You might work 12 hours in a day, and feel exhausted. You might work 12 hours in a day and feel energized. It’s not the work day that’s long or energizing, it’s the work you get to do. Fill your day with the work that gets you energized. Everything else is a distraction.

Today, Gilles Frozen Custard will feature caramel cashew as their featured custard - their flavor of the day. Tomorrow, the flavor will be different.   Don’t get lost chasing the flavor of the day. Tomorrow might be something better, and the flavor you’re chasing may come back in the future. Perhaps better.For now, enjoy now.

One of the worst activities in the world is having to fire someone from a job. I don’t care how seasoned a manager you are; it’s never easy. In fact, I told myself the day it starts becoming easy is the day I fire myself.  See, some people think that firing someone is a way of saying, “you’re not doing a good job, you need to go.” But, for me, I believe it’s actually saying:We failed at recruiting, and we set you up for a job that wasn’t for you.We poorly managed you and did not invest the time to help you.We screwed up your life. We hired you into a job that may not be for you, poorly managed you, and now we’re causing a tremendous amount of stress.Fortunately, I am privileged and blessed to work with great people. But, as I reflected on work I’ve had to do in the past, I was reminded of having to let people go and the vow to fire myself if it ever got easy.  Great managers help the people in their charge do more of the work that matters to them. The great manager enables her team to see more in themselves, activate potential, step into possibility, and come alive.  I hope to never have to fire myself. I also hope to be the best manager and friend I can possibly be to my most important employee - myself.

We don’t all want the same thing.  One person may be overjoyed to pay $4,000.00 for a functional used car so that they can invest more of their money. While another person is happy to carry a $400+ car payment for a newer model. The question isn’t who spent their money better. The question is, how is each person measuring the value of their car in their life?  For one person, the car’s value is the money they are saving by not paying a car loan. For the other, the car’s value is in the status and reputation it will bring to its driver. Each person’s car provides a currency of value that is unique to that person. What about work?Your success at work may be a promotion, but for me, it might be coming to work the next day. Your success currency is status; mine is “being welcomed.” If you want to help me have a winning day, you’ll need to show me that I’m welcomed. If I want to help you have a winning day, I’ll need to show you how to acquire more influence and responsibility.  If you want to help others, understand their currency.

Are these words we say to ourselves too much? Do we believe that we ought to be perfect? Without fault? Always on? What if our faults were our strengths? What if our ability to see our weaknesses, and work on them, became a superpower? What if a good day was measured by the number of times we learned from our faults? I know you might feel like you just can’t do anything right for yourself or others some days. I also know you are the kind of person that reflects, realizes your fears, and then steps towards possibility.Perfection is the acceptance of imperfection. You are doing everything right.

Are you ever caught between deciding if you should or can?  “Should I do this?” is another way of saying, “I know it’s the right thing to do, but I don’t want to put myself on the line. Will you tell me that it’s okay? (or not?)” It’s the question you ask when you need someone to tell you that you’re right - to re-assure you.  “I can do this.” is a statement. It says, “I know I have the ability to do the work.”  It’s a statement that gives you the authority to choose. Choose what? To act.Deciding that you can is the lever you need to act.Choose wisely.

Musicians are the world’s greatest thieves. They hear the work of others, steal it, make it better, and ship it out to their audiences. And none of that is wrong. Art gets better because artists steal. They take another person’s idea, hold it in their hands, and say, “How can I make this better?” Art gets better because artists make better.A new parent steals from their parent. They remember traditions and parenting methods and carry them forward to their children. Except we don’t call that theft. Should our work be any different? Why hold on to your best ideas? Are you afraid someone might steal your work and make it theirs? Will that be the only brilliant idea you have in your life? The world of art is the world of making better. Your work can be art. But for that to happen, you need to ship it. You need to put it out into the world and say, “I made this. How might we make better?” Winning is not holding back. Winning is the joy that comes when you generously embrace vulnerability, show up for someone else, and have them show up for you. Work is art. And like all art, it takes work.

Do you frequent a local coffee shop enough that the barista knows your name? Perhaps they know your order? Azure and Sierra at the Stonecreek Coffee on Bluemound Road not only know my name, my order, and approximately when I’ll arrive on Saturday. They greet me by name when I enter and wave goodbye as I leave. Azure and Sierra treat the customers before and after me the same way. I imagine those customers feel as I feel - special. But what is it about this type of treatment that gets customers feeling so good? Is it just remembering a name? Is it knowing what you want before you want it? Sure. But I think Azure and Sierra’s secret ingredient is something you can do every day - if you choose. They care. They care about the work they do - they’re the kind of people who enjoy making things for people who care about good craft. They care about the people they serve - people who appreciate craft products and services. Because they care, I, and customers like me, are treated to a unique form of service. The type of service we come to expect from only the finest of establishments. But instead rendered at a neighborhood coffee shop. Helping others, and yourself, feel special starts with one word and one action - care.

There will be moments when you can generously contribute to a conversation. When you could have asked the question that moves the conversation forward. But, if you’re like me from the other day, you won’t take the chance to step up and be generous with your insight. You’ll pass. You’ll pass because you might be thinking about what the others will think of your question.You’ll pass because what if your question totally derails the conversation.You’ll pass because people have said you’re too aggressive and you should listen more. You’ll pass because you’ve been told your voice doesn’t matter. You don’t know enough. You’ll pass because you’re afraid. But what you miss is that others are probably wondering the same thing as you. And you’ll miss that they are looking for someone - like you - to step up and be generous.When the opportunity to be generous presents itself - seize it.

You could have a career in music. In fact, your work now is probably more similar to a musical career than you think. You have spent years perfecting a craft - teacher, consultant, salesperson, strategist, parent, friend. You get dressed up and show up to a venue - school, dinner table, an office, your computer desk, the Internet. You share your work - knowledge, skills, expertise, etc. And you hope your audience appreciates your work.  What’s often missing, and it’s something musicians often forget, is an understanding of your audience. Why are they showing up to see you? Why do they care what you have to say? And, will your work resonate within them? When I write you, I often touch on this point - your audience is telling themselves a story about themselves. In that story, they are the hero - not you. In that story, they came for an experience that you are helping to create for them.  Your kids show up to the dinner table because it completes a story they’re telling themselves about what it means (for them) to be at dinner.Your customers are showing up to your meeting because they want to learn something that enables them to impress their bosses.Your students work hard because getting a good grade validates a story they’re telling themselves about what school means for them.If you want to do something worth something for someone else, deeply listen to your audience.