First, choose HOPE. Then spread it.

First, choose HOPE.  Then spread it.

H – Heart…we all have a heart.  We all have feelings.  We all care.  Some of us care too much, some not enough…yet isn’t it safe to say that we all care?  The only question is - to what extent.  Wouldn’t it be great if other people truly cared about us?  So why not go OneMoreStep, lead the way, and open our hearts to truly care for others.  Soon they will feel the love, and they just might spread it.

O – Open to Opportunities…sometimes things go as planned, other times things just don’t go our way – Sometimes:  We don’t get the job. We don’t get the raise.  We don’t close the sale.  He or she is “just not that into us”.  Sure…that didn’t work out.  That didn’t go as planned…but sometimes if we look up, we’ll notice another opportunity right around the corner…perhaps at our fingertips.  We’ll see it, go for it, and probably even crush it…if we’re open to it.  If we’re open to new opportunities, those around us will soon see that perhaps they should be open to new things as well.  Being open to new things just may become a trend…it just may spread.

P – PMA…Positive Mental Attitude…Silver linings, moral victories, Hakuna Matata Moments (when we learn from mistakes), for every bad thing can’t we usually find a good thing – in any situation?  Our jobs get extremely annoying, but my old friend, Mary Poppins, gives great advice on this topic – for every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.  What if we looked for the fun part in every annoying job or situation?  Better yet, what if we WERE the fun in every annoying situation?  If we choose to PMA the days, with positivity vs. negativity, soon people around us will feel encouraged instead of defeated…and once they feel the positivity, they’ll spread it.

E – Energy…we all have energy.  The only questions then are 1) How much energy do we have, and 2) How do we choose to use it?  The encouraging thing about both of these questions is that we are in control of both.  I love the line from the 1994 Danny DeVito movie, Renaissance Man - “The choices we make dictate the lives we lead.”  When we choose to eat right, sleep well, and exercise, we will have more energy.  Awesome start.  Then when we choose to put our energy to good use, in productive ways…good things happen at work, cool things happen in life…and my favorite part about energy is that it’s contagious.  When we 1) have and 2) use our energy to make a positive impact at work and in life, our neighbors, teammates, classmates, friends, family, coworkers, peers, and leaders…will magically do the same.  Energy creates more energy…it spreads.

Hope is such a fascinating thing.  With it, we feel amazing…yet without it we’re miserable.

What a great OneMoreStep…actually two, to first choose HOPE, then spread it.

"I still believe in a place called Hope." – William Jefferson Clinton

Have a great day.

Taylor

Feelings are the CAUSE, not the effect

Feelings are the CAUSE, not the effect

We often feel a certain way as a result of different circumstances, conversations, or any given “happening” in our lives…favorable or unfavorable.  For every action, there is usually a reaction (of our own). 

For every cause we usually see an effect.  Said another way, when things happen to us – people say things to us, people email us, people treat us a certain way – we usually have a feeling about either the content of their message or how it was delivered. 

We either agree or disagree…or sometimes we’re indifferent about what was said or how they said it.  So are feelings, or how we feel always merely an effect? 

I see a OneMoreStep opportunity with feelings…they can be the CAUSE just as much as an effect.

Consider your own relationships or partnerships (or lack thereof, depending on how things are going) at work and in life.  I’ll do the same.  Who would you rather help, promote, or advocate?  The people that make you feel awesome about yourself, your life, your opportunities, and/or the very impact you have on them and others?  Or would you rather help the people that make you feel quite the opposite?

I could be mistaken, but I’m fairly confident that we would all rather help, promote, or advocate the people that make us feel great about life, and ourselves.  Feelings can be and usually are the spark that ignites our every action…and moreover, the attitude, creativity, and passion with which we take action.

Great leaders, great sales people, great teachers, great professors, great lawyers, great friends, great husbands, great wives, and great people...in most cases, reached this “great” status because they make others feel great.

When we seize every opportunity to make the people around us – at work and in life – truly feel valued, appreciated, and respected, our relationships become stronger, more productive, more meaningful, and certainly more impactful. 

Leaders inspire great performance by making people feel valued.

Teachers inspire passion for learning by making students feel encouraged.

Salespeople exceed goals when their clients feel that they’re interested in them.

Lawyers are successful when they make clients feel at ease during trying times.

Friends become great friends when they make us feel better about any situation.

Loved ones are just that…when they make us feel loved.

Go OneMoreStep for somebody today…whether you’re leading, teaching, selling, lawyer-ing, befriending, or loving…

Make them feel great about themselves, their contributions, or their value…and then enjoy it when you see them go do great things.

It will be because of how you made them feel…

Have a great day.

Taylor

The Magic of Understanding

The Magic of Understanding

We can all agree that it’s very difficult to foster productive, meaningful relationships at work, at home, or in the community without effective communication. 

By the same token, it’s nearly impossible to communicate effectively, with anyone, without some level of understanding.

OneMoreStep thought for the week: Spending time, seeking to understand…in any situation, magically transforms heated arguments into conversations, mere acquaintances into meaningful relationships, and bad days into better days…

You and I both experience frustrating conversations at home and at work.  How often is the person sitting across the table from us – whether at the dinner table or at a meeting in the conference room – completely on a different page than we are? 

We receive emails or phone calls from people making their points, sharing their opinions, and often times drawing lines in the sand.  Coworkers, bosses, friends, or even the people we care about or love the most often share their opinions.  Sometimes we agree…sometimes we don’t.

What about those times when we don’t agree…when we’re frustrated with a problem, a teammate, a friend, a loved one, or a rather annoying situation?  We tend to react…get even more frustrated…even more disappointed… we lose faith in them or any possibility of ever reaching an agreement.  At least that’s the trap I find myself falling into far too often.

Too often we miss understandings…and when we do, we miss out on the very magic that understanding creates…

Misunderstandings cause arguments and hurt feelings, which lead to failed relationships.  The irony is that if we want to make a positive difference in the lives of those around us at home or at work, we can’t miss understandings. 

The extent to which we ask questions to learn more about why the person across the table feels the way they do, we begin to engage in fruitful conversation, which leads to understanding.

When we find it in our hearts to sympathize with them and whatever may be going on in their own life – possible heartbreak, stress, or fear – we understand their situation.  All of a sudden we begin to show them compassion rather than our frustration, and our compassion leads us to new realms of understanding.

When we meet them where they are…if we are interested in them, their thoughts, expertise, and opinions, we find that our disappointment turns into opportunity. We gain a better understanding of the situation and how we can collaborate…and reach a mutually beneficial outcome, together.

Do you have potential frustrating conversations or situations on your agenda today?  This week?  I have a few.  Let’s both give it a try…let’s seek to understand the what, how, & why behind their opinion…

I bet we will all have better days…and they will too...we'll experience the magic of understanding...

One for the road...

If I think about the people I really want to be friends with, work with, form a bond with, and most importantly reach that magical state of mutual beneficial partnership with...they're all folks that I know truly care about me.  They care about my feelings.  They're concerned less about who gets the credit and more about how to make me and others better.  They ask me questions.  They're interested more than they try to be interesting.

I want to work with those people.  Not only do I want to be on their team, I enjoy being their teammate, friend, and with some, maybe I'd even enjoy a relationship beyond friendship...perhaps a more meaningful, longer term relationship.

Wouldn't we all like to have more of those types of people around us?  A great way to have more of those people around us is to be and do all of those things ourselves.

We should:

Care - Make Others Better - Ask Questions - Be Interested

Soon those around us will too...

Have a great day.

Taylor

Good...

Good…

A Good story, for Good Friday...

A few days ago someone saw the OneMoreStepRevolution logo as the background wallpaper on my phone.  She asked me what it was.   

I told her about this blog, and I pulled up the site on my phone to show her…she caught a quick glimpse of a Bible verse I have in the header – Proverbs 11:25.

As soon as she saw Proverbs 11:25 displayed across the top, she backed away and said, “I don’t know, T. Scott…looks like too much God to me.”

Call me sensitive. (Accurate assessment.)  Call me emotional. (Even a more accurate assessment.) But at that very moment, otherwise in a great mood, ready to attack the day, I was hurt.  I actually felt broken hearted.  How could anyone ever say anything is, “…too much God?” 

I thought:

God loves…

He loves all of us, despite our consistent imperfection.  That’s good.

God cares...

He cares so much that he’ll take on our worries for us.  That’s good.

God is faithful…

He is unchanging, enduring, and never leaves us.  That’s good.

God gives us hope…

He has plans for all of us…a future that is good.

I collected myself…and tried to end the conversation on a good note.

{A few friends have emailed and sent texts over the past year, calling my attention to this verse, as it fits with our OneMoreStepRevolution community’s passion for making a positive difference in the lives of others.  So recently I added Proverbs 11:25 to the top of the blog.}

I turned to her and said, “Proverbs 11:25 says ‘A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.’ “

She looked back at me, her face lit up with a big smile, and she said, “…Oh…ok...now that IS good.”  I felt better.  I felt good.

 No matter what your holiday…God is good. 

Happy Easter…Happy Passover

Looking up.

Taylor

Never Always Sunny

Never Always Sunny

I have a friend that lives in Seattle.  Last week I asked her about the weather there…I sarcastically asked if it ever rains in Seattle.  Her positivity is so refreshing, and I love her vibe.  Her reply made me smile…she said – “it’s never always sunny…”

I’ve been thinking…this is a OneMoreStep opportunity for our mental approach to work and life…

We strive for and seek perfection…

Perfect jobs…

Perfect boss…

Perfect teams…

Perfect leaders…

Perfect teachers…

Perfect students…

Perfect home…

Perfect friends…

Perfect girlfriend/boyfriend...

Perfect spouse…

Perfect days…

Perfect weather…

Perfection…we all want it.  We want it “to always be sunny.”

How’s that working out?  Has anyone found it to 'always be sunny'?  Are things ever perfect?  I don't think so.  Sadly, if we're waiting for the perfect anything...we may be waiting for quite a while.     

My Dad told me about a legal seminar he attended once.  The speaker delivering the keynote said, in so many words…perfect is the enemy of best.  His point - if we always aim to be perfect, we never fully realize or experience our best.

We should strive for and seek the best, not perfection.

Focus on the best parts of our jobs…

We should do our very best for the boss, that’s all he/she can ask…

Encourage our teams to simply do their best, that’s all we can ask of them…

Seek out and enjoy the best things about our leaders and teachers…

Expect students to simply do their best…

Make the best of where we live, even if it’s not perfect…it’s home…

Friends & loved ones aren’t always perfect, but aren’t they just the best…

Bad days become better days when we know we’ve done our very best…

As for today’s forecast…it’s never always sunny…so make the most of it, wherever you are and whatever lies before you…strive for and seek out the best in every situation...

Have a great day...no have the best day possible...today.

Taylor

Recent Posts:

Seriously...Why so serious?

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Seriously...Why so serious?

Seriously…Why so serious?

Yesterday at work we had quite a bit going on.  Slot Tournament, Black Jack Tournament, Grand Opening of a new venue on property…and of course the Final Four…the Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville in the Final Four, mind you.  It doesn’t get any better or more serious than that for a sportsfan/basketball fan born and raised in Grayson, KY.

I was a nervous wreck, as usual.  So many people on our teams at work had worked long hours, brainstorming how best to set up and ultimately operate our casino special events this weekend.  Plus, with the Final Four, Academy of Country Music Awards in town, and it being a Saturday night in Las Vegas…I wanted everything to be great. 

I’ll admit…I was pretty serious about the Kentucky game.  My team and sister team(s) execute and operate the Slot Tournaments and Black Jack Tournaments, and while I’m always impressed with their ability to remain so calm under the “pressure” to execute flawlessly (and they always do), I’m always on edge; for them, for our Guests, for our hotel.  I want us to crush it on all fronts.

I want everything and everybody to be ok.  Happy Guests…happy staff…symbiotic, drama-less relationships with my partners at work.  With all the moving parts, most of which make me nervous, I tend to get serious about making sure I do all I can to support the cause. 

Fast-forward…

Kentucky won.  Slot Tournament went off without a hitch.  Black Jack Tournament was a success.  People loved the new EA Sports venue/lounge our Brand Marketing team brought to life.  Guests were happy.  Staff was seemingly even happier.  Our hotel was buzzing, with yet another great Saturday night vibe.

Why was I so serious?  Things always work themselves out.

Then…I was reminded why I do what I do in the first place.

After a long, long week and a very long Saturday at work, I called it a night, said my good byes to the team, and headed to my car.  As soon as I saw my car in the parking garage, I cracked up laughing…

I’m not quite sure whom or how many were involved.  However, a certain someone or someones from our team had April Fools-ed me!  They had painted my windshield and both front seat windows with Post-It notes that read – Go Cats, Go Kentucky, Kentucky Rocks, etc.

At that moment I remembered that while brainstorming sessions, ensuring flawless execution, productivity, efficiency, and accuracy are all things about which we, as leaders, should certainly be serious…we can’t take ourselves too seriously. 

If we’re serious about anything, we should be serious and committed to establishing, developing, and enjoying the relationships we make along the way. 

After all…it really is about people.  People make the place.  People can make or break any situation.  We should focus less on the results for which we’re held accountable, and more on the relationships with the people that actually deliver the results.

Thanks to our team for not only making the magic happen every single day, but also for simply making my day…everyday. 

“Management is power over people…Leadership is power with people.” – Mark Sanborn…You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader

Here’s to staying serious about doing a great job, but not taking ourselves too seriously. 

Have a great day.

Taylor

Pics for the road...

 

So funny...

People make the place...so make it about THEM