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Tag: experience

#$*!% = QUIT

Quitting has become a dirty word, associated with failure and weakness.

Anyone who has experienced any measure of success knows that quitting is par for the course. A few dinners have opened with folks talking about their failures. Really talented, accomplished individuals getting honest about places they screwed up, projects that were complete disasters, even relationships that weren’t right.

I’m not sure quitting and failing is something that needs to be hidden. Your story could be the inspiration someone else needs.

If you want to read more on quitting (what to quit, how to quit, resources to help) check out The courage to quit on Medium.

What if the goal was to fail?

What if your goal was to experience rejection, to quit?

What if you set out trying to find twenty new ways of getting shot down, of hearing “No, thanks” at least fifteen times in one day?

What if your aim wasn’t to wildly succeed or sell the most product or to get everyone to like you?

What if you turned the graph upside down and thought of creative ways to beat everyone to the bottom?

What if you truly said fuck it and stopped watching numbers and started listening to your heart, your excitement, your passion instead?

A coffee riddle

Which costs more?

Coffee #1

Before you reach the counter, a wide grin flashes at the sight of your arrival. You’re greeted, “Hello! How are you, sister?”  and asked if you’ll have your usual order — black coffee with sugar, no milk.
As your coffee is prepared, you settle in at the table overlooking the outdoor market. There are three additional chairs surrounding the table; sometimes you’re joined by others. Today you’ve brought a newspaper along, but your eyes dart from its pages to the women buying fresh vegetables and men catching up on local gossip.
A small porcelain cup is carried on a saucer and placed in front of you. The woman asks about your day, your family, your friends. When you’re ready to leave, a friendly “See you again soon!” accompanies your change.

Coffee #2

You wait in a line of patrons nervously checking cellphones and eagerly scanning a large billboard of beverage choices. At the front of the queue, the cashier grumbles for orders. “What can I get you?”
After you hand over payment, you step aside to wait in an additional line for your black coffee. Collecting your paper cup, you advance to a separate counter to retrieve sugar packets for your brew. Though you’d like to sit, all tables are full — some occupied by lone individuals — and you decide to leave, having hardly made eye contact or uttered more than a few words.

Which coffee would you pay more for?

Successful businesses offer an experience, a connection. They provide moments that allow the customer to step away from “life” just long enough to return changed (or inspired) in some way.
Note: The coffee described in the first scenario actually costs much, much less than the second; $0.20 USD compared to $1.78 USD. Write me if you’d like to learn more.

Searching for simple

Here in Nepal, I’ve found the best moments are often the simple ones: quiet street corners, afternoon coffee, morning walks to the monastery, sunsets on mountain peaks, smiles exchanged with neighbors, the look on a student’s face when they understand.
I can’t help but wonder what America would be like if more people embraced simple.
Keep it simple today.

Why you should quit

Before traveling to Nepal, I did some major quitting: I quit my job, quit a relationship, quit where I was living, and quit some hard held beliefs about the way life should be lived. At the time, I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. The pieces were there, but the puzzle wasn’t coming together.
After taking time to revisit my go-to list of dreams (I suggest you write a list of your own), I set out to follow my heart. To many on the outside, not much seemed sensible about heading off to a different country to work for free and climb mountains. It might have been one of the best decisions of my life.
If you’re stuck, if something feels askew, consider whether there is something you can set aside. If it’s meant to be, it will be there after you’ve  found renewed energy and refreshed commitment. Perhaps you discover what was missing all along, something beyond anything you could have possibly imagined.
Quitting isn’t easy. It takes guts and courage and conviction to ditch plans and rewrite stories.

Be here now.

Chances are high you’re doing your best to complete several different tasks as you read these words. Would would happen if, for today alone, you commit to performing each responsibility individually and mindfully?
Slowing our actions can bring forth surprising new perspectives on performance and efficiency. More is not always best.