I am currently reading Seth Godin’s book, Icarus Deception. There is one book that is changing my outlook on life.
I am been around business for as long as I can remember. Papers routes, grocery store, manufacturing facilities, door to door sales, adventures in college, after college at Philip Morris. The past 4 years my interest in business has skyrocketed. I want to know how things run, work, operate, why people are doing this, why people do it this way, how people think about certain topics, how people make life and business decisions. And why people make the majority of decisions waiting for someone else to tell them what to do.
Now even when I worked at Philip Morris, I had a hard time following instructions. I pushed the limits on what I was able to get away with. I allowed my team members to make their own decisions. At least that is what I think, they might say something else.
I saw this was pretty much a foreign concept to most of them because I realized they only did what they were told to do. Most of my fellow supervisors had to control every single situation. I realized these were grown-ass men and women, most of them were in their 40s and 50s, and they should make their own decisions.
The worst saying ever, “This isn’t my job.”
This saying pissed me off more than anything else. It drove me nuts.
How about a shift kick in the ass? That isn’t my job but I will deliver it.
I began studying the treads of the world, and realized the world that many of the baby boomers and people before know is over. I still hear it today, Obama is going to bring all of the jobs back. Nope, he doesn’t have that ability.
You have that ability.
For so long, our culture has relied on someone else to do it for us. If you don’t believe me, walk around your office and listen to what people are saying. Turn on the news or the TV for 20 mins. You will see what I am talking about.
The industrial system that we have known is dead. Seth calls the internet world the connection economy. This is very challenging for us in the world to understand because the past 150 years, we have been told what to do, believe, think, and how to act. That is over and people are freaking out.
The internet is bringing us together all over the world, it has overthrown governments, it is allows products to show up at our doors faster than ever before, we don’t have to leave the house to do our work, it has changed the business landscape forever, and how we learn information. You are able learn more online faster and more efficient than the going back to grad school. I know, I spent $61,000 on a MBA.
There is this amazing company that called Creative Live. In two weeks, Kate is flying to Seattle to learn from our friend, James Wedmore, on how to create amazing videos for your business. In three days, he is going to teach detailed information about how to create amazing videos. You can watch it from the comfort from you own home for only $149. 3 days packed for under $150. That is crazy.
It is an incredible time to notice what is happening in this world. This requires adjusting to change not just saying you have to change. You have to EMBRACE change. You have have two choices, embrace the change or get sick and die. Yep that is pretty much it.
If you want to create video content for the world, then start a Youtube channel. If you want to write a book then write it, use http://pressbooks.com to publish it. Oh yeah, it is free to publish you book on the internet. If you want to make a album then record it on your computer and upload it to iTunes. Oh yeah that is free as well. It does have a cost though, you time to create the content.
You have so much POWER at your finger tips and YOU get to decide what you want to do.
You can whine, complain, and bitch about your problems or you can do something about it. Trust me those people around you are tired of listening to you. If you don’t believe me, just ask them.
If you are scared to put yourself out in the world, accept it. I am freaked out every single day I start to work or pick up the phone. I tell myself, Everything is going to be OK and do it anyway.
So go create some something. Seth calls is ART.
I will second that,
Go Create Your ART!
No one else is going to do it for you.
