This Is Your Business
I post this every year because it's important.
I don't really see a future where I'm not thinking about it.
When you're all finished with Christmas movies and presents and throwing away all that wrapping paper, and when you finally go back to work after the holidays . . .
Remember why you're working on anything at all.
Here's an excerpt from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol that reminds me why I'm working so hard:
"But you were always a good man of business, Jacob," faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.
"Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Business!"
"Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"
It held up its chain at arm's length, as if that were the cause of all its unavailing grief, and flung it heavily upon the ground again.
"At this time of the rolling year," the spectre said "I suffer most. "Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!'
Thanks for reading.
I hope you had a rejuvenating and reflective holiday.
With self-reflection, focus, and empathy, we can help others and live a life of purpose and fulfillment.
We're all counting on you.
The Brain Hack From The 60s That Still Works Today
Your brain works on a reward circuit.
- Stimulus.
- Behavior.
- Reward.
That's the cycle.
Example:
- You see the living room is dirty and kinda smelly.
- You spray Febreeze.
- It smells fantastic.
That's the whole cycle and its part of everything we do as humans. No matter what you want to do, you will need to face this cycle.In fact, super successful products like Febreeze, Listerine, and Coca-Cola have built-in rewards that increase consumption behavior from customers.This isn't new--it's called reinforcement and it was coined by B.F. Skinner and the other Behaviorist Psychologists in the 60s.
It works in business and it works in life.
If you want to build a habit, break a habit, stop dating the same type of person, start exercising more, finish that novel, improve test scores, increase sales, decrease staff turnover, quit smoking, eat healthily, or WHATEVER . . .You're going to need to understand this basic, fundamental human circuit for behavior and how people respond to it.If your employees feel crummy every time they talk to you, they are going to stop talking to you and leave.If your students feel empowered and capable every time they leave your class, they're going to show up and try hard.If your customers feel like they didn't get what they expected, they are not going to tell you (they'll tell their friends) and they are not going to come back.
2 Minute Action
What's a habit or behavior you want to start, stop, or otherwise change?Don't stop there.What's the stimulus, behavior, and reward?It's up to you to identify, test, and solve for this reward circuit. If you're serious about getting your results, you're going to need to figure out how to hack your own behavior and do what you need to do.
"A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying."- B.F. Skinner
[SERIES] 7/7 Unpopular Belief: Be As Disloyal As Possible
Yes, we can all agree that loyalty is useful in personal relationships.But the rest of life is much more complicated.This is post 7 of the 7 Unpopular Beliefs Series.
Be As Disloyal As Possible!
Personal Loyalty
Yep. This is the part of being a human that has helped us survive for so long as a species.By trusting our neighbors, humans have been able to build societies that functioned and developed.Strangely, it doesn't always work the same for business or for building resources.
Opportunism helps us get to the next level.
By seeking and seizing opportunities, we can move forward faster.Being brand loyal doesn't help you if the brand suddenly changes leadership and goes in a new direction.Being loyal to a partner doesn't help you if your partner decides to sell off their shares.Being loyal to your previous statements or beliefs doesn't help you change your mind with new information.
Choose the plan with the most options.
This helps diversify your options so that you can choose based on the changing context of the world.As the backdrop changes, so will your decisions.
2 Minute Action
Staying in the theme of options, here are some action options for today:
- Tell your closest friends or your partner how grateful you are to have them in your life.
- Tell your employer that you're looking for more opportunities within the company and you'd like to know more about what it takes to get there.
- Reply to this post! What's something you believed as a child that you no longer believe, now?