Beliefs, knuckleheads and looking for love in all the wrong places

Can I buy you a coffee?
No, thank you. I'm going to have a tea.

Ok, can I buy you a tea?
Sure can. How's business going?

It's going well. But it would be better if I could find good employees. People today don't want to work anymore.
Are you sure about that?

Yes. Every time we post a job ad, we get 15 resumes. Out of those, only 7 accept an interview. We try to interview all 7, but only 4 show up. Then out of those interviewed, we choose the best one.
And how does the chosen employee work out?

We're looking for his replacement within six months.
Sounds like you hired the wrong person.

Agreed, but we're scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Can I help you?

I'm going to have an Americano and a tea...
Green Tea please...

Uh ok, an Americano and a Green tea please.

What size?
Medium?
Yes medium is fine...
Ok, make that two mediums please

So you're having problems finding good workers?
Yes, but I believe it's because no one wants to work anymore?

Be careful of your thoughts?
It's just the truth. We haven't had any luck at all.

Let's flip it around at you.
What?

Are you a good worker?
That's not fair.

But it is. You consider yourself a good worker. If you were looking for work, wouldn't your boss be lucky to have you?
Yes, but...

There's no buts in this. You haven't found the right worker for your business, so you blame the market. You blame the people you hired. When in fact, you should blame your poor selection techniques, your poor marketing skills in acquiring new talent, or your gut instinct in detecting the right candidate.
So you're saying I'm the problem with hiring.

Bingo.

Medium Americano and Medium Green Tea
Thanks, can we continue this conversation.
Sure, I have a few minutes.

I disagree that I'm the problem, but for purposes of the conversation, let's say I agree.
Let's try to make this clearer for you.

Why is Westjet airlines successful?
The employees are owners.

Wow that was quick. Are you sure about that?
Yes, the employees act differently because they own stock in the company. They work together to make more money. It's actually pretty simple.

So if it's that simple, why don't all companies make employees shareholders?
Well it doesn't work easily for most companies. Westjet is a public company. They issue shares on the Stock Exchange. My company is privately held. I don't want...

Let me stop you. It has little to do with ownership. The employees are awesome because they were already awesome in some other job. Westjet found them through their recruitment process. They have a smart selection criteria in which they refuse to negotiate on organizational culture.

I still think it has to do with ownership.
Let me give you a simple example to squash that. Westjet's competitors also issue shares to employees, but it has little to no effect.  Attitude can not be trained. I can teach a lot of things, but I have never been able to teach someone to care. Westjet looks for people who ALREADY care.

Ok, ok. So it works for Westjet, but it can't work for me. My business cannot afford to pay more than $20 per hour.

Again, you think that compensation is based on the quality of the person you can find. It's not true. The best employee I ever hired was paid minimum wage. They stayed for 4 years.
Four years. Wow. I wish I could get them to stay for one year.

See, money has little effect on finding good people.
So let's say you're right. How do you find good people?

Start with yourself.
What?

You said you were a good worker.
Yes, but I can't do any more work. I'm already busy with day to day management of my business.

I get it, but if you were looking for work, anyone would be lucky to hire someone like you. Right?
Of course.

Then hire yourself.
I'm not following.

Unconsciously, you're doing it already. You're looking for yourself, but you're advertising in the wrong places and most likely the wrong way. Tell me about your best hire.

That's funny you say that. The best guy I ever hired was a hard worker. He'd leave his phone in the truck to get the work done. He was tech savvy, and would ask for more work when his initial tasks were done. He got along with everyone. Never once did I have to talk to him about his attitude. He was a nice guy.

Sounds a bit like you...
Oh my...He was exactly like me. Just 20 years younger. I even told my wife that I saw him as the son I never had.

See? You saw yourself in him. Why did he leave?
I think he decided to go back to school.

So you already hired yourself once. Just go do it again.
Just? Easier said then done. It was complete luck that I found him the first time. Besides, when I need to hire people, I need them immediately. I can't sit around and wait for 6 months to get the next ideal employee. Time is money.

Then don't sit around and wait. Use a belief based marketing technique to find "mini you's" in your employee search.
What? I don't understand.

You're looking for love in all the wrong places.
Love, huh?

Do you think you could find the love of your life in a dirty, grungy bar.
Of course, but it's rare.

Exactly, because everyone has a different agenda. And the two of you will likely be back in the bar in six months looking for love again, with someone else. Listen closely to the lyrics of the song. It's the story of your hiring experience.

So what's this belief based thing-a-majig?

Detail out your beliefs as it relates to work. Don't describe the job as much as describe the type of person you're looking to hire.
You mean like strong, good attitude, works well with others.

No. That's all bullshit. Everyone wants that. And every candidate will say they are those things to get a job. If they need money, they'll do almost anything to get the job.
So what do you mean?

Go deeper by starting with yourself or better yet, by describing that great employee you just told me about.
Huh. I'm not following.

Ok, let me give you a couple of lines in your next job ad.
Awesome.

We believe:
Work is sometimes hard, but it never has to go unappreciated.
Our phones should stay in the truck while work is being done.
All people, including the biggest jerks, should be treated with respect.
Karma is a bitch, so we work hard not to upset her.

What? I'll never get any resumes with that ad.
Not true. You'll get some, but not as many as you used to. This ad will eliminate many of the deadbeats that you're trying to avoid anyways.

Ok, let's say you're right and I only get 2 resumes. I know I need 15 resumes to find one employee.
Not true. You need one resume to find one employee. The chances will be extremely high that the two resumes received will be from qualified candidates.

So I don't have to do interviews anymore? I hate doing them anyways.
No not at all. This isn't a perfect science. There's still the "knucklehead" factor. Some undesirable employees can still slip through the cracks, so doing an interview removes those knuckleheads.

Knuckleheads?
Yeah, people who need a job and will say they are whatever you want them to be.

So once I get the resumes, what do I do next?
Email them to tell them you received their resume. Then ask them to CALL you for an interview.

Are you nuts? People have a hard time to show up half the time. Now you want them to call me for an interview?
Yes. Do you agree actions speak louder than words?

Of course.
One of your beliefs is "All people should be treated with respect". Isn't the definition of respect returning messages, either email or phone?

Uh, yes.
There you go. If they don't call you, they weren't that interested or they lack the respect factor you're looking for. You could even include it as a belief if you wanted. Something like, "Respect for others includes, returning calls and emails within 24 hours"...

I won't have any applications if I do this.
Henry Ford said, "If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right". If you don't think this will work then you should keep doing what you've been doing.

I'm ready for change. But have you done this before?
Yes, I don't share any secrets I haven't done myself. I used belief based marketing in a job ad ten years ago. I needed five employees. Three of them were still there when I sold the business four years later.

Wow. Is it that easy?
Ask yourself a simple question, "Are there any 20 year olds, who think like you, looking for the things you believe in".

I think so.
Then go find them. You've been looking in the wrong place for the right person.

You've given me a lot to think about. Have a great day.
Thanks for the tea.

Don't be the dog. Be the car.

Life was good. 

Working on another project, the edge of the horizon was sharp.

A plan of action was set.

Summoning the winds, the bell dinged on the computer.

It wasn’t expected.

It was dismissed. 

As well as the person behind the email. 

She wanted time and/or money, was the thought.

She persisted. 

And she was dismissed a second time. 

It can’t be good, another thought screamed.

And she persisted again. 

I gave her my number.

Two minutes later, the phone vibrated. 

Wow, she didn't get the message.

I was not getting the message.

The wind had changed without notice. 

We agreed to meet.

The opportunity was ok, but not exciting.

We met, and my interest scattered away.

I told my wife I wasn’t moving forward. 

It wasn't of interest. It couldn’t give what we wanted.

The hurricane was pushing hard in my direction.

The phone rang again. 

The business was ours. 

I was still ready to back out. 

Until the realization of everything was arriving as was asked. 

Just in a different form.  

Without persistence, it wouldn’t have happened. 

Not mine, but someone else's.

  

I was AWARE of the business.

I did not chase it.

It chased me.

The world came to me as I made other plans.

The world gave exactly what I wished.

I sit here thinking about success.

And how this success came to be.

Learning from success is as important as learning from failure.

So I sit here and share lessons for my own benefit as well as yours.

Letting go is the key.

Dogs don’t catch the cars they chase.

Don’t be the dog.

Be the car.

Let others chase you.

And they will chase.

Observe and witness.

The winds will change in your favour.

You have no control over it.

Don’t force it.

Embrace it when it comes.

And the result you ask for will come to you,

In a form you won't expect.

Happiness, superpowers, and races that can't be won

Do you ever do any work?
What do you mean?

I see you in your "office" posing as a coffeeshop at least three days per week. When do you do any "real" work?
Don't misinterpret the definition of office work in today's world. Some of us work at the beach, some of us work at home. Some sit in stuffy offices, and some enjoy a tea at the coffeeshop.

No real work gets done here, right. It's just pontification, meetings and responding to emails.
If I told you that I worked on a multi-million dollar acquisition last week at this table, would you believe me?

Are you not afraid of secret information getting out?
Nope, 90% of people don't care to know any details. Another 9% will forget them within 2 minutes of hearing them. So only 1% of people will care enough to remember the details. The chances are slim to none they are within ear shot of my conversation at the coffeeshop.

So the information could be heard and used against you.
I guess, but I don't live my life that way. Life's too short to worry what a competitor might do to hurt my dealings.

But they could.
Sure they could. But it hasn't happened yet. So why worry about things that might come.

Let's change the conversation, I have a question?
I hope it's better than "do you ever do any work?".

Umm. Hope so. How do you find a business to buy when all you do is sit in a coffeeshop all day? I have been looking for 3 years and haven't found anything interesting yet.
That's a great question. Start with your superpower and work out from there.

Superpower? I'm lost.
There's something you're great at. Maybe even one of the greatest in the world. It's the thing your creator gave you to exploit.

I don't have a superpower.
I don't believe you. It takes a rite of passage like failure to force it to emerge.

So I need bad things to happen to me to learn how to be successful.
Not always, but most of time. If you have success in your first business, you won't appreciate how special it is and will likely screw it up.

Ok, so let's say I fail along the way and I realize my superpower. Then what?
You learn from your mistakes. You grow and you become an expert in your field of influence.

Forget the superpower stuff. How do YOU buy a business?
I know where my edge is.

What is an edge?
I have made a lot of mistakes and I've had some success. The mistakes taught me what I should not do again, so I try not to make the same mistakes.

Do you have a formula for success?
Yes. Make mistakes.

Edge, mistakes, superpowers... I don't want to make mistakes, I can't afford to.
You can't afford not to. The men who are the greatest success stories can write books about their massive failures. It's almost impossible to be successful without passing through the door of failure.

I feel we're going in circles. Outside of mistakes and knowing your superpower, how do you do it?
Have you ever heard of Cafe Jomama?

I think it was a small cafe on the other side of town, but I never went there. And I think it closed.
Yes it did. That was my first business. I loved it. But I made a huge mistake. I didn't anticipate the time it took to build a clientele from scratch to profitability. And I built an extremely nice cafe that was uncomfortable to the average person.

Isn't nice better? Don't customers want nice environments to enjoy their coffee?
That's what I thought at the time, until a wise businessman told me that the nicer you make your restaurant, the smaller the target audience will be.

That makes sense. So what's your superpower?
I have a formula for success.

Will you share?
I can but you won't believe me.

Sure I will, I respect your experience and knowledge.
Ok. Let me change the conversation. How long have you been married?

Ah, about 4 years.
Can you share with the success of your marriage?

I don't know if it's successful. We're still married and haven't killed each other yet. It's just one day at a time. Learning from mistakes and not royally screwing up our bond is the key, I think.

When will you know you're successful?
Not sure, maybe when we're old and have grandchildren eating all of the ice cream in the freezer.

Is there a race to a successful marriage?
No, it's just living and trying to be happy.

Exactly. The same goes for business. Try not to make mistakes, but when you do, fix them as quickly as possible. Learn from them and keep going forward so future generations can benefit from your work.

But I need a certain income to survive and if I get into the wrong business, I could lose everything.
What do you really have?

A house, a couple of cars and a cottage.
You also have mortgages and car loans.

Yeah, but if I'm not making money, I could lose them.
Sure could. But don't forget, that the bank doesn't want those things. They want your money that you promised them. Stop paying and they will look to recover as much of their money as they can.

Exactly, the reason I can't afford to fail.
So you're more connected to the things you have than the life you want...

Huh?
You want to get into business, but you're not willing to sacrifice the material things you currently control. I'm not saying you'll be successful but I am saying that if you don't TRY, you can never HAVE.

There is no race to success in business. Of course we all want to be successful. But success is not about money. Money is a result. It helps but it's about doing the things that make us happy. I have a friend who has been talking about retiring from her job since she was 30 yrs old. How can you live a happy life when 40 hours of your week are spent in misery? 30 years of looking toward death is not my idea of fun.

Ok, so hanging out in coffeeshops make you happy?
No. Talking to people like you fills me. Writing about these conversations thrill me. And coaching my operations people to increase profitability feeds me. All while I travel, look for new businesses to buy and spend time with my kids makes me happy.

I get it, so you're superpower is not having to work in a business yet understanding how to make it profitable.
You're getting warmer.  I'm sorry, I have to let you go, I'm about to get on a conference call with one of managers.

One last question, "What's the secret formula"?
There is no universal secret formula. Just like a marriage, what works for me, may not work for you. There's too many moving parts. You have to figure it out for yourself. You'll find your way, if you're willing to try and make mistakes. And if you're not willing to fail, you better hope the race you're running can be won.

Huh?
Let's say you're making $100,000 per year in your job. The company lays you off due to poor sales. You're out of work and can't get another similar job. What happens to your savings? What happens to your house? What happens to your reputation?

I would lose everything.
Yes, the race you think you're running is not your race. So the thing you're afraid of could happen anyways.  When you come to the realization that everything you work for could be gone with something out of your control, you look at your life and your future differently. The assumption is always that you can be employed somewhere else. You are smart and someone else would be happy to have you. And you're probably right. But what if you're wrong? You end up in the same place that you fear the most. All the while doing stuff that doesn't make you happy, waiting for retirement like my friend.

How do you know this?
Because I was there. Not wanting to lose the race. Until someone made a decision out of my control that turned everything upside down. Looking back on it, I don't get here if I don't lose that job.

But you're making more money.
Not sure about that. But I definitely feel like I have more time to do the things I love.

One small ingredient

The difference between what YOU can do and what YOU can't do is one small ingredient.

I'm not going to overtly tell YOU what the thing is.
YOU wouldn't believe me anyways.
Life is more interesting when YOU have to solve the puzzle.

YOU can struggle or YOU can thrive.
YOU can be rich or YOU can be much less than rich.

Everything lies in balance waiting for YOU to discover what that one thing is that can make everything tip YOUR way.

YOU actually know the answer.
But YOU might be scared as new truths emerge that YOU are not willing to accept right now.

If I told YOU, YOU might say, "I know, but...".
There's no but. If YOU know, then do.
Forget fear.
Forget about change.

Live YOUR life.
Love YOUR life.
Do everything YOU want out of YOUR life.
Because YOU don't know when it will be YOUR time to stop,
FOREVER

Pitaza: born July 4, 2016 died July 28, 2018

Today I said goodbye to a dear, dear friend...Not a person, but a business.

Yes I said my business, Pitaza, was my friend. Because it was.
It saved me.
Crazy isn't it? A business that failed also saved my life.
Let me explain.

The next words is a letter that I've written to my dearly departed Pitaza which I pulled the plug on Saturday July 28, 2018.

I was in a dark hole.
I was worried.
I was scared.
I was angry.
I was frustrated.
Some think I was DEPRESSED.
I think I was LONELY.

I was looking for purpose, meaning, and something of significance to do.
I didn't care if I lived. 
I didn't care if I died.

It was at the scariest thing I ever faced.
Then I saw you.
It was in a dream.
I started to plan, and focus on things other than the daily self-wallowing, angry thoughts I was having.
I got excited, with each passing day.
I conceived a new baby by starting my fourth business. I came away with a friend.

It was fun creating again. 

Someone wanted to buy you, and I wouldn't let you go because I had bigger dreams.
In retrospect, I was healing and you were my medicine.

You are the reason I came back. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You gave me new energy, new creativity, new excitement and a new life.

I will miss you old friend and all the customers you brought our way.
It was fun, but it was time to end your life.
I'm sorry.
You saved mine and I ended yours.
But you are a thing, and I believe you did exactly what you were supposed to do.

You can call me crazy, but you can't call me DEPRESSED or LONELY.

Today is a great day, although a sad one. I will miss you Pitaza, and all the people you brought through your doors

With renewed hope,
your father, Rick

Success is heavy. Bend your knees.

Jump on my back, I'll carry you
To the place you want to go
If my knees get lazy or
My back gets crazy
We'll still make it there for sure

There is no time to second guess
The tortoise is closing in on the finish line
We've made mistakes, It's decision time
We will lose this race, if we don't go right now.
This I know for sure

You're on my back, let me lead.
My knees are crying for you to stop telling them where to go.
I know the way, I think, I hope.
I've been here twice before.
The end is not far, the path is not easy.
This I remember once more.

My back is numb. My mind is tired.
Worry tells me we cannot make it.
That is how we lose this race.
I remember this from before.
Pack up your tears, and simple fears.
It is not helping in this war.

If the persistence stops.
We're done for sure.
If the resistance slows to your worry,
It will enrage me with fear.
If my knees cannot make it to the finish line.
We will die here for sure.

There is no time to worry about simple things.
You've made your decision.
I'm not as strong as I pretend to be.
I do that to end your worry.
You see right through it,
With all the holes your words have pierced.

Let's be honest.
I don't know if we'll get there in time.
I don't know if I can carry you all the way.
I do know if we stay here, we cannot win.
I also know if we second guess this last decision, we will not win.
The time to party is over.
The time to work is here.
The tortoise is almost there.
I can see the finish line.
Why can't you see it?
You can see further,
For you are on my back

Let's make some lemonade

Can you say something nice?

Did you know that when something goes wrong, you’ll tell an average of 25 people about it?

And when things go right, you may tell one?

I like lemonade, especially when it gets squeezed it directly from a lemon and we add a teaspoon of simple syrup. 

We live in a world where bad news sells. I think we want the good news stories, but we still rivet unconsciously to the things that potentially ruin our day

It makes better stories.

It’s these negative stories that have me concerned.

A dash of sugar in a sour world changes every thing.

I quit Facebook back in 2017. Admittedly, there are times I find myself exploring information on it. But I quit. There was too much negativity, too much victimitus and too much whining and complaining. It didn’t come from everyone, but it came from enough that I found myself pulled into the same negative space. And I didn’t like what it was doing for me.

This week, I was sitting in circle at my favourite place on the planet and a wise man asked what was the favourite part of the week. He then went on to say that without verbalizing the positive event, the human brain automatically searches for the negative. 

“The food could’ve been better”.

“There wasn’t enough wine”.

“There was too much wine”.

“The instructors went too fast”.

“The instructors went too slow”.

My guru went on to say that evaluation forms at the end of a session searches for the negative events, in the hopes of making the session better. But this activity actually imprints the negative to the participant's mind and forces an undesirable feeling.

No sugar, no lemonade.

I have not enjoyed my experience on Air Canada for years. It is rare that someone from the organization makes me feel like a valued customer. Yet this week, my flight was cancelled on Air Canada and it forced me to stay overnight in Austin, Texas. 

I’ve seen flights get cancelled before and the room gets filled with smoke bombs and hand grenades.

Yet this time, there were high fives, fist bumps, handshakes and smiles from all inconvenienced passengers. 

The staff responded in clockwork fashion, without getting bitchy and whiny. They accommodated everyone and averted a potential disaster. I watched a ticket agent beg over the phone for a hotel room. No less than 7 times, did he say, “Please save me that room” in a row. It was awesome. He was saving the room for ME. 

He helped me check in for the next day's flight from my phone. 

He gave me the number of the shuttle I needed to call to get to my free hotel room. 

And then he gave me $40 in food vouchers. 

Air Canada went above and beyond to help the stranded customers. 

It was unexpected. 

I was delighted.

It was this type of experience that makes me want to use Air Canada more.

In keeping with the wise man’s words, the best part of my flight was the way Air Canada converted a bad situation into an excellent experience.

They finally figured out how to add a little bit of sugar into a mouth curdling event.

I never thought I could say this but, 

Thanks for the lemonade Air Canada!