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Every year I take one vacation, one week long. There are other times when I am away, but they are pretty much always work related.
Yesterday as my son and I finished some fishing, we knew a storm was coming. This morning and actually last night, I welcomed the storm. I welcomed a day off the boat. A day of not always doing.
I have been working so hard for most of my life, that a few years ago, I remember this vacation to the lake, when it was over, it was the first time in my life I did NOT feel ready to return home. I felt the need for another week off. That scared me but I had no choice. Work was to be done.
Today, with the rain stopping me from waking early and always going, I get to have a day of doing Nothing. Many will say, “Hey, that’s good, you need that sometimes….” Agreed. But, the majority are not in the space where they should do nothing.
These people need to DO more.
Create. Build. Consume Less. Rest Less.
What is the last thing you created? And, how much “stuff” do you consume from others?
This is where environment comes into play. As a Strength Coach entrepreneur, I see different sides to people. At my private facility, The Underground Strength Gym (EST 2002), I have had the pleasure of seeing highly motivated athletes for the most part.
At the high school level, I see the lazy athletes gather with other lazy athletes and vice versa - the workers stay together. There is NO repercussion for athletes who are late, lazy, rude, skip off season workouts….. High school is the antithesis to success because the repercussions are removed. In the real world, lazy, rude, excuse makers do NOT win.
At the college level, you will get destroyed being lazy. The repercussion is a list of negative things: bad reputation, no teammates, injuries, embarrassment, loss of scholarship, etc. These things can stick with you for life. A bad injury can create pain and trauma for the rest of your life.
The answer is to keep showing up, working harder, smarter, contributing more, building more, being a GREAT teammate. These skills help you win at life.
From the business standpoint, let me know how business works for you when you are rude, lazy entitled, late, etc - You’ll be out of business before you know it. Same thing as an employee somewhere / being a teammate in a company.
Although ironically, in some organizations, you are punished for being a self starter, motivated, excited, creative - these places squash your creativity and often times the negative people rise to the top. Why and How?
Poor Leadership is the problem to any and all organizations where the wrong people rise to the top. Great leaders build great teams and build more leaders.
As a Leader, you must keep your pulse on how people work. Are they all about ME? Do they take a yard when you give them an inch? Do they cover for others and support other teammates when needed? Do they simply use great teammates to build themselves up?
In a world where people want the eyes on them and to be center stage, I am at a place where I don’t care who knows about me, I am at a place where it’s ALL about the people we serve / I serve. I don’t want or need accolades. I want the athletes we train at The Underground to get the accolades. The adults we train at The Underground, THEY are the Heroes. We, the Coaches, serve them, not the other way around.
I’ve always picked up on people who are perfectly fine with hurting others and stepping on others on “the way to the top”. It’s interesting, because climbing higher is NOT fun alone. Winning Together is something I speak about often. When your friends are winning and you help them win, that is a GREAT feeling.
I’ve had business partners and employees / team members do wrong and unethical things, at age 50 and through experience, I don’t let that slow me down anymore. When I was younger, it did slow me down. But now I know through experience, those are all positives, they are meant to be. It is a waste of time to be the victim. Bad people and bad experiences have made me better. I now know how to quickly navigate through selfish people, negative people, hurtful people….
WIN Together. Who cares who gets the “recognition” - it’s NOT about you, it’s about helping others to become the HERO in their OWN life. You can only get so far on your own.
Stop scrolling and Consuming. Build and Create. When you die, no one will celebrate at your funeral that you spent more time scrolling on your phone.
Are you a good teammate or a GREAT teammate? Can we count on you when it is not convenient?
Most people talk about it. They talk about what they will do…. The RARE few do the damn thing.
When a team / organization navigates around what YOU want, that’s a red flag that it’s ALL about you.
At age 50, I am learning to step back and STOP (sometimes)….. I might look like I am doing nothing, but here I am, still writing, sharing, creating, building…..
There is more to do and accomplish. More people to help. More Teams to Build. And, as my brother, Mark “Smelly” Bell says: “Either you’re in….. Or you’re in the way.”
WIN TOGETHER.
ZACH EVE - ESH
