The Little Things

This week we were blessed to welcome our new son "Matteo" into the world. At just over 7lbs at birth and now a little lighter than that, he has reminded me about the importance of the "little things" in life. When it comes right down to it, most of the important things in life are the little things. Yes your wedding day, the birth of a child, the big promotion, can all be major days in your life and provide lots of great memories. But the quality of your life isn't determined so much by those few great "big" moments, as much as it is by the accumulation of all of the amazing little ones.

The same is also true in the business world. While the major decisions you make are important, the success you have will be determined more by the multitude of small actions - the little things - that you do each day, each week, and each month, that accumulate to shape your destiny.

This is a critical concept to understand because it can be easy to miss. Many of us fall into the trap of focusing so hard on the few milestone moments in our lives that we gloss over the multitude of little moments and small decisions we make where the difference is really made.

So this week I encourage you to become more aware of the many wonderful little things in your life and appreciate them. I also want you to take a look at how you manage your days to see how you are using those little things you do each day. Are you executing them at 100%? Are you giving them the attention they require? If not, start. This is where success is gained or lost.

The Trials of Travel - Part 1

This week my family went of vacation, or at least that's what we thought. We arrived at our destination, but unfortunately, our bags didn't. Not the first day, or the second, or for some of us, the even the third. The airline was no help, offered no good reason for what happened, and was actually even rude.

Next, while we were there, my baby girl got the stomach flu and my wife and I spent an entire night with her vomiting every twenty minutes all night long. But that's not all... in fact, we're just getting started. My mother caught the same bug two days later and was sick for the last day and half of the vacation.

Then there's my brother's girlfriend had to leave early. She got back but after receiving her bag the night before she left, her bag wasn't there when she got back home either!

Finally, when the rest of us traveled my wife who evidently caught the same bug my Mom and daughter both had, spent most of the first leg of the flight home in the washroom and the 5hr layover was so bad that she wasn't even able to fly the rest of the way home. One would think that the airline would want to protect their passengers from a sick passenger and would gladly switch my wife's seat for a later flight... turns out that's not the case and she was told that she would have to buy a new ticket in order to fly later. Oh and by the way, there were no flights the next day.

The saga is not over yet but so far, it hasn't been a very relaxing vacation! I'll keep you posted...
Oh, and keep reading, because the reason I'm sharing this story isn't just to vent. There are lessons to be learned as well and those will come in Part 2.

Holiday Craziness Begins - Keep Perspective

Well it's been far too long since my last blog entry. My apologies. It's been a busy November, but that's no excuse. I started the month with a great trip to one of the premier student leadership conferences in the world, the Ontario Student Leadership Conference. This year was the conference's 30th anniversary and brought in some pretty big names.

I had the chance to hear and meet Craig Keilburger of Free the Children (www.freethechildren.com). Then we heard from Dr. Samantha Nutt Executive Director of WarChild (www.warchild.ca) an organization that works to provide humanitarian assistance to children of war affected areas around the world. Both are great organizations that are making a difference. Check them out and lend your support. Both speakers were passionate, empowering and enlightening. Although I was at the conference to speak, I gained much, much more by listening to the other speakers there!

This entry I wanted to remind you on this "Black Friday" in the US (The biggest shopping day of the year) to maintain perspective during the hectic schedule of the holiday season. At this time of the year we are bombarded, even more than usual, with commercialism. The ads for the newest and greatest toys and gadgets are constant. We are tempted continuously to believe that we just had the perfect whatever, we'll be happier. Have you noticed how often the ads at Christmas talk about buying yourself a little something while you're shopping? What used to be at least a process about thinking of others has become as much about ourselves as anything else.

So this holiday season try to filter out some of the advertising, take a deep breath, and remember what really counts. Don't get too wrapped up (pardon the pun) in the gifts and stress but instead focus on what matters, family and friends and time together.

Be thankful for all that you have and appreciate it. And, if the spirit moves you, consider forgoing a few presents in order to help those less fortunate instead. Last year my wife and I decided to skip presents to each other and instead sponsor a child in Africa for a year. It was a great decision that we haven't regretted for a moment. Whatever we'd have gotten each other would probably be at the back of the closet by now or forgotten, instead we have the picture of our sponsored child on the fridge and know that our small contribution is making his life at least a little bit easier. A great feeling.

So don't let yourself get stressed, frazzled and irritated this year. Relax, take in the beautiful spirit that most people are in most of the time during this special time of year. And remember what this time is really supposed to be about. There is nothing wrong with giving and receiving gifts, it's a wonderful part of our holiday tradition, but let's not let it because the WHOLE tradition.

The Amazing Power of Team Work

If anyone out there doubts the power of team work, let me say that this week I learned, with a dedicated team, you can do anything.

I'll be the first to tell anyone that I think any individual with enough dedication, commitment and vision, can accomplish anything. This blog post doesn't discount that fact. I still believe it to the core of my being. What I learned this week, is that while anyone can do anything any team can do that thing even faster!

This week I asked several colleagues and friends to help me promote my book: "Live Life from the Heart: 52 Weeks to a Life of Passion and Purpose" (get it here). They each agreed to send out a promo for my book to their email lists in exchange for some free promo from me. It was great. It cost none of us money and everyone benefited. Win-Win, the only way to do business.

The coolest thing about it though was to watch the power of a team. While I was able to promote my book to about 400 people with the use of my contacts. But, by partnering with just 8 other colleagues, I was able to take that number from 400 to nearly 10,000! That's a better than 2000% increase! Not bad.

So, the next time you're working on a project, whether at work or at home, consider how you can best employ the power of a team to get it done. Note, you have to be willing to swallow some of your pride and relinquish some control in order to make it work, but the results are well worth it!