One Word That Actually Means Something On Black Friday

This Black Friday, I want you to think about one word.

Enough.

What’s enough to be happy?What’s enough to get to the next step?What’s enough to be done?No matter whether it’s the material things in your life, the day-to-day tasks, or the people in your social support system—it’s up to you to decide what’s necessary.

2 Minute Action

What’s something in your life that costs time, headache, or money?What might happen if it disappeared?Sometimes you need to lose something before you see the value, and sometimes you need to lose it to see that you never really needed it at all.Pick one thing in your life right now that is costing you something. Commit to eliminating it for a week.Once you’ve felt the pain of not having it, you’ll know what your next move is.

An Important Choice To Make After Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is about giving thanks.

There are a billion places on the internet where you can learn about how this holiday came to be.You can learn about how Edward Winslow's account of the Pilgrim's harvest in 1621 mentioned that they ate some turkey--among other things.You can learn about how it's not about any help given to the colonists by the Wampanoag Indians.You can learn about how Thanksgiving was actually a way to commemorate the deeply religious and ceremonious massacre of about 700 Native American men, women, and children.Intense.

By not knowing the truth, it's easy to think of our current selves differently.

Instead of seeing our ancestors as murderers or genocidal maniacs, we get to see them as conquerors and adventurers.We get to feel like their courage somehow has passed on to us, and we get to feel proud.The alternative creates too much dissonance. It just doesn't seem possible. How could that be part of us?

The next thing to remember is that we get to choose who we are from here.

It's up to us to revise our ethics, empathize with one another, and be grateful for the planet we have.It's true for Thanksgiving history and it's true for our everyday lives.

Here's a tool I use to recalibrate after each Thanksgiving:

It's a quick read from Seth Godin about giving thanks.I read it every year.It takes longer than 2 minutes to read the whole thing, so that's up to you.

2 Minute Action

Read the Thanksgiving Reader for 2 minutes--though it'll be hard to only spend 2 minutes on it.Or, take 2 minutes to thank one person in your life for being them. Be specific. Call out characteristics or moments that you love about them.Let them know how they've helped change your life.Also, just for the record. I've got a ton of other resources like this in my personal VAULT.And that's free for everyone, so feel free to share.Have a warm and happy Thanksgiving.

Is It Really Your Fault For What You Don't Know?

It's not your fault.Well, wait that's not true.It wasn't your fault at first, but it's slowly becoming your fault.

You weren't given the right skill set in school.

You didn't learn how to use a spreadsheet or to balance an operating budget or how to negotiate the scope of a project.It's not your fault that you didn't learn, then.It's just that now, now that you're out there in the real world, it's your fault for not knowing.

Of course, this isn't fair--but it's the way it is.

You have to deal with the pain of not knowing these things and so does your employer.

Here's an example:

Let's just say that by not being good at Excel, you lose 1 hour per week of time.That's not a lot out of a typical 40-hour week. It's 2.5% of your total work week.But now let's just say that the same is true for most people.There are about 3 billion workers in the global workforce.Multiply that times a typical hourly rate like $10/hr.1-hour x 4 weeks x 12 months x $10 rate x 3 billion workers = $1.4 Trillion

Let's look at that with all the zeros.

$1,440,000,000,000Yeah. That's a lot of work waste.

2 Minute Action

You're not responsible for what happened, but you ARE responsible for what happens next.Your expectations and standards are up to you, but consider that you might not be the only one paying for them.

• Take 2 minutes to watch a YouTube video on something that could improve your work.
• Take 2 minutes to read a Harvard Business Review article that could give you a new perspective.
• Take 2 minutes to schedule time with a mentor or expert in your field and present them with the biggest problem you're facing.

It won't take 2 minutes to be a different person so don't expect that.

It takes thousands of minutes, and you can only clock thousands of minutes if you're doing it consistently day after day.Today is no exception.It's another Wednesday.Let's make it a good one.