What Are You Waiting For?

A friend of mine posted this quote on Facebook the other day and it hit me like a ton of bricks.


"Most of us spend our lives as if we have another one in the bank." - Ben Irwin


I feel like I work hard, play hard, and live in the moment pretty well most of the time. But that quote made me wonder, "Do I do that? Do I live like I have another life in the bank?"


My answer? Yes. Absolutely.


As hard as I work, as hard as I play, as much as I try to serve my customers well, run my business well, and positively influence the world, there are many, many times I don't spend 100% of myself. I save myself, or sometimes even give up, thinking I'll do it right or better the next time. And often I spend too much of my time waiting for the all the planets to align before I take action that could make a difference TODAY. Rather than give you examples of what those actions look like, let me share with you what my thoughts sound like.


"I've done enough today. I'll do that tomorrow."
"When I lose 20 lbs, THEN I'll really kick off my public speaking career."
"When I make more money, THEN I'll be able to give to charity or my church."
"When I build up some more knowledge or expertise, THEN I'll be able to help clients solve their problems."


We waste our todays thinking we'll spend our tomorrows better. Or that tomorrow holds some magic potion that's out of our reach today.


Tomorrow is our life in the bank. But it's a bank we can't withdraw from no matter how hard we try. All we have is today. All we have is today's customer, today's staff, today's body, today's activities, today's money, today's energy, today's TIME.


Treat your very next customer the way you dream about treating your customers in the future (you know, when you have all the time, money, and staff you think you need). Treat your staff as if they were the staff of your ideal future. Treat your spouse the way you'll treat her/him on your twentieth, or thirtieth, or fortieth anniversary. Treat your kids in such a way that the song "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin or "Just the Two of Us" by Will Smith won't make you get all teary-eyed.


Spend all of yourself today. An amazing part of life is that when you spend all of yourself today, you get a whole new you to spend tomorrow.

Stop & Smell The Green

I'm sitting in a room with huge windows, overlooking a beautiful pond that is surrounded by nothing but green. It's one of those moments I need to pinch myself. I really get to work here today? Wow. 


I'm not at sparkspace today. I love sparkspace, but it is about as urban as it gets. Renovated paint factory in downtown Columbus. Today I'm working at Aileron, an entrepreneurship center in Dayton. It's out in the country with ponds and trees and geese and grass and fish and waterfalls and...well, you get the idea.


Everyone has their favorite seasons. I have my favorite month. Well, it's not a specific month. It's really the 30 days or so right after all the leaves come out. Everything is fresh and new. There's energy everywhere. And amazingly, there have been years that I missed it completely. And not because I was stuck in the desert. I have missed my favorite time of year because I simply wasn't paying attention. I'm one of those people (you very likely are, too) that always has too much to do. So I crank on my to-do list every day, and sometimes I don't realize how much time has gone by.


Not this year. I'm stopping to smell the green. In fact, I've stopped three times while writing this post just so I could look out the window and feel the sunshine on my face. The positive energy I feel today is amazing. I honestly feel like I could do accomplish anything today. Somehow I rarely feel that way when I've got my nose to the grindstone. 


Let the world energize you. Stop once in a while and just feel the energy of spring. Let it fill you up. I know, sometimes it's hard to stop. So consider it a pause instead, even if it's just a few minutes at a time. It's a little-known secret of people who are highly productive, creative, and inspired.

What My Customers And My Laundry Have In Common

I finally found a reason why my wife should do all the laundry:  I can no longer distinguish between my wife's and my daughter's clothes. 


If it is pink, red, or girly in any way, there's a high likelihood that I will sort it into the wrong pile. This results in a kind smile from my wife. It's the same smile she gives to babies and puppies that are cute but helpless. It also results in a head-cocked, eye-rolling, "how-dumb-are-you?" look from my daughter. She's eight. Going on sixteen.


In my defense, my daughter is taller than nearly every other eight-year-old on the planet. Some of her clothes say "12" or even "14" inside, which I always assumed should somewhat correspond to the age - not the attitude - of the wearer.


My wife is a few years older than eight, and her clothes have a whole different numbering system (another mystery to solve at another time). But, honestly, side by side, it's sometimes really, really hard to tell them apart. Ok, so my wife doesn't have a t-shirt that says "I (heart) Justin Bieber", but she and my daughter do have some matching pajamas that look the same size to me. Gotta read the labels to know which is which. I really wish I understood those numbering systems better.


I am quite lucky. My wife actually does do the majority of the laundry. She actually kind of enjoys it. It's one of the few old-school gender roles that we honor in our house. She does the laundry. I mow the lawn and kill all the spiders.


So when I do fluff and fold a basket or two, I now have to pay extra attention. Because somewhere along the way, my daughter grew. It was so much easier when she was little. Pink + tiny = daughter's pile. Now I have to check the label on almost everything, except that Justin Bieber t-shirt.


In other words, things change. People change. Customers change. Their needs shift, grow, and change constantly. When we have a few, distinct customers, it's relatively easy to tell them apart and provide them customized products or personal service. As our customer base grows, and our customer's needs change, we have to pay closer attention.


What does that take? Before you run out and buy a new CRM software package or hire a bunch of new salespeople, stop for a minute and just think about your customers (or your staff, or your family, or your community organization). Ask yourself these questions:


1. How have our customers changed since we first met them? 
2. What do they need from us now?
3. Will they have any new needs in the foreseeable future?
4. What are the simplest and most direct ways we can meet these needs?


These questions don't require a two-day retreat in the woods to figure out. You could come up with some great answers in a sixty minute staff meeting or your personal reflection time.


While this may be the first time you've thought about these questions (like this is the first time I've thought about my laundry dilemma), it definitely shouldn't be the last. These are questions that we should be asking ourselves at least once each year, or even each quarter.


I doubt I'll ever completely escape laundry duty, so I'm going to have to pay even more attention as time goes by. The way my daughter is growing , she will someday be the same size as my wife, maybe as early as next week.