/Nashville/YouTube/Lottery dream, you will start focusing on your real career. When you do, everyone will tell you that you need to start building your network.

But they are wrong. You need to start building your network now. So before you throw your binders in the trash, your graduation cap in the air, and carve your initials into the wood paneling of the senior lounge, you should begin building your professional network.

WTH Is A Professional Network?

Your professional network is a collection of the people you know that may be able to positively impact your professional career. The people in your network, or community, will be able to help with career advice, finding a job, and connecting you to other people and businesses that are important to your career advancement. You will also be able to provide the same sort of help to others in your network. Because it takes a village to keep a child from moving back into their parents’ basement.

Who Are My Connections?

Your connections are your friends, your family, and your teachers. Your connections are your friends’ parents. They are the adults you know from church, and the extracurricular activities you’ve participated in. They are your coaches. They are the kids you competed both with, and against, in sports. They are the kids you know from camp (like that one girl who played the flute).

Starting A Connection Collection.

The best career move you high school seniors should make right now is to create a profile on LinkedIn and start collecting your connections. LinkedIn is an online social networking site for the business community. And right now is the best time to start collecting your network. By starting now, you will collect the most connections. And the more connections you properly maintain, the stronger your network will be. It’s kinda like being popular in high school. Only this type of popularity can dramatically impact your salary (your salary is the adult version of an allowance).

Grow As You Go

You will want to continue collecting your friends and acquaintances throughout college, trade school, military service, your walkabout, or your creative exploratory period. Every time you meet someone new, don’t just think about adding them to Snap or Insta.  Sure, do that too. But definitely add them to LinkedIn. Granted, the filters on LinkedIn aren’t as good as Snapchat. But having a good job makes you look better than any photographic editing or augmented reality can.

It’s All About The Network, (and the Benjamins)

Eventually, everyone is going to tell you to network and build your network, and that it is all about your network. That’s just an adult way of saying:

Stay in touch with the people you know, because it will connect you to opportunities, advice and endorsements that will prove highly beneficial down the road.

Why Start As A High School Senior?

You know a lot of people now that you are going to forget. Those kids you go to school with are going to do amazing things with remarkable organizations. And they are going to have opportunities for you, but only if you stay in touch. You are also going to have opportunities for them. Even better, in the real world, there are things called referral bonuses. Which means you can make extra money for helping your organization find good talent. #cha-ching

Monitoring Your Classmates

Adding your friends to LinkedIn is like putting a tracking device on them. It will allow you to collect intel on each person, like where they went to school, what they majored in, and where they worked after college.

It also puts a tracking device on you, so that others will remember your educational track, your career path and your special interests and activities. That way your connections will know when their opportunities intersect with your skills, interests and abilities.

The Adult Rock Stars Around You

Your neighbors, teachers and friends’ parents are more successful and connected than you know. Four or five years from now you could end up in a job interview with them. Or with their friends or relatives. When that happens, you will want every advantage you can get. Like a good endorsement from someone who knew you were always such a good kid. (You were always a good kid, right?)

Trust Me. I Know.

I started my career in advertising as a copywriter. But I always envisioned becoming an entrepreneur and someday starting my own ad agency. 19 years later, that’s exactly what I did. In 2016 I launched my own advertising and idea agency, The Weaponry.

Do you know who my very first client was? My friend Dan Richards, whom I have known since 7th grade. Dan is the Founder and  CEO of a badass company called Global Rescue.  Which means that Dan and I went from high school classmates, and football and track teammates, to summer job coworkers, to trusted business partners. We have helped each other launch highly successful companies.

Today, one of my important clients is Sarah Wilde at Sonic Foundry, an innovative technology company based in Madison, Wisconsin. But Sarah and I have also known each other since 7th Grade, and we grew up together in Norwich, Vermont.

Sarah helped plan a couple of our Hanover High School class reunions. And I planned the most recent one. At that reunion back home in New England, we talked about potentially doing work together. Since then we have launched 2 completely new brands together from dust. As we would say in Vermont, that’s wicked awesome.

Note To Self

They say the best day to plant a tree is 20 years ago. And the second-best day is today. The same holds true for building your network. Start now by collecting your connections before you leave high school. But if you are already in college, serving your country, or in the middle of your career, and you haven’t been building your network, start now. (By now I mean after you read the next paragraph.)

Key Takeaway

There are amazingly talented people all around you. So start collecting them today. It’s the very best way to assure an abundance of everything you will need later in your career. By doing so you may help one of your high school classmates find their dream job. Or launch their own business. Or they may help you launch your dream business. I know. Because it happened to me.

-Adam Albrecht

Founder & CEO of The Weaponry

+If you realize that this is worthwhile advice, you might also like my new book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? It is full of more lessons like this. It features 80 of the best life lessons I have learned since graduation. Good luck graduates! It just gets better from here.

* If you know a recent graduate that you think could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

You don’t need a passion to have a fulfilling career.

I used to think that in order to be really happy in your career you had to find something you were passionate about. Then you just make that your life’s pursuit. But I no longer believe that is true. And neither should you.

Passions are: 

  1. Difficult to find
  2. Difficult to define
  3. Difficult to turn into a lucrative career.
  4. Likely to make you cut off your ear and mail it to someone you admire. #WayToVanGogh

The problem is that most people’s passions are things like music, art, yoga, puppies, food, sleep, alcohol, video games, and sexual activities. These are all good passions. And it’s easy to express how much you love these things with bumper stickers. It’s much harder to turn them into lucrative careers.

To become really happy with your career you don’t need to start out with a passion. 

You simply have to find an interesting challenge. 

If you are into problem-solving or skill development, almost anything can be considered an interesting challenge.

Next, focus on getting really good at that interesting challenge. As you get better and better at it, people will notice. They will turn to you first as a trusted resource. Then people will turn to you as an expert in that area. And that feels great. (Unless you are a hired assassin. In which case you probably have mixed feelings.)

Through the process of becoming really good at your chosen work, you are highly likely to develop a passion for your area of expertise. Consider that most people aren’t born with a passion for supply chain management, textile manufacturing, or currency trading. But a surprising number of people die with those passions.

Which means that when you dive into an interesting challenge, the challenge itself can ignite your passion. We develop passion in areas that make us feel strong, skilled and admired. We become passionate when we understand nuances and develop extreme intelligence in specific areas. Because what we are really becoming passionate about is self-improvement, mastery, and excellence.

Key Takeaway

Passions develop over time. Don’t make finding your passion your goal. Instead, recognize that the world offers an endless supply of interesting challenges and problems to solve. Grab one of them. Any of them. Then dive in. The challenge itself will be interesting. Your professional development will be fun and rewarding. Your expanding knowledge, skills and perspective will increase your value to others. Which is highly rewarding. And somewhere along the way, your interesting challenge alchemizes into your passion. When it does your work no longer feels like work. It feels like passion. And it will make others wonder how to discover their own passion so that they love their work as much as you do.

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

+ For more life lessons the universe is trying to share with you check out my new book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

How to know where you are on your improvement journey.

Anytime you try something new you will be bad at it. Or at least relatively bad at it. And I don’t mean like Michael Jackson or George Thorogood.

But when you are trying to develop your skills and abilities there is a useful way to think about your improvement journey.

Simply focus on increasing the percentage of times you get it right.

At first, you may get a specific technique or execution right 1 in 1000 or 1 in 100 tries.

This means that you’ve moved your percentage from 0% to 0.1%, or from 0% to 1%.

That’s amazing progress.

In fact, it is the most important progress of all.

Then just keep going.

At 2% you are 100% better than you were at 1%. Or at least that was true according to old math.

Now, focus your efforts to increase your success rate from 1 in 100 to 1 in 10. 

Then advance to 5 in 10.

Next push yourself to 9 out of 10. Like the dentists who recommend Crest toothpaste.

Then keep pushing yourself until you can nail 99 out of 100 attempts.

Key Takeaway

Self-improvement is a percentage game. You’ll likely never get every task right 100% of the time. But get as close as you can. Pay attention to your performance percentages. It is the easiest way to track your progress. Keep pushing yourself. The challenge is fun, rewarding, and most importantly, quantifiable.

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

+For more tips and techniques for your self-improvement journey check out my new book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.