Read This If You Need To Start
Why do we wait to get picked?
Why does someone else have to choose us for their team?
Why can't we just start doing exactly what we want to do?
The answer is that you don't have to wait and you can start right now.
Here's a quick story as an example from my own life:
Once, when I needed a job, I found myself filling out applications.
I hunted down a good job description and eagerly wrote up a new cover letter. I sent it off, in the web-form, with my resume, to go sit in some database with all the others. I sent it along and waited.
I sent out more and more--and I waited, still.
I wondered who would pick me.
After enough time, I was frustrated and anxious. I knew that I needed to take things into my own hands.
I walked down the street to one of the companies I'd applied to. I walked in and said that I needed to talk to the HR director about the email I'd sent. This was true.
When I talked to the HR director, I asked "what is your smelliest, ugliest, most irritating problem that no one wants to solve in your company right now?"
She laughed and proceeded to tell me about a small, but important part of an upcoming project that could use some extra support.
I offered to work for free on this small project. In exchange, if things went well, she agreed that she would write me a letter of recommendation and send it out to her colleagues in the area.
You never have to wait to do something important or meaningful.
2 Minute Action
What's something you've been putting off? Call or text a friend and ask them to hold you accountable for finishing it. Give them a clear time and day when you'll be done and offer to wash their car/mow their lawn/walk their dog/whatever if you don't deliver.
It's too hard to motivate yourself to do something.
It's easier to force yourself to do what you don't want to do by changing the environment around you.
When You Break Something Of Value
Today, it broke.It was a cheap rubber wristband that I have been wearing for the past few months.Nothing this cheap was meant to last longer than that.If you know me at all, you know that I actively try to remove excess stuff from my life--so you might be wondering why I care or why I have a cheap rubber wristband in the first place.
Here's what happened:
I was running one of my team's LEGO® shows for kids in St. Paul, MN.Part of our shows makes room for displayers of all ages. It helps get locals out to be part of the show and it helps kids network with other builders who are in their community. Pretty cool, right?Well, one kid was so excited to be there that he brought these rubber LEGO® wristbands to give out.
When I spoke with him and thanked him for his hard work, he gave me one of his wristbands.
"Thanks for inviting me, I'm SO excited to be here," he said.It's moments like these when you realize that what you do helps other people be themselves and be part of a community that encourages learnings, that you smile and realize it's all worth it.This kid had the time of his life connecting with older builders and meeting other kids just like him.So no, it doesn't matter that the wristband broke--because I will never forget that kid.Take this as a reminder that it's easy to confuse the value of stuff with the value of experiences.
2 Minute Action
It doesn't have to be a wristband, but what can you give to someone around you to let them know you appreciate them?
- It could be a handwritten "COUPON - Good For 1 Free BackRub."
- It could be a flattened penny.
- It could be a pack of Juicy Fruit gum.
It doesn't matter what the vehicle is, it just matters what sentiment you gave it.It will take you 2 minutes to write a post-it note or give someone a wooden nickel with a story that holds meaning.