jasonRmoore

The line between people who “can’t” do something and the people who “don’t” do things is becoming increasingly blurred.

You know the people:

I can’t lose weight.
I can’t get my finances in order.
I can’t get the respect of my peers at work.
I can’t spare money/time for charities or others in need.
I can’t find the time to read to my children.

Another translation of “can’t” in this manner is “I don’t have time to…”

How many of the total number of contestants who enter the show, The Biggest Loser, have repeatedly said that they CAN’T lose weight.  But after several weeks of pushing their body, mind, and spirit beyond where they had tried before, the contestants drop amazing amounts of weight and become different people on the inside and out.

The trainers and constant supervision are certainly tools that each person did not have prior to being on the show.  But the fact remains is that it was NEVER something that each them of them couldn’t do.  It was something they didn’t do.

The first step to accomplishing something that you never thought possible is to move it from the “can’t” section of your brain to the “don’t” section.  Once you have it there, you can figure out whether or not you want to move forward.  If not, simply choose not to do it but don’t say that you can’t.

What couldn’t you do yesterday that you are going to accomplish today?

We have had an on-going discussion around the bigWebApps virtual water cooler about the abuse of the word “thanks.”

People say “thanks” when they’re not actually thankful for the other party’s action.  At this point, it’s almost a substitute for “goodbye.”  And due to this, it is greatly cheapened.  I agree with the other party in that regard.

But it’s been taken a step further in that saying “thanks” puts you in a “position of weakness.”  I whole-heartedly disagree.

Here is a post by Seth Godin that happens to be quite timely to our conversation.  I’m posting the entire post since it’s so short (as Seth does so well).

Do you deserve it?

Do you deserve the luck you’ve been handed? The place you were born, the education you were given, the job you’ve got? Do you deserve your tribe, your customer base, your brand?

Not at all. “Deserve” is such a loaded word. Most of us don’t deserve the great opportunities we have, or the lucky breaks that got us here.

The question shouldn’t be, “do you deserve it.” I think it should be, “what are you going to do with it now that you’ve got it?”

When someone takes time out of their day to share with us a bug in one of our applications or watch a webinar where we are spouting off about something we created, I  am deeply thankful for that person doing so.  What motivated that person to spend their time from a busy day to share with us?  And more importantly, how/what can we do to deliver something to them that makes our next event with them go on their “can’t miss” list?

If that puts me in a position of weakness, then I will gladly serve that role.

In closing, I would like to say that you taking your time to read this trivial email is appreciated by me.  If it was worth your time, I look forward to the next opportunity you give me to chat with you.

Photo Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/psd/