by Kirby Hasseman
I have a place here in town where I love the Pizza. It’s old school and it’s great. You even have to go and pick it up yourself, if you can believe that. And when you call it can often take between 30-45 minutes (because they are always busy). It’s really good pizza. But every once in a while, I am in a hurry. I want that particular pizza, but I show up early. I go in and look at my watch. I pay early in order to let them know I am there…and I am waiting. So they rush to try and get me taken care of faster. And when they do…it’s never quite as good. It’s still really good, mind you. But it’s not quite the same. It’s not cut quite as perfectly. The cheese is not quite as melty. The crust is not exactly as perfect. It’s good…but not quite as good. And it’s totally my fault. The Pizza Maker is an artist. Yes they are in business. But they have perfected making a pizza that is exactly the way I like it. They have a process. They have a time that this process takes. Quality takes time. The only variable changing this transaction, taking it from “perfect” to “very good”…is me. I changed the transaction. And I end up disappointed. We do that sometimes, don’t we? We have our “go to” pizza place, hair salon, realtor, or whatever. They take care of us just they way we like it. We like their process. We like their style. Then we ask THEM to change for us…and we are disappointed. It’s our fault. When I got in business in the Promo industry a wise teacher told me once that “there are three ways you can get it. Cheap. Fast. Correct. You get to pick two out of three!” There is certainly wisdom in those words in our industry…but in most others as well. For me I am going to take this to heart. When I find someone doing things the way I love it…I will try and play by their rules. I am going to make a pact to not rush the Pizza Maker. Let me know what you think! Agree or disagree? Either way, make sure you sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We keep you up with all of our content and we have special offers as well.
by Kirby Hasseman
Want to make the world a better place? You can. Whenever you feel like you, as only one person, can’t make a difference, remember this study. There is a chemical in our bodies called Oxytocin. It’s a good chemical. It makes us feel good, decreases stress and, generally, makes us happy. From Psychology today: When we hug or kiss a loved one, oxytocin levels increase; hence, oxytocin is often called “the love hormone.” Oxytocin is the hormone that underlies trust. It is also an antidote to depressive feelings. A study was done that measured the amount of oxytocin in people that do a random act of kindness to another. As you might expect, the person who receives an act of kindness gets a boost in Oxytocin. Makes sense right? But the person who gave the act of kindness got an equal boost of Oxytocin as well! Very cool. Now here’s the best part. An observer, a person that had nothing to do with the act, but just saw the act of kindness, got an equal boost in Oxytocin as well. That is great. You can make a difference. But how? What can you do? How can you push kindness out into the world? With words. Here are just a few things that you can say to people TODAY that can do that. These are things people never get tired of hearing. 1. Thank you.2. You look nice today.3. You are a hard worker.4. I appreciate your help.5. You make this place better.6. You make me want to be a better (fill in the blank). 7. My day is better when you are in it.8. You make me laugh.9. You make me think.10. You are talented. And these are just a few. Make people feel loved and appreciated and you make the world better. Feel free to give us more. What else can you say each day to make others feel special? Go. Do that. Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We would appreciate that!
by Kirby Hasseman
I just recently finished the book Solve For Happy. It’s an “engineer’s take” on the subject of being happy…and I really found it fascinating.
The author, Mo Gawdat, is the Chief Business Officer at Google X and the book was thoughtful, emotional (Mo lost his son), long, spiritual and more. You can find the book here. I listened to the audiobook, and it was a longer one. Mo dives deeply into topics, so I found it worth the time. But for those who want a quick snapshot, here are a few takeaways I found from the book.
You Are Not Your Thoughts
I found this interesting because I have been talking and writing about this a lot. “We all have that voice” that prattles on in our head. It tells us we are not good enough. It yells about danger and how everything will not work out. It’s often mean and mostly negative. Mo tells us that this voice is not you…and how to take a step back and listen to it less…so you can be more happy. One of my favorite concepts in the book involves Mo talking to his brain, “No. That is not a good thought. Go and bring me a better thought.” Love that.
Negative Emotions Are Not in the Present
Gawdat spent a great deal of time outlining all kinds of emotions and how they can affect our happiness. Then he pointed out the negative emotions. What do they have in common? Nearly all of them are rooted in the future or the past! This was a bit of an “aha” for me. If you are angry about being passed over for a promotion, that is rooted in the past. Worried about an upcoming meeting? That’s in the future. And since the past is done, and the future is just our imagination, the things that are making us unhappy are just our own thoughts. Powerful.
Live in the Present
We need to get back to “living in the present.” That is when we are most happy, content and (dare I say) joyful. Mo says that when he finds himself getting swept away with negative emotions he does a simple exercise. He closes his eyes. Then he opens them and closes them again. Then he describes what is in front of him…in detail. It brings him back to the here and now. This was a detailed book and he covers a LOT more than this. But those are just a few concepts that jumped out to me.
He even talks about how to overcome our fear of death and gives his take on what comes “after.” As I said, it’s a lot…but I enjoyed it. You can find the book on Amazon here.
Want to make us happy? Please check out our content every day. We have videos, podcasts and blogs on our blog page here. And you can always become a VIP by signing up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
I get way too much credit. Really. For nearly everything. This is not a statement of modesty. It’s just a fact. But I have only come to realize it recently. What brought this to my attention was a project that my wife and I have recently tackled. It’s a property on Main Street in Coshocton that we purchased at the end of last year. Since then, work has been being done to improve the property and (we hope) the downtown as well. But here’s the thing…I haven’t been doing any of it. My wife has. She (with the help of my daughters) has been tearing up carpet, taking out cabinets, cleaning, painting, working with contractors and more. They have been working their tails off and making great progress…and I am very proud of them. So it always catches me off guard when someone comes up to Amy and I and asks ME about the project. “How is that coming?” Or “Really appreciate you taking that project on.” That’s great…and I appreciate the sentiment. But I am not doing it. I am just getting the credit for it. Is it because I am the guy?Is it because I am the mouthpiece?Is it because I am the constant, narcissistic self-promoter? Wait. That last one hurt. Amy deserves all of the credit for the project. She is doing a great job. And it made me think of the other things in my life where I get all of the credit…unfairly. Do you enjoy videos we do like Delivering Marketing Joy? If so, Dustin Haywood deserves credit. He is our video guru and makes me look good. Do you like the graphics and look of our marketing? Then you need to give Josh Williams a pat on the back. That’s all him. Happy about the fact that we pay the bills and invoices get moving in a timely fashion? Libbie Granger-Prince handles all of that. And if you have ever had me actually make it to an appointment, or an order made it through the process, then Emily Bradford deserves credit for that. Oh…and one more…if you like the beer at Hasseman Brewing, Robbie Kehl does the work behind the scenes there. It’s humbling to have such a great team of people making me look better than I deserve. So thanks to them…and to our awesome sales team too. That’s where the credit is due. Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here for all of the content!
by Kirby Hasseman
This past week, I was recognized in a couple of different posts for online activity and influence. It was beyond humbling. The first was Dale Denham’s Online 18. Each year Dale puts together a list of the people he deems as the most influential online in the Promotional Products industry. He has his own criteria, which outlines at the top of the list, and he spends a lot of time putting it together. Other than me, it’s a veritable Who’s Who of online and content in the industry. Check it out here. Oh…and here is the podcast about this I did yesterday. The second post came from Commonsku. Commonsku is a service provider in the Promo World and created this list of their favorite Podcasts. It includes some newer podcasts and some old favorites…and we made that list too. That post can be found here. So why am I bringing this up (other than a blatant Humble Brag)? I mention this because it’s amazing how much recognition matters…to everyone. The Hasseman Marketing team and I create content on an every day basis. Our goal is to provide value. Our hope is that someone gets something out of each piece of content that either educates or inspires. And for the most part, it happens quietly. But when something like this happens, it’s hard not to take pride. It makes you want to puff up your chest. It is great to know that what you do matters…to someone. The lesson, I think goes back to this blog post about Fixing the Appreciation Gap. Recognition matters to everyone. Many of us would like to think we are above it. We “do the work” regardless of what anyone thinks. And maybe we do. But when we get called out for our good work…we take pride. Guess what? So do your employees. So do your customers. Make sure you are taking the time to “make a list” of the people doing great work in your life and your organization. Give them a chance to “puff up their chest.” And if you want to make sure you never miss any of this “recognized” content, feel free to sign up for our VIP newsletter. You can do that here! Or if you want to head to our site and shop for cool Promotional items to recognize your team, you can do that here.
