Drop the Ball

You’ve booked yourself with a lot of things that sounded reasonable at the time you said “yes” but now they’re all piling up. That voice in your head says, “If I really push, I can get all this done.” The danger is thoughts sow actions, actions sow habits, bad habits sow profound loneliness regardless of finances.

I’ve got too many things going on to write the content for my blog post this week. I thought I’d use this as a practical application of the advice I dole out to my clients. Trim your schedule, say “no”, delegate and it’s OK to drop the ball. Plan on dropping the ball sometimes.

I had a meeting yesterday in downtown Edmond, OK with a prospective client looking for a Business Coach. He seemed to be completely overbooked. All the time. He wants help getting balance in his life with family, rest and his business. Here’s one way you do that. Punt the ball.

I’ve asked my trustworthy Blog Editor, Sam Malone, to take this dropped ball and run with it. I have zero idea what he’s going to write. He may not write anything. He may take the opportunity to mock me as I promised to not edit his content. This train may go off the rails horribly….let’s see what happens.

See you next week.

~Chris

Well, I am going to write something because I don’t think Chris would be too pleased with me if I didn’t. He’s punting the ball and I do have to catch it after all. However, I’m not sure how far I can run with it as I am not a business owner nor do I have much experience in business. But I am sure of one thing and that is the fact that you have to be a creative person to run a business. This is why I admire Chris and his ability to inspire creativity in new business owners.

I am a creative person. I like to write, I like to think, and I like to create things. Creativity is not just limited to the artists. It’s just as important in business. A film director has the vision for how to shoot a movie but there are many other minds on the set helping him to achieve it. It’s the same for the business owner. I would say Chris is the screenwriter in this analogy (let’s pretend this is a low-budget production and studio producers aren’t compromising the vision), since he provides the blueprint for the new business owner just as the screenwriter does for the director of a movie.

Where am I in this? I’m on set. Maybe I’m an assistant director, script supervisor, or camera operator. I’m one of the employees of the business helping the boss get where he wants to go.

Sometimes, as Chris already said, the boss has too much on his plate and he has to delegate some tasks to his employees. Fortunately for Chris, I enjoy writing and I am grateful that he lets me edit his blog posts and has given me a chance now to use my voice.

This leads me to my point.

I believe in the vitality of youth just like the rest of American culture. I mean, it’s not everything. We can still learn more from the older folks and we shouldn’t worship youth as society is prone to do way too often. But it’s important to give the young ones a chance.

Especially now. As a recent college graduate, the unprecedented year that is 2020 could not have come at a worse time. The millennial ennui has been exacerbated this year; young people between 18-29 are back home with their parents more than at any other time.

We’re hungry and bored. Many of us aren’t afraid to work hard either, contrary to popular belief. There is more to life than dancing on TikTok and a lot of us know this. I believe now is the time more than ever to give the young guns a chance. The world is becoming increasingly digitized and virtual and the young people entering the workforce are the ones that can help you tackle these changes head-on.

Even if their experience isn’t what you’re looking for, they can be guided and trained. There’s also the chance that they could offer something completely unexpected that you didn’t even know you needed; something that could improve your business. Everyone has something to say and everyone has to start somewhere to say it. Give them a shot. Hear them out. The young people, especially those who have garnered some wisdom from this year, can teach you something.

That’s my two cents and it may be common sense to some but I say this as someone who has seen firsthand the effects of this crisis. I have many friends out there who are smart and college-educated but can’t seem to stick a landing at a job. It’s tough out there for everyone, but young college graduates are especially feeling the heat.

Chris gave me a shot and now he trusts me enough to write a post for him. I don’t want to get too sappy here, though. Chris has guided me and allowed me to gain experience as a writer and editor.

Now I’m happy to take these skills to other business owners if a blog editor is needed. You can find my email below. I’m young and willing to work just like many other people of my generation.

[email protected]

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