Day 9ONE: Talk does not cook rice…

Thanks Andrew, great writing last month. Your thoughts are poignant and your voice is powerful.

Day 9ONE reminded me of my MOT back in the day. I was a part of a thriving family business that was acquired by another, much bigger, family business. Initially, the synergies were palpable. We were thought highly of, given autonomy, trusted and supported. We continued to grow the business like gangbusters and everyone was happy.

Over time, our autonomy was not so easy to preserve and, in all fairness, was not so functional either. Bit by bit we were asked to “play nice in the sandbox” which eventually led us to a watered-down version of what we had once been. I’d like to say, I fought a valiant fight to protect that which I believed in, but the truth is I compromised too. I didn’t think giving a little here and there would make that big of a difference, but at some point along the way, it did. So much so that I had become unrecognizable to myself. Let me explain…

In my CORE, I am a distinct individual whose deep connection to my work must be rooted in integrity, driven by passion and committed to purpose. And yet my passion was gone and there was no purpose in what we were doing anymore. I am a strategic idealist, a perpetuator of improvement and unreasonably aspirational. These attributes of mine were no longer being leveraged or valued within the sandbox I was placed in. I remember saying to my wife right before I turned 40 that I felt like I was slowly dying.

This chronic pain led me to take the first step towards my OPUS of becoming a builder. Pain moved me at first, not love. However, I was met with a simple phase that turned my pain and fear into action rooted in belief. Here it is, don’t miss this, it could be huge…

“You can do more than you think, never forget that.” ~ Chet

From that moment on, I chose to take action towards something, instead of away from the pain. You see, I had forgotten I’m driven by passion, not fear or pain or anger. This made all the difference, or as we say at BTL, ONE “L” of a difference.

So what about you, friend? We’re over 90 days in, what action do you need to take? Stop the pain, chase the passion. Remember, you can do more than you think. Do more, think less. Good.