Sleep is a Crutch

This Week's Summary:

Learned: An anxious mind

Planning: It’s a mission statement

Business idea: Shiny object focus

Vet Opp: Veteran entrepreneur

I met: Airplane aisle

Stoic Quote of the Week

They lose the day in expectation of the night and the night in fear of the dawn.

-Seneca

What I learned this week:

Sleep is a crutch; at least, that’s what we used to joke about when I was in Special Forces and on a mission or deployed. Truthfully, in those situations, we didn’t sleep much because we were so busy. Things are different now, of course. I’m not deployed or on missions. But that doesn’t mean that sleep comes easy when there are things happening and going on. I’ve spent the last week traveling, hosting family and friends, and prepping for two very big presentations for two of my businesses, along with all the other business things that we are working on for Tribe + Purpose. Just listing those things out makes me anxious, and an anxious mind does not rest, nor does it focus. I’ve always found that ironic. An anxious mind doesn’t focus. The anxious mind is created from fear of the outcome and, in this case, fear of multiple outcomes. Because the mind is anxious and can’t focus, it can’t rest. That creates a spiral effect, and the anxiety builds on itself. I found myself multiple times having trouble falling asleep and, just as bad, waking up at 0230 and not being able to go back to sleep. My mind would jump from one project to the next, worrying about the wording on one slide and the data to support a theory on another. Then, there was the debate of whether I should get up now and do something about it or skip working out. Bounce, bounce, bounce like a rubber ball. None of it did me any good. Because if I thought of something that I needed to capture or do, I would forget it before I could get to the point of capturing it. It was a vicious circle. The only thing that can be done in this situation is prepare, not be ready, prepare. Prepare means I can continue to add to it or work on it. Ready means it is put on the shelf and done. In order to calm the anxiety, I have to believe that I have prepared everything to the best that I can. I put in the work. I put in the effort and that is the best that I can do and the only thing that I can control. But there is one more thing that I have to do. I have to trust the outcome. I have a desired outcome I want from these events, but that outcome is out of my control. The outcome will be the outcome. The only thing that I can do is put in the work and take the time to be prepared. Take the time to be prepared for various outcomes and be willing to accept them as they are. When we focus on what we can control, we are in charge of our destiny, even if the outcome is not what we expected.

Planning thought of the week:

One of the biggest mistakes I saw in the military and in business planning is the mission paragraph. Somewhere, someone decided that because this is a large organization with a lot of moving pieces, the mission statement needed to be highly complicated and list out a bunch of BS. UGH!! If you have to read the mission statement multiple times to understand it, you are wrong! I have fought those many times over the years, and I will continue to fight them because it is so wrong. It is called a mission statement, not a mission paragraph. I don’t necessarily believe that your mission statement needs to fit on a t-shirt. That is a method. The point is that the mission statement should be just that: a statement clear, concise, and to the point. Anything more is nothing but confusion.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

Don’t let the next great idea pass you by, except if it is a distraction. Every day, we have to deal with the next cool idea, shiny object, new business, etc. Every day, you have to say no to every one of those things unless you don’t. The problem is deciding what of those really cool ideas is something you should latch on to. When you pick one, you must stick with it and be willing to say no to all the other shiny new objects and temptations. That’s the difference in being a should’ve businessman and a successful businessman. I have seen way too many business leaders who lose because they can’t stay focused on the important thing. Heck, they can’t even decide what the important thing is! When you pick something to pursue, do it and stay focused on it. Ride that baby as hard as you can as long as you can collect data and be objective. If it isn’t working, then pivot. If it is completely broken, take it out back and shoot it (thanks, Jason Miller). Don’t ride a dead horse; you’ll get nowhere.

Veteran opportunity of the week:

One of the best veteran entrepreneur programs I know of is IVMF Syracuse. About a year ago, they merged with Bunker Labs and recently created a program for Veteran startups in the construction business. They have tons of resources and accelerators to take advantage of. Check it out here, IVMF.

Someone I met this week:

I always love meeting people, even if the conversation is just 5 minutes long. I sat down in my seat on my flight to San Diego and struck up a conversation with the man across the aisle from me at quite possibly the worst time to talk across the airplane aisle when the plane was still loading ??. It’s that time of year, hunting season, and we hunters know other hunters and pick up on each other quickly. Bob asked me if I’d been out bow hunting this year, and it led to him showing pictures of his son’s massive bull elk and him and his daughter hunting elk in the snow. The common ground among us is more prevalent than you think. Always be on the lookout for what’s next and how you might be able to strike up a conversation with the person next to you.

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