“Gosh honey! I’m so apathetic! Today, I shuffled over to that average deli and ordered myself a dime-a-dozen turkey sandwich. I tell you what, that service there was almost pleasant and the people were just passable and generally tolerable. I think I will go back tomorrow.”
People don’t get excited over average sandwiches and passable service, so why are you running your business the way that you have been told to? The last thing that our current economy needs is more businesses to think like other businesses. We need people unafraid to unleash their ideas.
Check out this video of a guy who refuses definition:
Here are 5 lessons from the video on Pete Carroll:
- Repeated failure is not necessarily an indication that there is something wrong with you. Perhaps, you just have not found what works, or you need to change your definition of failure. Carroll couldn’t win in the NFL and was despised upon entering USC’s campus, but he did not let past failures stop him from pouring himself into new opportunities. What is stopping you from working in the arena that you are most suited for?
- True strength comes from something bigger than you. Your company or your brand has to be a cause. Carroll has been able, through his coaching and mentoring background to give hope to those most in need. He understands that the idea that he is a coach between certain hours and something else later on does not apply. He refuses to serve only himself with his gift. He is serving something bigger.
- Authenticity is not always just a buzzword. Sometimes people really live by who they are, and it has an exponentially huge impact on those around them. I enjoy the interview with the sergeant who is a 13 year veteran of fighting gangs in LA. Even the most rightfully cynical of Carroll had to concede that things were better with Carroll in the picture. That he meant what he said. That he is who he is at all times.
- Play is important. Carroll has a kid-like attitude toward his team. There is no failure in play. It’s always okay to ask “why?” when you play. While some would right it off as hopeless optimism, his attitude of looking for the next exciting thing has given him the freedom to have fun at all times in everything that he does.
- Some people are plain crazy…in a good way. The most successful people I know do things that “normal people” think are unbalanced. Riding around some of Los Angeles’ toughest neighborhoods and handing out your mobile number is remarkable. It is unexpected, radical and powerful. You have to put aside the way that most people see the world. Allow people to see how crazy you are. You will attract the right partners, and you may change their worldview.
TRY THIS ON
What would southern California look like if Carroll saw himself as just a coach?
What would your community or business look like if you stopped allowing conventional boundaries to tell you what is and is not your business? In the time we are in, we don’t need another small business. We need people dedicated to serving others in an authentic way. Small businesses are wonderful employers and excellent for the economy. But, behaving in prescribed patterns will get us nowhere.
It’s time we started thinking of our businesses as ways to reach others in new ways. We need to reawaken our imagination.
ANSWER ME THIS
Do you know anyone who has allowed for their creative imagination to run their business?
- Jeremy Nulik, Creative Energy Officer, St. Louis Small Business Monthly
