I’ll bet you’ve been ready to quit before. I’m willing to say that with an audience our size, there are a fair amount of people reading this who feel like they are on the verge of quitting right this very moment. On this week’s show, I’m hoping to help bring a little context and clarity to when it’s ok to quit and when you need to persist at all costs.

For my LinkedIn and Instagram communities, I posed this question: “What do you think is the #1 reason why people quit?”

Here are some of answers I received:

bored/unfulfilled

fear

there’s no patience these days

not a big enough “why”

people is afraid to lose the security of a monthly income

they love the points and not the game

because they want instant results

they lose momentum

not enough traction as fast as they thought it would come

it’s too hard

These are all valid reasons. But is it ever a good time to quit? I think, yes, but not in the way you might think. Sometimes stopping and going back to that last fork in the road is the only way forward, but you have to do it for the right reasons.

That starts with understanding what those “right” reasons are. I hope this episode brings you some clarity and context to whatever challenges you are facing right now.

Persist. Just don’t quit.

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This week I pose the question: “What’s more valuable: what you sell or how people feel about what you sell?” I also get fired up about the incredible conflict of interest in some ad models and relive a story from my honeymoon involving some really pushy timeshare salesmen. Just another week on the show!

One of the ideas that’s been fascinating me lately is the fact that innovation is really a combination of courage and foresight. It’s a real mix of being willing to do something that you don’t fully have the data to support, but have the instinct of knowing it is worth doing.

Once the proof is available, then more people will do it and hence, the competitive advantage is lost. This opens up the field for the next person willing to be courageous and insightful enough to innovate again. And around and around it goes.

Thinking back to last week’s episode, doing the things you are ‘supposed’ to do will never send you down this path. So get out there, be courageous and dig deep for insights that will spur innovation. Do something you’re not supposed to do and you’ll be one step closer to the discovery all of us need you to make!

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Innovation favors those who don’t do what they are ‘supposed to do.’ So why do most of us find ourselves doing the same things that everyone else is doing? Simple…it feels safe. The path is already worn and we know that others who have travelled along it have survived. Maybe they don’t seem incredibly fulfilled, overly successful, or very happy…but they are getting along.

If we take a closer look at those who have risen above, we find that these are typically the people and organizations who have had the courage and inspiration to NOT do what they were supposed to do. Those who don’t accept that there is only one way.

The Automotive group who wasn’t SUPPOSED to be one of the country’s best places to work, Bergstrom Automotive.

The little known search company who wasn’t SUPPOSED to beat Overture, the well funded behemoth who was developing pay-per-click technology (Google).

The high school teenager who wasn’t SUPPOSED to be able to go right into the NBA (Kobe Bryant).

The world is full of people doing what they are supposed to do, but those who have the courage to take the path less traveled are often the ones that inspire us all to be better.

Break the mold this week and show us not how it’s supposed to be done, but how it SHOULD be done!

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I’m fired up to kick off the next 100 episodes of the show with another CEO of a publicly traded company. Alex Vetter, the CEO of CARS Inc. (parent of Cars.com), sat with me to talk about cultivating a culture to be adaptable and also to share some little known stories about the early days of this household-name brand. 

I find Alex to be a genuine person. There is a deep care and loyalty to his team, a commitment to the industry he serves, and a whole lot of empathy for the modern car buyer. I’m always interested in learning from people who have been through the refining fire of change. One of the main reasons is that those who make it through can teach a thing or two about what it means to innovate. 

As I say, “Innovation is a choice.” It’s a decision that must be made to try something different over and over again. I hope you find some value from this conversation with a seasoned veteran who is still walking through the fire of change and is more committed to innovation than ever. 

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Have you ever had one of those moments where you feel like time has gone by at lighting speed but ALSO at a snail’s pace? I had one of those moments this week as I recorded the 100th episode of the Clarity Compressed Podcast. I’ve had my share of good fortune to land so many great guests and want to make sure you hear from them.

I’ll be revisiting my time with Gary Vaynerchuk, Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia, Claude Silver, Dr. Nicole Lipkin, Guy Kawasaki, Dale Pollak and more in this fun and fast-moving episode. It kind of felt like doing a director’s cut of the entire show from the start.

ALSO, I’ll be doing an interactive LIVE version of this show on LinkedIn Wednesday the 15th at 2 p.m. EST. If you follow me on LinkedIn you will get a notification when we go live and can join the conversation. Hope to see you there!

On behalf of myself, and the entire Clarity Compressed team, I want to thank you for listening, watching, sharing, commenting and encouraging us to keep producing. If there was no ‘you,’ there would be no ‘us’!

. . .

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We’re just getting into the first lap of the new year and it’s time to settle into the practical execution of all those hopes, visions, and goals for 2020. Inspiration is one thing, execution is something else altogether. 

This week I’m brining an illustration that is helping me prioritize and focus…

This year I’m resolved to set the tone for home life and Congruent and I know so many of you have similar trajectories in your world. Regardless of our intentions, life happens, and we get distracted…easily. That is why clearly identifying the BIG “rocks” and doing things that ensure that they stay aligned at the center is critical if you want the results you SAY you want. 

Clarity on the big things, leads to alignment on the small things. 

. . .

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Although I’m not a fan of ‘resolutions’, I am a huge fan of the fresh feeling the new year always brings. And 2020 is a special one. I mean, come on, 2020…Clarity…its like this year was made for me! It’s not only a fresh year, but a fresh decade and a perfect opportunity to reboot your mindset. That being said, I’d like to talk about what I’m going to STOP doing this year. 

Most resolutions fail, however, I believe if you keep things simple and clear, your chances of lasting, positive change are much more likely. You know it’s true. So instead of long lists of aspirational good-intentioned things, just pick 2 simple things to execute: One thing you will STOP doing, and one thing you will START doing. Write them down, put them on your screen saver, make them difficult to get away from and go. 

2019 has been a difficult, but good year and I’m going to be shaking things up quite a bit in 2020 in my personal and professional life, so watch out for some new vibes and tribes coming from me, Congruent, and the entirety of the Clarity Compressed ecosystem. 

May 2020 be a prosperous year filled with an abundance of CLARITY for you and your families!

. . .

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It’s Christmas Eve and the holidays are in full swing, and boy do we need it with all the negativity running a full-out blitzkrieg on our peace. This week I talk about giving over receiving and I’m backed up by our friends at Harvard.

We don’t get to choose when we receive, but we absolutely get to choose when and what we give! I’m also hoping to launch my own little offensive on the negative vibes going around with #complimentAcompetitor

Good-hearted, whole-hearted competition in the marketplace makes us all better and I want to take a moment to compliment one of my worthy competitors and give you a platform to do the same.

So go on your platform of choice (or all of them) and give a warm compliment to one of your competitors. I think we might just be amazed and encouraged at what the result is. And when you do, use the hashtag #complimentAcompetitor

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

. . .

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As I recorded this episode, I was thinking a lot about the practical things of life and business. I don’t know about you, but life and business are often moving so fast that I need to keep things simple if they are going to be usable in my everyday life.

It’s one of the reasons I come up with phrases like “Innovation is a choice,” and put them on a t-shirt. They are simple, but immediately usable reminders of what I believe is true.

This week I talk about three principles I believe can help you in your everyday busyness to help protect you against the lies that hack away at your personal and organizational health and will help keep you centered on true principles.

As we get close to the new year, getting these things straight could make a major difference in 2020.

. . .

Get your copy of my first book at TheAutomotiveManifesto.com

. . .

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This is one you won’t want to miss as I had the chance to sit down with one of the most uniquely gifted entrepreneurs we’ve ever had on the show. It’s the customer-experience wizard author of Find Your Yellow Tux: How to be Successful at Standing Out and the founder/owner of the wild Savannah Bananas Baseball team in Savannah, Georgia.

It’s hard to explain, but it involves an all-grandma dance team, crazy on-field antics, a breakdancing first-base coach, oh…and there’s some really good baseball in there too. All of this led by our guest. Literally. This is what happens when The Greatest Showman decides to make a baseball game the stage.

Don’t let the fun fool you though, Jesse is an entrepreneur through and through. He runs a business. He knows what it’s like to risk it all, mortgage his dream home, and put it all on the line.

I love his story most because he has been able to align an organization in a manner that is different than the way it’s “supposed” to be done. I believe that in many established industries, this mindset is what helps organizations truly gain market share and grow.

I know you’ll enjoy this one.

. . .

Get your copy of my first book at TheAutomotiveManifesto.com

. . .

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