Do you remember a Christmas where you got THE gift you hoped for?  You begged, pleaded, wrote Santa more than once, prayed every night – it was definitely obvious to everyone.  Then the morning came and there it was!  Joy of joys!

Now do you remember where you left that wondrous gift?  Is it even in your possession anymore? 

How quickly we change.  Even as adults, too many of us look for the bigger, better deal or the new shiny object.  A wise person once said that a free man has nothing.  Somewhere between quality of life and poverty lies the balance.

A career is much like that.  I’m not speaking about how much money you should make, but the vocation that gives you a reason for getting out of bed.  With as short as life is, we should all have one.  But a very precious few are actually “living the dream.”  Or, they work hard to get where they think they should be, only to find it lacks luster relatively quickly – just like the Christmas gift.

Even the deeply-reflective, carefully-planning, “eyes wide open” career holders can wind up in a rut.  I remember many investigations, correspondence, job shadows and soul searching about “what I should be when I grow up.”  Granted, many interesting people still don’t know at 50.  I just happened to decide at 7.  And yet, I still have many experiences that prove to be the “job” part of “living the dream.”

So it’s about shifting your focus, isn’t it?  Remembering why you are where you are and reflecting on the more romantic and even honorable aspects of the job.  Embracing your purpose and posting reminders of it everywhere, if need be.

Just like your diet, you can’t eat junk food all day every day.  You’re going to have to ingest some fiber sometime.  Recognize that any position is going to have “brussel sprouts” – as long as you’re not spending your whole day eating them.

Onward and upward!

As the last of my “spec work” falls off the grid, I reflect again on the habits I’m arresting – and the new ones I hope to form.

Through these posts I’ve discussed many of the classic problems that seem timeless in the art world,  most stemming from a personality that (as a very wise person once said) never wants to “put any skin in the game.”

And now I propose the following for your own reflection:   turn your thoughts toward the relationships that you lead, such as with those that support you – even staffing.  Are you training and developing well, or just “well enough?”

I paraphrase Reagan: “surround yourself with those who are good at what you aren’t, and let them do their job.”  Ask yourself, “When it comes to my own goals and strategy, am I forcing others to be that which I cannot?  Or am I recognizing limitations and allowing for a limited growth?”

It’s counter-cultural to be patient.  There’s even an increase in a.d.d. symptoms as more people try to master multi-tasking.  Fruitless efforts are met with a drop in I.Q.

Maybe the “skin you need to put in the game” is not only patience for the right outcome, but even for the right person, limiting yourself (and even potential growth) to that which you can completely command.  

As my own worst enemy I need to keep cogniscent of such a tendency.  If I can’t do “perfect” on a small scale, I certainly can’t do better by overcompensating.

I absolutely work for a living. 

I am a success by my own definition and on my own terms, I have no regrets, and I am hope-filled for the future.  I love what I do, but I need to do it.

There are times where business trends leave the sounds of crickets chirping around the office.  It’s a scary experience.  But I also know the trends well enough to plan accordingly.  In those times I joke that “I can’t even afford myself!”  Because we strive to be the best, we have established premium services and can command a premium rate.

The joke has another connotation though – if I could afford us, would I?

I challenge you to think along the same lines – and be objective.  If you had a choice in service providers and even if one was considerably cheaper, would you still choose your company?

Are you a “get what you pay for” provider or are you “all we can afford, so we’ll overlook a few things?”

It can be as scary a revelation as the crickets chirping.

I want to preface this metaphor by clarifying – I like both Coke and Faygo.

Some people have a strong preference.  Perhaps it’s relative to the thirst, the occasion or other intangibles.

The key difference in my mind isn’t how well either brand is made or marketed.  I’m not aware of any political affiliations either company has or if they have skeletons in the closet.  I think I would take such skeletons with a grain of salt anyway.

But the bottom line is Coke costs what Coke costs.  Faygo costs what Faygo costs.  One is just more expensive than the other.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard or witnessed anyone haggling about the cost of either.  Maybe they go on sale, maybe you have a coupon, maybe there’s even a promotional giveaway.  But whatever it costs at the time you need to acquire it won’t spark a revolt.

Now apply this to your own business.  Would you consider yourself a “Coke” brand or a “Faygo” brand?

I don’t want you to be too caught up in the egotism of “what my time is worth” or “how I’m more important than someone else.”  This is more about a sense of pride in your service.  It equates with “you get what you pay for” – and you should see yourself as a premier brand. 

This line of thinking can also be an eye-opener, especially if you’ve never done any marketing to see how your brand is perceived.

Perhaps it will spark a change in advertising, public venues, or just pricing.  Ultimately, it also translates into what kind of customers you attract.

Have you ever been in a city long enough to establish “where the money is?”  Because the resources are available, the environment is improved.  Sometimes you’ll notice the affluent version of  a facility or store that has a quality counterpart (but just outside the “comfort zone”)  In short, because they can, the rich are willing to pay to establish the environment they want (and not necessarily need)

I’m not judging the rich – I hope to join the club – and in short, if someone is willing to pay for a premier service or brand, who am I to judge that they shouldn’t pay a price in accordance with such quality?

So examine your strategy.  Are you attractive to the premier-seekers or will you be relegated to the bargain basement?

I’ve heard “do your best” or “give it 110%” or the classic sports version “hustle!” but I don’t remember anyone recognizing that those are relative. 

If I’m too short to dunk a basketball, I may be giving my best but will probably never be giving Michael Jordan’s best.

If I have no sense of rhythm, I may be trying hard to keep count, but will never be giving Fred Astaire’s best.

Then again there are exceptions – if I’m terrible at math, I may or may not be giving Einstein’s best.

But it is the exceptions that I think too many people focus on as the norm – as if it’s easier to expect the same from everyone instead of taking the extra time to direct each person towards their strengths.

Granted, success stories are great inspiration and should be seen as the spirit of tenacity bringing dreams to fruition.  There was a time when Jordan couldn’t make the basketball team, when Astaire was a clumsy kid, and when Einstein flunked math.

A key difference is passion.

I’ve never met any successful person in any walk of life who didn’t work hard to achieve – ignoring nay-sayers, adversity, or just popular opinion.  Successful people aren’t super-human or from a distant planet, they just wanted it badly enough.  Sometimes a special teacher, coach or parent was involved.  Sometimes it was over many years of development.

On the other hand, every successful person I’ve ever met also recognized (or had astute help with recognizing) their destiny - it wasn’t a hopeless dream.  They knew they had potential - even if it didn’t make sense at the time (honestly, have you ever met a really good accountant who knew since childhood?)

And so I offer this challenge to you – are you soaring with your strengths, or trying to fit an Einstein into a Jordan?

Life is too short to try and recognize someone else’s potential and deny your own.  Work towards change starting today!