Matt S. Law Studios

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  • Pink Floyd Was Right

    Pink Floyd Was Right

    (…we don’t need no education)

    I’m working on a 15 to 30 minute lecture for high school kids. The idea is to teach them what they really need to succeed in the world that they have never been taught in school. Please read and give me your feedback. Also, I have a well-deserved reputation for slamming the public school system, so if anyone feels that I’m being slightly too belligerent let me know and I’ll ease off. Maybe.

    Consider a poll of ten business owners: A mechanic, an architect, an engineer, a restaurateur, a bartender, a doctor, a dentist, a car dealer, a barber, and an art gallery owner. They are given the task of imagining the ideal employee for their company. Not just an average employee that shows up and gets their paycheck everyday. The absolute perfect employee, someone who is so good for business that the owner would adopt them and leave them their company when they retire. When visualizing that perfect employee, write down 5 words that describe that perfect employee.

    Consider also a poll of the rest of the 95% of people who are not business owners but employees. They are given the task of imagining the ideal boss. Not just an OK boss that pays you on time and doesn’t make you work overtime. A boss so inspiring that you would volunteer to work hard, to take on extra work and to move into their house with them just to car pool with them. When visualizing that perfect boss, write down 5 words that describe that perfect boss.

    Now there are three things I want to point out.

    First, is that these lists will end up being mostly the same. Honest. Fair. Fun. Caring. Industrious. Capable. Loyal. Generous. Energetic. Enthusiastic. Encouraging. Respectful. Talented. Reliable. Open-Minded. Considerate. Kind. Patient. Secure. Appreciative. Adaptable. Assertive. Cooperative. Diplomatic. Determined. Ethical. Persistent. Optimistic.

    The second thing, is that none of these attributes (with the possible exception of “capable”) are things that are taught to you in our schools. When have you ever been taught the value of Honesty in one of your classes? Even if you are the owner of an engineering firm, which would you rather hire, an honest man that is average at math, or a compulsive liar that is excellent at math? Have you ever taken a class or listened to a single lecture on “Loyalty 101?” Do not get me started on public schools and “Open-Minded.”

    The bottom line, is that we are never taught the essential skills to succeed at life in our 13 years of compulsory education. For the most part, those of you who continue on to college will also never be taught the essential skills to succeed in your respective careers. And yes, these are skills, because these are all traits that can be learned. No baby was born honest, or fair, or especially generous (but most are born fun).

    The third and final thing I’d like to point out, is that these words don’t just describe the ideal boss or the ideal employee. They also describe the ideal child, the ideal parent, the ideal spouse, the ideal pretty-much-everyone-you-would-ever-want-to-associate-with-on-a-regular-basis type person. Wouldn’t you want all the people in your life to be this list? Well, since you can’t change them, the best thing that you can do is to change yourself, and try your best to be this list.

    I’ll probably close by providing a recommended reading list and offer a copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People to any student that wants one. Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations?

  • Halftime Report: How Are Your New Year’s Resolutions Going?

    Halftime Report: How Are Your New Year’s Resolutions Going?

    It’s July 1st! The perfect time to take an assessment of how we are doing on our New Year’s resolutions. Did you make any at all? If you did, you have already separated yourself from 25% of the population. Do you still remember what they were? If so, you are probably ahead of another 25% of the population. If you can tell me today what your New Year’s resolution was for 2018, then you are ahead of the average person in the US even if you haven’t even started on them yet.

    Before you pat yourself on the back too hard though, keep in mind:

    1. 51% is still a failing grade, and
    2. I just made up those numbers anyway

    A lot of authors and speakers talk about looking forward towards your goals (I’m one of them). But we should also take some time to reflect on our past and on our journey. We can often get caught up in the busy-ness of being busy. When that happens we can get off-track and realize that our habits are no longer moving us towards our goal.

    A personal trainer friend of mine became so focused on exercise that he neglected proper rest and recovery time. He would push himself to the point of injury (sprain, pulled muscle, stress fracture, etc…), then not allow proper time to heal before pushing himself again. He broke out of that habit when he realized that he had lost sight of his goal in the pursuit of the process. His goal was not to exercise, his goal was good physical health.

    The human creature is designed to achieve, the brain is designed as a goal-seeking mechanism, and we are happiest when we are in the process of fulfilling a worthwhile purpose. But it is easy to forget the “Why” of our activities when we get too focused on the “How.”

    So I’m calling a brief time-out for everyone at the halfway point of this year to ask: How are your New Year’s resolutions going?

    If you never made one, make one now.
    If you haven’t started, then start now.
    If you’ve kicked at it on occasion, make a definite commitment of time and energy towards achieving it now.
    If you are that rare person that has been striving towards it non-stop since January 1st, then take a day off and ask yourself a few questions:

    • How is my progress? Am I seeing results or am I just doing a lot of activity that is not actually accomplishing anything?
    • How is my motivation? Am I still visualizing my goal on a daily basis? Is my daily activity drudgery or is it inspiration for me?
    • How is my life? Am I neglecting an important part of my life? My business, my family, my health?

    Whatever your vision, goals and habit that you have or have not incorporated into your life prior to today, pause for a moment. Take some time to reflect. Take some time to replenish. Take some time to refocus. Do not lose sight of your vision amidst your daily activity; whether that is activity relevant to your goal or activity that is irrelevant to your goal.

    So, one more time: How are your New Year’s resolutions going?

  • Failure Is Not An Option, It Is A Necessity

    Failure Is Not An Option, It Is A Necessity

    Everybody fails from time to time. Anyone that has never failed at something has probably never accomplished anything worthwhile. Nearly every mental or physical activity you have ever performed in your life, you failed at it the first time you tried it (except for those things performed automatically by your nervous system). But somehow, when we reach a certain age we become self-conscious and start to view failure as a bad thing.

    Failure is not a bad thing, our reaction to the failure is what is important. If we allow embarrassment to overshadow our desire to achieve, then a few early failures will derail whatever you are attempting; whether it is algebra, skiing, or asking a girl to the prom. Nobody likes failing, falling or rejection. But you will live a happier more fulfilled life if you retake that quiz, go back up that slope, and ask another girl out. As long as we maintain the idea that a single failure is a normal part of life, we just view them the same way we view bumps in the road. When you hit a bump, you keep driving. You don’t get out of your car and yell at the bump in the road, and berate yourself for hitting the bump, then blame the bump on your future problems.

    Winston Churchill said, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Understand this, the opposite of success is not failure, the opposite of success is quitting.

    Quitting also becomes a habit. And when we develop a habit of quitting when things get hard, eventually we stop trying altogether. So we try fewer and fewer new things. We stay in familiar territory, we stay comfortable, we stop growing and we start stagnating. “A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure till he gives up.”

    Try to fail at something this week.