Reflections of a Jiujiteiro: own it

My son, Dominic, asked me an interesting question during our morning routine, this past week. He said, “Papi, am I weird?” I was taken aback for a moment, but then responded… “Yes, but weird is brilliant by another name?” From Albert Einstein and his hatred to socks, to Pythagoros, the father of vegetarianism, and his hatred of beans… because he believed they contained the souls of dead people, there are a myriad of examples of genus’ individuals who clearly marched to the beat of their own drums throughout history.

Own It

I’ve been reading “Own Your Weird”, by Jason Zook over the past couple of weeks and his theory is we should celebrate our individuality and embrace the ideas that are not in-line with the status quo. If none of us took risks and listened to our creative sides, our world would be boring to say the least. Listening to my inner weirdo has brought this blog, and the entire idea of this forum, to life. Now, with all the build up, why is this important?

Authenticity and Consistency

Many of us search for the blueprint that will lead us to our dreams. We do this through gearing what we consume around a centralized idea of success. However, success is not one-size fits all. It requires us to look internally and define what success really means. Does the definition of success revolve around power, influence, financial independence, or time with family. Once the term success is defined, you can then plan around it. This is where authenticity comes into play.

I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” ~G.K. Chesterton

https://www.inc.com/jayson-demers/51-quotes-to-inspire-success-in-your-life-and-business.html

Authenticity ensures there is passion driving our efforts. When your work is you passion, you’ll be more willing to do the lion’s share to get the best results. A number of the coaching books I’ve read highlight professionals who made extreme makeovers to their lives to focus on business models that will bring them happiness vice status or wealth. Why is this becoming more of a norm? Well, one theory is because their life’s work turned into work, instead of their ideal livelihood. Often times the plan to achieve your personal success is simple, not easy, but simple. Zook suggests that once you have defined what success means, you could then generate low goals and high goals to accomplish.

It requires 10,000 hours of concentrated practice in order to possess what is considered a world-class skill in something.” ~Malcom Gladwell, Outliers

https://www.developgoodhabits.com/10000-hour-rule/

Consistency will be the key to showcasing your business and building your network. Sets and repetition will get you from the novice to expert level of performance in time. It will not, however, shield us from the scar tissue that comes with failure. Our first attempts in learning (FAIL) will be the most impactful lessons we learn, but they will make us better in the long run. I had a good dose of failure last week at work, and let me tell you, networking is more important than we realize.

Tests of Character

I’ve been in the military for nearly 17 years, and have had my fair share of experiences serving under austere conditions. I have grown to have thick enough skin to get me through most undesirable circumstances. Last week, however, I made a huge professional blunder at work. It wasn’t anything security related, but it was a big enough mistake that could have lost myself and my team credibility.

I caught the mistake later that day, and as tempted as I was to wish it away, I began to take ownership of my self-imposed misfortune. The phrase measure twice, cut once is not only for our engineer-focused professionals, but for professionals writ large. One of the phone calls I had to make was to a buddy of mine I served with in the past because his unit was the primary customer of my shortcoming. I gave him the synopsis with hat in hand and let him know it was my error and no one else’s. If I learned anything from leadership development along the years it’s character trumps talent every time.

“Things won’t get better dwelling on the past. Accept what has happened. Then move forward.” ~Jocko Willink

https://everydaypower.com/jocko-willink-quotes

My buddy acknowledged my predicament, and did his best to assure me it was all good. He was my last chance to at the very least get a resolution to the issue, but it was really up to his boss. He told me he would call me back when he had an answer on which direction it was going to go… me being blown-up in place, or the best case scenario being his boss deciding to be in agreement with the option that let me live to work another day. My buddy’s boss chose the latter, and I was able to keep the project moving forward saving a little face along the way. I did, however, inform my leadership of my shortfall and the current status to the operation. Why??? because you never want your leadership to lose confidence in you because they heard of a potential crisis from a third party.

“Your personal values are things you need in order to feel like the best, happiest version of yourself.” ~Jason Zook

Zook, Jason. (2019). Own Your Weird: An Oddly Effective Way for Finding Happiness in Work, Life. and Love. Running Press Adult Publishing Co.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

In the not so distant past, I observed another teammate face a similar situation and take a different road. The individual tried to shift blame for a mishap that could have been avoided to another individual. It didn’t work, the individual was caught in a long string of fabrications leading up to the failure. Forgive me for being so cryptic, but I do not want to use this forum to ignite fires I’d have to put out later or kick someone while they’re down. I do, however, want to communicate the importance of owning your shortfalls as well as your successes. There is no such thing as a zero defect organization and that’s often never an expectation, but what you do not want to do is lose credibility and confidence from your leaders, peers, and subordinates. You’re as valuable as your word, and to some people, once you compromise your word you’ll never earn their trust again. Until next reflection… One Team, One Family! ~Doc