Busy ≠ Progress

Stoic Quote of the Week

Above all, it is necessary for a person to have a true self-estimate, for we commonly think we can do more than we really can. -Seneca

What I learned this week:

I’ve had the opportunity to talk with several brothers from the Regiment, aka former operators, over the last few weeks, and I’m seeing a trend that I see in myself at times too. That trend is busy makes progress. I listen to all the things these guys have going on in their lives, from schooling to this enterprise to this job to this idea to this nonprofit to support. It is staggering. I ask them when they sleep. Because last time I checked, former operators are not allocated any more time than the rest of the world. After several of those calls, yesterday was the one that made me look back at myself and realize I am holding up the mirror when I talk to these guys. I am super busy all the time. I barely have time for a new client, let alone grab an impromptu coffee or beer with someone. So, what’s going on here? The root cause is in our nature that was developed when we were all on the teams as operators on deployment. There was never any downtime on deployment. 18-hour days were the “days off.” We were acknowledged and awarded for all the activities we accomplished. The problem is that life doesn’t recognize being busy, and success doesn’t come from being busy. Success comes from focused effort on actions that drive us toward our vision. We are not focused when we are busy doing a hundred or even ten different things. We are the epidemy of being an inch deep and a mile wide. You might as well play the lottery for success. Focused effort in the direction of your vision for success is the only way to achieve it. Keeping ten irons in the fire is tough to maintain. Don’t fool yourself into believing that being busy is important or is progress. Do what is important to accomplish your vision and eliminate the others.

Planning thought of the week:

Priorities are key to the success of a plan. Everyone on the team should know what the priority of action, work, and or effort is. Establish this in your plan and make sure that the team knows it. This will help them operate with autonomy and be able to make decisions that move the entire team forward to the outcome. If everything and everyone is a priority-NOTHING and NO ONE are.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

Have you ever thought of monetizing your network? There are several ways to do this, from the Angie’s List model to the be the ‘go-to’ person for anything from plumbers to lawyers. I have several friends who like to refer to themselves as ‘connectors.’ These people have an amazing skill of remembering everyone in their network and being able to not only say, “here’s a great plumber,” but also, you two should connect because you have a lot in common. All of my friends do this as a courtesy; they say it because they love to connect with people. I’m putting this here because it should be more than that. If I connect two people and they go on to form a $100M business, should I get some credit? Think about it. Headhunters and recruiters do it all the time. They connect a candidate with a business and get paid. Remember, life is about fair and abundant exchange.

Veteran opportunity of the week:

Congress got off their butts and over their finger-pointing and passed the PACT Act. If you have not registered on the VA’s burn-pit website, do yourself and your family a favor and take the 15 mins that it takes to do so even if you do not have any symptoms today. Here is the link.

Someone I met this week:

I love giving a shout-out to people whose job is customer-facing. I flew to Atlanta and back this week on United, and we had a bit of a delay on both ends. Nothing like what you read about in the news, but still frustrating to the people dealing with it. On landing in Atlanta, we had to wait two hours, 20 yards from our debarking jetway, because of lightning strikes. Then, on our return flight with the same head flight attendant, we waited 45 minutes for the captain of the plane and, on landing in Denver, another 20 minutes for the jetway to be engaged. During all three delays, the head flight attendant did what any good leader would do; she answered questions from the 100+ passengers and kept us informed on what was going on.

Please follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook, Tribe + Purpose. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Link to current The Cam & Otis Show podcast episode, Ep 183 Right-and-Tight - Antionette Blake - A.Blake Enterprises.

Thank you for your support.

PS: If you enjoy this email, please share it with others.