It’s up to you to make it better

If you’re in a place in life you don’t want to be, it’s up to you to make it better. To reframe it by focusing on the positive and approaching it with enthusiasm. In the end, your positivity and enthusiasm will contribute to creating the outcome you’re after. Once you apply this mindset to all aspects of your life, you conquer fear. Fear basically has nowhere to go.

Everyone discovers an extra gear in a crisis

Everyone discovers an extra gear in a crisis. The rare skill is accessing it without one. The only controllable variable in any situation is you. Oddly, it's the last one people adjust.

Infuse some humour into your expression

When you next speak to someone, be the one to make the interaction 5% more fun than it would otherwise be. Obviously, align the vibe to the appropriateness of the situation, but don’t be the guy who dampens the mood. Lift it up a little. You don’t need to be Robin Williams in your interactions. Just bring a sense of lightness to your expression, be it in person or in writing. Notice how you begin to enjoy your own company a little more.

There are bottlenecks in every process

An essential feature of every bottle is the neck. No neck, no bottle. There are bottlenecks in every process, every project, and every method. Something is limited. We can pretend that’s not the case and avoid the discussion. Or we can see it as an opportunity. Successful organizations are good at embracing and working with their bottlenecks.

It’s your fault

Those are harsh words. They imply agency, responsibility, and failure. Agency and freedom go together. We have more choices than we want to admit. What do we make? The answer is simple: choices. Owning our choices is a celebration of our future agency. You don’t get yesterday over again, but you do get to make new choices tomorrow.

Room temperature

Left alone, a cup of coffee will gradually cool until it reaches room temperature. Stable systems regress to the mean. Things level out on their way to average, which maintains the stability of the system. The same pressures are put on any individual in our culture. Sooner or later, unless you push back, you’ll end up at room temperature.

Make and take

In a world of automation, AI, and outsourcing, what exactly do we do for a living? Perhaps we make decisions. And what’s in short supply? A willingness to take responsibility. If you choose to sign up to make and take, there have never been more tools or more leverage available to you.