Tag: grit

The valuable life lesson you can learn from chewing gum.

When I was a kid, I liked chewing gum. I found the whole process fascinating. And when I say the whole process, I mean the whole process. I discovered that human effort can transform gum. And through the same process, we can learn to transform ourselves. Which is getting pretty deep for a story about chewing gum. But let’s go with it and see what we land.

Chew, Chew!

Gum starts as a solid form. It’s typically a stick or a small blocky nugget of some sort. Although it could be shaped like tape or rope. It could be a primary-colored ball. (I always call gumballs Bryant or Greg.) Or your gum may be shredded like cheese if you are into Big League Chew. And I am into Big League Chew.

As you begin to chew, your gum changes form under your direction. It softens as you mash it and mold it with your molars.

During the chewing process, gum releases its embedded flavor into your mouth. Gumtastic flavors include mint, peppermint, spearmint, experiment, wintergreen, cinnamon, grape, orange, watermelon, sour apple, lemon, strawberry, blueberry and the elusive juicy fruit, the Sasquatch of fruit.

Despite the wide range of interesting flavors that are used to create and market gum, shortly after you start chewing, the flavor disappears. And when it does, the most enjoyable part of the experience is over. Boo.

Then, not long after that, the gum begins to harden. Double Boo.

At this point, the fun part of chewing gum is over for most people. In fact, most people spit their gum out somewhere between the flavor dissipation and the great hardening.

But my favorite part of chewing gum comes after most people quit it, spit it and forget it.

At that point, most people feel they have extracted all the value they could get from gum. Other than maybe sticking the hard, flavorless wad to the underside of a desk or a railing for Buddy Elf.

Most people have no idea what happens after chewing gum loses flavor and hardens.

But I know.

Because when I was a kid, I loved to keep mashing away after the thrill was gone for most kids. I felt like the gum became an opponent to beat. I felt the gum was challenging me to a showdown on the playground at high noon. And the formerly fruity gum thought it was tougher than me.

But I wouldn’t wave the white flag.

I kept chewing and chomping. Like a cow chewing cud. Or Hubba Bubba. Or Bazooka.

Then, an interesting thing happened.

The gum gave up.

The wad of gum that became so tough to chew threw in its tiny little gum towel. It softened again. And then it fell apart. It lost all shape. It lost its will to gum. It stopped resisting. And it literally liquefied.

The formerly proud gum became a runny puddle of nothingness. No flavor. No form. No function. In fact, you could no longer even hold it in your mouth. If you didn’t spit the puddle out it would leak out of your face.

I loved getting to that point. It always made me feel like I had won. I felt like I took on a difficult challenge and completed it. I felt like I took on a difficult opponent, and I beat it. Like Michael Jackson.

The Lesson

Gum chewing taught me I could do hard things. That I could push through the unrewarding muddy middle of a long process. And that if I just kept going, even when it wasn’t fun. I would win.

I have applied the gum-chewing lesson countless times throughout my life. I found the approach useful as a track and field athlete when the work felt hard and the rewards felt small. It was helpful as an entrepreneur when I started The Weaponry and found that you just have to keep chewing no matter what. The lesson served me well when I wrote What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? and the work seemed long and the finish line was nowhere in sight. And as I faced the hard and unrewarding parts of parenthood, employment and yard maintenance I reminded myself that the key to getting through tough times and past challenging obstacles it to just keep chewing.

Key Takeaway


Success and accomplishment is like chewing gum. Everyone enjoys the beginning. It’s full of flavor and quick rewards. But when those immediate rewards disappear, it’s easy to quit. You lose interest and motivation. And when things get hard, it’s easy to get soft. But if you just keep going, keep doing and chewing, you will win. You will get the ultimate reward of knowing that you are tougher than the things you face. It’s an incredibly valuable lesson to learn from a stick of Big Red or Juicy Fruit. It’s a lesson that is more valuable than the fun, the flavor or the freshening the gum provides. But you only learn that lesson by sticking around when things get hard, and chewing to the very end.

*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.

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.

This week I was reminded of a valuable life lesson thanks to a Starbucks mishap.

On Thursday morning I met my great friend Roland ‘Rocky’ Larochelle for breakfast. We hadn’t seen each other for more than a year. When I arrived at the Starbucks he met me by the front door and we heartily greeted each other. It was a great start to the morning. Like Tony The Tiger Great.

Roland had already ordered, so I walked to the counter and ordered a breakfast sandwich and grabbed a chocolate milk from the cooler. Because chocolate milk is my jam. Then I made my way to the small round table where Roland was sitting with his vente coffee. As I sat down, excited to catch up on the past year with an old friend, Roland moved his coffee to the side of the table to make room for me. This is typically an uneventful act. But that morning, the act was most definitely eventful.

In the process of moving his tall and freshly full coffee, the cup tripped and tipped. In an instant, the entire drink splashed onto the table and then poured onto the floor.

The aftermath. It looks like the coffee spilled in the shape of Pangea.

That’s Just Life

These types of mishaps happen all the time. Things are constantly going wrong in both our professional and personal lives. How you respond to such events determines the tone of your life.

You can allow such incidents to make you angry, bitter, deflated or depressed. Or, you can recognize that these setbacks are an expected and unavoidable element of life. You take the hit and roll with it. Like Tina Turner. (That was supposed to be a reference to Proud Mary, not Ike.)

The filter you use to interpret your setbacks determines whether you are floored by them or strengthened.

The Response

For a brief moment after the spill, there was no response. It was like that moment after you see a flash of lightning before you hear the inevitable thunder. You know it’s coming. But you don’t know how soon it will hit. And you don’t know if it will rumble or crack.

Then it hit.

Roland and I both erupted in laughter. It was the best possible response. We recognized that our 20-year friendship had just added another funny story. A new layer. An event to talk about.

Roland is clearly a great guy to spill coffee with.

There is no use crying over spilled coffee. Even $7 coffee. So we moved our things to the next table and began the clean-up. We grabbed napkins and notified the barista-janitor behind the counter of the caffeinetastrophe that had just occurred at table #9.

Within 2 minutes there were no signs of the spill on the table or the floor. Just as the final drops were being mopped another Barista in her superhero apron appeared at our table and presented Roland with a replacement coffee that she had made without us even asking. Thanks, SuperBarsista! You saved the day!

Key Takeaway

Setbacks happen. Everywhere, all the time. It’s not your bad luck. It is life. And physics. Those things are constantly spilling your drinks, breaking your things, blocking your progress, and stealing your time. Just roll with it. These are the basic challenges in the game of life. Keep playing. It makes the whole adventure of life more interesting. It makes you stronger and more capable for the next challenge. And all those setbacks transform into stories. And sooner or later you realize that a good life is just a collection of good stories.

*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 5 little words of encouragement I tell myself when things get rough.

Life isn’t easy. It never has been. In fact, things go wrong all the time. And when you are trying to do hard things personally or professionally you will experience bumps, twists, stops, and restarts. It can be maddening. But so is quitting.

When things get hard and the ride gets rough, I always tell myself these 5 simple words:

Just stay on the horse.

Like you, most of the challenges I face don’t involve riding an actual horse.

But many of the difficult things we encounter feel like a bucking horse trying to throw us to the ground.

Things like work issues, relationship challenges, parenting, adversaries, unexpected expenses, illness, and weather. (Did I mention parenting?)

Remember, problems and challenges will keep coming. But they will also go away. You just have to make sure you stay on the horse long enough to enjoy watching the challenges go away.

So don’t quit, Buckaroo. And don’t give up. Tame the challenge. And enjoy the smooth ride on the other side.

Key Takeaway

Just stay on the horse. The bumps are part of the adventure. They make the ride more difficult. But they make the success sweeter. They make the story better. And ultimately, they make you better too.

*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 talent alone is never enough to be successful.

There are talented people everywhere.

There is talent in the richest neighborhoods.

And in dirty tent villages.

There is talent in the best schools.

And in maximum security prisons.

Don’t ask me how I know…

Talent is not a rare gem.

It is as common as stone. Just ask Cold Steve Austin.

The great rarity is the will to invest time and energy to develop your talent.

The will to work, sacrifice, and stay the course over a prolonged period makes all the difference. It transforms your talent into valuable skills and desired results. It is that investment that separates the masses from the wildly successful.

Key Takeaway

Everyone has talent. It is what you are willing to invest to develop your talent that makes all the difference.

*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 best thing to do when you don’t feel ready to face a daunting task.

Earlier this week my daughter Ava and I were at the gym lifting weights. She is hyper-focused on smashing her high school’s 44-year-old discus record next spring. (She was only 2 feet off the record as a junior.) I was in the gym because I don’t want Hans and Frans to pick on me.

Ava had a leg day workout, and she had reached the most challenging part of her training week. She had already done 3 sets of power cleans and had finished 2 sets of squats. Which meant that her last and heaviest set of squats was next. If you are the type to throw up while working out, this is a good time to have a garbage can within spewing distance.

At this point in your leg day workout, you are as tired as you ever feel in the gym. Yet you still have one more set to go. It’s the toughest part of the day. The toughest part of the week. It’s when you search your music playlist for your most Eye-Of-The-Tigerish song to help you Rocky up.

I asked Ava, ‘Are you ready for your last set?’

She shot back, ‘No, but I’m going to do it anyway.’

As Ava’s Dad-Coach, I swelled with pride. Because that comment, those 8 simple words, demonstrate that Ava has the mindset required for great success.

Go Anyway

Life does not often present ideal conditions. And when you’re trying to do hard things, you often put yourself in positions where you feel not yet ready for the next task. But to be successful you have to go anyway.

I know that mindset. I had to rely on it in athletics when I entered major competitions after a rough week of practice. When I was fatigued, sore or mentally drained.

I have tapped into that mindset at work after promotions that stretched my skills and abilities. And when I was about to undertake a daunting Blair Witch-type project.

I embraced that mindset when I wrote my first book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? Because I didn’t know anything about writing books, or how to get a tiny printer inside a fortune cookie.

And I certainly adopted the not-ready-but-I’m-going-to-do-it-anyway mindset when I launched The Weaponry, the adverting and ideas agency I started in 2016. Because the key to entrepreneurship is taking action even when you don’t feel ready to entre or preneur.

The secret to success is not to be fully prepared. It is to be fully prepared to go anyway. To go when you don’t feel good, informed or ready.

Simply stepping into the arena, conference room, or squat rack will force you to focus and summon your best effort.

Remember, it isn’t always Ready, Set, Go. Sometimes it is Set, Go, Ready.

Oh, and not only did Ava crush her last set of squats, she added extra reps too. Because big goals and strong desires are great fuel. Especially when you are running on fumes.

Key Takeaway

You won’t always feel totally ready for the challenge in front of you. Go anyway. The challenge of the moment will often ready you as you go.

*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.

A lesson from the most overlooked event in track and field.

I love track and field. I first got involved in the sport as a freshman in high school, mostly because I was terrible at baseball. But also because it was co-ed. And, I thought the fact that it was a no-cut sport significantly improved my chances of actually making the team.

Trying Everything

I have competed in a wide variety of track and field events. My resume includes the 100 meters, 400 meters, 1600 meters, high jump, long jump, shot put, discus, javelin, hammer, 35-pound weight, 110 meter hurdles, 4×100 meter relay, 4×400 meter relay, and, yes, even the pole vault (which I approached more like the high jump with a stick).

I liked every event I ever competed in. I love the energy and atmosphere at track meets. But you know when track and field becomes really fun?

The Second Meet.

The second meet is the most important and impactful event in a track athlete’s career. In your first meet you are just setting a baseline. But once you get to your second meet you walk in with a time, distance or height to beat. And most of the time, the results in the second meet are a rewarding step forward from the first meet.

In track and field, every result is measured in minutes and seconds, or feet and inches. Which means that your linear progression is clear and quantifiable. Your undeniable improvement in the second meet gets you thinking about the third meet. It makes you think about practicing more, training harder, lifting weights, warming up smarter and getting some better hype music. You start wondering just how much better you can get. The seeds of self-improvement are planted, fertilized and watered in that second meet.

The Broader Lesson

This is not just a track and field thing. This is a life thing. The same principle applies to our careers, our relationships, our responsibilities and our hobbies. Our first attempts simply set a baseline. The second time we do anything we start the improvement process. We recognize that as we pour more energy, time and focus into any activity we get better and better. This is true of presenting a closing argument in court, hiring good employees and folding fitted sheets (although my wife, Dawn is so good at the fitted sheet thing that I focus on the closing arguments in court instead).

Key Takeaway

Don’t be afraid to try something new because you think you will be bad at it. You will be bad at it. Or at least you will be the worst you will ever be. But that first attempt creates a starting point. The climb from there is both exciting and rewarding. As you improve, remember that first attempt. Recognize how far you have come since you first started. It is one of the most rewarding reflections in life.

*To see if these posts improve over time, please consider subscribing to this blog. Like the measurements of my track and field days, I now track follows, likes and comments to see if I am getting better. And like track and field, I am happy blogging is a no-cut sport.