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By Casey Grey
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First I need to start by saying this post was inspired by Tim Ferriss' Podcast Episode with Derek Sivers. It was a repost on Tim's part but perfect timing for myself. It definitely got the wheels turning and had me questioning what I do and why I do it.
There are two schools of thought out there:
So which one is best? I believe it depends. Like most things in life, there are many factors at play and people have different reasons for doing what they do. For example, let's start with my business. More specifically, the types of projects we do. We say yes to everything that either requires a general contractor or carpentry skills. That's a rule I have set (we're not going to say yes to a plumbing repair). Yes, the small projects are often a pain because they take up a substantial amount of time based on the financial reward but there are other reasons for us to say yes right now. First, it keeps our team busy. The large projects never line up perfectly and if delays happen it is good to have something in our back pocket to make sure the guys stay busy and get paid. Second, you never know what a small project will lead to. Even if we can't do it it is another person we can help and refer to somebody else if required. It's one more opportunity to create a raving fan. Third, it helps with cash flow within the business. At the end of the day the business has bills to pay so the money needs to keep flowing. In the future will this change? Absolutely! The plans are already in motion. Larger projects are coming our way and partnerships are being formed. Soon we'll be saying no much more than we say yes to. We'll get to the point where we can shift to "say no unless it's a HELL YES!" And that's the key. I believe we need to work up to saying no. Especially in business. If you want experience in a certain area, say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. No matter how small or mundane it is. Once that foundation is built and the opportunities continue to come, you can then begin to pick and choose. I don't believe it's one or the other. I believe it's one and then the other. In other parts of my life, I'm applying the "say no unless it's a HELL YES!" option already. Actually I'm applying this in parts of the business as well. We get approached all the time to be a part of events. Our go to answer for this is "no". It really has to be intriguing for us to be a part of it, meaning it has to be a HELL YES! In my personal life, it's the same thing. There's always something going on. Unless it's family related it's typically "no" unless it's a HELL YES! At the end of the day it's important to have rules for your decision making. But it's also important to review those rules every once in a while and see how they're working for you. As we grow and evolve, we change. Our businesses change. Our relationships change. The economy changes. Our needs change. That's life! It's always changing. Nature is never the same and that's what makes it beautiful. I’m not sure what your home feels like but my home is:
It’s a place where I feel good in jogging pants or when my wife and I are dressed up to have a nice evening out. This is exactly how we feel at Fairmont Chateau Montebello as well. Thank you to everybody who works here. You all make it special for my family and I. There’s something about this place. It does not matter what the occasion is, what we’re wearing or what we’re doing. We always feel good here. We always feel welcome. We like to think it’s our own cottage (which we do not need to maintain). Feeling is everything. If you could make people feel a certain way, what would it be? How would you do it? What would they need? What if you own a business? What if this was the focus of your business? To make people “feel” a certain way. What would you do differently? What would you stop doing? What would you add? How would you know you succeeded? What about yourself? How do you want to feel? What do you need to do in order to feel that way? What do you need to stop doing? Everything we do in life is done because we want to feel a certain way. Commitment is a powerful thing.
If you’re truly committed, nothing will stop you. If you’re not committed, it’s obvious. Commit to what you know you need to do and watch your life change before your eyes. It’s magic. "Do you find it's helping you become a better writer?" A question my brother asked me the other day. It may be helping me become a better writer but, more importantly, it's helping me become a better thinker. It's forcing me to go through my days with more curiosity. To ask better questions. Schools, for example, are set up to teach how to do things a certain way. Although I enjoyed math, I really did not like how I had to show all the "right" steps in order to get full points. If I had a question, I had to put up my hand (and I may not even get picked). They were teaching me how to do things but they were not teaching me how to think for myself. And if I got an answer wrong... Well... No happy face sticker for me! The goal was to get 100% but in life this is impossible. There's no such thing as perfection. Even the best in the world fail more than 50% of the time. The ultimate achievement for a batter in Major League Baseball is to have a batting average over 0.400. That means they're aiming to get over 40%! The league wife average generally ranges under 0.300. These are the best in the world! So this blog is teaching me something different than what I thought it would but the results are much better than I expected. The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka!” (I found it!) but “That’s funny …” Life is about the unexpected. In order to experience the unexpected, we need to take action. We need to be willing to fail. We need to do something different. The unexpected is what stands out. If you're a coffee drinker, there's nothing worse than a bad cup of coffee.
Actually there is one thing worse... A bad cup of coffee when you're expecting a good one (or great one). It comes down to expectations. What expectations did you have for that cup of coffee? Beyond coffee, what are your expectations for your self? Your day? Your family? Your friends? Your business? Your life? Perhaps more importantly, what do others expect of you? If you have a business, what do your clients expect? Are you delivering on those expectations? Expectations are important. They need to be managed. Disappointment only ever comes from unfulfilled expectations. I'm currently re-reading a book I read quite a few years ago. It's called "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... And Others Don't" by Jim Collins. It's amazing how much we forget (I'm saying "we" because I'm assuming it's not just me). There is so much of this book I don't remember and I'm sure I thought to myself "Oh this is good! I'll remember this!" when I was reading it the first time. That may be a good topic for another day... In reading last night before I went to bed, I read a very intriguing quote: "You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” This was exactly what I needed to read. This is something I struggle with, especially around money. I have faith it will all work out however I have trouble accepting where I currently am. I feel like I "should" be further ahead.
Life is a constant back-and-forth between being an optimist and a realist. We need to have faith it will all work out but we also need to accept where we currently stand. We need to set the intention and let go of the outcome. What does that mean? I have a great example. Natasha and I want to find our dream home. I have faith we will find it. When? I have no idea. If I set a goal to find it by the end of the month, there's a good chance I will be disappointed. There's a lot that would need to happen between now and then for this to become reality. If it does happen, amazing! I will gladly accept it. For now, I accept where we are today and know that we may be in a similar situation in a month from now. I do, however, have faith that this will not always be our reality. I will take all the necessary steps in my control in order to make this happen but know it will come to be when the time is right. It's a game of patience. Something that is lacking in our world today (including in myself). I believe the secret to life is 3 things:
The first two is exactly what we're talking about here. I went to see a client yesterday to discuss some details of an upcoming project. When I arrived, she went and got a gift and handed it to me.
This simple act was powerful. For one, she's our client. She's paying us to do work but she still got me a gift. Second, this is the second project we're doing for them but we have not even started the construction work on site yet. Just planning. This tells me quite a few things. Obviously she's very happy with myself and the team. The fact that she's thinking of me while she's at the store tells me that we're top of mind. The team and I have delivered. This also tells me that she's a generous person. This is the type of person we want to continue working with. Not because she's going to give us gifts but because she understands that it's a 2-way street. She appreciates what we have done and sees the value in our service. This makes me want to work even harder for her. In business we often give too much attention to our "bad" clients and forget about our "great" clients. We "grease the squeaky wheel" so to speak. Yes, every client deserves our attention but where do we spend the majority of our attention? Remember, you are who you surround yourself with. That means that your clients will have more friends just like them. What type of people do you want to do business with? I had a fantastic meeting with a couple who are interested in building an eco-friendly home.
As we got to know each other and I started to understand their needs and wants, they said something that stuck with me. "We know building our little eco-friendly home won't have a huge impact on the environment, but we still want to do it." I have found that this is common thinking. We believe that our "little" acts do not amount to anything significant. In reality, everything that is significant is made of many seemingly insignificant parts. Alone they may not be much, but together they are a masterpiece. Everything we do (or don't do) will have an impact on something or someone. This home for this couple will be an example of what's possible. Even if it only inspires two other people to build better, it's now two more homes that would have not been built. And if those people then inspire two more, then those people each inspire two more, all of sudden momentum starts to pick up. Essentially it gets doubled with every home. It is exponential growth. Here's how the numbers would look:
Before we know it, we have over a million new homes built or renovated to a standard that works with the environment instead of against it. How's that for impact!?!? To add to the good news, they lit up when I said we could do a show of their project and inspire even more people :) The picture below is the most amazing thing to me right now.
When I'm building lego, I'm always looking for the perfect piece. I'm looking to use the pieces as they were intended. I'm obviously missing a whole world of possibility. My wife and my son don't have the experience that I have but is that a strength or a weakness? They've created something beyond me. What if we combined their creativity with my experience? Never underestimate the power of a fresh mind and new perspective. I find that people are becoming more and more afraid of the "C" word.
Commitment. What does it mean to be committed? To me, it's doing whatever it takes to make it happen. Whatever "it" is. I'm committed to writing this blog every day for 365 days in a row. That means I will write it no matter what. Today, I'm writing it at 8:00pm instead of 6:00am. But I'm still doing it. I'm committed to my wife. I will do everything in my power to make sure our relationship stands the test of time. We will be with each other to the end. I am committed to my son. I will be the best father I can possibly be. There's always room to be better. I'm committed to The Conscious Builder. I will do whatever it takes to make it a great company. A commitment is more than a goal. It's a way of life. I just realized something... Those are some big commitments... And I will stay true to them. |
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