Becky Berube

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"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

If you work in government service, I apologize for the satire. President Ronald Reagan used it well to express how many Americans felt about the government at the time. And I believe it aptly expresses how many recyclers feel about converter recycling companies.

Are you really here to help me? Or are you here to help yourself make more money off of me? 

It does not seem to matter how you sell the scrap catalytic converter, you can easily be taken advantage of - even if you are a knowledgeable and experienced recycler. This is true of the entire recycling supply chain; from recycler to collector to processor and even to secondary smelter, miner, and refiner. 

Free trade and market dynamics are essential. Volume equals leverage and is the only factor that commands an increase in margin. Transparent and accountable sales transactions must be verifiable. An independent expert that represents you in the trade is worth their weight in platinum, palladium, and rhodium.   

Catalytic converter recycling is an industry that breeds cynicism and contempt; thankfully, nowadays, there is more profit and light in a previously dark domain.  

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Perception is reality but it is not fact

In business, as in life, perception may be reality, but it is not fact.

Whatever our perceptions, we believe them to be real. It is hard to convince us otherwise. The world is flat. Bats are blind. Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis. Time and science disprove many common misconceptions.

Oftentimes in sales, we believe without questioning. I am getting a good deal. I know the other guy needs to make something. I am selling to the highest bidder therefore I maximize my sales.

Truth be told, you may be getting a good deal, the highest price, or you may be getting bamboozled. The scales may be fixed. The unit count may be off. The highest prices may be paid for some of your goods while the rest get sold at half price.

How can you correct your perceptions so that they are founded in truth and facts? First, don’t be afraid to test your assumptions and be found lacking. Second, seek wise counsel and expert advise. Third, take a posture of humility and open up your selling process to review, constructive criticism, and suggestions for improvement.

If your perceptions and your reality are not factual, the result can be costly. In the words of the Russian proverb that President Ronald Reagan liked to quote, “doveryai no proveryai" (Trust, but verify).

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Get rid of stinkin' thinkin'

If you want to have a better day, a better year, and a better life, get rid of stinkin’ thinkin’. The power of your thoughts to affect your reality is not to be underestimated.

If "You are what you eat?" is a true statement then "You are what you think" is also true. Negativity breeds negativity. Heresay. Opinion. Bias. Gossip. Not one of these will move you toward the attainment of your chief aim in life.

Try instead to cultivate the habit of accurate thinking (Napoleon Hill). Use deductive reasoning based on facts. Keep the mental space in your brain open for important facts that contribute to the attainment of your main purpose.

"Change your thoughts and you change your world." Norman Vincent Peale

Take control of your thoughts and you will take control of the direction of your life.

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The power of strategic alliances

Take the new connection economy (credit Seth  Godin) and layer it on top of a post industrial economy and you will find our new business reality. What does this statement mean? It means I am 5 times more like to "friend" a business associate on Facebook than I was a year ago. It means a colleague is more likely to ready this blog on Facebook than even LinkedIn (thanks for the comment, JC).

Blend the old with the new to fuel your success. Read Seth Godin daily and religiously if you want to understand the importance of connecting and building a tribe. Add to this the wisdom of Andrew Carnegie as it was imparted to Napoleon Hill and translated into the world's first philosophy of achievement in Think and Grow Rich and The Law of Success.

Read the principles or better yet watch the original full length movie on YouTube but do not miss the second principle, The Mastermind Alliance.

You must have a definite purpose in life. You will never achieve it, however, without the help of a mastermind or strategic alliance.

"A mastermind alliance involves two or more people who work in perfect harmony for the attainment of a definite purpose." -Napoleon Hill

Harmony must exist between its members

Meets once or twice a week

Draws on the experience, education and influence of others to reach the chief aim

Accomplishes more together in one year than one could accomplish in a lifetime

Ensures success if all members receive benefit

Do you have a chief aim or definite purpose that has become your burning obsession? Stop and think: whose experience, education, and influence do you need to accomplish the object of your desire? What benefit will you offer each person in exchange for their participation?

Dig. Stretch. Do your homework. Build your mastermind alliance.

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The three P's

In wrapping up the Your Turn Challenge I came across this Napoleon Hill quote: Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

These three P's are much more than a simple recipe for success.

Think about some of what Seth Godin is saying in his new book, Your Turn. Get out of your own head. Stop making excuses. Deal with fear. And for heaven's sake create and ship something meaningful into the world.

Meaningful does not have to mean lofty. The world and the marketplace has an equilibrium whereby everything gets done. So in that way, everything done for good and not harm has meaning. If you provide a useful service or product, you provide meaning.

No one desires to be in want. Success and money are not dirty words. Each can be used for good and neither come without the three P's of patience, persistence, and perspiration.

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To ship is to take a leap of faith

Sometimes to ship means to purely take a leap of faith.

I spoke with a friend today who is in the midst of a career transition. His canvas is blank. His options are numerous. Still his direction is unclear.

During the conversation, I mentioned the Your Turn Challenge, and how it pushed me to "ship" something into the world for 7 days. For him, maybe shipping something means to take the first step without seeing the whole staircase as Dr. King notes. Put the gears in motion. Interview. Explore.

What I found to be true for me this week may turn out to be true for my friend. The very action of pushing through or stepping out causes a reaction. The momentum propels us forward creating direction.  

The first step, any step, plays a key role in getting us unstuck.

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Unanticipated results

This week has been a ride. A good ride. I hope it has been for everyone doing the Your Turn Challenge.

I didn't ship yesterday. The day was long. Personal deadlines remained when I got home which I did without complaint for a change. Instead of feeling resentful, I took my own advice (Day Four blog) to do small things well. I felt good. Like I had accomplished what I needed to do.

At 9:30 PM, three teenagers descended on me and an unexpected paint party broke out. I joined them and did something I think about doing every day but haven't done in almost 30 years. I painted. And it was fun.

The unanticipated result from shipping (almost) all week was this: I got more done and felt better about what I accomplished at work and at home.

The very act of blogging this week, or shipping something into the world, caused a chain reaction. My days at home and at work were a little different - less mundane and certainly more fruitful. Thanks, Winnie.

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Getting unstuck

If I learned anything this week from the Your Turn Challenge it's this: push through.

Push through the chaos.

Push through the fog.

Push through the mundane.

Push through the minutiae,

We all want to be successful and achieve great things. We dream. We plan.

        We get stuck.

        We all get stuck from time to time.

We cannot always be doing great things as Napoleon Hill notes. But we can do small things in a great way. I think it is part of the "getting unstuck" solution. Putting one foot in front of the other. Tackling the little things you put off. You may find you actually enjoy doing them. You may find yourself empowered, renewed, and plunging headlong into the waters of greatness. So push through. Ship something. Anything. Like an avalanche, you won't be able to stop the chain reaction. 

#dayfour #yourturnchallenge

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What making art is and is not

Making art is not trying to sell someone something they do not want. Making art is not sending out emails asking unresponsive leads to take a meeting or review a proposal. Making art is not pushing a pencil with busywork. Making art is rendering useful service, providing a solution to a real need, creating something that would be missed if you didn't take the time to bring it into the world. Making art is synonymous with making meaning or doing much that matters. If your work is not resonating with others or creating a loyal fan base or tribe, then maybe it's time to reassess what making art is and is not for you.

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Do you want to build a better [blank]?

Do you want to build a better [blank]? Fill it in. Business. Marriage. Relationship. Balance Sheet. Life. 

Are you paralyzed by information overload, endless meetings, mindless busywork, time drain, and brain strain?

Most of us can see that historically, whether for good or for ill, the winner’s circle is reserved for those with singleness of purpose and the tenacity to set goals and execute plans.

But the background noise is deafening. Time keeps on slipping.

We are creatures of habits and motives.

It’s hard to accept new ideas, services, and products for so many reasons.

We maintain strong biases and prejudices.

We are too tired, busy, or overwhelmed to listen, read, take a meeting, or answer an email. We dismiss proposals and offers of assistance in accomplishing our chief aims out of hand.

If you have a plan, and if you intend to work the plan, then you may need to slow down and open up your mind and clear your calendar to connect with people, ideas, services, and products that are reaching out to connect with you.

No man is an island. We cannot succeed in life alone.

Try saying yes to a new idea. Try having a conversation with that person who has been relentlessly pursuing you with some information. Stop acting so conceited and being so full of yourself. Do you profess to know it all? If you did know it all, you would have nothing left to learn or accomplish in life.

Pause. Breathe. Take a brief reprieve from the busyness of life to read, think, and connect with others. You may be pleasantly surprised. You may find that you accomplish your goals more readily through this newly forged path and the synergies it creates for you.

If you want to build a better [blank], try saying yes to something or someone new.

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What made Day 3 different?

  What grabbed our attention to do the Your Turn Challenge? Was it Seth's blog post about getting unstuck? Was it Winnie's honesty about her failure to ship? Was it the promise of connection with others? For most of us it was likely all three. For me it was.

I also took the challenge because I really like connecting with Seth and Winnie. Throughout the year I daily glean ideas, find inspiration, and gather the strength to carry on from their good work.

Truthfully, I am not posting to my tribe or traditional audience. I am just posting to all of you in the Your Turn Challenge. I love Seth's new book. I gave it to our team at work for Christmas. It was the launching pad for my personal 2015 vision. In gearing up for the new year, I added to my key resources Napoleon Hill's timeless tomes (in print and on audio via YouTube) and Dale Carnegie's classic work updated for the digital age.

Mentally, I felt alive and on fire. Physically, in terms of execution at work in the day-to-day, I found myself flat. The first two days, I could barely squeak out a post before falling into bed. My days were so hectic with busywork that I felt a genuine disconnect between what I wanted to communicate and do with my work and what I actually was doing.

Then today, on Day 3, a breakthrough occurred and I am not sure why. I had to attend to a sick child. I was late to work. I left my desk cluttered. Did minimal emails or bookkeeping tasks. Instead, I picked up the phone and called people. People I want to do business with. And do you know what happened? I had meaningful conversations and genuinely connected with my people. A team member joined me during this unplanned call fest and we ended the day physically and mentally spent while being more pumped up than we have been in ages.

Why was today different? What changed? We shipped today! We stopped strategizing and creating plans and we executed and engaged our audience. Most importantly we learned the power of real conversations with real people in order the create real solutions. Now that is making art.