Today was my last Monday working for MindValley, where I am currently an email marketer for MindValley Labs products.
As my last week closes, each night I’m going to try to capture some of the key personal and professional learnings over this past year.
You might find them useful.
Lesson #1 No matter how exciting, work is not a viable long-term OR short-term source of happiness.
I came here with the express intent of absorbing as much internet marketing knowledge as possible, and managed to maintain significant dedication for nearly my entire time here, studying everything from SEO Book to copywriting to AdWords optimization.
Moderation is not a strong suit of mine.
It was delicious and delightful… but ultimately not very fulfilling. Even on the time scale of just 1 year, I have already felt the effects of an unbalanced dedication to just one aspect of life. I don’t have the social network, athletic participation, or intellectual exercise that I desire and feel the negative effects every day not.
Coming here with such a narrowly focused goal-set was probably a primary cause. Follow what you love in all aspects of your life; not just one. Excelling in one area shouldn’t beget significant sacrifice in the others, else you may consider alternative aspirations.
Lesson #2 Each leader must define their Context and exactly what a “best” teammate looks like.
The conventional definition of “best” is dangerous.
It misleads leaders into building the wrong teams. It misleads contributors into joining the wrong teams.
I’ve seen extremely intelligent, capable players come onto a team and struggle to reach their full potential because neither leader nor follower had clearly defined what “best possible choice” meant to them.
When you’re building a team, you need to figure out what “best” means in your exact context. My “best fit” and your “best fit” could result in totally different team compositions, with neither absolutely superior because the contexts are different:
- My team is salesman and needs gunslingers. Yours is a research arm and needs analytical gurus.
- I’m organizing a mitzvah and need quick, street-smart problem-solvers. You’re mediating a union strike and need empathetic negotiators.
- You get the idea.
I’ve discovered that sometimes the “best” person for your team would get labeled an utter failure under conventional definitions of “best.” But conventional definitions don’t take context into consideration… like you now are.
Lesson #3 Complacency resides in everyday decisions.
This relates to #1 up stairs. Truly changing your life or lifestyle is all about the small decisions.
Going green seems cool, but can I commit to rolling to work on my own feet versus a taxi?
Push the hard workout or take the meandering stroll through a few machines?
Skinny dipping or watch on the deck?
I can think of numerous times where, instead of existing where I could ACT, I delayed making a significant choice until some future date or event. It resulted in the decision getting ever more hyped in my mind until I blew it way out of proportion.
It became a source of drain instead of a rallying source of inspiration.
It goes without saying: small victories are easier. Had I focused on the small stuff, they would have added up into many of those end goals I’d envisioned.
Example. As I said, for some periods here, I didn’t have the intellectual exercise I desired. Instead of inviting someone to dinner to explore their interest in such discussions, I kept resigning to the fact that such a devoid even existed. I was framing it as “needing another intellectual masturbater” versus “what step can I take right NOW to solve this.”
I think we often overhype and mis-frame decisions in our mind. Break it down to
- a daily decision that can become habit or
- one you can make right now
… And I’ve found it becomes much more manageable and exciting.
Summarizing my past year of learning would have been a here-to-fore unheard of literary accomplishment on my part. Instead, I’m chunking it by day and already on the path to success. It also means I’ll continue this tomorrow.
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