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Posers and Impersonators a Plenty

Vegas just wouldn’t be the same place without the posers and Elvis impersonators.
Someone has to show up for that gig, I suppose. But do they really?

Think about it–celebrity impersonators, like cover bands, don’t change the world.

Okay, confession time. 
In my own characturish way, I tried (unsuccessfully) as a kid to be someone else too–Fonzie from Happy Days.  After all, he was one cool dude, or so I thought at the time. He rode a motorcycle, got all the girls, and could jump start a jukebox with a single knock. Thankfully I grew out of that phase and came to realize that Henry Winkler wasn’t that smooth in real-life. Even the Fonz had to be himself when he left the set.

That Job’s Already Taken

Chris Gardner of The Pursuit of Happyness story, recalls in his book, Start Where You Are, how as a young boy he wanted to be Miles Davis. His mom, quick to remind him of the importance of being true to ones self, replied, “Sorry hon, that job’s already taken.”

Though imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, authenticity is the only way to make a lasting impact. The world doesn’t need another Miles Davis, Chris Gardner, or Fonzie for that matter and Vegas has more Elvis wannabes than one city deserves.

At the end of our days, none of us will be proud to have lived a knock-off life of someone else.
So forget about being the next whoever.
Those jobs are already taken.
Be the first YOU.

The world needs your ideas and actions. There are things that only you can accomplish without which the world will never be the same, but to make your mark on the world requires being yourself and doing something of distinction and value.

What’s Your DNA Distinction?

If you haven’t done so already, take a DNA inventory check.
What are your strengths? We all have them. So discover what makes you distinct and then deliver that value to the world. Unapologetically. Boldly.

Poser, Impersonator, or Person of Distinction – The choice is up to you.

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Afraid of Fear

Fear has a way of crippling and keeping us right we where we are with just a whisper.

“Easy now, you’ve gone far enough.”

“Watch out.”

“Don’t risk it.”

“Be careful.”

“Stay where you are.”

“What if [ fill in the blank ]?”

“Play it safe.”

Playing it safe rarely is.

President Kennedy warned us to fear nothing but “fear itself” because it has the potential to render us less effective than we were before it arrived. So where does that leave us?

Know Thy Fear

Understanding our fear can be like flipping on a light-switch, resulting in an “ah ha” moment of enlightenment that reveals the lack of substance behind the scare.

Perhaps that’s what Marie Curie intended when she said, “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” But sometimes knowledge just isn’t enough.

Understanding Fear is Not the Same as Facing It

There are plenty of socially anxious people who understand their phobia all too well but are unable face it or change. Curie’s axiom is incomplete. Instead, it should be, “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood, faced, and conquered.”

Too often there’s a Gap between the knowing and the doing.

If your house was on fire, you wouldn’t care so much about the firemen’s understanding of their fear as you would their response to it. Similarly, knowing what you’re afraid of is fine, but doing something anyway is always better. Instead of sitting on that information and hoping your fear will just head the other direction, you must face it–head on.

Face Thy Fear

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Risk, the calculated kind anyway, is good. It means we’re alive and betting on opportunity.  It implies that we’re not through with life. Our life, that is. And come hell or high water, we are going forward to make something better of what’s before us.

Fear can’t reside in a mindset like this. For it to survive, it requires something to feed upon–our doubt, hesitation, and misused imagination. Most of all, it counts on our passivity.

Turning the light on and seeing things for what they are will certainly help us square off with this challenger but the most important element is action. That’s the real thing that propels us past our fear.

“Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them.” ~ Brendan Francis

Most people avoid fear rather than face it, as if it were an unsolicited sales interruption who will just give up after a few knocks at the door and move along to some other sucker. Fear doesn’t play that game. He’s a tenacious opponent. In fact, if you don’t open the door, he’ll just camp out on your front lawn and wait. Sooner or later he’ll get his moment to peddle his wares.

Get on with it.
Turn on the light.
Open the door.
Hold your head up and step forward.

Tame Thy Fear

Like a barking dog, fear can keep us up at night, that is until we tame it. Fear is the barking dog behind the fence. It sounds ferocious but it isn’t. In reality, it’s making all that noise because it’s nervous. But when you understand the creature, you can face it and tame it. Be the “fear whisper.”

Becoming a champion means that you’re always choosing. Sometimes it’s a low-fat decision rather than a Mayo-slathered one. More often, the choices are bigger and more universal than that. It means choosing less of the things that don’t work and more of what does. So here are 20 simple choices you should make to become a better champion.

Less Fear. More Courage.

Fears are meant to be faced.
To do that takes courage.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but going forward in spite of it.
It means passing through the fog of fear and into the light of possibilities and freedom.

Less Dabbling. More Mastery.

Dabbling won’t make a dent in the world.
It’s so easy, anyone can do it.
Mastery, on the other hand, takes commitment.
If you want to stand out and make a dent, you can’t afford to plod along without improvement.
Commit to mastery (not perfection or plodding) and push through the inevitable plateaus.

Less Complexity. More Simplicity.

Simplicity is the underdog of complexity.
It just doesn’t get the same respect from most people because simple is, well, simple.
And effective.
Simple solutions are elegant and doable.
“Simplicity” as Leonardo da Vinci described it, “is the ultimate sophistication.”

Less Waiting. More Carpe Diem.

Opportunity and inspiration have short shelf-lives.
They won’t wait around forever.
So if you’re waiting for your ship to come in, the Cavalry to come to your rescue, or someone’s permission to be remarkable, STOP!
You don’t need any of those things.
Seize the opportunity–Do it now.

Less Multi-Tasking. More Single-Tasking.

Standing ovations don’t happen for the one-man band.
Neither does fame, unless you happen to count the 10-seconds of attention he gets from tourists.
Excellence happens because of focus and execution, neither of which occur when doing too much.
Single-tasking is way underrated.

Less Complaining. More Gratitude.

Complaints are free and easy.
They also add nothing but subtraction.
Gratitude, however, flavors everything you do by adding value and appreciation.
You’re more creative than the complainer, so find reasons to be grateful.

Less Focusing on Misses. More Celebrating Successes.

Michael Jordan, Thomas Edison, and Abraham Lincoln all missed.
Repeatedly.
They also succeeded in huge ways because they minored on their mistakes and majored on breakthroughs and accomplishments.
Learn from your misses but don’t focus on them.
Instead you should magnify and celebrate every single success.

Less Overwhelm. More Zen.

Breathe more.
Laugh more.
Say “no, not right now” more.
Let go of the unimportant.
Frequently reflect upon what’s really important.
Pray, meditate, reflect more.
Say “Thank you” and “I’m thankful for…” more often.
Give more.

Less Noise. More Signal.

Information overload isn’t the real problem.
If it were, we’d explode after entering a library.
Failure to filter is the issue.
We need more signal and less noise.

Less “Friends.” More Relationships.

In a world of single-click friend accumulation, we need more authentic relationships.
You know the type that’ll help carry your sofa when you move.
Speaking of friends, one posted a reminder on his Facebook wall to “turn off the laptop.”
He’s right–Walking around the neighborhood with my wife and our dogs is much more fulfilling.

Less Talk. More Walk.

Words are a cheap commodity.
Especially when the world is looking at your shoes for proof of action.
So keep on talking.
And use words if necessary.

Less Criticism. More Praise.

Anyone can be a cynic or a critic.
Criticism is actually quite easy, as is mediocrity.
And it really doesn’t take much more effort to hand out heart-felt praise that makes an impact.

Less Polishing. More Shipping.

Get it done.
Out the door.
You can make the next version even better.
But for now, ship the thing and meet the deadline.
Remember that continual polishing towards perfection can become the enemy of DONE.

Less Bedsores. More Callouses.

More people have suffered from bedsores than callouses.
It’s true.
Hard work never harmed anyone, and callouses never killed cowboys.
As Seth Godin says in his book Linchpin, “Do the work. Make a difference.”

Less Ideas. More Execution.

Ideas matter, no mistake.
You need a lot of them (bad ones in fact) in order to get a single great idea.
But when the day is done, the world needs your tangible product or service not your great idea.
It’s the execution that really matters.
It also pays much better.

Less Accidental Actions. More Deliberate Doing.

Destiny is too great a matter to leave to chance.
Live decidedly with purpose and intent.
It’s the everyday actions that add up and make all the difference.

Less Limitations. More Possibilities.

Contrary to popular opinion, being safe isn’t.
Take calculated risks and watch the impossible happen.

Less Pointing Out Problems. More Solution Seeking.

Anyone can point out the problem.
It rarely takes skill and the market’s already flooded with “experts.”
You weren’t hired, followed, or paid to point out the problems.
The world needs your solution not another voice of what won’t work and what’s broken.

Less Distractions. More Focus.

Focusing can be tough.
There are 10,020 ways to be distracted.
I’d look up that stat on Google, but it would interrupt my flow of finishing this blog post.
Get serious about focusing and you’ll accomplish more.
To do that, you first have to reduce the distractions and interruptions.
Hang the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door.
Turn off the phone.
Unplug from the Internet.
The world won’t implode just because you’re not available.

Less Surviving. More Thriving.

Surviving is one of those words that shouldn’t be part of our casual vocabulary.
Use that word sparingly.
People survive illness and disaster.
That’s not the same as simply enduring hardships
Yet we cheapen the word by surviving work days and traffic delays.
Those are not events to be survived.
They’re difficulties to overcome.
To do that we must learn to thrive.
Grow and flourish even if it’s just one percent each day.