Inside my Head

March 12, 2015March 10, 2015 Bob McInnis1 Comment

Seth Godin calls the amigdala our lizard brain. Mine can save my life – maybe or it can be so in control that it paralyzes me.

I am challenging myself to be aware when my self edit kicks in and says thinks like ” that won’t work, don’t even try” or ” it has never been tried” or ” everybody else believes X”. Seeing the edit tab come up is the first step to shutting it off. What if, for just one hour today, we turned that function off and let every misstep, misspeak, misspell, misinterpret, flow thorough and see what generates, what flows, what surprises.

I (we) are too quick to suppress the unknown, the untried and the somewhat crazy. Inside my head, justification, rationalization and fear make the small risk seem too great to even entertain.

The world is changing around us. Diamdis and Kottler say the rate of change is exponential and soon the exponent is going exponential. If we constantly have the safety of edit we might get swallowed in the waves.

Reach up to your left ear, right now, grab the lobe tightly and give it a counter clockwise twist. One twist turns off the function. Don’t worry it will reboot and kick in quickly. You may need to turn it off two or three times when you notice that it is re-configuring and idea or action. Strive for one hour today. When you survive try again tomorrow.

Make Today Remarkable, by allowing remarkable out,

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How do You add Value?

January 16, 2015January 16, 2015 Bob McInnis1 Comment

Are you an adder or a subtracter? Most of us add and subtract value every day. At the end of the day, what is your +/- rating? Are you giving excellence to your work, relationships and self?

Having a net positive day, week, life doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intention and action that is pointed to creating value. It requires persistence in the face of convenience. It requires character.

Just being aware that all our choices and actions have consequences, good or bad, is a great first step. You can make a difference. Your decisions change you, change your relationships, change your relationships and change your world.

I am intentionally trying to be healthier. When I run, workout, play sports, walk, resist temptations I am taking positive steps toward living healthier. As I work to get healthier, others see my efforts. My relationship with my beloved, my kids, my family, my friends is improved when I feel better. My community doesn’t need to have space, resources or energy to devote to my care and can direct it where it is needed most. When I go to the gym today, eat more fruits and vegetables, moderate my vices I can add these to the positive side of my ledger.

When a client requests my services and I don’t do my best, I subtract. When one of my grandkids needs a receptive ear and I am there – I add. When I don’t react to being delayed in traffic or angrily curse at being cutoff – I add.

Are you up to a challenge? Would you observe as many of your intentions and actions as you can for the next 7 days and record whether they are positive or negative. Will you try to add value and excellence in every situation, for just the next 168 hours? If you are up to it, I would appreciate (and I am sure other readers would too) if you would comment on this post or associated tweet with #value and your total?

Make Today Remarkable. Make adding value your problem.

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Tuesday Thoughts

October 7, 2014October 7, 2014 Bob McInnisLeave a comment

“Things do not change; we change.” — Henry David Thoreau

I attended a session yesterday with Ashley Good from Fail Forward where she presented a Risk Sandbox tool to help us understand how we all view our tolerance for risk differently. Understanding that we need to change and understand how others see change in order to affect change in our teams seems obvious but this tool is a fairly simple way to demonstrate it. Contact ashley@failforward.org for a copy.

“People don’t resist change. They resist being changed!” — Peter Senge

I am not sure how the two words perceived and threat ever came together because if you believe it is a threat, it is a threat and perceived downplays the reality you are feeling. If you are leading change, frame it clearly, define expectations and set reasonable timelines and then include everyone who may be impacted as soon as possible.

“If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” — Mary Engelbreit

Easier said than done but very similar to May Angelou’s “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” I take both to suggest that the sandbox may be too big, too small, the wrong shape, or has the wrong sand. I usually approach changing my attitude with true curiosity.

Make Today Remarkable and Curious,

Bob