COASTERS - DON'T BE ONE!

Many, many things frustrate me, but the one that frustrates me the most these days is all of the "coasters" around me.  Specifically, I am referring to colleagues that show up to work, collect their paycheck and go home.

Yes, it does frustrate me when someone gets paid as much as me (in some cases more), but seemingly does their very best to work as little as possible.  This is one variant of the "coasters" that I am referring too.

However, the thing about coasters that frustrates me the most is that "coasters" don't contribute and/or they don't seem to grow. I blame Jim Rohn for the philosophy that I've adopted, which is "Don't just get through the day ... get from the day!"

I see so many people around me with unbelievable amounts of knowledge and experience ... but never share it!  Are they stingy or do they just lack confidence?  Are they too busy in their personal lives and I'm not aware because I've never connected with them?  To these "coasters" I say "GIVE!"  Find people who can benefit from your advanced knowledge.  Help others to learn from your mistakes and experiences.  Help others grow.  Most of all, don't stop challenging yourself, keep growing and help others grow.  You may feel that you "don't get paid" to do this -- who gives a crap, there are rewards that no company can compensate you for.  Try it you'll see!

And then there is an equal number of newer colleagues that don't seem to want to grow (I use to be one of these).  They show up for work and they wait to be spoon fed the information they need to not only conduct their job, but to excel at it.   They blame others if they aren't given the resources to out-perform (blame game).  They wait for a supervisor or colleagues to put new ideas in their heads and provide additional training/education.  To these "coasters" I say "SEEK!"  Go look for the answers.  Go look for more questions.  Challenge yourself.  Challenge those around you!  Just because you got a degree or an advanced degree doesn't mean you get to stop learning.

Coasting sucks.  Don't be a coaster.  Coasters on level ground don't get very far and are passed by everyone else; and life will leave them behind.  Coasters that are going downhill rely on momentum/gravity and have relinquished control over their destiny or future.  Neither is very attractive to me. 

I CHOOSE NOT TO BE A COASTER!  How about you?

ELEPHANT TASTES GREAT!

Elephant tastes great in the beginning ... then not so good towards the middle ... but finally, by the time you are done, it's the best thing you have ever eaten!

Of course, I am not talking about real elephant, I am talking about the metaphorical elephant (ME).  You know, the one that you eat "one bite at a time."  I have no desire to eat real elephant, but the ME one is a meal that I have to eat all the time; we all do.

At first glance, all ME's may look really, really BIG!  But as it turns out there are ME's of all different sizes.  Small, Medium, Large and some are even Super-Sized!  Often, you don't have a true appreciation for their size until you've made your plan of attack.  Then some previously thought to be gigantic ME's turn out to be not so big after all.  Some are just medium sized and others truly are really huge.  Regardless, it's your ME and you are going to conquer it!

So you see the challenge in front of you and you dig in to your elephant and the first bite tastes great!  Your mouth is watering for a second bite, you're excited, you grab your knife and you cut off a second piece, Mmmm, so good!  Then you chew a third, a fourth and a fifth bite and suddenly this ME is not tasting so good, maybe you should take a break?  So you take a short break (maybe a couple days off) just to get your hunger back.  Then your hunger comes back and you dig in again with even more vigor than your first sitting ... six, seven, eight bites this time, but it doesn't taste quite as good as the first sitting (maybe the meat has spoiled a little bit); and besides eight bites is a lot and you're full again.  So you think, maybe it's time for another break?  This time you take more than a few days off, you walk past a half eaten carcass several times a day. Sometimes you will look at it, other days you do you best not to look in it's direction.

A few weeks goes by and you are at a point where you have to decide "Do I finish eating this ME? Or do I just push the half eaten carcass over a cliff?"  At this point the only thing you remember about the taste of ME is that it is very filling, kind of bland and makes you really full, really fast.  But if you wait any longer it will spoil.  So you dig in, you take a few big bites and then you come up for air and realize "I am almost done."  You convince yourself that you can finish this elephant and as you get closer to the end the meat isn't rotten ... it's actually getting sweeter and sweeter.  You crave more and start eating faster ... until you're done, you've eaten your ME!  Congratulations!

The feast started out tasting great, then got painfully bland and finally the pendulum swung and it may have been the best meal that you have ever finished!

Now, here's the great news ... you don't have to eat your ME alone!  Some of the biggest elephants that you will ever have to eat are intended to feed 5 or 6 people!  There is plenty to go around and you will get full credit for conquering your ME, you just have to be willing to share!  People love to help!  Helping others feels good, contributing feels great.  Plus, getting help feels pretty good too.  And, not only does it make others feel good to help, they know when they have a giant ME at their dinner table you will be happy to reciprocate!  Everyone can conquer their ME's faster, without losing their appetite for the elephant and everyone will enjoy the feast!

Today is a great day to conquer your ME!

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE THAT MATTERS . . .

There are many, many differences between me, you and everyone else.  For instance:

My eye color is: Hazel     ... your's may be brown or blue,

My weight:  I won't divulge the bulge ... let's just say I am 25 pounds over where I want to be.  And you may be your ideal weight, more or less

My hair color?  First of all you have to have hair, then you can have hair color!  And yours might be red or blonde, short or long.

My skin is tan and white.  I live in Florida, so I've got year round farmer's tan.  And you, you may live in Wisconsin and you might be caucasion, so your skin is likely white.  And if you're not caucasian, you live in Wisconsin ... it's probably some shade of "freezer burn" white.

I am in my 40's and not getting younger.  And you might be in your 20's ... btw, you're not getting younger either!

But there is only one difference that matters and it is not the difference between me and you.  THE ONLY DIFFERENCE THAT MATTERS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'CURRENT [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]" AND "FUTURE [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]".

Ten years from now you will not be the same person.  Just look back ten years and think about how you have changed.  Physically you are likely very different.  If you are 18, you are probably taller now and weigh more than when you were 8.  If you are 60, you are probably shorter now and weigh more than when you were 50.  That's just life..

Mentally you are probably different too.  No matter who you are and how old you are, hopefully you've matured, gained experience, gained knowledge and developed more of a sense of who you are and/or who you want to be.  If you've regressed in this area, that's unfortunate ... but it's not too late to move in a better direction!

Step 1) It's time to assess who you are.  Write down what you like in life, your favorite activities, your passions.  Write down your skills, talents, accomplishments.  And most important ... write down how you feel about who you are today.  Assess your health, wealth, spirituality, friends and connections in your community.

Step 2)  Knowing who you want to be next week, next year and at the end of the next decade of your life is not just next ... it's critical.  Not knowing who you want to be when you grow up (more) is like setting off on a vacation, but not knowing where you are going.  Will it be adventurous?  Maybe.  But it also could be the kind of adventure where you find your car careening off a mountain highway only to find yourself stuck in a ravene with no way out.  So take a few hours and write down who you want to be or what you want to change about yourself by next week, next month, next year, in 5 years and in 10 years.

Is Step 2 a lot of work?  Yes, but not as much work as climbing out of that ravene and trying to put your life back together!

Step 3)  Start.  Yes, it might be Nike it like ... but, just do it.  You don't need a 4 year degree to accomplish most of the things that you want to do or change about yourself.  But you do need to start.  Education and training is Step 5.  Most of the great minds or thinkers of our day are self taught.  They are not 'great' or admired because they went to Harvard or Princeton.  They are 'great' for what they have done or are doing.  So just start, whereever you are at start from there.

Step 4) Develop your plan(s).  Formalize your plan to achieve your goals.  It doesn't have to be a perfect plan.  No plan is perfect.  There are always going to be variables/obstacles that you can't predict that will pop up and derail you.  Put some effort into planning on what you need (experience/training and education) to become who you want to become. 

Step 5) Get educated.  Once you start to follow your plan/passions.  You will realize that there are books, magazines, lectures and seminars that will help you in the pursuit of your goals.  Be aware and be prepared to slow down to get the training, education or ideas that you will need to accomplish your plan.

Step 6) Have checkpoints.  As you work towards your goal make sure that you stop and reflect on your progress.  Many times, especially with bigger, longer term goals you will find that you aren't following the plan that you had originally developed.  THAT'S OK.  Check where you are at, make sure that your goal is still your goal and revise your plan with even more focus and passion towards achieving it.

What if your goals change, let's say you are no longer interested in becoming a Master Underwater Basket Weaver?  That's the great thing about the check points.  If you reach your 1st checkpoint and realize that you don't have the passion or interest that you thought you had ... then now is a good time to cross off that goal and go in search of a different passion.

There are far too many people who graduate from college and realize that the degree they earned in engineering doesn't help them much in getting a job in the field they are really passionate about ... illustrating for children's books.

If you know where you want to be, and when you want to be there ... even if you falter a little bit ... you will be closer to who you want to be and you'll get there sooner than most.