So many people glamorize and seek the “laptop lifestyle”.
But what they don’t tell you is that the secret to pulling it off is solid operations- meaning that you have a team of people who are following a clear process to get the work done as a TEAM.
Failures WILL happen.
What’s your process for handling them?
We lost two people last week who wanted the glamour but weren’t able get stuff done. And because of the process, others came in to take over, so that projects don’t run into disaster.
The #1 thing I spend my time thinking about is how to create “repeatable excellence”.
In other words, look at where we’ve had failures in the past and continuously build training, task assignments, accountability, and automation to enable “graceful failure” when it does happen.
If you play golf, you know it’s not about hitting perfect shots, but minimizing the cost of mistakes.
I want to hit the fairways and greens in regulation. But if I miss, I want to go “up and down” to save par each time.
When you travel, that’s one way to test whether you have a strong process- that your team can operate without you physically there in the office to provide real-time support.
My knowledge and experience in operations is 10X whatever my skill in digital marketing.
The actual making and tuning of ads is mechanically simple and defined.
But the emotions of people, the expectations of clients, and the random things that happen along the way, create an infinite variety of situations to test your process.
– 2 hours of learning followed by an hour of doing beats 3 hours of doing. – If you have to say you’re an influencer, successful, honest, or whatever– you’re probably not. – Things are never as bad, or as good, as they seem, in the moment– so slow down a bit. – Why do people buy? There’s the “real” reason and socially acceptable reason. Appeal to the emotion first, then the logic. – Successful companies are based on teams, not heros. If you are growing your business, do you have a partner and several mentors? – The “secret” of Facebook ads or the newsfeed algorithm is not a magic formula, but mastery of the fundamentals– goals, content, targeting. – If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then a video is worth 1,000 pictures and 1,000,000 words. Make one minute videos the heart of your marketing strategy by organizing your people and process around it. – Having a few high quality friends is worth more than “knowing” everyone out there. – Most people are struggling on the inside, but put on a good face– so be nice whenever you can. – Occam’s Razor is a good lie detector and problem troubleshooter– the simplest explanation is usually the most likely. – Dunning-Kruger variation– those who talk the most, know the least. The best people to know are not the most famous ones, unless your goal is to be famous. – I’ve gotten more stuff done by sleeping 7 hours each night than “hustling”. That hour of clear thinking is worth 5 hours of tired, mistake-ridden zig-zagging. I justify working out as a business investment in my mind. – It’s okay to say NO– you don’t owe anyone your time. And without a filter, you can’t really say YES to what matters. Mari Smith taught me to say NO to anything that wasn’t a heck yes. – Don’t confuse motion with progress. I work only 3 hours a day, since I need 2 hours to learn and 3 hours to teach (#LDT = learn, do, teach). – Perhaps the biggest learning– to consciously make time for GRATITUDE at the start and end of each day, to appreciate the awesome people I’ve been taking for granted.
I truly know that all things work together for your good if you believe there is great good in even the darkest evil.
I used to think the winners in entrepreneurship were the smartest, hardest working, or luckiest– they had the better product and optimally tuned process.
But examining more closely, they have better teams from better culture. Their people support each other and have open communication that first requires complete trust.
The journey is so hard– beyond what one guy can do, despite the superheros in the movies. And without mentors, loyal customers, and amazing teammates– your best ideas are just that.
* I’ve re-learned it’s better to be kind than right. * People remember how they felt, not what you said or did. * Gratitude helps you realize wins you may have overlooked or discarded. * You are alone, yet have more friends than you know. * What appears so good is never that good, but what’s bad isn’t that bad, either. * Decisions made when angry, in haste, or in secret you will regret later. * There is always enough time to do the right thing and even fix mistakes that seem too late.
I’ve heard that if you want to go fast, go alone– but that if you want to go far, go together.
Everyone needs support, even the ones that appear the strongest. Mentors are rare in the world of friends or work– so find them and do anything you can to cherish them.
I’ve spent time in the last few days in awe of mentors who have given selflessly to me, whether still alive or just in my memories now.
Most people procrastinate when they are given opportunity for a variety of seemingly good reasons. Yet done is better than perfect. There is never a “perfect time”, so don’t wait on what matters to you, Kudos to Jeremy!
And what can you learn from his example?
This is what we share for excuse makers– we already know the reasons people don’t take action. And we even made an infographic about it:
