1. Presentation I saw this week (and one BIG takeaway!)…
I was able to get to John Carroll University this week to see a presentation on entrepreneurship. It was the first in a five-part series. My friend, John DiJulius, a business leader and customer service expert, was the keynote speaker, and another friend, Ali Manav, who is also an entrepreneurial expert, was the moderator. It was a great presentation, loaded with nuggets on communication, success, and leadership. The students that were there got a masterclass on what it takes to stand out in today’s business world. I’m glad I went, as I picked up a lot, was inspired, and was impressed with how they put this event together. If you’re local, I would encourage you to attend the four remaining sessions. You can get more info by clicking here. Congrats and thank you to John and Ali for doing such a phenomenal job! One of the nuggets that caught my attention is the importance of listening. Deep listening is becoming a lost art. People want to be heard, but we are too busy either speaking, or thinking about what we are going to say. It takes 0.6 seconds for the brain to process something it hears, yet most people respond to what others are saying in 0.2 seconds. This means that we are formulating thoughts on what to say next instead of listening fully. Deep listening is a human skill that increases our likability, makes others feel important, creates a stronger bond between two people, and… will NOT be duplicated by artificial intelligence. DiJulius played a quick clip that highlights the power of making others feel important rather than trying to get others to realize how important we are. Here is that clip…
2. Words I love…
I love the words personal best (also referred to as PB), which usually refers to a person’s absolute best performance in an athletic event. I love it because it measures your progress against yourself. I also like it because it does not have to be limited to sports… you should be striving for your personal best in every area of life. And rather than competing against or comparing yourself to others, you should be competing against yourself… working each day to be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday. What personal best can you achieve this next week???
3. Incredible dessert I had…
Last week, in Fort Lauderdale, Lana and I had some great meals. One thing that stood out was the carrot cake at Truluck’s. Best carrot cake we have ever had. It is made entirely from scratch, in-house. They drizzle the butterscotch syrup topping over it at the table, and then sprinkle candied pecans over the top. Was it low in sugar? Nope. Was it organic? Nope. Was is gluten-free? Nope. Was it healthy? Nope. Did I care? NOPE! Was it delicious? YEP! Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY! Best carrot cake EVER!!! Why am I sharing this? Because being healthy and living the wellness lifestyle does not mean never eating sweets or indulging occasionally. Life is short! Eat well most of the time… and splurge once in a while. (Thanks, Craig and Tracy H. for the restaurant recommendation!)
