Happy New Year! Welcome to 2016.
Doesn’t it seem like yesterday that we were worried about Y2K and all the things that could or would go wrong? Well we’ve now survived the last fifteen years without any major calamity and some amazing improvements and changes in our world. Of course we could always hope and pray that things get better in the new year and focusing on the things we can personally control is a great way to start towards that goal.
A New Years Eve tradition continued as I awoke before anyone else in the family for my annual reading of my favorite book. For the 10th or 11th year in a row, I was up by 7am reading QBQ! The Question Behind the Question by John G. Miller. The subtitle of the book is “What to really ask yourself to eliminate blame, victim thinking, complaining and procrastination.”
It usually takes me about 2 hours to get through the 137 pages and even though I know all the stories, it is always a great reminder. Much like Zig Ziglar used to say, “if it is to be, it’s up to me.” Imagine what might happen to our world if every one of us took personal accountability to heart and really tried to make ourselves better people. That means better parents, better children, better siblings, better spouses, better employees and better bosses, better neighbors and better friends.
I’m not going to give too much of the book away (get your own copy – trust me, you’ll love it) but here are some thoughts that I have either underlined, highlighted, dog-eared or internalized over the times I have refreshed my mind with this amazing book.
16 Lessons from QBQ! for a Great 2016
(written in 1st person…because I am the 1st and only person who can hold myself personally accountable)
- Personal accountability isn’t about anyone else but me.
- “Ideas that still work – after all these years.” (Right: That’s the message that the author wrote in a special personalized copy he sent me years ago.)
- I need to make better choices.
- No one wins when I make myself the victim.
- The answers are in the questions.
- Procrastination is the friend of failure.
- Take care of the little things while they are still little.
- Creativity is thinking outside the box but true creativity is “succeeding within the box.” I don’t necessarily need “newer” or “better.” I just need to find ways to do the work with the tools I have.
- Focusing on what I don’t have is a waste of time and energy and kills innovation.
- There are no new sales skills that will be a silver bullet or magic pill. If I just build relationships, solve problems and have fun every day, I will be successful.
- It’s not about why, when or who…the better questions is “what can I do right now to make a difference?”
- The only thing I have any real control over are my own thoughts and actions. #BeatTheRef
- There are risks involved in taking action, however the alternative – inaction – is rarely the better choice.
- Do things that make people say “I really appreciate your attitude.”
- When things go wrong, ask myself “What can I do to make it right.” In the end, maybe I can’t do anything to make it right, but better to ask than ignore the problem all together.
- Remember that other people are watching me. I am a role model to my children and others who look at me a leader, mentor or friend. How can I set a better example?
Modeling is the most powerful of all teachers. – John G. Miller
Now what?
How can you take these ideas and implement them into your own business or life? It’s easy…if you’re willing to take the leap away from blame, victim thinking, complaining and procrastination. Simply follow these steps:
Buy the QBQ! book. Read the QBQ! book. Believe in the QBQ! book. Re-read the QBQ! book
Then, just like the instructions on the shampoo bottle…just lather, rinse and repeat. After all…”repetition is the motor of learning.”
Photo Credit: Sally Mahoney via Flickr
Photo Credit: Riley Carpenter via NorthernPrepster