Brady Helps

I found this gem from a few years ago - the Ulysses pact.Truly - I am still working on keeping the promises I make to myself. What I’ve learned in the last few years is that the more specific and time bound the promise, the more likely I’ll stay with it for a bit. However, the more simple and broad the promise, the more likely I’ll keep it for longer.Example…Short commitment: Stop eating after 2pm. Long commitment: Keep yourself open to new experiences that promote your wellbeing so that you can help others. The former was good for a while, but it’s the latter that has allowed me to flex my interests and keep me from being too rigid. That’s what works for me. What works for you?

“It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.” - The old woman from The Alchemist, by Paulo CoelhoThe simplest ideas - the ones that even a toddler can understand - are the ideas that spread. It’s no wonder that military organizations, the CIA, songwriters, musicians, bloggers (i guess), execs, and so many others struggle to find ways to make their ideas simpler. It’s like weight.It’s easy to put on weight, but it’s mission to get rid of it. The simplest way to get rid of weight is to take in less calories than you spend. That simple. Most people know that. So why is it so hard? Perhaps we want to believe life is more complicated than that. Nothing can be that easy, right? I’m convinced that the geniuses in our midst don’t ask that question. Instead, they ask, Why is nobody seeing this yet?Perhaps the old woman was on to something.

The answers you are looking for - you know, the deep whys and hows about your life - are not in books. I can say that with 100% confidence. How can I say that? Because the authors are not you. Nobody knows how to live your life, because they’re not you.Nobody knows better, because they’re not you.Nobody knows why, because they’re not you.You are you - and you know best.Then why do we look to books? For that answer, we turn to a book.In the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (spoiler alerts), a race of beings create this massive computer to find the answer to life, the universe, and everything. The computer would take millions of years to compute the answers. When ready, the computer gives the answer. The humans are astounded and pissed.An answer is meaningless without a question. We turn to books for answers to an unknown question. Because we do not yet know the question, we cannot make the answer meaningful. Authors of self-help books about fear, grit, and not giving a !@#! have a hunch about the question you’re trying to answer, but they’re not you.The answer is not in a book. And the answer you are actually looking for is a question. What’s more than this?How far will I go to find out?Why me?

When I see people engaged in something hard, where the odds are against them, and where the work they’re doing is massively bigger than themselves - I always ask, How far will you go?How far will you go to answer the calling in the back of your mind or deep in your heart?How far will you go to help others see more in themselves?How far will you go to not let yourself be all you can be?How far will you go to do work that matters?In variably, it’s the moments where characters go to lengths far beyond the extra mile that break me. If you’re reading this blog, you likely know what it means to feel underestimated. How far will you go to show those who underestimate you that they were wrong? What do you want and How far will you go, “the quality of our life is directly proportional to our ability to consistently have good answers to these questions.” - HT to Rohan from “A Learning a Day”

My mom sometimes asks, “what do you want… for Christmas?” My reply is, almost always, “a used book” or “we have too much stuff, please don’t get anything.” My mom, almost always, never listens. (I love you, Mom.) My mom asks a question we should ask at work more often. What do you want?

How many meetings have you been in where people meander around their ask in an attempt to soften their request? Why couldn’t we be more direct - like my mom?

Perhaps the reason is that being straight forward feels bold; and perhaps what feels bold leaves us vulnerable. Humans typically avoid the feeling of vulnerability. If that’s even a little bit true, then my mom is a symbol of strength and self-confidence.

What do you want is a question that puts the asker in a vulnerable place. It invites the answerer to enter that same place. When both people are on the same plane, great things can happen.

I don’t think new born babies are cute and adorable. That’s my opinion. But babies become cute. Then they become two… and eventually evolve into adults. If you’re going to learn a new skill, you’re going to start off as a new born baby - you won’t be cute. But stick with it; grow and evolve. We all start somewhere. We learn to crawl, gurgle, walk, stamper, run, sprint, fall, and get back up.

I wrote “When We Decided to Start” last year around this time, and it still holds true to now. I’m just starting to build a team, and the questions we’re asking ourselves were the same questions we asked ourselves then. Just as it was back then, I’m noticing that the exercise of deciding “how” pays off in dividends.Deciding “how” we do things is just as, if not more, important than deciding “what” we do.

You can make a really good brisket at home. Buy a brisket and stab it with a knife.Fill the holes with garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.Put the brisket over a bed of onions. Low and slow in your oven for as long as you can tolerate. Really good things don’t need to be complicated. Sometimes the simplest things are the best. That’s true outside of cooking too.

It’s the thing we don’t do enough.Brings levity.Helps us take ourselves less seriously.Shows love.They’re contagious, others laugh with you.Lifts spirits.Can change a mood, can make a day, can get us over the hump.Never enough.There’s always time.

You may or may not need to write a resume at this season in your life. But you likely know someone that does. If that’s the case… please share the following with that person.Consistently, the resumes that perform best are the ones written for the benefit of the reader. Most work, no matter what that work is, is best done when it’s for the benefit of the person receiving the work.An example. I drive our continuous improvement program to maximize ROi for business stakeholders while establishing clear lines of site to multiple cross-functional teams. My commentary: So what does that mean? What do you do? An example that speaks to me:I increased revenue by 180%. Ask me how I did it. My commentary: I would probably hire this person in a heartbeat; very much my style. Seriously though, it’s straightforward, direct, and yes - could be fleshed out and less tongue-and-cheek.Another example:Highly experienced marketing professional that obsesses over customer needs. My commentary: uhhh…..Perhaps something like…10 years in B2B marketing. Skilled at developing and executing go-to-market strategies that yield X % in ROI as measured by ___. My commentary: YES!! Hire this person. Less puff… more direct communication.Why the resume blog?Because work that matters is work that benefits the person being served. A resume is a piece of work that shows the would-be employer that you understand and can speak to their needs. Work to serve (others).