January 30, 2022

Count to Four

We all know we are flawed and we all make mistakes. We know we don’t have it all figured out and we never will have it figured out. We know there's work to do because there's always work to do. But part of finding clarity is discovering the joy in our work rather than the never ending deadlines and unattainable finish line.

Clutter makes us nervous and stressed. It derails us from our goals. Clarity can help us find our baseline and silence some of that unnecessary noise. To gain clarity, there are four questions we can ask ourselves and our teams. 

These may make the clutter crystal clear.

1. What do you stand for?
 2. What won't you tolerate?
3. Why do you do what you do?
4. What won't you do? ________________________________________________________________

January 17, 2022

Ready. Set. Then What?

“It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” Hugh Laurie 

The second anniversary is not far off. It was the day we heard the phrase - Global Pandemic. It began somewhere far away and quickly became something every human on the planet deals with every day. The coronavirus, Covid-19, variants, vaccines, masks, protests, economies, it's all been too much and we're not out of the woods.

Are We Ready? 

When I was a kid, my parents would try and tell me to enjoy life and not get too caught up in the minutiae. I was always close to my mom, but during the last few years of her life, we had even better conversations about her life, my life, and life in general. This is a woman who put me, my sister, and my dad on her back and somehow got us through. She worked from the age of 14 until she retired at 71. She passed away in August 2020 mere months after this global crisis began. She was born during the second world war and died during the worst human crisis in over a century. 

If I had told mom I wanted to be a clown in a rodeo, she would have told me to be the best clown any rodeo has ever had with no judgement. The pandemic has made me more reflective and I put my words to actions late last year when I took another leap in my professional life. I took a shot at something I'd never done before and so far so good. In fact, it's been excellent. Mom was right; don't worry about what others think.

Let's Stop Comparing 

One of the most overused cliches is that no one will wish they had spent more time at the office as they take their last breath. How do we know that? And if we replaced the phrase "at the office" with "going for it", that's a more powerful statement. As Mr. Laurie says, why wait until we're ready to do anything because we'll never be ready. The world has forever changed and normal left the building in March 2020. So let's take the leap.

If we're waiting for a sign, it's right in front of us. Change your career, get out of that crappy relationship, buy the damn car, if you like the hat then wear the hat, eat the cookie, stop overthinking everything. If you want that relationship, go for it. If you want to try that new job, don't wait for an invitation. Put the mobile device or laptop down and do it before you are ready. If we're never ready, then why are we waiting?

That's what makes life so much more interesting.

January 1, 2022

2021: Year in Search

Since 2001, Google has published their year-end review through search statistics, news stories, and videos entitled Year in Search. As you look through these, you'll discover how much has changed and how much has happened in the last two decades.

Here's the 2021 Edition

 

Here's 2020 back to 2001

 

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