Tag: success

Do you do what you tell yourself you will do?

One of the best things you can do in life is keep your commitments to yourself.

There is no better way to build trust.

There is no better way to build confidence.

There is no better way to build personal momentum.

There is probably no better way to build a skyscraper. (But I have never done that so I’m not really qualified to say.)

Keep Your Commitments

Wake up when you say you will wake up.

Exercise when you say you will exercise.

Show up when you say you will show up. (Especially if you are a pilot, a superhero, or my cable guy.)

And don’t eat what you tell yourself you won’t eat. Even when that thing is a donut sprinkled with bacon and filled with Chick-fil-A nuggets and candy.

Resolve

Resolutions are a great idea.

The bad idea is not doing what you tell yourself you would do.

Which means that the best resolution you can make is to simply keep your commitments.

Getting Started

Start by committing to less.

Do everything you tell yourself you will do.

Because when you do that you will soon realize that you can do anything.

& 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 willing to trade a good life right now for a great life later?

I don’t believe in work-life balance. I never have. It’s just a nice mythical idea. Kinda like The Fountain of Youth. Or a happy Kardashian marriage. You can’t divide your life into 3 neat 8-hour blocks of work, personal time and sleep and become rich, successful and fulfilled. To have a wildly successful career you have to throw things out of balance. You need chapters of your life when you put a disproportionate amount of time and energy into your career. That’s what all of the most accomplished people you’ve never met do. It’s why they don’t have time to meet you.

Sometimes this means days of extreme dedication and focus. Sometimes it means weeks. But more likely, there will be many months and years where your career is the thing, Stephen King. You don’t have to ignore the rest of your life the way Michael Douglas ignored Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. But your career demands to be your priority during certain seasons. Just as farmers must put all their attention into harvesting when it is time to get the crop in, you must pay attention to the opportunity seasons of your career, and make all the progress you can before the window closes.

In the movie about your life, this part of your career would be the montage. You know, the part where they show quick clips of all your hard work, focus, skill development, late night sessions, early morning sessions, and burning-the-candle-at-both-ends kind of work. (You can learn everything you need to know about your montage in this 1-minute video from Team America, World Police.) If you are not willing to have your movie montage chapter (or two or three) you will not be dedicating enough focus and energy to your career to pull away from the pack.

Focusing your time and energy on your career instead of your personal life is like investing your money for greater compounded gains tomorrow rather than spending it on yourself today. That time invested in your professional development and in developing career capital will pay out in massive ways in the future if you don’t scarf your marshmallow today.

The sacrifice is worth it. But you have to keep the primary goal in mind to remember why you are not buying that timeshare in Gatlinburg or knocking off early to meet your friends at Applebee’s. And if you have a family, you and your spouse need to focus on the long-term payoff and be willing to sacrifice whatever nights, weekends, holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and vacations need to be traded now, for better versions of all of those things in the years to come.

One of the great regrets people have in life is that they didn’t do the foundational work they should have done to achieve their dreams. It is important to know about this widespread regret while you still have time to do the foundational work. The work is more than a fair trade. The payout is so handsome, (like George Clooney handsome) that is feels like a small price to pay.

I have experienced enough chapters of significant sacrifice in my advertising career to fill a forthcoming book. In the first chapter of career sacrifice, I wanted to become a stronger writer. So I spent considerable time working on and improving my craft. I read all the time. I wrote far more than my professional peers. I studied other great writers in all John Rahs. (And I learned the word is actually genres.) I read great writers’ writings on writing. I experimented with words, style, structure, tone and humor. Through that focus, my writing got sharper, smarter, and more interesting.

Then I focused a disproportionate amount of time and energy on developing my presentation skills. Because girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. I took courses. I read books. I became a student again. I practiced and applied all that I was learning. This helped make me a strong and entertaining performer in business development meetings, sales pitches and client presentations. Which led to promotions and more responsibility. Because sometimes your hard work gets you more hard work.

Next, I focused heavily on creative direction skills, leadership and management. And within a four year span I motored from my first creative director position to executive creative director to Chief Creative Officer. The only position in my industry left was CEO. And I wanted that job too.

So I began focusing on what it took to run the entire business. I learned as much as I could about accounting and finance. I learned about human resources and non-surgical operations. I learned systems and processes. Project management and IT. I learned stuff that most writers and art directors in advertising never learn anything about. But then again, they get to go to Applebee’s and eat good in the neighborhood.

I didn’t want to wait for a CEO job to open or to wait in line for the CEO in front of me to leave, or die. So I decided to grab the role for myself by starting my own agency called The Weaponry.

As an entrepreneur you not only need to know a bit about all areas of a business, you need to create the whole business from dust. That takes more time, energy, focus, learning, sacrifice and work, work, work, work, work. Like Rihanna said.

Again, I sacrificed other opportunities in my personal life to make this happen. It’s the only way to make big dreams a reality. It’s not easy. But it has been both immensely fun and rewarding.

To share what I was learning through my entrepreneurial journey, I also started this blog. This is the 1023rd blog post I have written in the past 9 years. This too requires sacrifice. I write first thing every morning. I write 5 to 7 days every week. By 6:10 am I am in my office hammering away at another post, another story, another idea. While other people are still in bed or enjoying a cup of coffee and a good social media scroll.

By dedicating so much time to writing I further developed my storytelling skills. And I found my own unique writing style. Which sounds exactly like the way I talk. Now, I write books too. And writing books takes yet another level of dedication and sacrifice. Which is a sacrifice I am willing to make, because I understand the compounding benefits that come from that investment.

Key Takeaway

The great achievements in your career don’t come easy. They don’t come at a natural pace. They come by throwing your life out of balance. By heavying your load. By gorging on learning. And by giving more time, attention and energy to your work than others are willing to give. But by unbalancing your career early your life balance will flip later, and you will receive far more financial and career capital by becoming uncommonly great at what you do. Today, I have no foundational regrets. Instead, I have the rewards of a lot of hard work and sacrifice. And not only can you take that to the bank, you can take it on long, well-deserved vacations with your family and friends.

*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 it is time for you to harvest more good ideas.

Good ideas are everywhere. Like oxygen and excuses. That’s because people have good ideas all the time, and they are happy to share them with you. In fact, a good idea is the thing people are quickest to share. Because people don’t want to keep good ideas to themselves. It is only through sharing your good ideas that your ideas get validated, like parking. It is only through sharing a good idea that you are given credit for being smart, creative or insightful. Or for being good at evading the law.

Are You Gonna Come My Way?

People share their good ideas with me all the time. Some share because I am an entrepreneur. And entrepreneurs are known for bringing good ideas to life, like General Electric. People share with us either because they want advice on how to bring their idea to life, or because they are hoping that we will bring their idea to life because they don’t have the time, money or energy to do it themselves. Which is kind of like giving your idea up for adoption, because you know you are not fit to raise the idea on your own. Yet you don’t want to terminate your idea either. #ProIdea vs #MyIdeaMyChoice

Another reason people share their good ideas with me is because I am a professional creative thinker. I lead the advertising and ideas agency The Weaponry. So when you think of a great idea, you naturally want to share it with someone who will recognize it and appreciate you for coming up with it. People also know that I will have ideas on what they should do next. Kinda like the owl that those kids asked how many licks it took to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. (Drop the answer in the comments if you know.)

The third and perhaps most important reason people share good ideas with me is because I am looking for them. It’s the law of attraction. They come my way because I am coming their way. And we meet in the middle, like Parker McCollum and Maren Morris.

Why You Should Harvest Good Ideas.

Ideas create opportunities. They make things easier. They make things more enjoyable. They create more Wow in your world. And they offer more ways to make money than The Mint. (Actually, The Mint only makes money the coiny way and the bulliony way.)

But good ideas also offer clues, instructions, blueprints or templates on how to create more good ideas. Because the same insight, combination, application or exploration that led to one good idea can help create more. You can always reverse engineer a good idea, and once you discover the process, you can apply it to create countless others. Which means that when you collect good ideas you are also collecting keys to unlock more good ideas.

Key Takeaway

To live a successful, creative and interesting life, become an idea harvester. Look for them. Go where they grow. Spend time with idea creators. And move through the world like a combine moves through a field of corn, wheat, soybeans, or AI-generated light bulb plants. Pick all the ideas you can. Collect them. Polish them. Combine them in new and novel ways. And they will create more value than anything else can.

*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 to do hard things.

When I was in college I had a summer job setting up large party tents in Vermont. I loved pitching a tent. It was hard. But looking back, that’s what I loved about it.

The hardest part of the erection process was driving the 4-foot-long steel stakes into the ground. The stakes create the foundation for the tent. You tie the tent ropes to the stakes to help hold the tent upright and sturdy.

To drive the stakes into the ground we used sledgehammers that were 8, 12 or 16-pounds. Size mattered. Because if you swung a bigger hammer you could get the job done in fewer swings.

Sometimes, when the ground was soft, the stakes would go in smoothly. But in Vermont and New Hampshire where I drove most of my stakes, the ground was very hard. They don’t call New Hampshire The Granite State for nothing. (And they don’t call Vermont the Granite State at all, but that’s just because New Hampshire already took it, for granite.)

But during those college years, I learned a valuable lesson about how to do hard things. Because the only way to get those 4-foot stakes in the ground was to keep pounding away until the job was done. More often than not the stakes went in an inch or less at a time. And sinking a 4-foot shaft neck-deep at that rate can be exhausting. But it was the only way to finish the job.

I applied that just-keep-swinging-till-it’s-done lesson in my athletic career as a track and field athlete at the University of Wisconsin. Today, I apply the same lesson to building the advertising and ideas agency, The Weaponry, writing my blog posts, newsletters and books. And simply not stopping until the work is done has never failed to produce results. Even when things get really, really hard.

Key Takeaway

The only way to get a job done is to just keep pounding until you are finished. Hit the task again and again and again. This is true when you are driving stakes in the ground in Vermont, building a company, advancing your career, trying to meet your fitness goals, or getting your education. Focus your efforts. Pound away. And just don’t stop until the job is done.

*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.

8 Ways to reload your spring every day.

A good day is full of actions. Some physical. Some mental. Some social. But the progress you make each day is a result of the actions you take. But one good day is not enough. To live a good, good life you need to create good day after good day, mate.

However, a day full of action depletes your resources. That’s why it is important to reload your spring. (#snickering) Whether you are focused on your career, caring for your family, or training for competition, it’s important to come back day after day with great energy and effort.

To create a long chain of great days of action and progress you have to reload your spring.

8 Ways To Reload Your Spring

1. Sleep: A great night of sleep is the best thing you can do to reload. After a long day of activity, your spring is fully uncoiled. Your energy is expended. Like The Giving Tree, you have nothing left to give. No leaves. No branches. No apples. But overnight something magical happens. A full night of sleep reloads and resets your spring. It makes you ready to uncoil on another day of important actions, Jackson.

2. Eating: All that work you are doing burns calories. When you feel like a hangry, hangry hippo, it’s a sign that your spring is fully uncoiled. When you eat you are putting calories back in your system. You are refueling. As you reload energy into your system with great nutrition you are resetting your spring. Also, make sure to hydrate.

3. Hydrate: Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Humans are basically walking bags of water. So rehydrate early and often to keep your spring at full hydraulic power. Start your day with a tall drink of water to make sure you hit the day fully recoiled.

4. Exercise When you exercise you are creating a better spring. You are putting more power into it. You are enabling it to uncoil over a longer period without losing strength. Plus, it makes you look more springy.

5. Socializing: If you have extroverted tendencies, you reload by spending time with others. For extroverts, socializing is like Gatorade. (But instead of replacing your electrolytes, it replaces your socialytes.) Make sure to add social activities to your calendar to regain what you have lost.

6. Solitude: If you have introverted tendencies, you reload in your quiet time alone. Don’t neglect this time. It will help you reset and prepare for another day among the Yappers.

7. Reading: Reading reloads your spring through education, inspiration and motivation. (Basically all the ations.) Learning new things helps you find new and better approaches to add to your weaponry. Reading exposes you to people who have done great things and inspires you to do more. Plus, reading provides motivation and reminds you of the reasons you are taking all those actions.

8. Faith: Faith isn’t just for George Michael and Tim McGraw. Tapping into and practicing your faith has the power to reload like nothing else can. Don’t miss out on its power to re-energize your system and bolster your resilience day after day.

Key Takeaway

Success is a result of putting your all into each day and then reloading. The better you are at reloading your spring daily the easier it is to sustain progress and deliver results. Whether you are the CEO of the world’s biggest company or the head of your household, make sure to reload your spring. It’s the key to bringing your best to each day.

*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.

You just need someone to take a chance on you.

I recently came across this classic photo from July of 20000. It was the first photograph ever taken of me and Dawn Zabel. This was long before she was my wife, and shortly before we started dating. And the photo itself was taken by a camera that wasn’t attached to a phone, social media or Wordle.

When I saw this photograph an interesting and profound thought popped into my hat holder. It wasn’t about how young Dawn and I looked, how short my hair was, or how Clorox-white our shirts were.

My immediate thought when I see this image is that we all need someone to take a chance on us. Because here’s what I see that goes beyond the obvious.

My First Job

This picture is from the Cramer Krasselt company picnic in 2000. CK was my first employer in advertising. They took a chance on me right out of college. I was an unproven commodity that had no track record of advertising success and no experience to draw on. I was just a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin who came for an informational interview with an endorsement from one of my college professors. It was hard for them to know if I was just a talker or a Hershel Walker. But CK took a chance. And like dough, that was all I needed.

My Credit History

When I started my job at CK I made very little money. (It was actually the same size money that everyone else made, but I didn’t make much of it.) And I had to Stretch Armstrong that money to pay for rent, groceries and a $300 per month student loan payment. So when I applied for a credit card everyone Heismaned me, citing my high debt to income ratio that made me credit unworthy. For 2 years I experienced rejection after rejection by the credit cards who I asked out. Then 2 years into my career I flew to Los Angeles to shoot a commercial for Reddi-Wip whipped cream with my creative partner, Dan Koel and my creative director Mike Bednar.

After the filming was finished I stuck around LA and attended a college football game between USC and San Diego State, with my college friends Alex Mautz and Jaime Smith Mautz. On our way into the game I passed a tent that was giving away free USC t-shirts if you signed up for a USC credit card. I was excited to have a t-shirt to wear to the game, but I knew I wouldn’t actually get the credit card because of my preexisting credit condition. So I filled out the paperwork, took the shirt, and enjoyed the game.

Then, two weeks later, to my total surprise, I received a USC Visa credit card in the mail. Someone finally took a chance on me. I used that Trojan card for the next 6 years like I was the proudest USC grad on the planet. I paid off my entire balance every month. And I built my credit. My credit score passed Pat Robertson’s 700 Club and went to the 800s. All because USC Visa took a chance on me.

Look at this photograph. Every time I do it makes me laugh.
I am wearing the T-shirt they gave me outside the LA Coliseum.

My Wife Dawn.

I first saw Dawn Zabel in the elevator on my way to work in early June of 2000. And my life has never been the same. I got off the elevator and immediately began a long and elaborate Dawn-stalking mission, which turned into the greatest adventure of my life.

But back then, I was just a 27-year-old copywriter with a high debt-to-income ratio and a shiny new USC Trojan visa. My career hadn’t had any major moments indicating future success. I didn’t have an impressive resume of enviable past relationships. I hadn’t been a good parent to a dog, cat or hedgehog. Heck, I didn’t have a fern that could vouch for my skills as a long-term provider.

Yet, Dawn still took a chance on me. A couple weeks after the company picnic we went on our first date to see the movie The Patriot, which to my surprise, didn’t feature Tom Brady or take place in Foxborough. And it didn’t really land with Dawn. But when I dropped Dawn off that night I did land a goodnight kiss. Two years later we got married. Then came 3 kids and 5 houses. We enjoyed moves and promotions. Adventures and opportunities. And we had credit cards that got paid off every month.

This week, Dawn and I celebrated our 22-year wedding anniversary. All because she took a chance on me.

Key Takeaway

All you ever need is a chance. When you find people willing to give you a try, prove them right. Have pride in your reputation and respect the trust others have offered you. Then knock it out of the park. Turn the promise of your potential into proof and performance. When you look back at your life you’ll be thankful to all those who gave you a shot. And it will make you want to do the same for others. Taking a chance on an unproven person is one of the greatest gifts you will ever give. And often times it is all that person will ever need.

*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.

Lottery Tickets vs. Hard Work

My 17-year-old son Johann is a great musician.

He enjoys sharing videos of himself performing music online.

Each video he shares on social media is like a lottery ticket.

He never knows which video might pay off in a Kardashian way, and which videos will fall flat, like Jeb Bush’s ‘Please Clap” speech.

However, the hard work Johann puts into practicing, performing, and recording his music is guaranteed to pay off, like hard work always does.

No luck required.

Here’s a video that my son Johann posted 2 weeks ago on TikTok that, as of this posting, has more than 780,000 views.

@johann_the_music_man

“HOT TO GO!” By Chappell Roan #music #musician #saxophone #sax #saxophone🎷 #song #foryou #foryoupage #trending #tiktok #chappellroan #hottogo

♬ original sound – JohannTheMusicMan

This has been a 7 Sentence Sunday Post. Just 7 sentences. (At least just 7 sentences before the little 3-dot divider thingie.) These are quick thoughts before church. Or after church. Or before football if you don’t mark your Sundays with church. Or, if you don’t do church or football, it’s simply 7 sentences before Monday. (Plus this rambling descriptor of how simple the post was supposed to be before I overcomplicated it.)

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

Are you in soil that supports your seed?

There are many types of soil.

And there are many types of seeds.

But not all seeds thrive in all soils.

In fact, some seeds get packaged in a bag and sent to a ballpark to be chewed up and spit out before they get their chance to blow, like Eminem said.

The key to growth, happiness and success is to plant your seed in soil that supports you.

Then sink your roots down deep, and bloom baby bloom!

So if you aren’t thriving and blooming, onion, it’s time to find new soil.

& This has been a 7 Sentence Sunday Post. Just 7 sentences. (At least just 7 sentences before the little 3-dot divider thingie.) These are quick thoughts before church. Or after church. Or before football if you don’t mark your Sundays with church. Or, if you don’t do church or football, it’s simply 7 sentences before Monday. (Plus this rambling descriptor of how simple the post was supposed to be before I overcomplicated it.)

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

How to put Charlie’s Rule of opportunities to work for you.

Last week I was talking with my good friend Charlie Wills about business. Charlie and I met through The W-Club, the University of Wisconsin varsity athlete alumni group. Talking with Charlie is a pain in the neck. Literally. Because Charlie is really, really tall. He is a former University of Wisconsin standout basketball player, who played in the 2000 Final Four against the Flintstones. #IYKYK

Today, Charlie towers over the real estate world in Madison, Wisconsin where he has been putting people before profits for over 20 years. Not only is Charlie a close friend of mine, but he is also a client of The Weaponry, the advertising and ideas agency that I lead.

Charlie shared an interesting statistic with me about where his clients come from. He told me that 96% of his organization’s clients come from within their sphere. That includes current and past clients, recommendations, friends, family and acquaintances.

If you are good at math, you also realize that only 4% of opportunities came from outside their sphere. Which is a shockingly small number. In fact, if that number was 4 sizes smaller it would be nothing.

I love the fact that Charlie uses the term sphere instead of network or circle. It’s very basketbally of him. And it gives the group more dimension.

Charlie’s Rule: The vast majority of your opportunities in business and in life originate within your sphere.

This rule, while surprising, is also logical.

People in India whom you have never met and have no real connections to, are highly unlikely to come to you with a life-changing opportunity. (The same goes for the dude from the royal family in Nigeria.) But your past client, your cousin, and the person you know from that thing you do in your spare time are likely to think of you when they need a You-Like person to help solve the kind of problem you are great at solving.

Armed with the knowledge that we all benefit from some variation of Charlie’s Rule, what are you supposed to do about it?

1. Develop more relationships. Whenever you are dealing with success as a percentage game, and it always is, increase the base number. The more people you know the more opportunities will come your way. Because opportunities come to you through humans. Kinda like COVID-19 and invitations to Tupperware parties.

2. Maintain the relationships you have. Not all relationships are equal. The kid you knew from kindergarten who you haven’t spoken to since you stopped napping together in class is not very valuable. So stay in touch with your people. Reach out via phone, email, text, or social media to keep your relationship active. Write a newsletter, blog, or other way to share what’s happening in your life. Social media is great for maintaining relationships across a broad spectrum of familiarity. Use this amazing resource.

Key Takeaway

Your relationships are critical to your success. Remember, Charlie’s Rule says that the vast majority of your opportunities in business and in life originate within your sphere. So bring more people into your sphere. Keep the relationships in your sphere active by staying in touch through any appropriate means. As a result, more good opportunities will find their way to you. Just like Charlie said.

*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.

When you feel the heat of inspiration it’s go time!

I have heard countless times that time is our most valuable commodity. I believe this. After all, you can’t buy it. It constantly running out. And despite what Mick Jagger said, it’s not really on your side. (No it’s not.)

But right up there alongside time on the Mt. Rushmore of Most Valuable Commodities are inspiration and motivation.

They light your fire. Like Jim Morrison.

They lead to growth and improvement.

They create the empire state of mind that builds empires. Like JAY-Z and Alicia Keys.

They change the world.

Yet to be effective, both inspiration and motivation require you to act. To move. To do! Do! Do! (Not da-da-da.)

Unfortunately, both forces burn bright for a moment, then the moment’s gone. Like dust in the wind.

Which means when you feel the powerful heat of inspiration and motivation you have to go.

You have to cook while the heat is on, Glenn Frey.

You have to jump on the action you feel inspired to take.

Take steps to start that business.

Start writing that book.

Plan that remodel.

Create that art.

Build the prototype.

Plan that travel.

Create that event.

Get to the gym.

Enroll in that class.

Reach out to that person that could change your day. Or your life.

Acting on the heat of inspiration is how I started The Weaponry.

It’s how I wrote What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say?

And it is how I worked out last night at 10 pm after a 15-hour work day.

Key Takeaway

Take advantage of those precious sparks of inspiration and motivation. They don’t last long. But if you take action while your mind is in the red, the impact can be felt long after your time is up.

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

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