by Kirby Hasseman
When it comes to accountability, I see two types of people.
There are those that always look to blame others for everything that happens to them. Then there are those that blame themselves for everything. They accept responsibility for everything…even when it’s clearly not their fault. I don’t see this as being a martyr. I see this as being a learner.
Will Smith falls in the second group. Most truly successful people do. I saw this video yesterday that illustrated this point. You can watch it here.
In the video, Will talks about his transition from junior high to high school. He went from a catholic school to a public school and decided to make a splash. In doing so, he made an enemy. Later that day, the kid assaulted Will. He hit him over the head with lock…and was taken away in handcuffs. The young Will Smith watched the other boy being taken away from the school in handcuffs.
So how did Will react? What was his takeaway? Even as a young man, Will realized he played a part. He had an influence in how this played out. He took the lesson and learned. That’s the message here. The most successful people I meet take responsibility for everything. They look for the lesson in every situation. They see that they have the ability to influence nearly everything in their life.
As I said before, this is not about being a martyr. It’s about NOT being a victim. It might not be your fault. But it is your responsibility.
As a side note, if you are looking for a cool person to follow on Youtube, the former Fresh Prince of Bel Air is awesome. You can subscribe to his channel here.
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by Kirby Hasseman
Sometimes we all get in a rut. It happens.
One day we are traveling along doing well, and the next we wake up frustrated and bored. The longer we travel along in this rut, the deeper it gets. Often, the rut is the path that we feel like we are “supposed” to do. Hell, we might even be good at it. This deeper rut makes it harder to change.
And more importantly, I think, it makes it harder to even consider changing.
“Great,” I hear you saying. “But now what?” Here are a few ways I have seen people (including me) break out of a rut.
Give Yourself Permission to Dream (Again)
When you are in a rut, sometimes it’s hard to even imagine doing something different. We become a bit of a martyr. “I have to do this because…” You have to give yourself a chance to stop thinking about what you “have” to do and consider what “excites” you. By taking off the blinders, you might be able to see.
Find Your Happy
Think about the things that you really enjoy doing. How can you do more of that. Study after study tells you that you do not need success to be happy. You need “happy” to be ore successful.
Seek out a Purpose
A really good friend of mine recently told me that the main reason for depression in the United States is a lack of purpose. You need a reason to get you up in the morning. What is your purpose? If you can’t answer that question (fairly quickly), you need to dig in and get the answer.
Create “Crazy” New Goals
Sometimes the best thing to do to snap you back is to set a new “crazy” goal that really stretches you. Maybe it’s a goal to run a 5k or a Half Marathon. Maybe you want to write a book (like this one). Maybe you want to start a new business (like one that brews beer). Forgive the silly self promotion, but these sort of “crazy” projects can often really kick start your purpose. If nothing else, I can attest that you will not be bored.
Find a Place to Push Out Good
While you are trying to get out of the rut and find your purpose, be on the look out for something nice to do for others every day. The science shows you this process will help to improve your mood and overall well-being. It’s not opinion…it’s fact. Along the way, you might find a purpose. But in the meantime, you will be pushing out more good into a world that seems to desperately need it.
So if you are in a rut, keep in mind, we all end up there. But in order to get out of a rut you need to talk action. Start here…and let me know how it goes!
Make sure you never miss an update. You can find all of our content on our blog page here. And as always, you can sign up to be a VIP here.
by Kirby Hasseman
This time of year, everyone is looking for the perfect gift. And if not the perfect gift…an easy one. So if you are looking for a low cost, last minute gift for someone on your list, let me submit these to you. Fan of Happy: This is the book I initially wrote for my daughters. During their most challenging teenage years I decided that there were lessons I wanted to share with them. The problem is, they didn’t want to hear them. So I started writing them down to share later. What I came up with was 110 personal development lessons that are appropriate for just about anyone. If you like the style of writing (and the lessons) from this blog, you might enjoy this book. Delivering Marketing Joy: This is a book I wrote for anyone who is charged with marketing an organization. There are tons of books written on social media, marketing tactics, email marketing and more. But one of the most powerful (and long lasting) forms of marketing is Promotional Premiums (or promotional products or SWAG), and unfortunately there are not a lot of books on how to do Promo right. This is that book. There are chapters on trade shows, direct mail, promo with social and many include case studies from all over the country. If you know someone that wants to up their marketing game, this might be a cool gift for them. The Written Goal: Finally, for those last minute gifts, you could check out my friend Sam Kabert’s book called The Written Goal. I am a big believer in goal setting and the power of “writing it down” so I am excited to check out Sam’s take on it. I also know the amount of time, energy and work that goes into writing a book! It’s an awesome undertaking. Great job Sam. So those are a couple of last minute gift ideas that can help you (or the person on your list) start off their New Year right! Make sure you never miss an update! Become a VIP. What does that mean? It means we send out one email per week to catch you up on content for the week. It’s a great way to stay motivated. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
A couple of months ago, my oldest daughter got a puppy. This would be fun and cute except for one important fact. My oldest daughter lives with me. That means this cute little puppy became a true “routine destroyer” in my house. (I whined a bit about that here). Despite the fact that Fin is super cute, he has gone through the normal phase of trying to figure out potty training, biting, chewing, barking at random shadows and more. It’s normal. But it throws everything off. I swear, there is a point to this. This weekend, my family and I were together on a holiday shopping trip. We were enjoying a nice meal together and discussing Finn. I started to point out that we were still working on the potty training thing, and then I stopped. “Wait,” I said. “Actually, it’s been a while since I have had to clean up an accident. He has been doing better on that.” Then we all looked around the table and realized it had actually been about two weeks since any accidents had taken place. Wow. How had we not noticed? We had not noticed because it happened incrementally…over time. He went from being totally unpredictable, to a bit better to even better yet. We didn’t flip a switch. We got a tiny bit better every day. Then one day…boom! Overnight success. That’s how it works with building a business (or creating content, or whatever). You start by just making a mess of things. Then you continue to work at it. You get a tiny bit better over a long period of time. And just like the puppy, there will be times when it does not feel like you are making any progress at all. You will question why the hell you are doing any of this. Then one day, you look up from the grind, and you realized you have made a TON of progress. You will look back at the grind (that felt like it took forever) and realized it happened pretty quickly. And hopefully, when you are on the other side, you won’t have to replace the carpet. While you are on the journey, make sure you become a VIP. Today is a great day to sign up. We send one email per week with all of the content for the week. Sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
Many people in sales are working really hard to “get the sale.” “That makes sense,” you might think. “After all, that is what they get paid for.” It’s true. Sales people are compensated to create sales. It’s important. But I don’t think that should be the number one goal of an organization. Your goal should be to the Re-Sale…or the 2nd sale. When you focus on the sale, you (and your team) focus on the short term. You make short term decisions that create, well, short term customers. You are not focused on the overall experience. You are not focused on the happiness of the customer AFTER the sale. When you focus on the 2nd Sale, you think more long term. You want happy customers. You want delighted customers. And when the customer is not happy, you know you need to make it right. As I like to say, your goal then, is to create 20 year customers. This is the foundation for long term sales and business success. Don’t just focus on the sale. Focus on the 2nd Sale. Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
