August 20, 2018
I’ve spent a lot of time and money on a formal education. Still, the best tidbits of wisdom have come from my father. He was a truck driver. A lot of his advice was about moving forward. Here are some of his favorites — or more accurately, some of my favorites:
Do something, even if it’s wrong. This little mantra can set you free. If you are overly concerned about making a mistake, it’s easy to become stagnant. Most mistakes can be reversed or corrected. Instead of trying to avoid making a mistake, think of how you might deal with a lot of different outcomes. The only mistake that can’t be corrected is losing precious time. This goes along with…
Make up your mind. I don’t believe in spending a lot of time on small decisions. I take an alphabetical approach for low stake decisions — corn over peas, Olive Garden over Ruby Tuesday.
Take the longer, broader view. I’m pretty sure that my father was being literal about looking as far down the road ahead a I could see. This is a great strategy for life. I think about clients who were miserable in their marriage but afraid of getting divorced. I tell them they are on a rocky bank looking across the river to a grassy bank. They know they want to be on the grassy bank, but they are afraid of the rickety bridge that must be crossed. The most difficult events in a divorce are making the decision, telling others, going to court, and splitting up the belongings. Focusing on a peaceful outcome in the long view instead of the divorce process can reduce the stress of a divorce considerably.
Alway have an escape route in mind (in case another driver gets crazy.) To me, escape routes in life mean having plan B. If your company closes tomorrow, what options would you have? If your car breaks down, who will you call for help and how will you get to work tomorrow? Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Then just live.
All of these tidbits are a call to keep moving forward. If you are standing still and life is whizzing by, you will be behind.
Progress
I am fortunate to teach at Beacon College, and I’m sure a lot of the inspiration for this blog will come from the rich experiences I have there. Our president, Dr. George Hagerty, shared this Ted Talk about progress when we got back from summer break, and I thought it gave a much needed perspective about the how bad things aren’t, so I posted it here for you.
I’m making progress, too. You will now see “Resources” on the menu for this website, and I have started a book list there for you. I’ll be adding some Nanceisms soon. –NN