Sacrifice Solves the Paradox

As we come out of the Christmas season I figured I would reflect on one important lesson. Regardless of whether or not you are a Christian, I want to talk about a concept central to the teachings of Jesus Christ. That concept is sacrifice.

As we know, in the Christian tradition, Jesus sacrificed his life for the good of others. A pretty extreme example which illustrates the importance of sacrifice.

Quoting from a very old book titled The Biblical World, “Nothing is more characteristic of the teaching of Jesus than his insistence upon the duty of self-sacrifice. Again and again he goes back to the same thought, that a man must lose his life to gain his life; that no man can be his disciple unless he deny himself and take up his cross and follow him; that no man can serve two masters.”

As that quote suggests, there exists a powerful paradox inherent in the concept of sacrifice. “A man must lose his life to gain his life.” Now, we do not need to take that quote literally. Sacrifice does not have to be about life and death. Sacrifice is about the decisions we make every day.

Stephen Covey would say sacrifice is giving up something good for something better. I like perspective a lot. We are all driven by impulses. And, some of these impulses tell us to be content with the status quo. What's more, our impulses tell us to seek the path of least resistance.

This is not surprising. In fact, the path of least resistance is nature's preferred path. During a chemical reaction the reactants interact, and transform, via the path of least resistance. And, when water flows, it flows down the path of least resistance.

But, do not take mother nature and use her as an excuse to be lazy. Here is why. The path of least resistance is meant for simple substances. Water is a very simply substance. Water to two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom. Simple stuff. And so, it operates through a simple channel of little resistance.

When hydrocarbons react with oxygen (combustion) the reaction produces water and carbon dioxide. All of these products are simple substances. As expected, the reaction charts a simple course of least resistance.

But, humans are not simple molecules. Humans are complicated. Humans are capable of making decisions. We are capable of weighing the options and selecting our behavior from many the choices. We understand things like cause and effect, the future and the past. So, we are able to identify the folly of immediate gratification.

I say all that to say this, your impulses are a product of the physical world. So, your impulses will often encourage you to take the path of resistance. Given my examples, taking the path of least resistance is an understandable choice.

What I am saying is sometimes it is wise to not trust yourself. Sometimes it is better to not listen to your impulses. Your impulses are meant to keep you alive and to help you reproduce. But, these impulses are obsolete. Humans have created such a vast array of effective systems that our survival is rarely in question. So, living by our impulses has become maladaptive.

Perhaps this is why we needed Jesus to teach the importance of sacrifice. In a way, what Jesus was saying was, just because you feel like doing something, does not mean you should. Sacrifice is the very paradoxical notion that, just because we feel like doing something, does not mean we should.

Why Successful People Wear The Same Thing Every Day

A couple weeks ago I read a great article by a gentleman named John Haltiwanger. It was so good, I decided to simply repost it. The article was titled "The Science of Simplicity." Here it is, in its entirety:

The Science Of Simplicity: Why Successful People Wear The Same Thing Every Day

Have you ever thought about how much time you likely waste deciding what to wear in the morning? It’s probably made you late to school or work more times than you can count.

We waste so many precious moments concerning ourselves with frivolous details. An outfit will not change the world, it probably won’t even change your day.

This is not to say that fashion isn’t important, as it has an immense impact on culture and, in turn, the direction of society.

Indeed, fashion is where art, culture and history intersect. If we look at the 1960s, for example, the way people dressed was very much a reflection of the counterculture movement and the anti-establishment sentiments of the era.

Simply put, clothes can tell us a lot about sociology.

Yet, at the same time, we’ve arguably become an excessively materialistic and superficial society. Undoubtedly, there are greater things to worry about than clothes.

Similarly, as the great American author Henry David Thoreau once stated, “Our life is frittered away by detail…Simply, simplify.”

In essence, don’t sweat the small stuff. Make your life easier by concentrating on the big picture.

Correspondingly, a number of very successful people have adopted this philosophy in their daily routines.

Decision Fatigue: Why Many Presidents And CEOs Wear The Same Thing Every Day

Whether you love or hate him, it’s hard to argue against the notion that President Obama has the most difficult job in the world. As the leader of the most powerful country on the planet, the president has a lot on his plate.

Regardless of what he does, he will be criticized. Simply put, he’s got a lot of important things to think about beyond his wardrobe.

This is precisely why President Obama wears the same suit every single day. Well, almost every day, we can’t forget about the time the Internet exploded when he wore a khaki suit. Although, that probably says less about him and more about us.

The majority of the time, however, Obama wears either a blue or gray suit. In an article from Michael Lewis for Vanity Fair, the president explained the logic behind this routine. Obama said, “You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits...I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” He mentioned research that shows the simple act of making decisions degrades one’s ability to make further decisions.

As Stuart Heritage puts it for the Guardian, “Barack Obama has pared his wardrobe down to such a degree that he can confidently walk into any situation and make decisions that directly impact on the future of mankind.”

The president is not alone in this practice. The late, great, Steve Jobs wore his signature black turtleneck with jeans and sneakers every single day.

Moreover, Mark Zuckerberg typically wears a gray t-shirt with a black hoody and jeans when seen in public. Similarly, Albert Einstein reportedly bought several variations of the same gray suit so that he wouldn’t have to waste time deciding what to wear each morning.

This is all related to the concept of decision fatigue. This is a real psychological condition in which a person’s productivity suffers as a result of becoming mentally exhausted from making so many irrelevant decisions.

Simply put, by stressing over things like what to eat or wear every day, people become less efficient at work.

This is precisely why individuals like President Obama, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Albert Einstein decided to make life easier by adopting a monotonous wardrobe.

Obviously, as these are some of the most successful and productive individuals in history, they are on to something.

Make Life Simple

Indeed, having a diverse collection of clothing is overrated. We waste so much time worrying about things that have no substantial consequences, and don’t even realize how easily we could change this.

This is exactly why President José Mujica of Uruguay rejects conformity and refuses to wear a tie, stating, “The tie is a useless rag that constrains your neck. I’m an enemy of consumerism. Because of this hyperconsumerism, we’re forgetting about fundamental things and wasting human strength on frivolities that have little to do with human happiness.”

He’s absolutely right. The vast majority of us are guilty of obsessing over material things. When it comes down to it, they bring no real value to our lives. True fulfillment is acquired by going out into the world and fostering palpable and benevolent changes.

Buying a new pair of shoes might make you feel more confident in the short-term, but it will not enrich your life in the long-term.

Undoubtedly, the world would be an extremely boring place if we all wore the same exact thing every day.

Yet, we might all consider simplifying our lives a bit more by reducing the amount of time we spend thinking about pointless aspects of our day. In the process, one might find that they are significantly less stressed, more productive and more fulfilled.

Life is complicated enough, don’t allow the little things to dictate your happiness. Simplify, simplify.

A Critique of the Critics

Last week I talked about Lady Gaga. Maybe I should rename this blog, “From Drucker to Gaga.” Just kidding. Believe it or not, I do try to have a coherence between the items I discuss. Like the title says, this blog is about work, emotions, and paradoxes. Subjects which, I believe, are inextricably intertwined.

In talking about Lady Gaga I referred to something she said. Gaga once had somebody tell her, “If you have no shadows then you're not standing in the light.” The shadows. Those damn shadows. The shadows are the critics. The haters. And, the whole concept got me thinking about Brene Brown.

Do you happen to know who Brene Brown is? If not, pay close attention because she is fantastic! Brown is a professor of psychology at the University of Houston. Her areas of research, and expertise, are shame and vulnerability.

Professor Brown spent a dozen years researching vulnerability. One day she was surfing the web, to numb herself, from attacks she had received from some of her own critics. At one point, she stumbled upon an old quote by President Theodore Roosevelt. And, she said, “That quote was everything I know about vulnerability.” Below is an image of the quote Brene was referring to.

Brown has written several books. The most recent of which is called Daring Great. A title she obviously borrowed from Teddy Roosevelt. She has also given some outstanding talks which you can watch online. Here is one such presentation. Not only is the material important but her delivery style is simply great. Enjoy!

What I Learned From Lady Gaga

As I have said many times, a business has two main functions. They are: innovation and marketing. Fail to do either and your business will not succeed. And, remember, even if you have a 9-5 job, you are still a business-of-one. What's more, you probably want to keep that job. So, you need your company to succeed.

I talked about innovation in this post. And, I discussed the marketing element here. As you can see, in that second post, promotion is an important part of marketing. One of elements of promotion, that applies to every single one of us, is self-promotion.

When I think of self-promotion, a couple names pop in my head. First would probably be Donald Trump. I recently heard that Trump is again “thinking” about running for President in 2016. My goodness!

Another name that comes to mind is Kim Kardashian. Which is kind of surprising because I don't know anything about her. That girl is pure self-promotion. Does she even have a product? The only thing I know of is her derriere.

One self-promoter, who does have lots of talent, is Lady Gaga. If you are not familiar with her talent, check this out. I think that performance is pretty impressive. Whatever you think of Lady Gaga, one thing is for sure, that girl is fantastic at self-promotion.

I once heard an interviewer ask Gaga something about, what was the best advice she had ever received. I will never forget the gist of her response. She said something to the effect of, “If you have no shadows then you're not standing in the light.” And, in that moment, Stefani Germanotta summed up why so many people refuse to promote themselves. (By the way, what does a clownish face, and running make-up, have to do with self-promotion? Everything! It's all about getting attention and being memorable.)

The fact of the matter is, when you step out into the light, there will be shadows. The shadows are the critics and the haters. And, it's the shadows that keep us small. When we fear the opinions of others, we put an artificial limit on how big we can grow. Don't do it. Don't worry about the small-minded people who criticize others. Here's what Taylor Swift recently said about the haters.

If you fear criticism, I have an experiment for you to run. Make a list of some truly successful that you know. Go hang out with them. Tell them about your dreams. I'm willing to bet they won't denigrate you, or knock you, for your ambitions.

What I encourage you to do is get clear about who the critics are. The critics are just fearful, insecure, little people who are projecting their own feelings of inadequacy. Don't listen to them. Get out there and tell the world about how amazing you are.

You're Not Afraid of Rejection

I am a salesman. And, if you are reading this blog, chances are, you are as well. If you are reading this blog it’s probable that we have spoken on the phone. I have probably called you at some point in time. I only point out this fact for one reason, so that you are confident I know a little bit about the job of a salesperson.

In this post I want to talk about one of the most important lessons I have ever learned. Because, believe me, when it came to selling, I had a lot to learn. You see, my formal education is in chemistry. Not exactly the ideal training ground for a career in business.

Knowing that I am trained as a chemist might help explain why I talk about such nerdy stuff. It also explains why my grammar, and prose, are far from the Queen’s English.

At any rate, due to my nature, I studied the sales profession as analytically as I had once studied the periodic table. What I have come to know is that all sales jobs contain three fundamental tasks. Those tasks are: prospect, present, and close.

Just in case any other analyticals are reading this post, let me quickly will clarify one point. When I speak of sales, and selling, I am talking about non-retail selling. Retail sales agents usually do not need to prospect, they simply wait for foot traffic.

Prospect, present, and close. Those are the three jobs of a salesperson. Obviously, you cannot close a deal if you've never made a presentation. And, you cannot make a presentation if you haven’t found somebody to talk to.

It’s been said that 80% of salespeople wash-out, in their first year, due to insufficient prospecting. That’s a BIG problem. Many a trainer has endeavored to solve the prospecting problem. Unfortunately, the solution can actually exacerbate the very problem it seeks to solve.

If you have been in sales for any length of time you have likely heard it said that people fail to prospect because of what? That’s right, many talking heads will tell you that the problem is a fear of rejection. Salespeople don’t do their job because they are afraid of the word “No.” Sounds reasonable. Right? I am here to tell you, it’s not true.

To be clear, the problem does appear to be a fear of rejection. However, if we hope to solve the problem (and this is a big problem in need of a solution) we need to get past appearances.

Allow me to demonstrate. Imagine you are at Starbucks ordering a cup of coffee. Maybe it’s just after the Holidays. You ask the person, behind the counter, if they have anymore of the Pumpkin Spiced Lattes, and the barista tells you “No.” What do you do? Do you cry? Do you run out of the store and “quit”? That is to say, do you never again drink coffee? Hardly.

The truth is, being told “No” isn't that big of a deal. We get told “No” all the time. So, let me say again, unequivocally, that you are not afraid of rejection. That is to say, you are not afraid of the word “No.” What you’re afraid of is the perceived meaning behind the word “No.” I know that might seem like a distinction without a difference but, stay with me, and I’ll do my best to explain.

When the Starbucks barista told you they were out of Holiday drinks, you took it as a statement of fact. No big deal. Right? You didn't read into the comment, or worry that the gal, in the green apron, disliked you. You simply selected something else to drink. The problem is, when we attempt to do our job, as salespeople, we often turn into mind readers.

For example, let’s say you are a realtor and you ask somebody if they have any plans of buying or selling real estate. When that person says “No” many people immediately turn in mind readers. Meaning, people try to figure out why the person said no. That is to say, they attempt to discern what the prospect means.

One possibility is that the prospect doesn't like them. How could that be possible? Well, some salespeople don’t like the sales profession. As weird as it may sound, there are plenty of salespeople who think sales is a dirty job. This is why a lot of people come up with interesting titles to cover-up the fact that they are salespeople. They might call themselves “account executives” or “territory managers” or “financial planners.” All vain attempts to hide the true nature of their job.

When a person, who does not believe sales is an honorable profession, hears a prospect tell them “No” they often project their own feelings of inadequacy onto the prospect. The salesperson often assumes that the prospect must also dislike selling. And so, by extension, the prospect must not like the salesperson. Nobody likes to be disliked so the salesperson feels uncomfortable. It’s an unfortunate situation on many levels.

If this sounds like you, I encourage you to listen closely. Because, if you don’t adjust your thinking, about the profession of selling, you are likely to end up a statistic. If you feel uncomfortable about being a salesperson that discomfort is the result of fear. You fear that people won’t like you (perhaps even hate you) if they find out you’re a salesperson.

Fear is a natural and, sometimes, healthy emotion. And, what we know is that all emotions stem from our beliefs. So, if you believe that salespeople are greedy, manipulative hucksters, you’re going to have a hard time doing your job. Instead of asking people if they are interested in buying or selling, you will probably waste your time trying to come up with a new way to hide your true identity. Perhaps you will try to engineer a new title for yourself, or runs advertisements trying to get people to call you.

Are salespeople greedy and selfish? Some of them are. Personally, I too get quite frustrated with people who proudly proclaim that they can sell glasses to a blind man. It’s pathetic. If you sell glasses to a blind man, you are not a profession salesperson, you are a con artist. Professional salespeople are problem solvers. In order to do business, a genuine problem must exist.

As an interesting observation, I have never heard this type of con-artistry come from the mouth of a true professional. But, I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard an unemployed person brag that s/he could sell ice to eskimos. Oh, the irony!

There are many reasons salespeople avoid prospecting. And, over time, I will address as many of the reasons as possible. For now, I have highlighted one cause of this avoidance behavior. Salespeople don't prospect because they are afraid. It's not really the word “No” they are afraid of. One of the things some salespeople truly are afraid of is being identified as salespeople. It's too bad.

For this reason, I believe you should frequently work on your attitude towards the profession of selling. America herself was discovered by a salesman. According to Zig Ziglar, there is no way you can accuse Christopher Columbus of being a navigator. Chris was looking for India! He only missed by about 8,000 miles. However, he was able to sell Queen Isabella on the idea of giving him three ships to use to search for a shortcut to India.

Our first president, George Washington, was one of the greatest salesman to ever live. Think about it. How did he recruit the Continental Army? Could you imagine? What was his offer? “Listen boys, you will be working for free and if you don't do a great job you'll be killed. Who's in?” I submit to you that George Washington was one hell of a salesman.

I could go on and on. The truth is, sales is a noble profession. If you can come to internalize the truth of that statement, you will have taken an enormous step towards eliminating the fear that is holding you back from doing your job.