Everyone has favourite place which they like to be. Could be Elbow Falls in Calgary. Or  a beach in Hawaii. Or a hill that looks over the city.

Point is, people have a spot they enjoy going. It makes them feel calm. It’s a place where they can think. It’s a place which holds a lot of great memories.

That place for me is our family cottage on Linkletter Beach in Prince Edward Island. I haven’t been there since 2001. That makes me sad. But I’m going to try and get home this July. The Summerside Golf and Country Club is close by. I was 2 under after 3 holes the first time I ever played the course! Rest of the round…was…alright.

We used to have a family reunion there every few years. We’d play stickball with a tennis ball and a worn down broomstick handle. We took Brandy and Sheeba (our golden retrievers). We’d go swimming in the ocean and watch Rick put his catamaran out in the water. We’d make a big bonfire and sit around telling stories. We’d play croquet and it was great because my nanny and great aunts would play and they were good! We’d play cards and watch nanny get super into it. We’d hang out inside and just enjoy spending time together. I miss that place. Will be nice to spend some time there again.

What place holds those memories for you? Where do you like to go?

Why do people make things more complicated than they have to be?

When someone is giving a presentation, why do they waste time explaining a whole bunch of stuff you don’t really need to know. In order to have relevant meetings and presentations, people need to develop the ability to look at things from someone else’ s point of view and approach it from their angle.

The same goes with sports. With relationships. With anything.

If you’re trying to teach someone how to swing a golf club, shouldn’t you teach them in the most simplest terms? Start with the basics and progress from there?

If you’ve just met someone and you’re hanging out, just start with the basics. I think a relationship isn’t right when it’s complicated early on. I think that has to do with the 2 people being on different levels and having far too different perspectives. It’s simple when you can look someone in the eyes and just know that’s what matters. The here and now. It doesn’t really matter much what someone is doing 2 or 3 months from now. You’ll figure it out when 2 or 3 months has arrived. The here and now is what you should be focusing on. And just take it simple. If it’s right. If it’s not, you’ll know. Because it’ll be far too complicated.

Seriously.

Why do you butter your toast a certain way?
Why do you dry yourself off after a shower a certain way?
Why do you organize your books a certain way?
And why do you do your job a certain way?

I’m sure you butter your toast the way that you want to. Not the way that someone else tells you to.
I’m sure you dry yourself off the way you want to. Not the way someone else tells you to.
And I’m sure you organize your books the way you want to. Unless your partner makes you do it a certain way.

So why not do your job your way? If someone hired you, did they hire you so you can do the job their way? Or so you can do the job your way? I’d like to believe the latter. However, there are obviously limits as to how much control/creativity you can display in a job.

But think about that the next time your boss asks you to do something. Who’s way are you doing it? Just because your boss is your boss doesn’t mean they know best. Surprising right?

Are we paid to sit in a chair, do our work and be there for 8 hours? Some will say yes. I say no.

You’re being paid to produce results. To get things done.

If you’re a salesman, you’re being paid to sell.
If you’re a marketer, you’re being paid to market.
And if you’re an engineer, you’re being paid to engineer.

Do all of those jobs require you to be at your job 8 hours per day, 5 days per week. Absolutely not. So why is that how it works?

Is your most efficient working time 8-5? Nope. Do we work 8 hours per day? Nope. So why are we required to be there for 8 hours? Because it makes our boss feel good? Because the VP’s and executives feel like the company is doing well if people are sitting in their chairs 8 hours a day?

Why aren’t we given tasks to do each day/week/month/year and paid based on how we perform?

Jobs and companies should run like the PGA does; not like the NHL. On the PGA tour, a golfer only gets paid if he places well in a tournament. The highest paid golfers (ignore endorsements) win tournaments. In the NHL however, the best hockey players aren’t necessarily paid the most. Why not? Because hockey players are paid based on playing games. It’s not an incentive based system – aka union. So doesn’t it make more sense that hockey players would play better if they were going to be paid based on how they did? I know there are arguments to both sides, but jobs should work the same way. If you don’t perform, you don’t get paid. If you do well, you get paid. Yes, sales is based a lot on commission. But what about other jobs? Let’s motivate people to get their work done and pay them accordingly. And that means not always working 8-5 in an office.

Something to think about.

When you’re in a rush, would you stop to help someone else out?

When you’re stuck in traffic late for work, would you stop and help someone change a flat tire?

When you’re late for an appointment and someone gets stuck, do you help push them out?

Why not? Because it’s not your fault that they need help?
Because your appointment is more important than helping them out?

What if they are on their way to an important surgery?

What if the situation was reversed?

Case in point:

In September 2005, I was jogging before I had to leave to teach skating lessons. My plan was to finish my run around 4, jump on the bus and be at skating for 5. However, as I was nearing the end of my run, I passed by an older woman who was having a hard time walking. I passed by her, but turned around and started walking backwards to see if she would be ok. She ended up grabbing ahold of a lamp post and slumped down. I ran back to see if she was ok. I didn’t have my phone on me, but went to a construction site across the street, borrowed their phone and after getting her number, called her house; no answer. Luckily another woman was walking by and told me there was a fire station close by, so we took the older woman there so they could help her out. They took my information and called me the next day. Apparently she had gone for a walk but had gotten disoriented, walked something like 30 blocks away from her house and had gotten lost. They took her home, her husband had been very worried about her and they sent me a certificate in the mail thanking me for helping her out. I was a bit late for work, but I understood that helping her out was more important than getting to work on time.

I encourage you that the next time you’re in a rush and see someone needing help, take a few seconds to think about giving them a hand. You never know when you might need help from someone else.