The Name Tag is Gone

Dear stopped working his second job this last week.  He has had 6 whole days now that he was not required to dash off to work once he got off work.  And it is a bit of a change....a welcome change.

The first is that he wears a work uniform with his name on the shirt all day long.  He did also wear a uniform and name tag at his 2nd job too.  We so laughed that for once he would get to have clothes that do not have his name on them all the time.  But Sunday when he was working on College Girls car (with an ol work shirt on) I just had to have a bit of fun.  I took a bright PINK (my signature color) marker and wrote his name on the upper left hand side of his shirt. Told him I felt he would be lost without his name on it.  He giggled and told me I was just WRONG!  But it is a milestone for us.  It has been 7 years now.  The first year he traveled for work.  Then next 6 he worked two jobs.  Now finally he is mine for a good portion of each day.  I love it.

Now there is someone else who can relate to wearing a name tag.  That would be Scott Ginsberg, he’s been wearing a name tag for ten years in a row. He has never taken it off.  That’s right, ten years = three thousand, six hundred and fifty days = 87,600 hours = 5 million two hundred fifty six thousand minutes = 31 million 531 thousand seconds and counting. He’s the world record holder. He has even tattooed his name tag on his chest and is the only person in the world who has made a career out of wearing a name tag.

“-able”, is the title of his newest book.  Scott Ginsberg is a human dynamo and what he’s is trying to do is sell you on his theory of the universe, which is this:

The only thing in life that you have control over is yourself, and that you can’t make anything happen- but you can greatly increase the probability of that thing happening … by making yourself more –able.

I like this idea.  Why?  Well because I believe we all hold ourselves back but not thinking we are able to do what we need and wish to do.  More so we stop dreaming as we become older.  When Mom's and Dad's think of what they really want to achieve at home it is not much different than what they want at work.  To be respected and heard.  We want our children to follow our directions .  And more so that we hear our children too!  I am often reminded that the so call self help books for the workplace can also help me at home.  I just have to remember this is my work....my career....my goals.  

In –able, Scott Ginsberg offers up a collection of life learned practices. Here’s a sample of some and how they can pertain to your family as your workplace. 

1.     Ideas are free; execution is priceless. Anybody can wear a name tag everybody. But not anyone can keep up with you. Refuse to slow down long enough for anyone to catch up. Take action quickly: Take action consistently. Are you an idea person or an execution person?

2.     Never be stopped by not knowing how. Accept that the planets will never be aligned. Don’t wait until everything’s perfect. Don’t wait until you’re experienced enough. Don’t wait until you know what you’re doing. Don’t wait for overwhelming evidence to trust yourself. Otherwise procrastination – the redneck second cousin of patience – will rob you of the motivation you need to carry in the cavalry charge. Finished is the new perfect.  

3.     Ambition without focus is bankruptcy. How you spend your day – literally, hour by hour – will determine how much of an impact you make, how happy you are, how healthy you are and how successful you and your children become. You almost have to force yourself to create a typical day. Otherwise you get cabin fever and your time not only manages you, it drives you insane. I’m not suggesting you choreograph every waking hour of your life. The challenge is designing a typical day for you, which enforces (some) structure and predictability, while still leaving room for spontaneity and playfulness.  Have you pictured your ideal day yet?

4.     Anonymity is biggest barrier to success. I wear a nametag 24-7. I’m not suggesting you do the same. In fact, I strongly suggest you do not wear a nametag 24-7. About a fourth of the time, it’s a flat-out pain in the ass.  But in a name we know what we are striving to do.  So as a mom and a dad we have to think what we choose to create in our children.  Because it’s whose life is significantly better because they know you. How are you making people aware of you?

5.     Beware of the over-commitment trap. It’s like owning a truck: The week you buy it, everyone and their mother needs help moving. And you don’t want to feel like a bad friend, so you allow yourself become entangled in other people’s pointless wars. You haven’t learned to be respectfully discerning about whom you give permission participate in your life. Ask these filtering questions:  Is the level of help this person is asking me to offer commensurate with the type of relationship I have with them? If you don’t set healthy boundaries for yourself, other people will set them for you. And then they will violate them.  Are you sacrificing your life by spending too much time being everybody else’s dream machine?

6.     Consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness. Every day. That’s the two-word secret to executing anything. And it shouldn’t even have to be a secret, but I guess not everyone has grasped this concept yet. What action have you taken on your idea, today?

7.     Strike a passionate pose.  Passion without purpose is pointless. We are passionate about our children.  We want them to succeed in life.  To be happy and healthy, but how are we teaching them this with passion?  Are you currently operating out of your passion in the most healthy way?

8.     Get comfortable with the risk of failure. If you screw up early enough, quickly enough and quietly enough – then make a conscious effort to extract lessons learned from those biffs – only a few people will notice. That’s why mistake is the mentor of man. The challenge is attending to your failures with a mindset of personal growth, life-long learning and never-ending improvement. Do this, and disappointment will slowly dissipate. Do this, and discomfort will become less threatening. Then, all you have to do is ask the two big questions: Why did the universe want me to make this mistake? What would I have to learn about this mistake to make it no longer a mistake? Remember: Humans aren’t averse to risk – they’re averse to loss, which is the result of risk. What can you lose today?

9.  Make a public and purposeful choice to play big.  When you publicize your willingness to commit with both feet – that is, to commit enough so you can’t turn back – providence will move to orchestrate the perfect conditions. At that point, executing what matters will be an unavoidable result. Look at what you want your family and children to achieve.  Plot how to do this.  And then step out and do just that.  Is your commitment unquestionable?