Tag: speaking

What is wrong?

FabrizioLeave a comment

How many of the things we call our flaws, of the traits we don’t like about us, of the behaviors we want to hide, are such because we are in the wrong situation?

Are we really afraid of speaking in front of an audience, or is it because we have always spoken in front of the wrong audience?

Should we call ourselves temperamental, or is it because nobody has ever took a minute to explain what was happening?

Do we really reject close relationships, or is it because the people we have been close to have hurt us deeply?

Are you wrong, or is the situation wrong?

Should you change yourself, or should you change the people you are with, the things you are doing, the place you call home?

Always work on yourself.

And figuring out what is wrong is part of the process.

In praise of average

FabrizioLeave a comment

One of the things people misunderstand about average is that it is not necessarily stable over time.

Average can scale, it can get things done, it can make a difference in the long term.

It’s just a matter of consistency and perspective.

Talking about it

FabrizioLeave a comment

If you have something you care about – an idea, some work you have done, a job, a project, a new product -, it’s fair for you to assume that nobody else will get it. And it’s your responsibility to explain it, sell it, evangelize it, adjust it, combine it, market it.

That means two things.

First, that we can’t assume that we will hit the mass on day 1. Overnight success is a hoax, but you know that already.

Second, and most importantly for this post, that your role very soon gets much more complex. Because if you want to buy people into whatever you are doing (that you care about), you need to spend a large amount of your time talking about it.

And I guess that the bad news is that nothing is self-evidently great.

And the good one is that everything can be.

As soon as possible

FabrizioLeave a comment

As soon as possible is the shortest way to failure.

Even when it comes from you (for you).

Even when it’s about something important.

Even when everybody else has already done it.

As soon as possible is a great way to impress an urgency in somebody’s mind for a very short time. And then make everybody forget about it, often even before the job is done.

That’s not why you are here.

Infuriating

FabrizioLeave a comment

One of the things that’s more infuriating is acting in a way that does not fit the image we have of ourselves.

Raising the voice when we like to think we are calm and understanding.

Cheating at a game when we like to think we are fair and honest.

Gossiping to fit in when we like to think we are open and trustworthy.

And the funny thing is that it’s true whether we have a clear idea of who we want to be or not.

But if we don’t know what we want to be, we’ll never figure out what infuriates us, nor we will ever do anything to correct that.