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Appreciation is fleeting. It’s a quick sentence spoken in passing or tacked on to the end of a request: 👍“Thank you for everything you do.”👍“I just want you to know how much we appreciate you.”👍“Great job on that project.” Or it’s an event we organize to share those words in public and give gifts that…
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“Behave as if you’ve already arrived” is enticing advice. It has the power to stretch you or destroy you. If you’re stuck in old habits, it can be just the kick you need to move forward, but if your vision greatly outpaces your current reality, be careful. Most business and personal growth happens in stages.…
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Last weekend I recorded videos for our church’s upcoming Christmas program. Several of us read lines from a teleprompter, portraying one of the key participants in the story of Christ’s birth and ministry. During the week before the recording, we each met via Zoom with our dramatic director so she could hear our delivery and…
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“You can do anything if you just believe in yourself,” they say. Not necessarily. There are many who believe in themselves and fail to deliver. We call them delusional, arrogant, narcissistic. Don’t be them. Instead, find your true strengths. Look at your past successes. Listen to what others say that you do well. Figure out…
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“What’s the matter? Are ya chicken?” So the playground bully convinces a classmate to do something foolish. And a well-meaning coach can reflect that playground bully. “Don’t let fear hold you back.”“What are you afraid of?”“Fear is a sign that you’re on the right track.” Sometimes, those challenges are exactly what a coaching recipient needs…
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But if you do read it, think about why I may have written it. I’m not going to edit this. It’s just going to be how it comes out of my fingertips. Why? I was challenged to get comfortable with writing bad first drafts. To make progress through practice rather than pausing for perfection. Here’s…
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Short-term failure comes from expecting more than the reality you have. Long-term failure comes from accepting less than the reality you expect. If I expect customers to read a 100-page manual to learn a new app but that’s not the reality I have, the next rollout may fail.My customers’ behavior is outside my control, so…
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Your most expensive lie is probably a single word: “Yeah.” “Do you understand?” (I’m not sure) “Yeah.”“Does that make sense?” (not really) “Yeah.”“Did I get that right?” (I wasn’t listening) “Yeah.” So relationships are destroyed by misunderstandings. Projects fail because of miscommunication. All because we’re too afraid to say, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand” Or…
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Einstein didn’t say, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” If he had, he’d have to answer to testers, technicians, and troubleshooters the world over whose experience is just the opposite. “Unplug, replug, and try again.”“That’s not what it did a minute ago.”“Clear your cache and cookies, then…