Other Stuff

Just Tell the Truth

As a parent, one life lesson I’ve tried to instill in my children is to always tell the truth. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, what game you’re playing, what situation you are in or where you are in your life. You always tell the truth. Why? Because it’s easier to deal with the consequences when you tell the truth. People deserve to hear the truth. Don’t get yourself into situations where lying is the only way to yourself whatever jam you’re in.

Sometimes the truth hurts. Sometimes telling someone else the truth hurts. I’m a big proponent of being open and honest with the people around you. There are zero reasons to beat around the bush about something. Spit it out. We’re all adults here. We shouldn’t be fake with one another. This is one reason I’d never make a good salesman. I can’t schmooze. I hate small talk. If I don’t have anything meaningful to tell you, I don’t want to waste your time and mine. I’m not going to lie to you and make you think I care what the weather is like outside.

Make a conscious effort as you go about your business and see where you make the little white lie and tried to make it right. Even the little white lie is still a lie. Make sure you are living your life always telling the truth about everything you do.

Just Showing Up

We’ve had some interesting conversations at treehouseIT recently about what sets us apart from other companies in the MSP space.   One of the things that keep coming up in these conversations is just showing up.  Yes we have good tech skills and yes we are reasonably priced, but even if we didn’t have either of those two qualities I think we’d be out ahead.   Why? Because when someone says they need help we are there.  Short notice or scheduled time we are available.

This skill of just showing up can be applied to lots of different things in your life.   You might not be the smartest in your field, but you show up every day and on time.  That is what is going to get you ahead.   You might not have all of the answers, but you showed up when your daughter asked if she could talk.  You might not have the best soccer skills, but you showed up and will learn as you go.

See where I’m going with this?  I’ve seen time and time again where people are given opportunities and all they had to do was show up and learn.  Unfortunately, a lot of those opportunities were dashed because the person was late coming in every day or missed appointments.

Think about how this can be applied in your life.  Just showing up and being there either professionally or in your personal life can go a long way.