Friends of Dave #273: it's raining spiders
Makes much more sense, to live in the present tense.
Switching up the preamble a little bit this week, Friends.
You'll see below some lyrics to a song from Pearl Jam called "Present Tense". Some of you might remember I actually mentioned this song in the intro a few years ago (during the tail end of the COVID lock down).
This week I encountered a number of instances where people I know were focusing on anything BUT what was happening right now. They were obsessively worrying about what might happen to them in the future or consumed with what happened to them in the past.
I was seeing a lot of hang wringing and finger pointing from these colleagues. I was also seeing that the distraction of these ruminations were creating huge problems for each person -- they were unable to get things done as a result.
I also had numerous conversations regarding salespeople who were insisting, despite an existing long list of customers that served as evidence of the contrary, that they couldn't sell the product they had today unless they had a new feature or enhancement added first.
This type of thinking always gets under my skin, Friends. It's a lazy sales excuse, not to mention it positions salespeople more to be viewed as a "product pusher" and less of a "solution seller".
Sure, we ALWAYS want to talk about a shiny new thing -- it's a lot more fun, and usually easier, to sell. But, as salespeople, we have to resist the urge to be distracted by this thinking . We always have to come back to selling what we have TODAY -- it is the ONLY WAY we can make our number. If you allow yourself to get too consumed but what other competing solutions have or what your product doesn't you are sure to get stuck.
Amongst of all of these conversations, I decided to take advantage of some early spring weather and go for a walk to the beach. As I usually do, I popped in my Airpods and fired up my Spotify "Friends of Dave" playlist for a listen on my hour long walk.
That's when this song from Pearl Jam came on. I have heard it so many times over the years, but on this particular day I listened to the lyrics extra carefully -- and felt compelled to share them here.
We have so many reasons to think about everything BUT what is happening to us right now. And yet what is happening right now is the ONLY thing that truly matters. It is the only thing that is real and has impact -- the rest is mental gymnastics for our brains.
Read along below or listen here. Hopefully these words will serve as an inspiring reminder to you (as they did to me) about the importance of resisting the temptation to look past what is happening to you now.
Yes, it makes much more sense to live in the present tense....
_____________________
Present Tense by Pearl Jam
Do you see the way that tree bends?
Does it inspire?
Leaning out to catch the sun's rays
A lesson to be applied
Are you getting something out of this all-encompassing trip?
You can spend your time alone, re-digesting past regrets, oh
Or you can come to terms and realize
You're the only one who can't forgive yourself, oh
Makes much more sense, to live in the present tense
Have you ideas on how this life ends?
Checked your hands and studied the lines
Have you the belief that the road ahead, ascends off into the light?
Seems that needlessly it's getting harder
To find an approach and a way to live
Are we getting something out of this all-encompassing trip?
You can spend your time alone re-digesting past regrets, oh
Or you can come to terms and realize
You're the only one who cannot forgive yourself, oh
Makes much more sense, to live in the present tense
______________________
Friends, I would be remiss if I did not share with you a new favorite account of mine to follow on Instagram -- it is by a guy named Maurice who mounts flat screen TVs in St. Louis. Maurice MOST CERTAINLY lives in the present tense.
If you are not easily offended, you like silly, NSFW humor and appreciate effective, creative marketing, you absolutely need to check out @hisnamemaurice and thank me later. After watching Maurice's videos and his passion for his work, it may make you want to move to the Midwest just to have him mount your new TV for you -- but don't forget the promo code!
Some good stuff for you to check out below too. And...I know this directly contradicts the intro, but.....don't forget to Spring Ahead this Sunday. Daylight Savings Time is upon us.
XOXO
Dave
Think on This...
We’d all like life to be simpler. But we also don’t want to sacrifice our options and capabilities. Here’s how we can rethink simplicity to make it work.
For Your Day Job...
Pretty quick read. Encourages companies to stop looking for silver bullets, stop trying to do big flashy things, and learn how to properly rank ideas that can lead to growth.
How to Sell the Problem Before Selling the Solution How do you convince others of the need for your company? Create the problem and sell the solution.
Pricing Psychology: A List of Tactics In this guide, you'll learn 42 tricks to improve your pricing -- all backed by research and science.
Your Weekly Dose of Randomness...
Mapped: 200 Years of Political Regimes, by Country — www.visualcapitalist.com Only 93 countries enjoy a basic level of democratic rights as of 2020. Find out how political regimes have changed over 200 years.
Giant Joro spiders expected to drop from sky across the East Coast this spring The Joro spider is native to Japan but began infiltrating the U.S. in 2013, concentrating in the southeast and specifically Georgia.
What Is Browser Fingerprinting and How Does It Track You? Cookies are on the way out—but not enough is being done about browser fingerprinting. So what is it?
10 Tips to Get the Most out of a Tank of Gas Consumer Reports gives tips on how to get the most out of a tank of gas and improve your fuel economy as gas prices climb.
And The Last Word....
The curse of sliced bread — unherd.com
Much of what’s distinctively modern about modern life can also be understood as the consequence of waging war on time in the name of productivity. And if this drive for time-saving seems at first to have no downsides, the costs are growing increasingly apparent.
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