Gratitude: The Carrot AND The Stick

Gratitude: The Carrot AND The Stick

What I’m Grateful For: The Carrot AND the Stick

I was reading a little bit on “flow” the other day – you know, that recently popular buzz-word that means the state where you kind of lose yourself and you are incredibly productive and massively engaged and the rest of the world kind of floats away. It’s a state I love but it’s not easy to just replicate any old time you want to, which makes it elusive and little bit annoying to think about. But a recent article really made me think about it again.

“When [we]…. were working on our books we interviewed dozens of superstars. [We] noticed that all of these people were not just constantly running towards something. They were also running AWAY from something.” …..Those top performers needed a goal. But they also needed a crisis or challenge to drive them forward. “

Well that’s just no fun. Really? To get into that delectable state of ultra-high, blissful productivity I need a carrot AND a stick? The minute I read that, I felt a sense of both resentment and…. agreement. I realized that I knew every time I’ve been in that delightful state, there’s been something that I was also running from, or trying to flee – a challenge I did not know for sure that I could overcome, a deadline that was too soon, a depth of emotion I did not know quite how to express.

So I’m going out today looking for not just for carrots, but also for sticks. And I’m heading into flow.

What I’m Reading: Sales EQ by Jeb Blount. Empathy. People naturally fall somewhere along the scale of highly self-centered to wildly other-centered. If you are too other-centered, sales will be difficult for you because you’ll be more interested in the relationship than the sale. But if you are too self-centered, you’ll want to work on your empathy skills to help build better repoire and relationships. See where you fall with these two online quizzes – and then see if you need to get your own copy of Sales EQ! 

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/quizzes/take_quiz/empathy

https://psychology-tools.com/empathy-quotient

Where do you fall? On the first test, I was 71 out of 100, which is a “moderate empathy” score. But on the second, I got 31 out of 80, and the rather stern note that “scores above 30 are not generally indicative of an Autism Spectrum disorder.” Hmmmmmmm…… that is not especially reassuring! If you have a chance, take the quizzes and tell me where you are at. I’m heading off to work on my empathy now!

Nicks Real Estate Tip: Missed the “Behind the N” event? Here is a recap of what you missed: https://realestategreatness.com/what-you-could-have-learned-at-our-behind-the-n-event.html

Quick Web Tip: If you go to Google Image search and type in “Atari Breakout” Google has a great easter egg that will make you feel extra nostalgic!

What I’m Pondering: “The world is violent and mercurial — it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love — love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent; being a writer; being a painter; being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.” -Tennessee Williams