Nine days into the new year and it feels good to be back in the blogging seat.
2023 finished very well for me on both the personal and professional front. I’m proud of the accomplishments that were achieved alongside many others.
I feel I’ve always done a great job of not resting on my laurels and keeping my nose to the grindstone. Achievements are great but the accompanying accolades can be dangerous distractions if they fool us into thinking we’ve achieved our maximum potential.
I normally don’t pretend that I’m an expert at anything but I feel I do have something to say about self-motivation. Perhaps you can take one of these tips into 2024 and realize another year of great achievements for yourself:
Quickly celebrate success - then continue onward
Athletics always yield the best visual example of this concept.
Yes, great coaches and players celebrate major achievements but I love hearing stories about these high-achievers quickly coming back to reality and realizing the next chapter is about to begin.
Staying motivated during moments of success can be very challenging.
It’s easy to get up in the morning when you see those hard problems or challenges staring you in the face. Those beasts are scary but evident enough in front of us therefore they make big targets for us to slay.
The most dangerous enemy is the assassin of complacency - as he creeps into our kingdom during our drunken revelries only to slit our throats as we sleep. We never see him coming until we find ourselves lifeless and defeated.
Yes, fight your biggest battles but always remember to kill the silent assassin as well. He also goes by the name of pride and self-indulgence.
Embrace episodes of failure
I spend a lot of time messing stuff up.
That’s not to say I’m a complete screw up but my days are constantly charted by mistakes.
At times this makes me feel incredibly stupid.
I hate feeling stupid.
However, I’ve come to value these mistakes so very much because it forces me to either skill up in a specific area or surround myself with people who already far exceed my abilities.
Don’t let pride get in your way of learning and failing forward while you learn.
More so, don’t let pride get in the way of surrounding yourself with someone who might just know more than you.
Constantly listen
Listen. Listen. Listen.
Just shut up and listen.
Is that too blunt for you?
Okay… shut your mouth and open your ears.
My mother would regularly tell me to “shut my mouth” during my years growing up in her house. She could be quite blunt about it.
Yes, many times it was because I was mindlessly going on about something but it was also a lesson that I’ve carried with me throughout my life.
Shutting my mouth can be difficult at times but it’s opened up an avenue of opportunities for me in my life.
Yes, listening to others while they speak with you is the most obvious example here.
But it’s good to also listen in every environment you find yourself in: parties, events, church, family gatherings, meetings, elevators, or wherever else.
There are moments to insert your opinion but then there are also moments to gathering data, properly analyze, and then reposition yourself to present a solution.
The wisest people in my life are those that I find the quietest. They are in a constant state of learning by organically data mining in each and every arena they find themselves in.
Position yourself for service to others
I don’t attend many networking events but I have gone to church entire life.
It goes without fail that in every group of people who regularly gathers there will be “that guy” who always has some “new and exciting” opportunity to share with you.
It’s always clear this individual is mostly self-seeking and doesn’t always have your best interest at heart. The natural reaction is to gradually create distance and hope they don’t see you walk into church next week.
As it goes with my above point on listening there is so much value in truly positioning yourself as a servant to others.
No, I’m not saying you need to work for free your entire life.
You can be a servant to others while also making more than a decent earning doing it.
I gained so much wisdom from this last year while listening to Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin. The book isn’t full of revolutionary ideas but instead drives homes commonsensical principles that have gotten lost in our highly-competitive society.
I suppose my best approach at this is to humbly discuss or demonstrate my skills while at the same always offering up myself as first a problem solver for those in need.
I don’t try to sell something that I’m not - I truly find great satisfaction in being at least a piece of a solution for somebody else’s problem.
Closing thoughts
As with most things I write about there really isn’t much revolutionary thought presented here. Just basic principles.
Basic principles have proven to carry me far in life and others that I admire even farther.
I sincerely hope the best this year for each of you who do good in the world.
My year will involve watching my children grow, enjoying time with my wife, solving many problems, embracing many new opportunities, failing at some of them, celebrating with friends, and visiting Michigan later in the year.
May the Lord our God bless each and everyone of you in 2024.