THE FIX provides thousands of readers with three problem-solving fixes, allowing them to harvest the benefits of my 1 + 1 + 1 = 10x formula. I hope by sending you this newsletter I can help shift your focus from reactive to proactive. Enjoy! – Alex
THE FOUNDER’S FIX
Own Your Experience . . .
It’s the only way to live; to work; to grow. As an entrepreneur, definitely. As a human, too.
It’s one of those qualities we have that sets us apart from monkeys and lemurs and mosquitos and any other species. As Victor Frankl observed, it’s the ability to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances. In his case, even in a concentration camp.
It’s one of those phrases that kept coming back to me like a good boomerang. I’d hear someone say it in an offhand comment, or in a dream, or read it on a slip of paper somewhere. It just kept bouncing back to me.
I think this phrase means different things to different people. Here’s what it means to me:
- Blame no one. For anything. Ever.
- Watch, manage and control the impact of emotions. They are fleeting and malleable.
- Choose gratitude and positivity over anger, jealousy, regret and worry. Know that you have a choice.
- Know the difference between the things that happen outside your head and inside of it.
- Know the difference between the things that you can control and the things you cannot.
- Practice radical acceptance.
- Don’t let other people and things live rent-free in your mind.
If you haven’t mastered these concepts, don’t worry, accept the possibility that you never will, but that’s not the point. The point is to cultivate that ownership. Practice it. Be aware of it.
OYE. Own. Your. Experience.
I had this baby made up to remind me of this all-important concept. Who knew it was so easy to engrave stuff from your kitchen? (Thanks, Etsy!)
Check out my four favorite books that reinforce these concepts:
- Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl (life-changing book; hard to have a bad day after this one; empowering)
- Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach
- Solve For Happy, Mo Gawdat (“Happiness is equal to or greater than your perception of the events of your life minus your expectation of how life should be.” Another amazing book.)
- Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink
THE LEGAL FIX
Get Your (Employment) Act Together . . .
In January 2021, Ohio enacted the Employment Law Uniformity Act, which goes into effect this month. The Act significantly affects future handling of workplace discrimination claims.
While the Act contains generally employer-friendly provisions, employers must still be vigilant to ensure that their hiring and employment practices do not run afoul of the Act or any other state or federal anti-discrimination laws. Now is a good time to review your hiring process and assess areas of potential improvement to help protect your business against suit. Here’s a great place to start, this week’s LEGAL FIX blog.
THE RANDOM FIX
Resilience in a Life Graph . . .
I’m reading The Attributes by Rich Diviney, a Navy Seal whose job is to figure out how to make Navy Seals even more badass than they already are just by being Navy Seals. Came across this great exercise there.
