Business Growth Ideas #294 This week: Routines, On purpose, Dog Talk

GREG’S BUSINESS GROWTH NEWSLETTER #294
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Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week.

In this issue:

– Techniques for FIT
– Being Human
– Random Stuff

Techniques for FIT
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• Taking a post-lunch power nap does wonders for staying on task in the afternoon. The caffeine-nap does even more. (Ingest caffeine right before a 20-minute nap. You wake and the caffeine kick in at the same time = caffeine nap.)
• Handing over small annoyances to technology improves the day. After screaming at a bad password recovery sequence I gave in and subscribed to 1Password. Every day is better.

• Enjoy your routines. They reduce stress, provide a restful state, and help you make good decisions.
• Don’t assume the worst. It’s possible a calamity is happening, but stay in the moment and focus on facts. The future isn’t written, there’s time to change direction.

Being Human – On purpose
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“If you don’t like how things are, change it. You’re not a tree.”
– Jim Rohn

The feeling when you are doing things on purpose is the opposite of guilt or fear. When you feel like you are acting of your own free will there is a satisfaction and calmness that comes with it.

It’s all about the story you tell yourself.

Consider the circumstance of a young associate making the decision to forgo a night out with friends to burn the midnight oil for an important work report. Look at two possible thoughts going through her head at 2am.

• “I’m ok with doing this now because it’s going to get me ahead and provide new opportunities down the road.”
• “I can’t believe they’re doing this to me again. There has to be more to life.”

Which story should the associate should be telling herself? Should she start looking for another job? Will her current firm reward her hard work and dedication?

Who knows?

Whether she leaves or stays, she’ll feel better about things if her inner monologue gives her agency. No one likes things being done to them.

Whatever you do, tell yourself you’re doing it on purpose.

Like Pee Wee said, “I meant to do that.”

Random stuff

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“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”
– Will Rogers

Wilson the Amazing Border Collie is not a big fan of squeakers in toys. Or maybe it’s the opposite. Either way, the outcome is the same for every toy: destroyed to get the squeaker.

One day I sat on the back porch doing some work and heard him working a squeaker toy in the back of the yard. It occurred to me there were no active squeaker toys in our lives at the time, so I went to take a look. It was a bunny. Turns out when Wilson puts a bunny in his mouth it makes a squeaker-like noise.

I bring this up because there was an article in the Washington Post, “The Voices We Make When We Pretend Our Dogs Can Talk,” and when Wilson tears up a toy or some other naughty thing, I talk to him about it. He doesn’t respond in a Werner-Herzog-like voice, or speak very eloquently, but every comment is full of energy and spoken at a fast clip. I tell him he needs to take better care of his toys, and he responds with a version of, “What?You-need-me-to-get-rid-of-a-squirrel?” It tends to be a lot of non-sequitur questions like that. I’d say he’s hard of hearing, but I know English is his second language.

The cat has a voice too. She’s white, fuzzy, with slightly crossed blue eyes, a chipped tooth, and a crooked walk. Obviously, this means she talks with a slight lisp and is very sassy. She tends to say things like, “Where’s that stupid dog? He smells.” or “That’s dumb. I wouldn’t have done that.”

Wile I give the pets voices, their backstories are all built by my lovely bride. She can construct one in seconds. “Oh, he’s growling because he doesn’t like your shoes. He came from a farm and a mean farm hand kicked him with shoes like that. He ran away and that’s why they found him on the side of a county road.” (we got him at the pound, they named him Tater)

Or when she was painting and Bianca (the cat) perched herself on the ladder to watch. “Look! How cute. You know, I bet her previous owner’s boyfriend was a painter and he’s the one that left the door open when Bianca got out.” (got her at the pound too, her name was Brittany)

As you can guess, things are pretty active at Chambers Pivot’s Worldwide HQ. Lots to think about.

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If you need to set up a time to visit, follow this link:
https://calendly.com/chamberspivot/