How to Set the Bar Higher
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(This article also appeared on Huffington Post.)
By Doug Sandler
Author, Speaker, HuffPost Blogger, Mr. Nice Guy
Nice Guys Finish First
We live in a "I want it now" society, so I figure
the best way to start my story is at the end, with the moral. So here it is: Go
big or go home. I'm 35 words into writing this piece and hopefully I haven't
lost too many of you out there. I know you're busy, but work with me, and if I
still have your interest, continue to read. If you glean nothing from this post
other than my moral, I feel as though I have touched your life in some way. But
don't sell yourself short, you've gone this far, take it to the next level
before an email comes in, the phone rings again, you are tagged in a post and
notified or someone demands a LinkedIN connection. Let's start our precursor to
the moral with a short history lesson.
It was November of 2014, and I was working hard conjuring up
ways to advance my writing business. I came across a Tweet from a woman with a
link to her Huffington Post column. As I read through the column I thought
about how fortunate it was that this woman had access to an incredibly powerful
publication like HuffPost. Intrigued and interested in finding out how I might
be able to have the same opportunity, I asked her about how she made this
happen. She said, "I reached out to Arianna Huffington." My first
thought was, how could it be that easy? And then I considered the other options.
I could write the editorial department, get shoved around to three or four editors,
submit a piece or two, track down everyone again, follow up and eventually get
put on the back burner. Or option two, I could email Arianna directly and see
if she had any interest. I selected option two. About a week later I received a
response from the co-founder and editor-in-chief, Arianna Huffington, directly,
"We'd love to feature your voice on Huffington Post." I can't say for
sure exactly how many people have read my column over the past seven months and 30
posts later – probably between 10,000 and 100 gazillion readers – but I do know
that it has opened more doors for me than would have been the case without the
added exposure.
Who is your Arianna Huffington, and why have you not reached
out to her yet? (Author's note: Let's make a deal, feel free to insert any
excuse you want to right here and I will feel free to ignore any excuse you
offer.) People, here's the issue, we are either too afraid to go big, or feel
we don't carry the clout to make "going big" a part of our agenda.
Velvet off the sledgehammer now, cut the crap, we are all small potatoes until
we consciously make a decision to move beyond that type of small thinking. The
only way to accomplish our dreams is get out of our old thinking and get into
some dream duds. Bathe in the richness of our huge ideas. Make reality out of
the things that other people only wish they could achieve.
Fortunately, I have an opportunity to speak to people all
over the country. I find a common theme is the thread that ties many of my
diverse audiences together. In the form of a question, here it is. How can I go
beyond where I am now? It's one thing to believe it, but how can I actually do
it? My answer is simple, set the bar higher, here's how:
Think beyond you. Look at the impact that your dreams and big thinking have on everyone around
you. If you actually pulled off what you dreamed of how amazing would life be
for those around you. If you dreamed of opening a restaurant, think about the
positive impact on the surrounding neighborhood and the people you would be
feeding everyday. If you are an app developer, look at the all of the lives you
would be touching if your app was in the hands of thousands or millions of
people. As a writer, I imagined the impact I would have on everyone that would
be reading my motivational and inspirational posts.
Forget what is
impossible. Take the words "I can't" out of your vocabulary. My
dad used to say to me, "Dougie, if anyone else has accomplished it, you
can too." I will go one step beyond and say, even if no one has done it,
we live in an age where ANYTHING is possible. Since starting my career as a
mobile DJ, I have watched technology change my business from records, to
cassette tapes, to CD's, to mp3's to instant downloads and music streaming.
What once was only possible in a cargo van (DJ transportation in 1984) is now
possible with a SmartCar.
Don't just try to get
on a different road, get in a different vehicle. Are you trying to merge
onto the superhighway of life in a 1972 Ford Pinto? Do an analysis of where you
are in life and take a good hard look if the vehicle will get you to retirement
and happily ever after. If not, keep in mind it is never too late. A 48, just a
couple of short years ago, my career did a 180 degree spin and I have been
loving every minute of my professional speaking, writing, training and
podcasting life.
Keep gratitude in
your heart and know what you do really matters. When you love what you do
and you love the people you do it with, life takes on a whole different
meaning, and it will come back to you ten fold. Over the past year, I have had
an opportunity to interview a host of people on my podcast, each of which has a
special place in my heart and in my life. People like Charles Sidi, Stephie
Rockwell, Tim Fargo, Ted Coine, Carlota Zimmerman, Jeremy Watkin and several
others that have made a huge impact on me. All of their interviews can be found here.
Once you set the bar higher, you start expect more from
yourself, others will expect more from you as well. Setting the bar higher is
not for the faint of heart, but then again, who aspires to be average? So go
big or go home. Push yourself past average and get into the greatness zone.
Life becomes much more interesting when you think beyond yourself, forget about
what is impossible, you reach for your dreams and you do it with gratitude in
your heart. I can't wait to hear about your happily ever after moments.
Doug Sandler serves on
the Publications Committee. He is a professional speaker, blogger and trainer.
His book, "Nice Guys Finish First," is available on Amazon, Kindle or iTunes in
written and audio formats. His message is simple: Better relationships. Better
business. |
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