Dan Waldschmidt's Blog, page 45

You Weren’t Ever Really Burning.

Don’t ask what you need to do in order to stay motivated.

Don’t wonder what’s missing when you can’t find the inspiration to do the hard things.

The hard truth about finding inspiration is that if your goal is big enough and meaningful enough, you’ll stay motivated.

If it matters, what you do will matter to you.

It’s that simple.

If what you’re doing doesn’t deeply matter, you’ll find yourself “burned out” and looking for new ways to get inspired and reignite your passion.

In all honesty, you probably weren’t really burning in the first place.

You were excited. You were hopeful. But you weren’t really burning.

You weren’t on fire. Inflamed. Explosively propelled towards greatness.

The passion of the moment fooled you.

Now you’re left gasping for air, looking for fuel, wondering what you need to do to get back on track.

The answer is all the way at the beginning. Where things started.

The moment you decided you wanted to change in the first place.

That’s where you need to go. That’s where you’ll find the answer to your inspiration.

Think back to why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place.

What deeply personal reason drives you?
What difference will this change make in your life?

Don’t just think about.

Obsess about it.

Every day. Every hour of the day.

Let it inflame your will and fire your resolve.

Maybe the reason you’re struggling to stay inspired is that you were never on fire in the first place.

Maybe it’s time to change that.

The post You Weren’t Ever Really Burning. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

You Weren’t Ever Really Burning.

Don’t ask what you need to do in order to stay motivated. 

Don’t wonder what’s missing when you can’t find the inspiration to do the hard things. 

The hard truth about inspiration is that if your goal is big enough and meaningful enough, you’ll stay motivated. 

If it matters, what you do will matter to you. It’s that simple.

If what you’re doing doesn’t deeply matter you’ll find yourself “burned out” and looking for new ways to get inspired and reignite your passion. 

In all honesty, you probably weren’t really burning in the first place. 

You were excited. You were hopeful. But you won’t really burning. 

You weren’t on fire. Inflamed. Explosively propelled towards greatness. 

The passion of the moment fooled you. 

Now you’re left gasping for air, looking for fuel, wondering what you need to do to get back on track. 

The answer is all the way at the beginning. Where thing started.

The moment you decided you wanted to change in the first place. That’s where you need to go. That’s where you’ll find the answer to your inspiration. Think back to why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place. What deeply personal reason drives you? What difference will this change make in your life? Don’t just think about. Obsess about it. Every day. Every hour of the day. Let it inflame your will and fire your resolve. Maybe the reason you’re struggling to stay inspired is that you we’re never on fire in the first place.

The post You Weren’t Ever Really Burning. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

When It’s Time To Stop.

Success demands urgency.

You’ll never get to where you want to be if you’re not just passionate about what you do and driven to improve.

But such intensity needs time for reflection, focus, and thought.

If you find yourself frustrated by what is happening around you or to you, if you’re not sure what to do next or if you should even continue doing what you’re doing at all, if you’re feeling broken or beat down, it’s time to stop.

Time to step back.

Now. Not forever. Just for right now. This moment. And maybe a few of the next.

Each moment matters. Working hard each day matters. Putting in the time and effort and emotional commitment matters.

What matters more is that you’re aware of your effort and intensity. Aware of your mindset.

And insightful enough to know when it’s time to take a step back so that you can run faster forward.

Switch things up:

Start your day by doing something differently.
Stop drinking coffee for a day or two. Drink more water.
Learn how to meditate and practice a little bit each day.
Take up CrossFit or some other to fitness program.
Hire a coach or call a mentor for a new perspective.
Go for a walk, read a book, or take a nap.

It’s not exactly what you do that matters.

It’s not that you do the “right” thing.

It’s that you’re not focused on all the frustration and confusion you feel.

You’re turning your mind off. Shutting down the negativity that bombards everything you think about. And that is what matters.

That you shut down what’s not working and give your mind a chance to create new possibilities.

That step back becomes a giant step forward when you find that spark that reignites your reason to keep pushing forward.

With more intensity. More drive. And better results.

The post When It’s Time To Stop. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Lead Angry To Find Your Way.

If you stop doing the right thing before it starts working, you’ve done the wrong thing.

But what do you do when the right thing feels wrong? Or worse, boring?

How do you endure the monotony of the daily grind, doing what needs to be done, without seeing much progress or finding inspiration from the details you’re forced to endure?

Leadership is a lonely sport. A grinding endeavor.

To be successful, you’re going to have to stay at peak performance longer than anyone else around you.

You’re going to have to be tougher. More insightful, candid, and steadfast. That requires an emotional resilience that consistently needs to be re-supplied.

You’re giving inspiration, vision, and hope. And you need to be even more deliberate about finding those same things for yourself each day.

Otherwise, what you do will soon become a series of automatic, inefficient motions. And you going through them. Without thought or potency.

Just you trying to finish what needs to be done.

Without renewal, your energy wanes. Without hope, your inspiration fizzles. Without guidance, your journey slows.

To be the best you need to find time to recharge. To release your stress. To get emotional and angry all by yourself.

When the only emotion you feel any longer is fatigue, you’ve lost your way.

Get angry. Get motivated. Get driven by a mission bigger than just yourself.

That’s not going to happen automatically or even easily.

You have to be thoughtful and deliberate and selfish in how you invest your time, money, and emotions.

If you spend them wisely, you’ll reap the rewards of extraordinary outcomes.

Don’t let being ground down grind up your ambition.

Lead angry. Conquer.

The post Lead Angry To Find Your Way.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

One Key Trait That Makes The Best Leaders Better.

Effective leaders make people feel loved.

They’re not just intelligent. Not just experienced. Not just driven, candid, inspiring and visionary.

They love people. They heal people.  The people that work for them know that what they do is noticed.

They aren’t just a number on the spreadsheet.

They are known by name.

That sense of purpose is wildly important in any organization or movement.

The best leaders know that to get the best results from those that follow them, they have to invest in a relationship.

That’s not by shouting louder, demanding more, being less approachable, or playing politics.

It’s the simple things. Common decency. Respect. Candor.

And demanding excellence.

People know they are appreciated when they are challenged to do better than they have in the past.

Complacency and malaise — being allowed to stay mediocre when extraordinary capability is possible — is the opposite of being loved.

Great leaders demand more because they want the best from those around them.

Not just so that the enterprise benefits.

Not just for more money for themselves, more profit, or a bigger bonus.

They demand more because they know that exceptional behavior and extraordinary effort heals. It mends. It makes us all better.

Helping others become a better version of themselves is the truest form of love.

Leaders push. They strain. They support — nudging those around them towards greatness when just letting go and pretending like everything is okay is a whole lot easier.

The post One Key Trait That Makes The Best Leaders Better.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

They Don’t Care Because You Don’t.

You don’t have to shout to be heard.

There will be few times as a leader where you will need to stand in front of your team and inspire them to battle on in spite of terrific odds.

Those times will be rare.

Your true test as a leader is to inspire greatness when mediocrity is acceptable.

Words just can’t do that.

You have to lead by example.

You’re being watched. Even when it seems like you’re all alone.

What you do matters. Not just what you say. What you do.

And how you do what you’re doing.

You set the the standard for greatness and give permission to those behind you to do what you do.

They don’t care because you don’t.

Which is why your actions and attitudes matter so much. What you have been doing is what they are doing.

What you do when no one is watching is what they will do when no one is watching. How you respond to being treated unfairly — to stress and frustration — is how they will respond in the same situations.

It’s ridiculous to assume that just because you’ve said it that they will do it.

They’ll do it after they see you doing it.

And not just the first time — the thousandth time.

You’re being watched. Mimicked. Imitated. Evaluated.

Play the game you want your team to be playing.

Don’t expect greatness from others when you’re just going through the motions.

If they don’t care it’s because they don’t think you do either.

The post They Don’t Care Because You Don’t.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Do These Things.

Work hard. Innovate. Obsess about the details.

Be brutally honest about your output and the outcomes you experience.

Compete against champions who are already better than you.

Develop better philosophies instead of looking for shrewder tactics.

Create. Disrupt. Anticipate hardship.

Build your inner resolve. Be different. Be kind.

Give more value than other people expect.

Live overwhelmed by a sense of purpose.

Run towards greatness even if you don’t see an easy path to making money.

Lead by example. Do the right thing even when no one is watching.

Keep moving forward each day towards where you want to be.

Demand more. Never be satisfied with yesterday’s accomplishments.

Stay hungry. Live on a budget. Fight laziness, arrogance, and malaise.

Do the hard things. Aim to be awesome.

The post Do These Things. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

That Something Is You

You can be anything you want to be as long as you are willing to be something different than you are right now.

You can’t be better and still do the same mediocre activities that make you good enough right now.

You can’t evolve, expand, and take your game to the next level if you’re not willing to dramatically change what you do.

You have to change before change happens.

Deliberate, uncomfortable change.

Not different excuses. Not better reasons. Not new ideas, easier challenges, or trendy schemes.

Real change. You have to do the hard things that you’re not doing right now.

On a schedule. Each day. Bit by bit by bit.

Not all at once. Not one sprint towards the finish line.

Continual, obsessive progress.

If you want to achieve something you have never had before, you must do something you have never done before.

And then keep doing it. Until it works.

That’s the secret to living a life without limits.

That’s the answer to your struggle to lead better, to get promoted, to make more money, to feel more successful, be more empowered, more positive, or whatever it is you want for yourself.

Something has to change.

That something is you.

The post That Something Is You appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Why Losing Better Is The Key To Winning Bigger.

You’ll never be the best at whatever you want to achieve until you learn how to lose with skill.

Not happiness. Not complacency. Not excuses, blaming others, or a fatalistic sense of negativity.

Skill. The skill of learning from your mistakes. The skill of dogged determination. The skill of developing creativity.

Achieving success is mostly dependent on what you’re willing to do to get to where you want to be.

Losing is a big part of that.

You’re not going to automatically know how to win. You’re not going to automatically have the skills to win.

If your goal is big enough, you’re going to get beat down and passed over by champions with more experience, talent and charm.

They already win at the game you hope to dominate.

You’re not going to be able to beat them. You’re going to lose when you go head-to-head against them.

Unless you do it on purpose. With purpose.

The single most powerful strategy for dramatically improving your own results is make sure you keep losing.

When you dominate an industry or opponent, find a tougher challenge. When you take your game to the next level, find an opponent who is at an even higher level.

Be purposeful about losing.

Not because you enjoy losing.

But because it’s what makes you better.

The lessons you learn from losing against a competitor who’s better than you are incomparably more valuable than the lessons you might learn from beating a competitor you’ve already beaten time and time again.

Losing a hard battle will teach you more than winning an easy victory.

But it’s completely uncomfortable, unnatural, and frightfully unnerving.

You don’t want to lose.

You don’t want to look like an idiot.

You don’t want any more embarrassment, unhappiness, or stress in your life.

Winning small feels better. But it’s also crippling. It makes you complacent, weak, and ripe for disruption.

It’s hard to have the passion to push forward until you remember all the times you’ve been pushed down.

It’s those times when you find yourself lacking inspiration that you realize you’ve been playing the wrong game.

You’ve been playing a weak game. An easy game.

A game that pretends to be domination but is really just pacification.

You’re not better because you’re not losing. You’re not bigger because you’re not allowing yourself to see how small you really are.

If you want to be the best you have to beat the best.

That means you’re going to have to lose for a while until you develop the talent, skills, and experience you need to win.

If you’re not losing now, don’t expect to win big later.

The best you can hope for is that you stay lucky long enough to not experience the harsh reality of how weak you’re actually coming right now.

Lose with skill. Seek out awesome people to make you stronger.

Learn from your mistakes. Search out new challenges.

Never trade small wins for epic greatness.

The post Why Losing Better Is The Key To Winning Bigger.  appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...

Celebrate Hard Work.

Anything you want in life can be achieved with enough hard work.

It doesn’t matter what your goal is, the resources you have, or what odds are stacked against you, hard work levels the playing field.

It makes heroes out of ordinary grinders. It catapults the diligent ahead of the intellectual.

It’s the perfect get-rich-quick scheme.

Without the quick part.

The problem with hard work is that it’s hard to do. Hard to feel. Hard to endure day after day.

Which is why you find yourself gravitating towards just about anything else.

Your business plan usually doesn’t say mention it. Your growth plan and leadership mantra doesn’t even include the essence of effort.

So you lose out.

Surrounded by really smart people with lots of degrees, experience and charm — but lacking that inner will to invest the sweat equity demanded by hard work.

If you need a turnaround, want business transformation, or just need your results to be dramatically better, hard work needs to be the central part of your strategy.

Only hire people willing to do the hard things. Only promote people who do the hard things.

Preach it. Demand it. Lead by example. Work.

The post Celebrate Hard Work. appeared first on Dan Waldschmidt: Author of EDGY Conversations.

Copyright by Waldschmidt Partners Intl... Not sure that all that legal stuff really matters. If you want to share this material, do so. Just don't charge for it and don't tell people you wrote it. Both of those are uncool.

Other than that, all rights are reserved to you to change your life. If you are ready to be amazing, now is the time to get started. Onward...