Tag: building

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Good Stuff Builds On Good Stuff – Growth Principle

Writing every day is a chore.

As much fun as it is to get this out of my head, some days I sit down, and I can’t get this blog post going. There is a fear associated with this. Every time I write an excellent post, one that people like, there is always another one that doesn’t get the love I want it to or sits there hanging in the wind.

This uncertainty builds fear that follows me writing this stuff. Sometimes it isn’t fun, and sometimes, it even gets scary.

But I know that through writing every post, I get the chance to write again tomorrow, and each post helps me do better than I did before.

The momentum helps

Every time I write, I feel like I am working out.  And like working out, going to the gym, whether it is a lucky day or not, at least keeps you in shape. There is no downside to cranking out a blog post every day. I get better with showing up.

This place helps me define my thinking. This has spread to other parts of my life, like my social networks. If you look at my Instagram, book reviews. Those were born from writing about books here, in a small way, not a big way. My LinkedIn has leadership posts, that came from the blog, and gave me the confidence to tell better stories to connect. My YouTube is a video blog. I didn’t know how to shoot video, but writing here gave them ability to synthesize ideas to put them on video.

Growth matter

Your brain isn’t a thing that grows based on what school you went to or who your parents are. It becomes better, like any other muscle, by using it. You use it by doing things or thinking deeply about the world around you. Neither of these things is passive, and both, when applied, take a ton of brain muscle to do.

Every day I post here, its growth. The material, good and bad, allow me to work longer and do better. It gives me a scratch pad, a place to learn something different.  Good content builds on good content. It’s the gym, and it gives me the opportunity to turn in better and better work.

 

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What Exactly Am I Doing Here?

Am I selling something here?

So, is this the part where a huge banner rolls out, and I offer some sort of service?

Rest assured, there is no fee structure appearing. I don’t do it for the sweet ad revenue.

I don’t know if these things will come into play at a later date, but for now, all my advice is free, and even if you call me or email me, there is no quote, no payment plan, no injection into a sales funnel.

So, this place doesn’t exist for money. I am doing this for other reasons.

Why Does It Exist?

This place exists as an eternal playing ground for my ideas, a worksheet to make my thoughts public, and a forum for others to see my work. In short, this is a place for “doing”.

This is a public place for me to exist, and work out ideas.

Life as Usual also serves as a forward thinking resume. If you did want to hire me for some work, I am available. If I submitted to a job to work, here are my thoughts. If you wanted to do a deep dive, look no further.

I don’t think there is a better cover letter than a search feature and thousands of words on how someone feels. Take a look and go.

So Just Doing Stuff Then.

This post isn’t a judgement on any other branding sites that exist. Trust me, many of them have strategies that I love, and if I change my mind on what I offer here, then they are first up to copy.

(And I do change my mind quite often)

But for now, this is a place for me to kick around ideas. I welcome you to kick them around with me. Let’s get doing.

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Learn Through Habit By Going Slow – Don’t Rush It

habit

woman-notebook-working-girl

Slow habits create teachable moments

One thing I’ve done on this blog is trying to keep track of my habits. There are a ton of posts on the subject, so much so that I have the entire first sentence linked up ;-).

One of the key principles I learned from writing about habit so much and failing a ton at them is that you do well when you start smaller. Preparing to start small helps you understand how you do and even better, give you teachable moments that help with other things.

Why Small?

Small, simply put, gives you the opportunity to get bored. Boredom, especially individually purposeful boredom, give your mind space to make something better.

The key to making the most of this is to put your full attention and embrace the boredom.

Great example:

When you get a habit of sweeping the floor, start in a tiny spot. Stay there for a few days, and put your full attention in that small place. Every day you do that, your brain is going to come up with a list to make that tiny spot better.  As you expand, you bring that thinking process to the rest of the floor.  It gets addictive.

Swinging for the fences leaves your arms tired

Trying to reach for the sun when starting something isn’t good preparation. Trying to get to Superman in one leap doesn’t happen, nor does it happen in 10 or 100. But, you get a lot closer to that ideal by starting with one push-up a day, and resting on the idea Superman. Trying to go to the gym every day and do a huge superman workout will squeeze you out.

Take advantage of the beauty of change by making a small one, and engaging in that. You might end up surprised at where you end up when you get a year under your belt.

 

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Silence Isn’t Golden, Is It?

Silence

Silence isn’t golden, right?

Most organizations I’ve seen have rules that reward silence. People discuss things like an open door policy, but in practice, it rarely happens. The idea of more communication ends up on the development plan, discussed in a few emails, and then as work comes in, things return to what they once were.

Why do people say things like that then? Is it because it sounds good? Are people lying when they talk about that?

I don’t think so.

In my experience, teams get the marching orders from the leader. Most of the time, this communication is non verbal. This is counter intuitive at first, until you realize most of the communication we get is nonverbal.

Far too often are we ready to accept the idea that we talk our way through things without some vulnerability some available to lie out on the table and turn it on ourselves.

So, where does vulnerability play into this?

Leaders have to understand that people follow action and the inertia that it creates.  If you want a high level of communication, you lead by example. Poke, prod, emote, discuss, and use any other tool or method to get the people around you talking.

This looks foolish at first, it makes you vulnerable. It’s scary to push the people around you. It also requires some empathy. Press too hard, or the wrong way, and your employees might hate you.

Place to start?

The easiest way to start is to generate an environment where questions aren’t the exception, they are the norm. This starts with you asking questions and soliciting as much as possible.

As scary as it sounds, I am willing to bet that the people around you are itching to answer questions. It is a key way to build trust. Once people trust, communication automatically grows.

Note: Please prepare the people around you on your plan to do this. Nothing breaks trust like “gotcha” questions because they lead to embarrassment. Give out some homework and trust the process.

 

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Start to Finish

Consistency is a goal to strive for when you make things, and I mean consistency in the entire process.

If I start things then build, then close, and then ship – I gain lessons that improve the world around me.

Stopping at one of those things can leave most of the lesson on the table, and while you may not have wasted all of your time, you certainly squandered much of it.

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Piece by Piece

I would like to think I am building something in front of me.

Something small – something I can touch. Everyday I add to this thing, and although no one can see it but me, I know it grows.

I don’t know where it stops, or if other people will see it, but I do know that it is up to me, and my pride, to see it through.

Piece by Piece

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My Work Habits – Building a Computer

I have been working on building a computer.

I haven’t partaken in the task for years, and considering the headache I have received while doing it, a more relaxed person shouldn’t go ahead and do this undertaking.

It has been a comedy of errors – lost parts, unplugged switches, and phone calls to support.

Through that though, I have discovered a little bit more about myself, and about my work habits.

A few notes:

1 – Calling support will get you more help immediately, but emailing support may get you more depth.

Both give you some more understanding, but calling will get things done a lot quicker. Picking up the phone moves things a long.

2 – Mess takes away from success.

I worked in a dirty room, and my mind felt frazzled. A clean room gave me a little more peace of mind to get working and start making something happen.

3 – Coffee and Red Bulls are friends when used sparingly

I have abstained from caffeine lately. No particular reason – but I found myself just stopping.

I had a cup of coffee yesterday and it sprung my brain into action – unlike I have had in a while. It is a drug and once you remove your tolerance, it works as originally intended.

Hopefully I can move forward and get this done ( I still have a few more things to do, but I am close ) but I will say as frustrating as this has been, I do feel better about myself and I have learned a bit more.

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