Ducky's blog

Fear, uncertainty and doubt are great motivators. There's no doubt about it. People are shaped by their fears. Our fears keep us from realizing our dreams and prevent us from changing bad habits. They say the fear of job loss in North America is the single greatest fear among men. It is greater than the fear of dying or losing our spouse. Now think about that. Our deepest fears are related to job loss. Doesn't it make sense then that the positive and negative things that happen at work potentially weigh on our subconscious minds? Doesn't it make sense then that our jobs poetentially shape who we are? Our only defence then is to learn to accept this fear and take responsibility for it. By doing this, we take control over our single greatest motivator.

If you allow your feelings about who you are to rise and fall with your successes and failures at work, you're lost. You have to move beyond that inherent childish desire for approval, recognition, and acceptance. You have to move beyond your fear of disapproval, dismissal, and criticism. You have to see it like it is: a business with nothing whatsoever to do with how you feel about yourself. Your successes and failures are just the rise and falling of the business yo-yo. You are holding the string by choosing to be there. When you go home at night leave your yo-yo on your desk and bring home the good humour. There's always good humour.

A leader is someone who goes before us to show the way. They avail us of our fears. They take risks on our behalf. They keep our best interests at heart. They weather our criticisms. They inspire us to co-operate. Great leaders are above position or title. There only real reward is in knowing they did the right thing. People like Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Martin Luther. Like Martin Luther, I also have a dream: that this nation will one day see another great leader who cares about the fundamental values of Peace, Love, and Happiness for all men.

When I look back on the jobs I've had, there's one regret common to them all. Why didn't I trust my instincts and believe in myself earlier? That's it. I could have had so much more fun, and accomplished my goals with much less worry and effort, if I had just believed in my instincts and acted upon them.

I once worked for a complete and utter pig. He was such an idiot that he took me around the office on the day I quit and pointed at all the beautiful women who worked there, like they were his own personal harem. You're gonna miss all this pal, is what he said, as if I had a personal satisfying sexual relationship with all of them. All I could think was you are a loser, and I walked out the door.

Moving on, letting go, forgiving and forgetting, is harder than it sounds.  When someone slights you, or betrays your trust, the urge to seek revenge is almost blinding.  But don't do it.  Take care of your business interests and move on as a gift to yourself.  The old adage is one of the great truisms:  Living well is the best revenge.  The secret to living well at work is moving on from your negative experiences and feelings and refocusing on your goals.

Knowing your place is one of the fundamental lessons in business. Know your role. Know your boss and their patterns of behaviour. Know your industry. Know how your competitors work. Know how your colleagues work. Know your own skills and setbacks. Know how you are measured. Know where the value proposition lies for your internal and external customers. Know the politics of the organization in which you work. Know the personal ties between the power players.

I once asked a colleague of mine about how I should handle a situation that directly involved him. I put him in a position where he needed to hurt himself in order to help me. Of course, he decided to help himself and strongly discourage me to such a degree that I decided to withdraw my case altogether, for fear of damaging our friendship. The mistake I made was going to him at all for business advice.

If you don't love what you do, then you shouldn't do it. Ask any great person who has achieved all they ever dreamed of and more. The secret is in loving what you do, regardless of all the practical advice in the world. If you don't love it, you won't last.

The bottom line is that you need to know why you're there. Is it money? Is it reputation? Is it to get out of the house? Is it to make friends? Whatever it is, you need to keep that reason foremost in your mind. I like to call it a personal corporate mission statement. Mine is real simple. I go to work everyday to support my family. It's that simple for me: work to live a beautiful family life.

The place where I fall down is when I forget. Even for a milisecond, when you foreget, you suffer. The distractions and temptations in the great big work world can cause you to lose sight of your goals. When it happens you're vulnerable.

I remember when I first started in business. My primary goal was to be a VP. I felt that I was headed for was the corner office. No one would stand in my way. I had the talent, the schooling, and the drive to get to that place where everyone respected me.

I went on my merry way doing what I thought I needed to do to get there, until one day a street smart Italian salesman asked me why. What is it that you value most, he asked. After a long conversation, he helped me realize that, if I hoped to be happy, free, and peaceful, that I should do a lot more thinking about where I wanted to be. He said watch what these VP's do. All of them. Do you want to do that?