Bouncing back from victory

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Victories are special moments that we all savor.  Whether it's winning an athletic contest, getting an "A" on a test, or closing a deal...a victory moment is validating.  Such moments are like road signs signifying that you are on the right path to success. But, like those set-back moments of defeat, victory too needs to be put in the rear view mirror in order to keep growing.

Right out of college I put my economics degree to work by entering the financial industry in a sales role.  Early in my training I was taught that you need to put habits of success to work each day in order to finally catch the carrot of financial freedom that dangled at the end of the stick.  If you've worked in financial sales, you know the habits of success that I'm writing about have less to do with secret professional development tools and more to do with cold calling a long list of leads each day.

One day, my fellow newbies and I witnessed an associate  haul in a whale of a sale that we dreamed of eventually landing.  As the days followed, my co-worker's reputation became renowned, while his time in the office grew scarce.  Apparently, his big sale had become an arrival point for him, instead of a data point. Eventually, it became apparent to us all that his big win had derailed his process for success.  The long awaited victory may have launched his reputation, but unfortunately it short-circuited his drive.

In the book Great by Choice, Jim Collins writes about this unfortunate impasse of success by observing that, "success comes from different behaviors, not different circumstances (2011)."  If we allow the circumstance of victory to alter the behavior that led up to the outcome, then it's all a loss.  When it comes to our professional growth, if not careful, yesterday's successes will make us tomorrow's memories if we don't bounce back from victory.

Win Today!

Victor

Wanting something so much you do nothing

Growing up we're taught to dream big.  We were asked to write out our dreams in a fourth grade essay or perhaps show them in a seventh grade collage. Yet, in the same stages of life we were also bombarded with messages that suggested we cast off all planning and purpose for the sake of young fun.  To make sense of the contradictions we may have found solace in the arms of potential.

Potential can be very warming, just as long as your comparison scales can always find someone worse off than you.  Potential makes us feel like there is always tomorrow, just as long as we get the minimums of everyday life done today.  However, as time progresses, if potential doesn't convert to practice, we can fall victim to the paralyzed place of wanting something so much that we do nothing.  You see, the potential we proudly believe to be harbored inside, can become such a comfort blanket that we would hate to risk the inevitable set-backs of actually pursuing it.

Within biographies we read a re-occurring theme for those who have launched out in pursuit of their dream, which is while they may have lost their good friend called potential in the low moments of life, it was replaced by a better friend called industrious.  Realized potential is marked by a trail of industrious process.  Once industrious is archived as a trait common to our character, we will have what it takes to do something about what we've been wanting.

Win Today!

Victor

A Nemesis Named Normal

nobody's normal.com

This morning I watched a Bloomberg interview with a chief economist talk about the housing market being half-way back to "normal." According to the report the data suggests that the housing market produced gains over the past two years. So as the fundamentals of our economy stay weak, and the Christmas bonus for many was keeping their job, the suggestion of normal is nothing more than a pacifier to quiet your call for change and belief in better.  The call to be normal is a nemesis to personal growth and relational awareness.

There is quite a bit of self-serving security in one's ability to say they are "normal" since the statement incurs that while you may have faults, at least your not like that guy! All the while "That Guy" is saying the exact same about you! The concept of normal never takes into account your own uniqueness, and instead values your ability to blend in.  As you blend in, personal frustration kicks in as the gravitational pull of normal anchors your ambition to personally evolve.

Relationally, normal excuses you from valuing the healthy differences in your spouse or your board room because they operate outside the models of marriage and business that your experiences grew accustomed to.  The numbing power of normal will keep you at bay, while the outliers who understand that normal is nothing more than a crisis of comparison, will grab hold of the fundamentals and sail beyond horizons to a land that eventually will be called normal when the masses catch up.

Your one of a kind finger print confirms your intuition. You are not normal. Just as a priceless one-of-a-kind masterpiece holds value for its intrinsic uniqueness, so we too add more and gain more from our surroundings when we daily mature our own unique talents and relational opportunities.

Win Today!

Victor

Obstructed by The Obvious

Last week, I was reminded of a metaphor that compared the jellyfish to the salmon. You see, the jelly just floats where the current takes it, while the salmon works to fulfill its calling despite the current.

We all experience those moments when clarity of responsibility meets the convenience of circumstance.  It's that moment when you know what you must do within the realm of your responsibilities, and or pursuit of your goals, but there is a fatigue factor that overstates the rationale for not doing the work. In other words, you allow yourself an excuse to be common.

Extraordinary is uncommon for the simple fact that most will operate in the ordinary currents of life. Excuses can become justified to your own conviction because they appear to be obvious obstacles to others.  Pulling the wool over ourselves, the substantial change of current can make us feel justified for bypassing the opportunities to dig deeper.

It's no wonder why television networks continue to pump out crime series such as C.S.I (insert your city here)...we all admire those professionals that will go beyond the obvious to solve the mystery! Most will continue to be obstructed by the obvious road blocks, while a few uncommon will own the moment and dig through the inconvenient to find the edge. Make no mistake, it is easier said than done, but it still remains a matter of our will. A will that is, and always will be, ruled by our moment by moment choices.

Win Today!

Victor