Author: whatifconcepts

Empowering those that inspire so they can excel at the work that matters.

Your Vote
Votes Welcomed

I received an email to help pick the next magazine cover for a periodical to which I subscribe.  I immediately deleted the email.  The tribe is too big and my input is just a voice in a hurricane of sound.  I appreciate that the magazine thought of me but they did it for their benefit not mine.  Had I been selected to be part of a panel fo five people to select a cover then the invitation would been individualized and meaningful.  It would have been an invitation and not just spammed by a distribution list.


When you make a call to action of the tribe, is it personalized?  Does it carry meaning?  Would you respond yourself to the same request?  Is it unique?  Does it feel like a best friend picked the opportunity just for you?  Who does it benefit?

When You Decide
Yes You Can?

Long distance athletes often face a unique psychological battle with uncertainty.  One starts a marathon, Ironman triathlon, 50-kilometer ski race, or even a six-hour bike ride and a little doubt exists about completing the event.  Will I be able to hold the pace?  Are there too may hills?  What if the weather turn atrocious?  Can I endure?


Then one encounters a moment when certainty reaches a tipping point.  Short of an unseen disaster, the athlete knows they can make it a few more minutes, kilometers, strides.  The mental boost this gives the athlete is tremendous.  It is not always a turn of speed but the relaxation from the mental stress of the unknown starts to fade.  


Interestingly, this moment of cross-over is often very much in our control.  What if we decided the certainty of finishing was going to take place 5 kilometers sooner?  What if we were so bold that we never doubted the result from the start?  How would it change your perspective if you moved uncertainty forward in an event?

Your in Charge

Good times


Assign tasks and people will work for you. Assign responsibility and people will work for themselves.                                                                                       Simon Sinek


Every great experience develops as such because of a granting of responsibility.  As a camper on a backpack trip in my teens my group was given the responsibility of selecting the campsite and deciding layout of our tents, outdoor cooking area, campfire, and selecting a tree from which to hang our food to avoid the curiosity of bears.  Decisions made by our trip leaders on previous nights were suddenly our decisions.  The consequences of choosing poorly were quickly evident when an overnight thunderstorm left some of the tents exposed to water collecting in a low lying area and our campfire billowed smoke into the group because we had not considered the canopy of evergreens above.  As campers we gained wisdom in a way that would have not resonated had we just done what we were told.  Responsibility made our experience remarkable and memorable.  What has it done for you?

The Virtual Leader
Giro d’Italia Malliot Rose

In a cycling stage race there often times when a group of breakaway riders gets far enough in front of the main peleton (pack) that one of the riders in the escape becomes the virtual leader of the race.  By calculating the time gaps it is easy to claim that one rider leads the race if the race were to stop at that moment.  The thing is that most times the gaps compress if not disappear all together as the race reaches the finish and the virtual lead is erased.  Since race organizers only award the race leadership jersey at the end of each stage based on the results, there is not a lot of power in being the virtual leader.  There is a high level of recognition for being the race leader, complete with a podium celebration, awarding of the jersey, interviews, special starting spot, and dedicated coverage from television and media at the professional level.


Concentrate on the destination.  Measuring yourself against others enroute is a bit irrelevant compared to where you stand at the destination.  

Super Power
What is your super power?

One of the ideas that resonated with me during Seth Godin’s “Pick Yourself” event in New York City this past week was the notion that each of us has a super power.  We tend to hide them behind our mission statements or provide evasive answers about our talents.  However, when we feel comfortable wearing our cape representative of our super powers it is transformative.  A super power is not about feats of strength or Klout scores.  It is an attribute that envelopes you.  The activity that slows time to a frame by frame presence worthy of the Matrix.  We find comfort in hiding our capes or send them to the emotional dry cleaners, feeling unworthy to tie them on in daily life but that is just what the world needs.  It is what your community and tribe seeks.  When I meet an individual with a super power, it alters the environment, my senses begin to ping as if expecting a lightning strike.


Where is your cape?  When are you going to put it on?

Radiated Glory

Sideline Parents


A boss who micromanages is like a coach who wants to get in the game. Leaders guide and support…then sit back and cheer from the sidelines.                                                 ~Simon Sinek

If you really want to experience the thrill of competition join the team on the field.  Pin on a number and get in the race.  Place your name on the start list.  Dive into a competition so deeply that only a small tunnel of light leading to the finish line is visible.  Arrive at your destination exhausted and exalted.

Being on the sidelines is wonderful entertainment but the glory of a victory is radiated from those who took part in the competition.  It is not yours to wrap yourself in but rather shared by the kindness and generosity of those who accomplished great deeds.  Knowing the difference is important otherwise we may believe we are critical to team’s success just because we fly their flag from our car window.    

Day of Days
Hot Wheels Track Assembly

During my grade school years I owned a Hot Wheels track for my Matchbox car set.  I bought it at church bizarre sale.  Besides the banked corners and the vertical loop, the critical feature was unit that looked like a car wash.  Once batteries were installed and it was powered up, two rotating brushes spinning on a horizontal axis were aligned to accelerate a Matchbox car sufficiently to make a complete lap of the track before returning for another application of speed.  Depending on the length of the track the return speed of the car effected the acceleration through the speedmachine.  Yesterday I attended an event that re-accelerated my commitment to serving causes that inspire.

Seth in Tribeca

I flew to New York City for the day to attend Seth Godin’s “Pick Yourself” presentation in the Tribeca.  The magical part was that Seth spoke from some prepared thoughts for an hour, weaving his themes into a series of anecdotes.  Then he answered the audience’s questions for the rest of the day, while surprising us with musical performers after breaks.  The questions for Seth ranged from the marketing strategies to hiring a hiking guide in South America.  As I reflect on my pages of notes and consider how to amplify the experience, I was taken by one theme in particular.


Seth presented the analogy of walking into a forest with an axe.  One person selects a single tee and starts a concentrated effort of chopping it down.  They understand it will not fall after only a couple hacks.  If they are committed and continue making progress eventually they will yell ‘timber.’  However, many of us give up after a couple swings and move onto another tree.  Eventually we find that we have left a scar on many trees but never committed long enough to fall any one of them.  The reality is that nobody knows which the right tree is to be wielding our axe on and that in itself is the adventure.  There is no shortcuts.  Hard work, perspiration, and blisters are the realties of a committed effort.  However, the biggest obstacle for most of us is that we fear our own super power.  The combination of skills that make us unique and accomplished artists.  

Ready?

What tree have you selected to chop down?  Are you willing to put fear aside and commit to the effort?  Are you prepared to experience your own art in the process?