NEW POST: Tough Times Never Last But Tough People Do

My son Matt was in a weird mood this morning. He seemed a bit overwhelmed. He's twelve. And while life is hard for him having lost him mom to last year to cancer, I couldn't understand his funk. I asked him, "what's up scoreboard?"(his sports nickname which always seems to bring him back) He said, "life feels hard dad". What a statement. So we continued to talk and I found out a bit of what was bugging him and then I said, "You know Matt, tough times never last but tough people do." Then he asked, "how do you be tough?"

As I contemplate my son Matt's situation and reflect on the highs and lows of my own life on and off the job, I forced the question – “How tough am I?” “How tough are you?” And, if tough times never last, then what are you doing to get through whatever tough times you are in. What am I doing?

Here were my thoughts:

Keep your eye on the goal line. Sometimes you have to look beyond the problem to stay inspired and to maintain your hope. There is always a way to get through a situation and I believe it is easier when you stay focused on the end result.

Do less, not more. Don’t overreact in tough times – it’s easy to do. I remember Bob Kriegel who wrote the book, “If it Ain’t Broken, Break It” saying, “A 90 percent passionate effort will always outperform a 110 percent panicked effort.” In the movie, A Bugs Life, the ant coach in the middle of a crisis said, “Relax, we only lost a few inches.” I attached that video file. It's an amazing clip on handling challenges.

When times are tough you have to do the fewest things possible that produce the greatest results. Maybe it’s prospecting the right business partners. Maybe it’s reconnecting with previous customers. Maybe it’s doing business presentations. Whatever your unique circumstance, you must do fewer, but the right high-impact activities.

Measure your progress. Achieving positive momentum is crucial during periods of difficulty. Whatever activities you choose to be involved in during the valleys of your business and your life, measure their impact. Measure them frequently. Measure them daily. Don’t let time go by without having a “reality” check with how the tasks are paying off.

Don’t beat yourself up. We all make mistakes. But tomorrow is a new day too dear with hopes and aspirations to waste a minute focusing on yesterday. Jonathan is my oldest son and yesterday he went 0-3 in his baseball game and missed a fly ball to center in the bottom of the 7th inning, tied 11-11. The other team won. As you can appreciate, he felt dejected. I looked him in the eye and said, “Jonathan, the very best players have good days and bad days. You’ve made great plays. You’ve pitched shut-outs. And you have hit home runs over the fence. You’re a great player and next game you can prove it.” He smiled and said “Thanks Dad.”

Tough Times Never Last but Tough People Do