Tag: Florida

Wisdom

What is wisdom and why is it so valuable?

Are you wise?  Am I wise?  How do any of us really know?

While I may or may not be wise, I do work very hard to take what I teach and use it personally.  Why?  Two reasons.  To show how common sense ideas can be applied anywhere and because it actually makes my life better.  Period.

Simple example, but I encourage you not to be tempted to dismiss it’s significance.  I never capitalize my name.  That’s a whole other story waiting to be told.

Back to the questions and the point.

What is wisdom?  How about this thought:

“In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia.”  —  anonymous

WOW!

Seriously, wow!

A few weeks ago (here’s the link if you want instant access: www.junglejeff.net/?p=257 ), I wrote a post that contained the essence of this quote.

Do you know how long I lived my life strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia?

Wwwwaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy too long.

Now, not so much.  Not perfect by any means.  Never will be.

But!

But, I am more razor-focused on World-Class delivery and content than ever.  Razor-focused.

I often wonder what took me so long to figure out the difference in results, when I’m razor-focused, compared to when I was loyal to performing daily acts of trivia.

Make it a GREAT, razor-focused day, because if you don’t, who will.  Carpe diem, jungle jeff  🙂

PS.  Tomorrow, the story of no caps. Maybe.

Saturday, short and sweet

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” — Walt Disney

“If you think you can or you think you can not, you are right.” — Henry Ford

“If your goal isn’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough.” — jungle jeff  🙂

Carpe diem, and have a GREAT weekend.

Do you love what you do?

Do you love what you do?

Ever heard, “Do what you love and you’ll never have to work another day in your life?”

I hope you love what you do.  Where I work, we strive to hire people for positions they will most likely enjoy and are naturally suited for.

It’s called “right-fit talent”.

My wife spent ten years in a very large employment office in Central Florida. I conducted hundreds of interviews myself. So, I know the process intimately.

Want a simple answer? One that’s so easy, even a caveman can understand?

Hire people in positions where they “get to do” more than they “have to do”. It’s unsophisticated and maybe even too simple for senior HR professionals who have their own corporate HR jargon.

Do you “get to do” more than you “have to do“? How about the people who work for you and/or report to you?

Make it a GREAT day, because if you don’t, who will? If you’re a leader, the people around you are looking for “cool, calm, collected – optimistic, hopeful, inspiring“. Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

Danny and Adam are C-Level potentials

Danny and Adam have passion.

How do you know?

All you have to do is watch and listen. That’s what I did last night with my family. Watched and listened.

What does this have to do with you?

Everything!

Please, let me say it one more time, and this time I’ll shout it, “EVERYTHING!”

Thirteen finalists. One will become the next American Idol and sell millions of “records” (downloads). It’s like winning an Olympic gold medal, sort of.

Two stood out far and away the most passionate. Singing and performing are in their heart and soul! Like an unstoppable force of nature – a tornado, a hurricane, a tsunami. Unstoppable, and all-powerful.

This makes me wonder what it takes to be world-class.

To be a world-class leader, speaker, father, follower, friend, visionary, athlete, singer….

“Dude“, I say to myself, “do you inspire yourself so much that others want to be a part of it”?

I feel good about my progress toward the “yes” answer.

Do you?

Please know, as I always say, there is no judgement here on whether or not someone is good or not good. What’s being played out here, are the challenges I set before myself. And so, I’m inviting you to set these challenges before yourself. But only if you have the desire to be excellent. Okay?

(And you know what else? If you’re not sure where you fall in this environment, then I gently invite you to follow along at a distance comfortable to your situation. And, when and if you’re ready, or not ready, you can decide to be in, or to be out. It’s absolutely your choice.)

Excellent and world-class are the highest levels of difficulty, and I often confront the question, “Why are you concerned about it”? My inner voice says, “You must make great sacrifices to be excellent and world-class”.

Yes!

And, you make great sacrifices when you don’t push yourself to be all you can be, so that you can offer others all you can offer them.

This is called regret. And I believe it is much worse than sacrifice.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

Make it a GREAT, PASSIONATE day, because if you don’t, who will? Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

Walt Disney was “crazy”

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely source.

Do you ever find this to be true?

It’s like a gift, right under our nose, waiting to be unwrapped.

Except for one thing.

We rarely take notice.

Walt Disney spent a lifetime teaching his associates to pay attention to the smallest of details.  Details so “insignificant” that some would say, “Walt, that’s too much perfection.  The audience won’t see that kind of perfection“. Many people thought Walt Disney was crazy because of his obsession with small details.

Walt would shoot back, “They may not see perfection, but they can feel it“.

Little details.  Little gifts, so to speak.

Insignificant details that become redundant, and most would avoid the effort, because it would cost too much or take too long.

And the payoff?  Nothing. The Guests will never notice.

That was the genius of Disney’s founder, Walt Disney.

It’s every Leader’s duty to keep that genius alive at The Walt Disney Company.

This past Sunday, my wife, son, and I enjoyed a few late afternoon hours at Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water park.  It was 85 degrees and sunny.  Palm trees and tropical flowers everywhere.

We had a wonderful afternoon.

Later that night, as I was cleaning off the countertop, putting away my wallet, keys, and receipts, I noticed something.

A small detail.

On our admission pass was Minnie Mouse, smiling like she always does.  That wasn’t actually the small detail.

What really caught my attention were the two words on either side of Minnie.

“CELEBRATE EVERYDAY!”

So, that’s exactly what I did today.

And you know what else?

Can’t wait to do it all over again tomorrow.

Disney Parks ARE the Happiest places on Earth.  How cool is that?