Coordinated Effort And Magnetic Pull

Where there is coordinated effort there is magnetic pull.

The big concert.

The football game.

The new restaurant.

We have a sense for the degree of coordinated effort that was put into something in order to make it happen. We’re drawn to places and events where people had to work together. If it took that much team work it must be good.

In order to achieve your vision you probably need some magnetic pull…which means you might have to get more people involved…which means you might have to compromise some of your vision. But it’s more fun to work on something that has magnetic pull.

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Caring Within The Conversation

When someone comes to you with their project or problem it’s worth remembering that this isn’t the first time they’ve thought of it. They’re most likely not coming to you on a complete whim.

They’ve been thinking about for a while. Wondering whether to bring it up. Wondering how to bring it up. Developing expectations about what the response will be.

Bringing something up, taking initiative, going first. It’s scary. So if you’re on the receiving end of this type of conversation, take the time to first consider the tension that the other person pressed through to even get the words out.

And yes, you might not be in for the project or able to help with the problem…but you can always care within the conversation.

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The Hard Paths

All the paths are going to be hard.

Opting out of your current set of problems might give a day or two of release but if you want to do meaningful work and have meaningful relationships it’s going to be hard and there are going to be problems.

It’s foolish to make the decision based on which path is going to be easiest…because there’s no way to know and both are going to be hard.

The better questions are…

Which path will I be proud of walking…regardless of ultimate outcome?

What do I want to build?

What do I want my life to look and feel like?

And how might this path take me there?

The perfect path isn’t perfect at all. If all goes well, the perfect path entails exchanging one set of problems for another as you (and your work) grow and evolve with the people around you heading in the same direction.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

The Guts To Go Slow

Making a good stew

Stretching your legs

Skiing down your first mountain

There’s a temptation to go fast because fast must equal better. And we prize efficiency and getting onto the next thing.

But sometimes having the guts to go slow is the better bolder move.

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Stepping In Wet Paint

Stepping in wet paint is messy…but it’s what you do afterwards that is really going to dictate the extent of the mess of the misstep.

It’s best to calmly stop, take the shoe off, and clean the shoe.

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Wearing The Uniform

Most people at the driving range wear pretty much the same thing.

Most people have the yard work outfit.

Most people in the green room look the same.

The uniforms are completely made up. You don’t have to wear them in order to do the thing. But they can be helpful.

They give us the feeling of being part of the group. They’re a signal to the people we want to be connected to and a story about what that connection means.

It’s also a signal to ourselves about what we’re about to do.

Putting on the shirt or the hat or the leather jacket tells your brain to get into the zone…because that’s what you did last time you put it on.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple