johnmaconline

You can outsource your financial planning, but is it better?
You can ask Alexa to turn out the light, but is it better?
You can hire a lawn service, but is it better?
You can load the dishwasher, but is it better?
You can flip the switch on the electric fireplace, but is it better?
You can have your groceries delivered, but is it better?
You can swipe left or right, but is it better?
You can have the mechanic change the oil, but is it better?
You can electronically pay your bills, but is it better?
You can have the landscaper plant your flower beds, but is it better?
You can hire a service to decorate for the holidays, but is it better?
You can video chat rather than show up, but is it better?
You can have AI write the letter, but is it better?

Only you can answer these questions for yourself. 

Beware, because convenience may thwart meaning. Ease might kill engagement. And faster isn’t always better.

Sometimes the doing is the point.
Sometimes the work is where the life is.

What are you trading?

And is it worth it?

On the map, it’s usually easy. 

Point A to Point B. Set the goal. Make the plan. Start driving. 

Clean. Predictable. Efficient. 

But it never works that way.

We hit traffic and detours. We miss exits. We run into flooded streets, trains stopped at the crossing, and protestors shutting the route down. None of that is on the map. 

How could it be?

The map has no temporal context. It doesn’t know anything but a static route. It doesn’t see the flat tire, the person who wants to talk, or the temporary shutdown.

But would be who you needed to become if the line were straight?

The straight line looks great on paper.

But it wouldn’t have been better. 

You’ll get some cards. They are what they are.

You can hit, stand, or fold.

All can work. All can fail.

Best to learn who’s at the table. 

The first bounce gets all the attention.

The idea. The pitch. The launch.

What happens next?

The second bounce is where we see if it sticks, spreads, and survives.

Resilience lives with the second bounce. 

Make it useful. Make it simple. Make it spreadable. Follow the signal. Iterate.

Design for the second bounce. 

You can’t turn the corner if you’re waiting for permission.
You can’t turn the corner if you’re waiting to see the whole road first.
You can’t turn the corner if you’re unwilling.
You can’t turn the corner if you’re blaming the last detour.
You can’t turn the corner if you’re mad at the shape of the road.
You can’t turn the corner if you’ve never put the car in gear.

You can’t turn the corner if you’re standing still. 

Most politicians, in all of their forms, are usually great dancers.

I don’t mean the Cha-Cha, the Get Sturdy, or the Running Man, although they may be good at those also, at least at the wedding, inaugural ball, or corporate off-site.

They’re usually good at dancing around the hook. 

Jumping on when taking credit helps them, and avoiding it when somebody needs to be blamed.

So where does that leave the non-politicians?

The rest of us — the doers, builders, and leaders — we gotta always own the hook. 

The win and the loss. The one that worked and the one that didn’t. The praise and the consequences.

Real leadership and real difference-making have nothing to do with your ability to dance.

You don’t need to be perfect, but you do need to be accountable. 

So dance when you can, but when the hook comes around, jump on it.

We need you on it. 

You think you got it right.

You built it, after all. You understand it. You’ve lived it. Defended it.

Plus, it’s hard. You’ve spent a lot of time and effort. Mental and physical. 

Which is exactly why you might be wrong. If you’re too close, you can stop seeing clearly.

Ask yourself the following:

• Are you justifying instead of being open?
• Are you protecting instead of improving?
• Are you telling the whole story?
• Could there be another way?

That’s where the outsider might help.

No bias. No baggage. Nothing to defend.

You need truth. Not validation.

When we lean into truth and give ourselves the permission to change our minds, we can go anywhere.

Sometimes the best move is to borrow someone else’s flashlight. 

With over 8 billion people in the world and 600 million products listed on Amazon, it seems hard to be unique.

Thousands, if not millions of people, do what you do. They have the same title, skills, and tools. Just look around on LinkedIn to confirm this. 

Same with your product. Dozens or hundreds offer the same features, same problems solved, and the same colors. 

So how do you stand out?

You don’t win by being just another, or slightly better, or slightly cheaper.

You win by bringing you to the table. Unmistakable you.

No one else has your story.
No one else sees the world like you do.
No one else has your fingerprints.

Find the only you.