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Self-improvement

Whether things are going well or going poorly, reflect as to what you could have done differently and how that might have improved your situation.

You can always improve. It’s up to you to decide how much you want to put into something and if it’s worth the effort, time, energy, money, etc.

Whatever your decision is, it’s not necessarily right for everyone. It just has to be right for you. Your situation is different from theirs. Don’t judge how others live their lives – just focus on what you can do to improve yours.

The telescope and the microscope

When trying to achieve your goals, you need to look at both the big picture (i.e., what relationships to you need to work on to build long-term success) and your day-to-day actions (i.e., what do you need to do to make some money/pay the bills TODAY).

You need to be able to toggle your focus on both sets of requirements to get to where you want to go. If you’re always thinking big picture, building connections and focusing on slow-developing results, you may never get there because you haven’t done what you need to do to keep the lights on today. For example, if you own/manage a theme park, it doesn’t matter if you’re designing a new ride if you don’t get ticket sales today to keep the park open. Your day-to-day operations need to be functioning well in order to move towards your future goals. But, if you’re not careful, you can become stuck always focusing on doing just enough to survive for the next day and never make progress towards your dreams. Toggle your focus between short and long-term results, ideally with your short term actions leading directly towards your long-term goals.

Jon Gordon makes the analogy that you need to use a metaphorical telescope and microscope. If you only have the telescope, you are always looking far away. You’re looking at the big picture in the distant future. That’s great to have a North Star to guide you along your journey, but you also need to be able to look at the daily tasks to get you there. This is where the microscope comes in handy…having attention to detail on short-term events and taking those next “most important action steps” to get you to where you want to be. Don’t get trapped into only using one instrument, as using a telescope won’t let you focus on the small details right in front of you, just as a microscope won’t let you observe the night sky.

Optimism vs. pessimism

What you search for, you’ll find. If you’re optimistic, you will be able to see the good in any situation and be able to make or take opportunities when they present themselves. If you’re pessimistic, you’ll see the negative all around you.

The optimist and the pessimist live in the same world. It’s just that the optimist chooses to see a different reality and, as a result, will get ahead more often than the pessimist.

How can you train yourself to be more optimistic today?

Management and execution

Just because you are good at executing a task, it doesn’t mean that you will be a good manager over a group of people completing that task. Executing and managing require different skill sets and even if you have the skills, you may not want to do or like to do some of the required tasks when in one position or the other.

Before making a switch from being in the field to going into management (or vice versa), you need to be honest with yourself if you understand the new position, if you want to take on those new roles/responsibilities, and if you’re capable of performing your role for the team.

First comes understanding. If your expectations of what the position entails don’t align with the reality, you are likely to be disappointed. Talk with those who have been in the position you are looking to move into to see if it is something you think you might like. Ask them detailed questions about what their day-to-day schedule looks like, what it takes to succeed at that position, and what is the best/worst part about what they do. You have to gain a better understanding of what is required of you in order to make the best possible decision to make the switch. If you’re making a major life change, you should try to do so with as many facts up front as you can.

After you talk with that person (or hopefully several people in the position you’re moving to), take time to consider if you will like those activities. Will you find them fulfilling? Will this new position provide a healthy challenge for you – one that is fun and exciting, but stresses you just enough to continue to grow? One of the most important questions that you can ask before accepting a new position is, “will I generally get fulfillment doing this everyday for the next X years of my life?” If the answer is yes (or mostly yes, as everyone has the occasional “bad day”), then move on to the third set of questions.

If you understand the job position and still want it, the last set of questions you must ask yourself revolves around “do you have what it takes to win at this position?” Keep in mind that winning is not only something that you have to define for yourself, but for the company as well. You may be happy with the work you’re doing, but is the company happy with your performance? Or they may be happy with your work, but you’re miserable. Both parties have to win for this to work in the long run. Can you prioritize the most important tasks for the day, week, month, or year and get them done on time (and on budget)? If you aren’t yet capable of performing to the standard that you and the company have defined, does your company provide training to get you there? If so, how much time/grace period will they allow for you to improve your performance to the required level? If you are mentally capable of performing the role, are your physically and emotionally capable of performing it? Can you physically complete any tasks the job requires? Are you able to handle the emotional highs and lows of the job? Do you let little things negatively affect you? If so, how can you build your resilience so you can have more good days and win at your job?

Lastly, it’s up to you to decide whether you fit best in the field or in management. If you are being offered the choice, you have to weigh the effects of not only a better paycheck, but also your happiness. Only you can choose what is right for you and your family. No matter what option you select, know that your job is important and that all great organizations need strong management and strong execution. Without both, the company is only as strong as its weakest link.

Going wide or going deep

I recently wrote about being a specialist instead of a generalist, and this post delves deeper into that thought. When I was listening to Dave Ramsey’s “The Legacy Journey,” he discussed how he and his wife, Sharon, decided to give to charity. There is no right or wrong way to give to others. I believe that and so does he. But he made a good point, saying if they had one million dollars to give, would their money be more effective giving one dollar to one million charities (essentially, “going wide”) or giving one million dollars to one charity (“going deep”)?

If you “go deep,” your impact is likely to be far greater/more meaningful than if you “go wide.” Again, this is not meant to make it sound like going wide is wrong, per say. In the example above, donating that much money (or any amount of money, time, and energy) is a very noble thing to do. It just depends on what you feel is best. If you have multiple charities that you’d like to give to, by all means, go for it. But if you want them to reach their goals faster, you may have to limit where your resources are going.

So how does this relate to the generalist or the specialist? Well, the generalist is essentially going wide. They may have a little bit of knowledge or experience in a lot of different areas. This is a good thing! It’s almost always a good thing to have more experience and to be well-rounded. You can often connect better with others because you have more to talk about. But if you need an expert or have a specific task that needs to be accomplished? Then the specialist is probably your best bet.

You may have a lot of knowledge in many different areas, but if you don’t have a deep understanding of how to build a rocket (or specific parts for a rocket), you probably won’t be much help to the engineering division of a company like SpaceX. This is why it’s not right or wrong to be a generalist or specialist, to go wide or to go far. It is all situation-dependent and up for you to decide what you want to be or do.