Brady Helps

It doesn't matter whether you're wrong or right. Did you remember learning about how to create a hypothesis in school? A hypothesis is not a declaration of fact, it's a suggestion. "The readers of this blog are more interested in doing things for themselves better than having things done for them." This is my hypothesis, and I suspect I'm right. I make that guess because no one (yet) has unsubscribed, and the ones that do subscribe read the content. But, what if we make suggestions that don't work out? "People will unsubscribe from the blog if the content was exclusively for musicians." If I changed the content of the blog, I imagine some will unsubscribe. Why? Because not everyone who reads is a musician. The power of a hypothesis is the power of testing a belief. It's the willingness to be wrong. It's the excitement of being right. It is the ability to do things that matter and discover who cares. You might have an idea before you, something you've always wanted to do, and perhaps this isn't the right time. Or, it might be a perfect time, and you just don't know. But, one thing is for sure, you'll never know unless you test. That's the power of the hypothesis.

Time doesn't just stop. It moves with or without you. If you try to stop it, you'll fail. If you try to get out ahead of it, you'll fail. The best option is to move with time. You've got 24 hours in the day. You've spent 10 seconds readings this blog. Now, what's next?

If you want to change the minds of others, you need to create tension. If you want to change a habit, you need to create tension. If you want to do anything that matters - tension! Tension is unease. It's the feeling of, "perhaps we weren't right about this." It's the questioning of our status quo. Tension requires relief. The goal is to be the relief. To be able to solve the problem. To help people that need help. To do the hard work of making something better. If you want to grow muscles, you must break a few fibers first. If you want to ride a bike, you're going to have to fall off. If you want to be a relief, find success, and fulfillment - You'll need to create and embrace...

You are not like everyone else - you are like you! As much as the world would like to make you like everyone else, it's not possible - you are you. As much as people would like you to follow "the way it's always been done," that's not you! When you try to be like everyone else, You're doing denying our culture the thing that we need the most - YOU!

The beautiful thing about a plan is that it creates certainty - makes something real.  I used to have a boss that would insist on plans being printed out, nicely drafted, complete with dates, objectives, metrics - you name it!I've also traveled with people that like to plan out every stop along a trip - where we go, what we see, where we eat, when we sleep, when we wake... ugh! I say we stop planning what we'll do in the future!  Do away with the whole concept, all together, goodbye!Instead, let's plan for HOW we'll act in the future.Instead of planning for what we'll do 30 days from now, let's plan on what we'll hope to learn 30 days from now, and how we'll figure out whether or not we've learned.Instead of planning for each vacation activity, let's plan how we'll make decisions about what we'll do and when.  Instead of planning for what steps we'll take to execute recruitment, let's plan for how we'll decide what steps to take at different milestones.  Why is this better?Because life changes! #hellocovid19Because life changes! Maybe our customers don't want that product anymore?Because life changes! Because Disney no longer has "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!" (biggest disappointment ever...)Because life changes! When you have the wrong expectations, you risk frustration.Because healthy expectations lead to productive work!Because to do work that matters requires your ability to change and adapt.Because you will learn, grow, and come alive during the course of work.And, because that growth is only meaningful if you can lean into it! Next time you're ready to sit down and list out your next steps, make sure you're planning for the right thing ;-)

Quite honestly, there are many.  If you have musicians in your life, you'll learn more about life, emotions, neuroticism, and spirituality than you probably ever wanted.But, of all the lessons you could learn, there's one lesson that I believe we can take now.  The gigging musician who makes their money from bar owners, brides, fans, and tips. They live in a constant state of finding new ways to create value for the people they serve. In their attempt to create value, they also hurt themselves.Already, some musicians are beginning to look forward to returning to their gigs. Already, some of this group are hoping the bars pay a decent wage.  My question to these people is, what are you doing to create more value? Who are the people you are really selling your art to? Why should they pay?  The ones we seek to serve aren't the bar owners. The ones we serve are our fans!  In the same way, in life, we don't seek to make our managers happy. We serve our customers.  The lesson is not to look at what others can give you. But who are you for? And what are you doing to serve them better?  Right now, I am for you - the "Artisan Doer." I am for the person who is looking to perfect the craft of coming alive - of doing the work that matters.  I am, each day, reading and reflecting on ways I can do things better and translating those learnings to you, here, right now.  Who are you for?

Are you uneasy about taking risks? Maybe you're a thrill-seeker, but some things feel too risky - being vulnerable, entering into relationships, facing your problems? Maybe it's the opposite? Perhaps it's trying out a new idea? The fear of being wrong getting to you? To be bold is to come alive. It is the enrollment, the commitment, of doing the hard work of creating something better for your tribe. It is making yourself vulnerable to ask for feedback. It is also being generous enough to say, "this is why it's not you." Being bold is being able to say, "this might destabilize your life a bit, but it might also make things better." To be bold is to be a gift for another person. Even if that other person is you.

At least that's what happened the other day.

My sister and I tried to fix it ourselves to no avail.

Quite honestly, it was a tough day all around. Not just the faucet, but other areas of my life didn't leave me much in the way of self-effective.

It was easy to spiral into a depression with the setbacks, but I didn't. And, with many thanks to a gloomy day.

The sky? Grey. Precipitation? Yes - rain. Temperature? Cold. By all accounts, it was not the type of day most people would want to spend outside. Until you notice how green the trees look. More green than ever, actually. Against the grey sky, the leaves from the trees seem to come alive.

Green, for me, means hope and opportunity. It signals growth. What I was seeing was not a gloomy day with budding trees, I was seeing "intensified hope" against a depressing backdrop.

Go to nature for the simple, and often most meaningful, explanations. Trees have been around much longer than we have, and with great success. There's something there, we just need to be willing to see it.

I really asked the question, and I've no regrets. The next time you park on the street, and you overstay your time slot, you might receive a parking citation.(I feel like the City of Milwaukee gives them away like candy.)Now, what if the ticket read something like this?"Thank you for helping support Milwaukee’s 53206 community. The $25.00 from this ticket will help create the community’s first public library."Or,"You've just made your commute along Vliet Street (between 12th and 35th) 10x better! Your $25.00 ticket enables the Public Works department to repave Vliet Street, reduce the traffic on the expressway, and plant a few trees!"Sometimes re-framing a problem is all that's needed to translate pain into delight. I, for one, wouldn't mind paying a $25.00 ticket if I knew exactly how it was to be spent. By contrast, if I was the type of person that did not want my money going to a specific cause, I may be more aware of where/how/when I parked. Many might argue that this approach is not scalable, doesn't make sense, will never work... you name it! But, I say they're right - it doesn't make sense, it might not ever work, and it's illogical - but, then again, nor are human emotions. If you want to come alive and help others, consider the things that don't make sense.

What's the likelihood you'd pay more?  What's the likelihood you wouldn't try to pay less?  I'm not in government, but it seems that operationally-speaking, it makes sense for the money to go into one pot and then be distributed as needed. After all, is it efficient to let the citizenry decide where the money goes?This isn't a post about government, taxes, or management.  This is a post about efficiency.The most efficient model produces consistent results.  Consistently people pay, or they don't.It's not perfect, but it works.If we were looking at a stock portfolio, we'd call this the "efficient frontier."  Well, my point is that we should drop this all together!  Consider the illogical.  Consider the inefficient.  If you're looking to spread an idea, create a business, book a gig, or do anything worth believing you have two choices:The efficient frontier - where risk and reward are maximized most efficiently, or the way it's conventionally done; orThrough magic - where the goal is to delight, to experiment, or to break convention.  I'm an advocate for spending at least 20% of your time considering on the latter. Why?Because when we consider the illogical, we look at that which no one else does.  And, if no one is doing it, we've created immediate differentiation.  Coming alive, doing the work that matters, or being more of who you're meant to be doesn't need to be efficient. If it needed to be, we'd all be the same. Where's the fun in that?