Monday Inspiration – Just Try

I am an envious person.

In fact there are many emotions I have that I’m not proud about myself.

• I’m jealous.
• I covet things.
• I’m competitive.

on and on.

I thought of these this morning because of a brief moment I had in the car this weekend with my mom, wife and kid.

We were driving back from the Christmas tree farm, after having found maybe the best tree we’ve gotten in many years. It seemed like a particularly good batch of trees this year.

We drove by two big, well kept buildings next to each other. They were companies I had never heard of. But based on the size of the buildings and how nice they looked, I would say that whatever they did, they did it well.

My mother said, “Wouldn’t you love to know what they do in those businesses?”

The first thing that came out of my mouth was: “I know what they do. They make more money than me.”

I meant to say it to get a little laugh. Which I did. But the best jokes always have an element of truth.

That’s how I always feel about people who are doing better than me in business.

I never think about where I’ve come. I only think about how far I have to go.

But here’s the thing… you never win the game of life.

• Walt Disney never saw Disney World.
• Martin Luther King Jr. never saw his dream come true.
• Ghandi witnessed the partition of India.
• Steve Jobs died during one of his least praised releases.

Indispensable men die every day.

We are not meant to win this life. But yet we all seem to set out like there is a finish line that has to be reached.

If you believe in God I think all he wants us to do is TRY.

“I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody.

One of the greatest men our country has ever known just hoped people would remember that he tried.

That’s all any of us can ask.

The issue, I think, is that we all fight a daily war between Quantity and Quality. And quite honestly, I think Quantity usually wins out. “How much can we pile into one day?”

I have at least a dozen emails in my inbox that need answered. And this is after my assistant has cleaned up the “unimportant” ones.

I have endless projects that need to be done.

• Proposals need to get out.
• Calls need to be made.
• Meetings need to be setup and attended.
• Clients need attended to.

These are all items that are on the Quantity battle line. The Quality military is always pushed back… especially on a Monday.

How is it that the weekend, a time we are all supposed to take some time to relax and be with our families, that we are so crunched on Monday morning? I think it’s because we’ve all been fortifying the Quantity army for the last two days.

• “I need to do this.”
• “I need to remind him to do that.”
• “I’m going to call her to have that meeting.”

Quality is just continually pushed further and further down.

But take 5 minutes and think about what could strengthen Quality:

• The book you want to write.
• The new product you want to create.
• The new invention you have in mind.
• The book you want to read.
• The class you want to take.
• The conference you want to attend.
• The coaching you want to do.
• The exercise you want to do.
• The family trip you want to take.

How much better of a business owner, employee, parent or spouse would you be if you could spend 8 hours a week on those things?

If you are like me, week after week goes by and you haven’t spent 1 hour on any of those.

It’s because Quantity is winning the war. We’ve been made to believe that Quantity is the hero in this story. But it’s not. Quality is the true protagonist.

I would like to suggest that while Quantity seems like it is the path to success, Quality is where true success lies.

You just have to steal a little bit of time from Quantity. And I’ll tell you a secret: You give so much to Quantity already, he’ll never miss it. He’s fat with your time.

This is where I don’t want you to steal it from:

• Your minimum of 8 hours of sleep each night.
• Time with your kids and spouse.
• Your exercise.

Steal it from work.

You already take time from work. We all do.

Pick one thing:

• The book.
• The exercise.
• The new product.

And just try.

• Jot something down on a piece of paper.
• Make a tiny outline of steps that need to be done.
• Just take 5 minutes.

I believe this: The more Quality you bring into your life the more Quality you will get in return.

Do 5 minutes this morning. Do 5 minutes this afternoon. And do the same tomorrow, and the day after.

I believe there are people who spend more time on Quality than they do on Quantity. I actually believe there are people who have mastered this so much that every time they see the slightest bit of Quantity slip into their schedule they throw it out immediately. They have mastered the art of Quality.

I’m not there… by a long shot. But that’s my goal. I want to live a life of 100% Quality. I believe it is how I’m ultimately going to be most useful to the world.

But today I bet I have about 5% Quality and 95% Quantity.

I’ll get there. I just have to try.

What does this have to do with marketing? Everything.

The best marketing comes from a resource of immense Quality. It’s impossible to market well a pile of crap… no matter how big the pile is.

Good marketing starts with a good product. Quality. Not Quantity.

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