One of my favorite Hollywood staples is the bad ass hero that blows something up and doesn’t need to look back. He’s already won the battle, and he’s done his damage, and he’s walking away towards the next thing on his todo list. Jerry Bruckheimer seems to use this 3 times a minute in his flicks. I think of Jack Bauer and not caring, the explosion happened, so what, moooooving along now.
The only thing that matters is the mission. The explosion is in the past. Cool guys never look. What you do next to accomplish your mission is the now. So many times I’ve either:
- Admired my past successes. (Hey, pin a trophy on me, I sold a house)
- Looked at the things I screwed up. (I lost a customer today)
- Been distracted with red flashy nonsense. (Oooh, what will Inman do next)
All of it’s rubbish. Our job is simply to lead by example. Move more product. Get them to sign on the line that is dotted. Do it honestly. Do it to the best of our ability and know that that will always improve. Know that the job we do today isn’t gonna be as good as the job we can to tomorrow. Do better. Don’t sweat the screw ups, and don’t laud the victories.
Don’t look at explosions.
I see politics as an explosion. Yes. Obama wants our money. SHOCKER. So did Bush, who was all to eager to fire up the bailoutmobile. The government is a parasite. TELL ME SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW. We can pour energy and tears into politics. Or, we can look at the landscape, get into an OODA pattern, and figure out…what to do next. We cannot moan ineffectually about the loss of our freedoms, blaming Obama on our faulures. I mean, we CAN, but dude, setting a good example amidst the chaos.
Learning the laws first isn’t whining about them. Creating a business that can survive HVCC or whatever BS the power drunk Ivy Leaguers can do…and not whining that we’re not surviving. THATS the play of the day.
Sure things changed, and more obstacles were thrown up. That means we have to be faster, better, meaner and ready to rumble. Did Jasone Bourne bitch about how hard it was to get into customs, or did he just find his way in?
Here are my predictions for the future:
- There will be more, and stupider laws.
- The penalties for violating laws will be more severe.
- Things will get harder and they won’t benefit the consumer.
- Banks will have the upper hand.
- The National Association of Realtors will promote policies that cause churn.
- The GOP will continue to fool some people into thinking they are pro business when that is just Mercantilism.
All of this is a matter of degree. Now, we can advocate against these policies, but it must be tertiary to surviving them no matter what. We gotta focus on navigating the territory that exists, not trying to turn the clock back to June 2005. Spending too many braincycles thinking about them keeps us from realizing the success that’s gonna happen now. Our responsibilities are to succeed honestly no matter what, and it’s rare that if we look at the political explosion happening around us that we can.
Ignore the explosions, complete your mission.
Books to read:
- Boyd, the Fighter Pilot Who Changed War
- Sun Tzu’s art of war
- Book of Five Rings
That’s it.
Mike Stefonick says:
Chris,
You are dead on. So many poeple voted. Many not even knowing who they were voting for. They just liked the word Change. Yes the times are changing. Do I like it? Hell NO! Not this change.
However we have to survive. It is not business as usual. Let’s go forward. This climate will drive many more agents out of the business. Hell the government may just drive everyone out and sell the country to China. Whoops, maybe they just did!
June 9, 2009 — 2:51 pm
Paula Henry says:
Chris –
Bravo – go ahead pat yourself on the back for a minute -then get on with the mission. Everyone needs to read this post and either adapt or move out of the way.
June 9, 2009 — 4:04 pm
Joe Loomer says:
Awesome Chris, brought out some of my Navy memories and a particularly fearsome Master Chief: “I do NOT give a rat’s a#% what is on fire Loomer! If you do not get your ass up that ladder with this hose, I WILL rip off your head and s%#% down your scrawny-a#% neck!” Nothing else mattered but results.
Navy Chief, Navy Pride
June 9, 2009 — 4:22 pm
Jeff Brown says:
It’s been the GOP, the party of eunuchs, who’ve put this end game into play.
June 9, 2009 — 5:30 pm
Pamela Weir says:
So many great points in this post. Too often, we dwell on the past, focus on things we can’t change and cloud our futures with feelings of helplessness and negativity.
I have so many conversations with people about distractions. The things that keep us from performing our job to the best of our ability. We have to stop focusing on the barrage of bad news that prevent us from taking a specific action.
I think we just need to focus on what we can do right now to survive.
This is my favorite part:
“Do it honestly. Do it to the best of our ability and know that that will always improve. Know that the job we do today isn’t gonna be as good as the job we can to tomorrow. Do better.”
Such motivating words.
June 9, 2009 — 9:29 pm
Thomas Johnson says:
“Breathe in, breathe out, move on.”
Jimmy Buffett
June 10, 2009 — 7:34 am
James Boyer says:
Nice post Chris, I am trying so hard right now to keep focused on what needs to be done now, and what needs to be done next, and who cares about what has already happend.
Business has been good these past 3 months, but I want it to be good going forward as well, so best not to take my foot off the accelerator so to speak, or my hands off the steering wheel.
June 10, 2009 — 8:33 am
Mark Green says:
The thing I love about Genuine Chris is that he lives in the here and now, but somehow continues to look to the future.
Excellent post Chris.
June 10, 2009 — 3:39 pm