Okay, Friends — a few of you reached out directly to me following my preamble from last week. I figured I would set the record straight for everyone.
Yes, Cocaine Bear delivered as advertised. It was a throwback movie that offered a hypothetical, comedic and horrific look at what could happen if a bear did a lot of someone else’s lost cocaine. Nothing deeper or more complicated than that.
And by all accounts it has been a success with the receipts to prove it.
So why wait to see it streaming? Go to a crowded movie theater with some friends and loved ones and join in the completely stupid fun so you can tell your co-workers at your weekly check-in that you actually did.
And now, back to our regular programming….
As I have mentioned here before, occasionally I’ll get pinged by an FoD wondering if a particular preamble is specifically about them or about an interaction I had with them at one time or another.
Now the timing of this intro is a little funny because it could imply to some that, in fact, the Cocaine Bear is among the Friends of Dave. While that would thrill me to no end, I can assure you that is not the case.
Seriously though, my answer to anyone who asks me (except, apparently my buddy Terence Yarde, who seems to be on a tear recently with mentions in both the email and LinkedIn versions of the newsletter) is the same:
It ain’t about you.
No matter how much you are convinced it is, I’m telling you it ain’t.
The majority of these preambles are a result of a pattern of things I am thinking about or seeing in a given moment — not just one thing. So if you did or said something that happens to intersect with a topic of an intro, it likely is more coincidence than catalyst. I hate to break the news — it ain’t about you.
I share this, because I have recently observed how important it is for all of us to remind ourselves of this in our daily lives.
We can all fall victim to misinterpreting the behaviors or actions of others as something that is a direct result of what we did or said. We see subliminal messages in word choices or silence or looks that lead us to believe that the other person is somehow dissatisfied with us. We allow our own insecurities to fill in gaps in communication and distort the truth. We take things personally.
You know what I am talking about.
Maybe the grocery check out person gives you a look when you have a full cart. The barista isn’t friendly to you when they serve up your soy latte. Maybe someone, out of nowhere, cuts you off on the highway. Maybe an old friend hasn’t texted in a while. Your teenager is a complete jerk to you when you ask them to do something. A family member doesn’t send you a birthday card. Perhaps a co-worker takes a tone in an email or meeting that seems “off.” Your boss cancels a meeting with you and doesn’t talk to you for a few days.
When this happens, just remind yourself, it ain’t about you.
No matter how much you are convinced it is, I’m telling you it ain’t.
The fact is, other people give so much less thought about you and what you do on a daily basis than you think. The majority of the time people are way too wrapped up dealing with their own sh*t to be thinking about you and your stupid sh*t.
Frankly, the only person that might think about you as much as you think they do is your mother. And that’s if you are lucky. Even moms have their own sh!t too.
When we are feeling good about ourselves, this isn’t a problem. But in moments of weakness or when we are feeling insecure we allow our negative thoughts to compound things.
So don’t take everything so personally. Don’t get paranoid about things happening around you that you can’t control. Don’t read into the looks, the silence, the road rage and make it about you when it simply is not. It just doesn’t do you any good.
It ain’t about you.
No matter how much you are convinced it is, it just ain’t.
Wow, and just like that, March Madness is right around the corner, Friends. Days are getting longer. Q12023 is coming down the home stretch. Let’s finish strong!
XOXO
Dave
Think on This…
Research shows that people who perform random acts of kindness do not always realize how much of an impact they are having on another individual. In fact, they consistently and systematically underestimate how others value these acts.
For Your Day Job…
That brings me to my main point, which I suppose is that Netflix SEEMINGLY WENT OUT OF ITS WAY TO LOSE ME AS A CUSTOMER. It could’ve just kept chugging along, making “Vikings: Valhalla,” and I would’ve kept paying them. But instead, it’s rocking the boat, and can’t leave well enough alone.
How do strategy, vision, mission, goals, and roadmap all work together? Where should you start? Good quick read showing you how to tie it all together.
Your Weekly Dose of Randomness…
The infographic above uses data from EIU to rank the world most and least expensive cities to live in. To make the list, the EIU examines 400+ prices for over 200 products and services in 172 cities, surveying a variety of businesses to track price fluctuations over the last year.
Here are the most maligned buildings in the world, judged by the language that people are using about them on social media.
Everyone knows that childbirth isn’t easy. But what if pregnant patients could simply strap themselves to a table, spin at a high speed, and propel the baby out?
When Nicholas Yung wouldn't sell his land to railroad baron Charles Crocker, Crocker built a 40-foot fence around his house and blotted out the sun.