This won't be a long post, but it is an important one.

At this point, we are over 4 months into the Wuhan Coronavirus being unleashed on the world.  Every aspect of life has been impacted and in many cases turned upside down.  A lot of people when this first began, thought that it would come and go rather quickly and things would go back to normal. 

I hoped for that, but at the same time I sat back and mentally prepared.  I asked myself, what I would do if this went on for 6 months, a year, 2 years, etc?  What if things never got back to being the same and in the midst of it all, the world changed, the way business is done changed - basically, what if everything got turned upside down?  Would I be able to handle it?  Would I be able to adapt?  What would I need to do and prepare myself and my businesses to do?

You may have asked some of the same questions.  And as we get into the 5th month of lockdowns, business shutdowns, riots, and general unease throughout the world, it is most important to remember one thing.

Stay Strong!

I see a lot of people beginning to crack or even break under the pressure, fear, uncertainty, and changes to their lives and businesses.  As entrepreneurs, we must lead the way.  Change and dealing with problems and and challenges are our every day lives.  And yes, now we are throwing in the virus and all this other stuff - but we must remain and stand strong.  We must prepare for things to go longer and be worse than we ever thought and at the same time, power through it.  

Entrepreneurs were made for these times and we are the ones who will help pull the world out of it.  We will do it with our will, our faith, our spirit, and never give up attitude.  I just wanted to remind you of this.  Stay strong, endure, and keep pushing.  These times will eventually fade to different and better ones - just be prepared to keep going until those times come.

Sometimes we just need to be reminded of reality and the facts of life.  No matter how much we keep them at bay or seek to change them, there are certain truths that will win out over time.  And there are certain truths that when we live by them have proven to make us more successful, happier, and free'er in our lives.

I was thinking about this the order day in the midst of much of the chaos around the world and started making this list.  While it's not complete and something I will probably noodle on for a while, I wanted to share it with you.  I hope it will spur you to think critically and differently and question what is being hailed as "normal" in our lives.

1. Personal responsibility is one of the greatest things we can do for our success, happiness, and freedom.  We must take responsibility for our actions and our decisions.  Everything we do is a choice that we make - and we alone are responsible for that choice.  The sooner we come to grips with this the better.  And once we do, we will make better choices for ourselves.  We can blame others, blame situations, blame society, blame whatever, but in the end it's always just us and our individual choices, good or bad that shape our lives.  It is that simple.
2. Beware making decisions based solely on emotion and not logic.  The best decisions balance both.
3. The greatest power you have is your individuality.  It is each person's uniqueness and individual desire that creates greatness.  Don't rely on others or a group to give you your personal power - you will be disappointed.  When you are not allowed to be who you truly are because you must conform to a group and/or group-think, you lose the opportunity to be your best self.  Don't give up this greatest of personal power.
4. Your beliefs lead to your thoughts/feelings which lead to your actions, and your actions determine your results.  When was the last time you thought deeply on what you believe?
5. Your chances of being alive are 1 in 4 TRILLION!  It's basically a mathematical impossibility.  You are a miracle and the fact that you are here means that trillions of others that might have been - are not.  Cherish your life and make the most of it.
6. Don't say things you do not believe.  You hurt yourself and those around you when you do.
7. If you take care of your body and your health, it will take care of you and improve your quality of life.
8. Be the same person you are alone when you are with others.  Don't change who you are or be someone different based on who you are with.  Be YOU.
9. Most people are not victims - they pretend to be for personal gain.  True victims require our compassion and help and we should give it to them - but we should never play to the role of the victim in our lives.

One of the things that is very evident in today's world is the lack of a major and very important skill for success and for life in general.  Maybe, it is because of the fast paced nature of life.  Or maybe, it is because it is not discipline concentrated on in schools.  Or maybe yet, it is not something taught at home because parents never learned to master it or practice it.

The skill I'm talking about?  Emotional control.  

Emotional control, or Emotional Intelligence as is often called, is one of the most impactful skills to learn in your life.  

Most people do not learn to control their emotions.  Instead, they just "react" to a situation impulsively.  They don't take the time to study and understand where that reaction comes from and why it exists.  If they did, they may find that it is not the reaction they truly would like to have.  And that is why so many times people will react and do something only to regret it later or ask themselves "Why did I do that?"

It's because of lack of control over their emotions.  And is the lack of this skill that I believe is responsible for many of the problems in people's lives and in society.  So, why isn't more attention placed on it?  Because it's hard.  It's hard to understand.  It's hard to teach.  And most importantly, it is damn hard work to put emotional control into practice.  It is so much easier to be emotionally lazy and just react.  

Case in point.  Just recently, a member of one of my sales teams was working with a client on a specific solution.  We work with a number of partners in our business and some offer similar solutions.  We are careful that when we refer a new client, we give the information for all of them so that they have a chance to showcase why they should be the provider for the client. 

In this case, the client was already a client of one of our partners, but the solution they asked my sales person was not a solution provided by that partner.  In fact, we only have one partner that can and does provide what the client wanted.  So, the sales person did what was best for the client and let them know that we could do the solution through the other partner.  There was no maliciousness.  There was not intent to hurt the current partner that does not provide the solution.  In fact, they client would have been happy to use both solutions for their needs.

So what happened?  When the CEO of partner that was currently in use at the client found out that the sales person had referred their "competitor," they went ballistic.  They sent a scathing note to the sales person that was unprofessional and copied in my business partner and CEO.  When they sales person responded stating that the client wanted a solution that the partner company did not provide and that they were doing their best to take of the client's needs, the partner showed not understanding and doubled down - even threatening some extreme action like cutting off service for all existing clients.

This was obviously an emotional reaction with made up assumptions for what was really a non-issue.  The client needed a solution and in doing what is best for them, the sales person helped them.  There was no threat to the partner's business or in losing the client as it was a very specific solution that they did not provide.  Nevertheless, it caused a major uproar where things were put into writing in an email by the CEO of the partner that have damaged the relationship permanently as I will not do business with someone that treats people, especially my employees in that way.

This situation could have easily been avoided, if instead of just emotionally reacting, the CEO just did two things, 1.) Gave the benefit of the doubt and 2.) Gave me a ring.  They should have controlled their emotions and asked themselves, "Is this company who I have worked with for years without issue and that has referred me business, really trying to take clients away from me? "  If they had asked that, they would have come to the conclusion that is probably not likely.  Secondly, all this CEO had to do was call me and say, "Dave, I don't want to believe this, but "scenario" happened and I want to know if you are taking clients from me."  At that point, we could have discussed it and come up with a way to handle the situation together as true partners.  Since an instance like this is rare, we could have mutually agreed how we could handle it in the future.  I would explained how I understand their point of view on it and worked with them to create a better outcome and better partnership for the future.

But, no.  Instead, lack of emotional control has hurt the possibility for that to happen as when I reached out to discuss it, the CEO just reacted and shut me down.  They had made up their mind - even though their facts and assumptions were wrong.  And that is how easily lack of emotional control can mess things up.  I have no doubt that we will find a way to get things back on track with this partner, because regardless of this incident, we both need to do what is best for our clients.  But, the whole incident was unnecessary and could have been avoided.

Learn to control your emotions.  Learn to recognize them and choose your reactions so that you don't react off of assumption or partial information.  Use logic and work through your challenges.  You'll be much more successful in all areas of life.

Sometimes, we just need a little inspiration and a good video with a uplifting message is one of the best ways to get it.  Below are 3 of my favorite inspiration videos I want to share with you.  Enjoy!