Put on pants, every day. Recently, it seems like I have several contacts that have been let go from their employment for a whole variety of reasons and unfailingly they go through a grief cycle as they deal with the prospects of going back to school, interviewing again or starting that small company they have always dreamed about.

Regardless of their “new life” track the advice ends up being the same. Get up, shower and shave and put on real clothes. It might sound intuitive, but amazingly it is not. If you want to get into action approach life like a professional. The second you decide that sweat pants with suspenders are good enough, you’ve already given up.

We are not called to a life of comfort, but to endeavor . Through effort we achieve new things.

At our learning development programs we often deal with the art of getting into action, how do you get people to take initiative and start projects? Think about how many new ideas are sitting in the hopper at your office, in the house. How do you move an idea or a need from the drawing table to the workshop?

There are lots of great time management tools and planning aids out there that can help you along but I believe it is about managing your energy too. Putting yourself in the right “frame of mind” works wonders.

Here’s a little trivia, the US Marine Corps does not wear their utility uniform (cammies) out in public. If you’ve ever been to the airport you’ll see all the other branches flying in their utility uniforms but never Marines. That is because the Marines decided years ago that their utilities are a working uniform and since they are in the business of war they don’t wear them on the streets of America. This might sound silly at first look but think about how deep that message runs, think about the mindset it creates when Marines kit up for war, they are all business.

If you are sitting on a project, launching a company or have found yourself in a job search do yourself a favor and start by setting up your mindset first. Set that alarm clock, get up and attack the day like it matters, which begins with putting on pants.

As a plug, if your team, company or club is looking for a speaker to come to an event drop me a message. I’d be happy to help and love talking about the power of leadership on team performance. Check us out at www.mlmethods.com







