It is prudent advice to learn to accept reality for what it is. And the reality is nothing short of the truth. And the truth is that we are all playing on an imperfect game board. Once you feel like you have figured out how to play the game of life, ZINGO—somebody changes the rules.
The person who came up with the saying “two steps forward, one step back” knew exactly what he/she was talking about. This “business thing” seems to be getting harder by the day. Especially for those who insist that it is in their best interest to keep shooting themselves in the foot by adopting the wrong bogus advice from others.
My advice to you today: Stop shooting yourself in the foot. Listen up and learn. Absorb, analyze, interpret, and adopt the information that rings true to you. Respect your own instincts. Fail faster. Play hard.
Speaking of reality… we are living in the same world. I listen to the same newscasts you do on the 5:00, 10:00, and 11:00 o’clock news. The world we live in appears disjointed, confused, abused, and a mess. With this in mind, I want you to remember the following: “In a battle between you and the world, the smart money is on the world.” To borrow from some smart guy… “It is what it is.” Learn to live with it.
This being the case, we just can’t sit here and allow the fickle finger of fate to determine our future. If we want to be a success tomorrow, we will have to do something today. I can hear many of you saying right about now, “But Mike! I am doing something. I’m doing plenty. It just isn’t working.”
This raises two obvious questions:
1. Are you doing all you can do every day?
2. Are you doing the right things every day?
I am reminded of another popular soundbite that reminds us that, “All you can do is all you can do.” The good news (according to me) is that all you can do just might be all you need to do as long as ‘all you can do’ consists of doing more of the right things.
Heaven knows there are enough options to confuse the issue. It all seemed so logical yesterday. Work hard. Play fair. Pay attention. Get rich. Leave scads of money to your kids. Leave a building with your name on it to your favorite university. And the beat went on.
Today I’m afraid there aren’t many rules to hang your hat on. Show me 100 “successful” people and I’ll show you 83 legal ways that got them to where they are today along with 17 questionable routes to the top.
In addition to the entire world going through unprecedented uncertainty, every industry’s
marketplace has been turned upside down with the fallout being enough to spike America’s “unhappiness quotient” to an unprecedented record-breaking high. People are quick to tell you they are happy because that is what they know they are supposed to say. But are people really happy today? By careful observation, I think “not.”
People will tell you they provide quality customer service, but are they really providing quality customer service? People will boast about their marketing programs, but these very same people are probably confusing sales with marketing. People will tell you how cool their kids are, while they secretly wonder if they are really theirs. Somewhere along the way, people have learned what to say, but they aren’t walking their talk and following through as necessary.
With these uninspiring truths serving as a wake-up call, I decided to do what I could to muster some relief in the form of good, solid, take-it-to-the-bank business-building information that is both easy-to-read… while being easier to implement.
If choice “A” is to succeed, then choice “B” must be to throw one’s hands toward the heavens in surrender while giving up the ship, deciding to change careers, retire early and cross it all off as bad Karma. Some even feel better blaming it on their parents, or being raised in Secaucus or Hoboken, New Jersey. (No offense Garden Staters. I spent the first 60 years of my life in the Garden State.)
I recommend we join forces and collectively decide that option “A” is in our overall best interest. Let’s succeed. Let’s win. Let’s enjoy what we are doing and make it our business to find some time to laugh along the way.
Now to those of you who already have an action plan in place, go for it. If by chance, you could use a little more guidance, support, motivation and peer collaboration, shoot me an email with the word “circle” in the subject box. mike@mikemarchev.com.
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club, mike@mikemarchev.com.
*** You want more to think about? Check out my weekly podcast (Miked Up Marchev). Also listed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and iHeartRadio.
One thought on “Our 2023 Journey is Now Under Way”
Strong words of encouragement – appreciated too!