Create Margin

So I recently came across a problem while upgrading my computer to Windows 10.  I run Windows on a VM { virtual machine } on my MacBook Pro.  So when I upgraded, my Windows machine now has a 1 inch margin on the left and right side that I cannot get rid of.  If I hover over my mouse on either side of the margin, the cursor changes from an arrow to a pointer.  When I click in that space, the mouse automatically goes to the center of the screen.

Now I'm not telling you this out of frustration towards my computer or bad upgrade experience.  Believe me, I've vented enough to my tech friends.  While annoying, this real-life example illustrates something I believe we could all benefit with.  Margin.  Margin in our time and margin in our money.

So what does margin in our life look like and why is it needed.  Lets start with time.  Imagine a day... perhaps today, when you left your house late.  Maybe you speed, maybe you run a red light or stop sign.  Maybe you pass someone in need.  Because you've left yourself no margin, your life is now in panic mode.  You are less considerate of others, more prone to errors and risk.  You're in a hurry and can't be bothered.  By leaving yourself no time to spare, you drastically limit your opportunities and experiences.  Add more margin in your days for travel to work alone can completely change the whole outlook on your day.  Give it a try.

Now lets talk about money.  Margin in money can be tricky.  Most people live life paycheck to paycheck.  "Too much month at the end of the money" is our theme song.  But what would it look like to have a little margin in our monthly budget?  Say $100 a month.  Is that doable?  When we leave no margin in our money, disaster strikes on a regular basis.  I am constantly telling my wife we always have '$1,000' problems.  Each time something happens, it's a grand.  With no margin, money problems become money disasters.  Fights over money, fights over spending... fights over anything.  A little margin in our budget would turn those disasters into inconveniences.  I think we could all live with a few inconveniences once in a while.

Try adding a little margin in your life and see what a difference it makes.  Start by being aware of situations that would be better if you had more margin.  Whether it be time or money.  Then add some in and see if it makes a difference.  I know you'll be surprised!

  

Deceptive math in business

I begin with a statement:  100,000 + 1 = 1.  Now from a mathematical statement, that's obviously nonsense.  But from a business standpoint... is it??  What if I said sometimes, for people, 100,000 + 1 does equal 1... to us.

Okay, enough talking in riddles.  What I'm referring to by my premise is that if in whatever profession you are in, be it programming, sales, marketing... if 100,000 people come up to you and say "Looks good.  Love it!  You did that?  Great job!" we smile and continue about our day. Sometimes we will even dismiss it all together.  "Ah... it was nothing."  or  "It wasn't me, they did all the work."  But if 1 person approaches us and says our idea is dumb or that we failed, all of those praises fall by the wayside.  We focus intently on the one negative and try to understand it.  Why did they not agree with us?  Why did they attack us?  Is there something wrong with me?

Do not play victim to this.  See the comment for what it is.  Criticism based on someone's opinion.  Don't let the voice of one drown out the echo of thousands.  Believe in what you do and what you stand for.

One last note.  More times than not, that one person criticizing your idea or calling you a failure might just in fact be the person in the mirror.  Be your greatest cheerleader, not your worst critic!

Privilege vs. Burden

Lately I've had a very poor outlook on things.  Whether it be in my home life, work, trouble with vehicles, my daily commute.  All of these things collectively have been weighing on me.  I'm afraid I have a case of the 'have-tos'.  { Shutter }.  What are the have-to's?  Good question.  Here's an example.  I have to go to work today!  I have to drive to Grand Rapids today.  I have to watch the kids tonight.  I have to make dinner tonight.  I have to take my son fishing this weekend.  Ugh... exhausting just typing it.  What a burden on me. All these things I have to do.  What if, I wonder, we changed the sentence a little.  What if I changed one word???  Would it make a difference.  Lets try it.

I get to go to work today.  I get to drive to Grand Rapids today.  I get to watch the kids tonight.  I get to make dinner tonight.  I get to take my son fishing this weekend.

Wow.  Now just reading that I feel energized.  I feel excited.  Privileged to do such things.  Just by changing one little word, I change my whole outlook on things.  You see, in reality, I don't HAVE to do any of that.  I could be unemployed.  I could be without a vehicle, or without children.  I could have no money to buy food for my family.  All of these things which I day-in and day-out take for granted are privileges in my life.  No, I don't HAVE to do them.... I GET to!

My wife is always telling me that it takes 2 weeks to create a habit.  So for the next two weeks, I'm going to be aware of the words I choose to use in my vocabulary.  Any time I catch myself using the word 'have', I'm going to auto-correct myself in real-time and change my vocabulary... change my thinking... and change my life.

Now, you have to.... err.... you GET to join me.  See what an impact it has on your life!  2 weeks.  Go!

Be Brave Part II

I was listening to this song on the radio this morning.  The title, fittingly, was 'Brave'.  I remember one of the lines in the lyrics resonated with me.  It was, "fear kills more dreams than failure".  Such a true and powerful statement.  When's the last time you dreamed about something?  I bet you haven't acted on that dream.  I also bet it wasn't failure holding you back.  What are you waiting for?  Be Brave!

Be Brave

Have you ever encountered a situation where you didn't know what to do?  Of course you have.  We all have.  The real question is, what did you do in that situation?  It's often hard to do the right thing... even when we know it's right.  Often times we go with the crowd, doing what we think others deem as right, even when in our hearts we know it's not.  Or maybe we're just afraid.  Afraid of what might happen if we go down that road.  

So what can we do in these circumstances?  

The next time you find yourself in the crossroads of a major decision, whether it be a move, a new job, a new relationship... ask yourself one question.  What would you do if you were brave?

Now... go do that!

Confidence breeds success

"Work with the confidence that comes with experience... even if you lack both."

Failure is a stepping stone to success

Failure... it's inevitable.  It's going to happen... and when it does, it will be hard to see past it.  We've all had times in our life where we've failed at something.  Something we've cared about... were passionate about.  In that moment of failure, our first instinct is to put up walls.  We start saying things like, "Well I'm never going to trust them again." or "I will never try that again."  If we're not careful and live in that place to long, we inevitably become cynical.  We say stuff like "Why should I bother trying to do such-and-such, I'm just going to screw it up." 

I chose to write about this today because it's something that I currently face.  I have failed to provide results that a client of ours required.  While I won't go into the details about the fallout, I can assure you it wasn't good.  So I find myself in the spot I described in the beginning.  Dangerously looming between the cliff of despair, if I'm not being overdramatic.  But if I'm being honest to myself, that is how I feel.  So what can I do to turn a loss into a win???

There is no magic formula.  There is only time.  I remember back when I was in high school, my friends and I use to play chess every day during our designated Activity Period.  During that time we would always play each other, never anyone outside of our circle.  One day our 'coach' decided to start a tournament and assign point values.  Everyone was to participate and had a point value.  We started off playing each other and quickly rose the rankings.  It was fun.  Then he threw in a curve ball.  You had to accept a challenge or you automatically lost.  Uh oh.  Now we had to play other players outside of our group.  You can probably guess what happened.  We got destroyed.  I at one time was on the top of the board, only to now watch my rankings plummet in huge chunks.  I was devastated.  It took a while to lick my wounds and heal from that, but over time I learned from my mistakes.  I learned new techniques and styles I would never have learned had a stayed in my circle.  By stepping out { really I was pushed out }, I was able to become a far better chess player.  By the end of my Senior year, I was the best chess player in our school.

The point of this is to not give up.  I'm writing this today to tell myself that.  I've learned first hand that failure is truly a stepping stone to success.  It may not happen over night, but with a positive attitude and time, it's a guarantee you'll be in a better place.