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bcg blog

8/27/2020

Humility: The Perspective We All Need

Humility is the true answer to so many questions and challenges we face. Maybe not on the surface, but deep down at the root of the decision it almost always comes back to a question of humility.

So, how do we grow our humility? What humbles us?

For some, it’s failure and embarrassment - a devastating loss, a divorce, bankruptcy. Events such as these tend to push us to rock bottom, where the need to change outweighs the desire to remain the same. But, not for everyone.

Some will cling to their pride and arrogance at all costs while others need no event at all to live with humility. Why? What makes someone act with humility and others act with arrogance?

Why Should We Care?
It’s a great question, isn’t it. And if the answer was easy, we could solve a lot of the world’s problems. But it’s not easy. It’s hard. For some, it’s almost impossible. But it can happen, with patience and time, it can happen.

Perspective is the answer. People with humility have perspective. They can see how they fit into the world around them. They realize everyone and everything on earth wasn’t put here solely to serve them. People with perspective understand they are part of something bigger than themselves at all times - it’s literally never about them.

The irony of humility is that it’s viewed by society as a ‘soft’ term. We often consider those that live with humility as weak because they may not physically fight or get into verbal assaults with people. Of course, we know this isn’t true.

Those that live with humility are the ones that are actually in control of their lives. Everyone else is a puppet to another ego driven, prideful master.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
In order to lead, humility isn’t a desired characteristic; it's a required trait. Sure there are people in leadership positions that lack humility, they’re bosses and tyrants - not leaders. Here are few ideas around gaining humility and the perspective necessary to be the best leader you can be.

Thankful Journal
- Keep it simple - three things you are thankful for and why. One story from the day that is memorable, written like you would tell your grandkids about around the campfire or Christmas tree.

Keep Good Company
- Be around humble people. We’re all human and are greatly influenced by the people we are around. You’ve probably heard the saying that goes something like ‘if you’re the smartest man in the room then you’re in the wrong room.’ Well, the same is true for humility.

Just Do It
- Volunteer to help at a food pantry, take a shift helping out with daycare at your church, set aside time to help your daughter with her homework, just sit and listen to your son play his instrument. It’s all talk until you commit time to it. Your time is your most valuable commodity. If you want to show some you care about them, give them your time.

Our humility lies in our ability to see the world from another's perspective, then acknowledge and appreciate that perspective. The impact of your leadership will always be in proportion to your humility.

For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com.
We would love to know how we could help!

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bcg blog

8/20/2020

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Excellence Over Success

Success means a lot of different things to people. To some it’s money and status, to others it’s happiness and contentment. Winning seems like a clear indication of success, yet anyone that has ever competed knows the feeling of playing down to the level of competition - and it doesn’t feel like success.

It’s interesting that something as seemingly definite as success varies in definition. But, the reason shouldn’t surprise us. Success gauges itself by comparison. We are successful, or not successful, in relation to those around us. This comparison is the reason behind the varying definitions of success. We only need to be ‘better than’ the next person in order to be successful. Sometimes that takes our best effort, sometimes it doesn’t.

Excellence, on the other hand, is consistent.

Why Should We Care?
Excellence requires your best. That’s it. Every. Time.

The problem is, you can’t measure it with a scoreboard or a bank account. Excellence doesn’t work like that. While success is often an external event, excellence remains an internal experience. You are the only one that truly knows if your effort, preparation, and performance were your very best.

So, most people become content accepting success instead of chasing excellence. Why? Because it’s easier. It doesn’t require the self-reflection, self-awareness, and self-assessment that excellence does. Pursuing excellence will leave you feeling incompetent and incapable, but it will also leave you with truth. You will know who you are. And when you do touch excellence, you’ll understand why you’re willing to endure all the struggles to pursue it.

Success, on the other hand, is a liar. You can’t trust it. It will tell you that you’re not enough when you are inches from excellence and it will fool you with praise and glory when you are nowhere near your potential.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
The question is how do you pursue excellence and not success? Here are a few action items that will get you started down the path to excellence

Define Excellence
- What is it? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Though success is often viewed as a result, excellence is not. Excellence is rooted in your process for living. Your core values are the foundation of that process.

Select Your Core Values
- Your core values are not only what you believe, but also what you actually do. Your values are actions, they’re behaviors. Consider those you admire and examine the attributes they have that make them virtuous.

Define Your Core Values
- Identify what your core values look like. What is the behavior that ensures that your core value happens. For example, one of my core values is Tough. Tough can have hundreds of definitions, or attributes, none of which are right or wrong. How you define your core values is your decision, and no one else's. For me, Tough is positive body language. The clarity around that definition is the important part. If I never defined Tough in my terms, I would be left with hundreds of definitions and would fail to act on it.

Excellence over success - a seemingly easy choice, but one very few people consciously make. You have the choice too. Choose process over results. Choose internal satisfaction over external recognition.

For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com.
We would love to know how we could help!

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bcg blog

8/13/2020

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How Over What

I’ve spent the last several days at the county fair watching my daughter show dairy cows for 4H.
Yes, that still exists. Kids spend months and months working with their animals all for a few minutes in the show arena where their animal is judged on its physical correctness, projected growth, and overall look for that specific breed.

Ally, my daughter, has spent much of her first 19 years of life invested in holstein cows, red holsteins to be exact. Her passion for them has survived the devastation of a lost calf during birth as well as a major life-change like a physical move from the country to the suburbs.

On the other side of the cultural world, our family has watched my son play AAU basketball with and against some of the best players in the country. The AAU basketball drama is everything you’ve heard and seen on social media. But, the thing that is often missed is that it’s played by a bunch of kids that love the game. They spend months and months preparing for weekend tournaments with their teammates.

Gabe, my son, has spent much of his first 16 years of life invested in basketball. He’s ridden around in ball carts and spent practices in playpens set up in the corner of the gym. His passion for basketball has survived the devastation of missing the game winning shot as well as constant questioning from critics.

As different as those two things seem, they were really doing the exact same thing.

Why Should We Care?
They were learning HOW to do things. All things.
Hard work? Check. Sacrifice? Check. Humility? Check. Toughness? Check. Perseverance? Check.

And the most important aspect of these lessons is the carryover to the rest of their lives. They’re learning HOW to pursue excellence. HOW to chase their passions. And HOW to live a life they can be proud of.

There is nothing more important in your life than HOW you choose to live.
Are you going to make excuses or have the toughness to admit mistakes and learn from them?
Are you going to sacrifice your time to accomplish the goal or justify your lack of achievement?
Are you going to share the credit and welcome the blame or seek the credit and pass the blame?

REAL TALK - Action Steps
So, the question is: What’s your HOW? What ‘s your process to accomplish your goals? What do the most successful people in your field do? Have you checked, watched, or asked?

Get Self-Aware
- Do your actions match your aspirations? You need to be able to honestly assess your actions. Are they leading you closer to or further away from your goals? You’ll need to be still - meditate, walk, think. This is invested, important time that most people never take the time for.

Decide Your Personal Standards
- What are you ok with? Life is full of choices. You’re probably not going to be a great mother while being the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and running ultra marathons. You have to decide what is important. Everything can’t be. The good news is you get to decide so make a decision - a conscious one.

Get Up
- You can debate and justify this one all you want - how you’re a night owl, how you work better when it’s last minute. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that the people pursuing excellence the most get up early. They can self-care and prepare for the day because they buy themselves extra hours by getting up early. You’re no more special than anyone else and you don’t need anymore sleep than anyone else. Stop making excuse and just get up.

That’s it. Your what can be anything, but choose your HOW very carefully and very intentionally. It will color all of the WHATs of your life.

For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com.
We would love to know how we could help!

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bcg blog

8/6/2020

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Being Still or Still Being

Shhh ... Listen ... Hear that?
No - you don’t hear anything? Beautiful, isn’t it?

Quiet is a sought after destination for everyone looking to perform with excellence consistently, yet it’s one of the first things that escape our minds, and one of the last things we seek when we’re in trouble. The crazy thing is, we all know exactly where quiet lives - and where it doesn’t.

It doesn’t live in our phones and it doesn’t live in the demands of our jobs.
It doesn’t live in Netflix series and it doesn’t live in our favorite book.
It doesn’t live in a night out with friends and it doesn’t live in family game night.
It doesn’t even always live in an evening alone at home.

Quiet lives where, and when, we are still. Stillness of mind and stillness of body seem to go hand in hand, and often do - especially when we are first learning to be still. For those consistently performing at their highest level, they find a stillness of mind in the midst of chaos. It’s this stillness of mind that we need to master.

Why Should We Care?
Most of us are “Still Being”, not “Being Still”.

Still being a victim. Still finding an excuse. Still complaining. Still worrying. Still wishing. Still not sure what we want. Still waiting for our break. Still hoping he’ll change. Still … Still … Still. It never ends.

If we would take the time to actually Be Still, we would gain the clarity needed to realize that so much of things we are still being is a waste of our time. Being still is our catalyst for action. It slows all of the commotion and trivial activity to a halt, allowing us to dissect and investigate what is reeling going on in our head, and heart.

The absence of stillness results in exactly what we see so prevalent in society today - scores of people with no true identity of their own following a bunch of other people with no true identity of their own. We end up with copies of copies without anyone truly knowing what they want out of life.

Why do you think those with true purpose and vision are so catalyzing? Because they’ve been still long enough to know what they believe, and understand that being still is the key to refreshing that vision. It allows them to persist and overcome challenges because of the clarity of their mission.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
Here are a few key steps to moving towards some Jedi / Ninja stillness that will help you slow down and prioritize stillness as part of our personal health.

Put Down Your Phone
- This seems obvious, but no one does it. Turn your phone off for 10 minutes per day. You pick the time, but stick to it. During that time, find a quiet place without distractions and do nothing. You could walk in nature or sit in your basement, but the key is to enter into the time with no agenda.

Your Breath is Your Anchor
- Stillness is centered in your breathing. During your quiet time, become aware of your breath and eliminate all other thoughts. There are several great breathing exercises to choose from outside of traditional meditation. My personal favorite is Box Breathing.

Stay Present
- The most significant gift Being Still provides is the ability to stay present - not in past mistakes and not in future opportunities, but completely in the present moment. This is the heart of mindfulness and living an intentional life. The present moment is where all of our power and impact lies.

Stop making excuses and justifying not doing it. You know it’s important and you know you’ll be better for it. Commit to being still. Put it on your schedule. Thank me later.

For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com.
We would love to know how we could help!

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bcg blog

Humility: The Perspective We All Need

bcg blog

Excellence Over Success

bcg blog

How Over What

bcg blog

Being Still or Still Being

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Humility: The Perspective We All Need

Excellence Over Success

How Over What

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