What I learned from The Wizard of Oz

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Much of this week's content is about wellbeing, a subject that gets a lot of pub lately, but doesn't really get the action it deserves, IMO.

I recently saw the movie "Judy" which is the sad story of Judy Garland's life. She rose to fame when she played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. The movie is a magical, timeless classic by any movie critic's standards. But there was a dark side much more sinister than the wicked witch.

When you learn about Judy Garland's life, you'll find that she lived a miserable existence at the height of her success. As she sang and danced with a smile on her face, she was deeply troubled. She was addicted to drugs throughout her life, and she died at 47.

Her life looked shiny from the outside. It's a solemn story to consider if you define success only by money and material things (or what you see on Instagram).

With that, I'm excited to share this week's roundup! Here's what we're covering:

• What your top priority should be if you want to be successful
• Setting intention off the yoga mat
• Digesting criticism for good use
• A simple but powerful question to measure self-awareness
• A hiring framework for any role
• Micro-agressions, and their impact.
• Doing what's right for you
• The most accurate measurement of courage

This week's content comes from Austin Belcak, Jessica Kowalski, Glenn Ladd, Sam Best, Martin Roth, Steven Huang, and David Wee. If you're not following these folks yet, check them out. I guarantee they'll spruce up your feed.

Now let's dive into the content!

LinkedIn Posts

Amen to Austin's message. I want to scream (share?) it from the rooftops. Without our mental health and happiness - all the money, success, and friends in the world don't matter. I've struggled with extreme burnout myself. While I appeared to be shiny and successful from the outside, I suffered a lot privately. I neglected my physical health and important relationships in the name of working hard. It's a tough hole to dig out of. It's hard to change.

How do I recharge these days? I realized I had to physically build it into my schedule. I'm a calendar person, and I live and die by my schedule. I started scheduling recurring blocks in my calendar for rest & relaxation activities, with a family rule that those times cannot be moved or booked over. Truthfully, it's not enough time right now, but my intention is to steadily increase the R&R blocks on the calendar. And yes, it's color-coded.

This bite-sized post packed a punch for me. It got me thinking about how much more effective I could be if I really focused on my higher purpose behind my daily activities, and planned/behaved accordingly.

In a time where we pretty much take pride in multi-tasking, I realize I'd enjoy some great benefits if I stop the multi-tasking madness.

For example - if I'm seeing an old friend for dinner and my intention is to catch up and reconnect (and I really thought about my purpose before our dinner), I'd keep my phone off the table to proactively avoid distractions. I'd allow some wiggle room in my schedule before and after so we're not rushed. I'd choose a quiet restaurant.

You see where I'm going here. This post inspired me to look for little opportunities to be more deliberate in my everyday work and life. To make sure my actions are really supporting my intentions.

Glenn's advice here is easier said than done, that's for sure. But it made me realize that we talk a lot (especially on Linkedin) about giving feedback and how to do that effectively, and so on.

It occurs to me there's not as much advice on absorbing feedback effectively. It's a fascinating topic that deserves more attention. I might even write a blog post about this subject. How we digest criticism, what we do with it, and how we respond to it - I think all that says a lot about one's ability to be introspective (or not).

On the topic of being introspective, Sam's post is a real eye-opener. I definitely had a dog-eat-dog mentality in my early career, when I was inexperienced and immature. I was selfish and narrow-minded when I didn't know better.

But then I managed more people and larger teams, and I had to collaborate with other leaders to get shit done. I shifted from thinking like an individual contributor to the "supporting others" mentality. The "no I in TEAM" cliche started making sense.

For me, it was a rise in maturity that came from time, experience, and countless mistakes. Nowadays, I find a lot of personal gratification in helping others. It makes me feel good. And it always seems to come back around when I least expect it. Karma I guess.

Martin hits the nail on the head here. To apply this advice, build the appropriate questions (to assess these 4 things) into your candidate interview process and scorecard. Figuring out the questions to ask is the fun part. Lots of opportunities to be creative here.

A lot of the posts I've featured this week have addressed various aspects of mental health and wellbeing, especially related to our professional lives.

I appreciate how Steven's post raised awareness about "micro-aggressions" - something I'd not considered enough when it comes to workplace experience. This has really stayed with me after reading it. This post was flooded with comments from people who shared illuminating (bad) experiences they've suffered AT WORK, most of them in the name of ignorance. I encourage you to read the thread.

This post was particularly thought-provoking for me - a fascinating take on how one person digests and responds to politics at work. The conclusion of this post is pretty powerful and can be actually be applied to anything that's outside of our control. Swap out "company" with something that's bothering you, and think about it from a fresh perspective.

Around The Web

If you have twenty minutes to invest in good vibes and self-improvement (that's why you're here, right?), watch this video, below. I was late to the Brene Brown party, but I've recently become a big fan. Here, she suggests vulnerability is the most accurate measurement of courage.

Just. Ponder. That.

This makes me think about social media these days. The internet can be a scary place for anyone brave enough to put yourself out there. Some people are posting a lot. A lot of people want to start posting, or making videos, to start building a brand for themselves.

People tell me they want to build their brands, but they're afraid of being embarrassed. Afraid they won't get any comments or likes. Afraid they'll be perceived as foolish. No one will care. Trolls will attack.

If you're feeling some version of this, here's a quote for you.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails."

Well folks, that concludes this week's Content Rundown. If you have any feedback about this project, drop me a note at [email protected] or shoot me a DM on LinkedIn.

You can also find me around the web at:

• The Official Justin Website
• LinkedIn
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• Free eBook - The Daily Post: Build Your LinkedIn Audience Every Day

Cheers,

Justin