Ten Things I Learned From You

Over the past decade, I've spoken with hundreds of people like you at various events, who have shared their wisdom with me. Today, I wanted to pass on ten of those things to everybody (each link takes you to a blog post that talks more about the point):

1. Small changes bring big results. You don't always have to do huge things to make a significant impact on your life. Something as simple as getting up 30 minutes early can give you the extra planning time you need to make the day productive.

2. Sometimes you just have to step back and breathe. I was the opening speaker for a major event earlier this year, and the person in charge was trying to explain exactly what would be happening. After a few frazzled moments of trying to gather notes, she stopped, closed her eyes, put down everything she was carrying, and just took a deep breath. After that, she smiled and went back to running things, but with a calm demeanor that let everyone know the chaos around her didn't faze her. Taking just a moment to breathe breaks the negative momentum and spiral you might be in at the moment.

3. The best time to start something new is now. Planning and preparation are essential, but once you've thought it through, it's time to take action. Don't keep putting it all off for "someday".

4. Even confident people hide insecurities. When you see that person you think has got it all together, they are just fighting a different fight than you are. We are all facing nagging doubts, lingering fears, and personal struggles. Nobody is perfect.

5. Most people aren't afraid of failing; they're afraid of looking foolish. The sooner you realize most people really aren't thinking about you as much as you believe they are, the better off you'll be to push yourself.

6. What you say to yourself is more powerful than you imagine. “I have to” vs “I choose to.” “I’m stuck” vs “I haven’t moved yet.” It's all a series of tiny word choices that create massive mindset shifts.

7. Devote time to what's important and learn to cut time from things that aren't. What are your priorities for your life? What is important to you? Focus on those things, and don't allow "busyness" to rob you of those moments. If what you're doing won't bring the results you want in your life, why are you doing it?

 8. Strong leaders can admit they don't know it all. When someone in charge admits they need input or advice from their team, the team gets invested in the situation. They don't lose respect for the leader who doesn't know everything. They do lose respect for the leader who cannot be questioned.

 9. Taking the time to say a kind word to someone is a priceless gift to others that costs you nothing. Taking ten seconds to tell someone what a great job they're doing, or that you're proud of them, or that you appreciate them, is such a simple thing to do, and it means so much to other people. Sometimes you are the only encouragement they'll hear.

10. Be proud of who you are, not envious of someone else. It's easy to look at someone else's life and feel yours is diminished. The truth is that you have no idea how long it took them to get there or what they had to sacrifice to make it happen. Each person's journey is their own, and as long as you're happy with the one you're on, that's all that matters.

And that's it. Thank you and people just like you who were willing to share their knowledge and advice with me. I look forward to continuing learning from you in the future.

Is there one piece of advice or knowledge I didn't cover that you'd pass on to someone else? If so, let me know what it is. I'd love to learn from it and possibly even share it in a future email!