Inspire Me Crazy

Having had the time to look back on the previous year, I've really paid attention to what I'm taking away from it. Yes, more experience(s), more knowledge, more work, more relationships, but the learnings - those things that I can apply moving forward - are the things that are going to help me this year and beyond, in everything that I am and do.

In addition to the two that I have previously mentioned (here) and (here), here's another thing I've taken away:

Be human, but balance emotion.

As humans, we are filled with emotion. Emotion can be a wonderful thing, something to be used to everyone's advantage, and it can also be a bad thing, particularly when important decisions need to be made. And aren't all decisions important?

I'm a big proponent of being real with people. With your staff, with your team, with your boss, with your clients, with yourself. People need to see the real you. They need to see you happy and sad and upset. These are very real emotions and to me, it's natural to be real.

But it has to be kept in check. It can't be too much of any extreme. In any and all times, you have to be in control of those emotions. This is probably most important - yes, be real, but be in control. Even if you don't know how to handle the situation(s) and/or are overwhelmed. Most especially, when decisions need to be made.

In any given day, we have to make thousands of decisions, all of which have an impact on something (or someone) greater than ourselves. They're flying at us left and right. To make any of those decisions based on the (high) emotions that we are experiencing at any given moment is an easy thing to do. But it clouds our rational and it could have a negative (and drastic) impact on everything and everyone around us.

I'm reflecting on last year, which was a doozy in all senses of the word. Good and challenging. Fulfilling and full of fires. I learned a lot. I made mistakes. And I got some things right. Upon reflection, here's a key takeaway:

Be cool. Stay calm. Breathe.

Fires rare up all the time. Problems are flying in your face every time you look up. Decisions need to be made at top speed. This person is yelling about this and that person did something wrong. It goes on and on and on and on and on. This is the way of life, though. Something would be wrong if it weren't this way. So, you've got to know this going into any situation. Any day. Any moment. It's just going to be crazy on multiple levels.

Beginning a new year is always great time for purposeful reflection on the last one. If you're anything like me, you know how difficult it can be to stop while you're in the midst of the crazy and busy-ness of the year. You look up and whether it's been a long year or one that's flown by, it's gone. And now, we have another one to look forward to. Or, at least, prepare ourselves for.

I think reflection, be it one that yields positive outcomes or negative (or a combination), is healthy. If you're truly honest with yourself and you strive to get/do better, to build upon everything you've done in the previous year, then self-reflection could be a different maker. 

So, I'm going to share my reflections here, one per day, until I don't have anymore to share. 

For me, this year has been transformative in every sense of the word. It's been profoundly transformative, in fact. Everything that I expected at the beginning of 2012 and everything I could have anticipated and everything that I wanted it to be…well, it just didn't happen. It wasn't a bad thing at all. I am humbled by everything that I had the opportunity to face, but if there was ever a year full of moments and decisions that would prompt reflection, it was this one.

One of my biggest takeaways from this past year was - don't stop being yourself. With so much newness - more responsibility and authority and less time to spend with people/your team, it can be easy to lose a little bit (or a lot) of yourself and the very things that got you here - investing in those people, taking time to listen, taking time to teach, thinking through scenarios/decisions, being nice and considerate. These are some of the things that are at my core, and whatever those are for you, just don't shy away from them. No matter what you're faced with, just be yourself.

I know that this is quite elementary. Basic. Fundamental. But if we don't start with ourselves, we can't be great for others around us.

I heard something this weekend that has stuck with me ever since - dynamite.

That's right. Dynamite.

As in, applying it to yourself. As in, are you being the best, dynamic self you can be? The best steward of goodness and energy at all times? 

To me, this is more than being "on." On gets you by. On is, by nature, something you turn can turn off.

My Vizify Bio

We go hard every day. From this to that to the next thing. It's easy to get caught up in the pace of the day (which turn into weeks, months and years) and ignore those things that keep us rejuvenated.

So, if you're feeling like that, here are som things to do today (or any day) to fill you up:

1. Listen to your favorite song. And be aware of the reasons it's your favorite song.

2. Read a blog post (some place other than Facebook). And then share something about it with others.

3. Talk to your neighbor and ask them how they're doing. Then ask them about their day. Then, ask them what they're working on.

4. Thank someone in your life for 1 thing. And be specific about why you're thanking them.

5. Look at a picture of a loved one and think about the memory that it represents.

6. Walk across the office and back (or down the street). Get lost in your thoughts.

7. Smile. Laugh. Tell a joke. Listen to a joke. Even bad ones.

8. Kick your feet up. Don't be afraid to relax, even if it's for a minute.

Regardless of whether your talking social measurement, engagement, listening, or anything else...

It's not the accolades. Or the experience. Or the big ideas. Or the authorship. Or the guru-edness.

No, those are not the things to look for in teammates. Particularly new ones to join your team.

It's things like chemistry. And curiosity. And perseverance. And courage.

Child laughs and cartoons.

Tambourines and tinkertoys.

Dancing with no rhythm.

Sunsets and sunrises. Trees and buildings. Wind and rain and snow. Arguments and love. Imaginings and reality. Tracks and everything else. Racing by.

I’ve watched many things from the window of a train. It was one of my favorite times in New York, riding here and there. I wrote a book and a large part of it was centered around those trains and my experiences. A taste:

When the train surfaced on the tracks adjacent to the Queensboro Bridge, I could see a portion of the moon in the smoky gray sky. The sun had set and the city’s lights twinkled like stars. The thing about this seat, no matter where you are in the car, you can see where you’ve been or where you’re going, depending on which direction you’re facing. Today, I faced the rear of the train and watched where I was coming from. I watched it get further and further away and I wanted nothing more than to get to where I was going. The city, as it so often has the ability to do, left a layer of funky grime on me and I couldn’t wait to get home and wash it all off.

Now, I do the same thing in Dallas. While not as colorful – in all aspects – I still love it. This seat. This window. The world racing by. 

Balancing leaning in with leaning out.

Balancing leading with following.

Balancing control with trust. 

How to do it? 

Try to teach. Try to guide. Try to get out of the way. Try to support.

It's hard. At least it is for me.

But regardless, the expectation can never change: do/be great always.

Accountable and not entitled to anything.

Last week, I heard Butler's coach, Brad Stevens, talk about their basketball program. He said something to the effect - we aren't a basketball school. We're a school that has a basketball program. Our kids are students, first. And we have high expectations for them. We look for kids on our basketball team who will hold themselves accountable and don't feel entitled to anything.

Kids don't go to Butler to become professional basketball players. 

I get the feeling they want to do something they're passionate about and they want to belong to something bigger than themselves. And that's it. They have plans for their lives - and it's not to become an NBA star - that require accountability and 0 sense of entitlement.

They're hard workers.

Hopefully tonight, the team will become champions.