Perception Eats Reality

Last week we talked about the need to make decisions for your 2024 business cycle. Many of you reached out to me to discuss what that means, and what we can do together to blow up the box hemming you in and 10x your business.

Today I want to challenge you to take that decision making up a notch, with or without me.

Get over yourself!

We are molded from birth to make decisions based on how we interpret the information in front of us. Not what the information is, but how we interpret it.

This often leads to a skewed view of the situation, where the perception of things overtakes the reality. For those around us, either on our team or in our circle of family and friends, they tend to innately buy in to our view of things because they trust us and they want the best.

But making decisions based on our own view of things limits us to our own view of things. So how do we level set our decisions for the rest of our time on this gorgeous planet? How do we move beyond our own perception so that it doesn’t eat reality but it equals reality?

Get Your Crisis Plan in Order

We usually see perceptions far from reality when the stuff hits the fan. When chaos is the order of the day. The top way to avoid this is to have a fully baked and ready crisis plan that you develop in times of calm. Crisis, like death, will come. Be prepared. Start with my Crisis Proof Your Business checklist. (Hint: you should use this in your life too!)

Mind Your Blindside

I don’t care who you are, you have a blindside. CEO? Blindside. Admin? Blindside. No single person walking this planet has a full view of their world. The higher we climb, the more people want to affirm our beliefs than challenge them. Why do you think politicians are so often making decisions that seem based on fiction?

You need at least one person, I would recommend three, who are tasked with giving you a 360 view of your world. You need regular and anonymous feedback of your style, your team, your product. You need someone who takes that feedback and uses is to fuse your perception of things into the reality of things.

Clear Your Mind

We hurry too much. Our back-to-back society, with prizes given for the fullest calendars has programmed us into machines with very little free time.

But we aren’t created this way. Our brains need time. We need space. You cannot connect with the reality in which we live if you cannot connect with the brain in your head. You cannot connect with the brain in your head if you are constantly going.

Clear a day on your calendar on a regular basis. If you are THE LEADER that regular basis should be very regular, maybe even weekly depending on the situation. On that day, you are unavailable for meetings. Make space to think, wander, decompress. The clarity you get will enable you to see things as they are - outside of the echo chamber of meeting mindlessness.

And beyond clearing a full day, also clear time each day. This slow down of the pace will result in clear and exponential growth.

Your homework this week:

1. Identify the decisions you need to make for 2024.

2. Assess the reality of your situation.

3. Book some time on my calendar.

4. Make decisions.

Be Our Guest at IAAPA

I am excited to be exhibiting at The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo, November 13-17 in Orlando.

If you are interested in being my guest, shoot me an email and I will get you registered. I have four guest passes.

My theme this year is “Because the ride should be fun!” Many attractions locations and suppliers are founder led, entrepreneurs who found a place where their passion and niche joined up and are doing awesome things (while having fun!) By bringing Cody Hand, LLC on board, you can worry about the fun while I handle the hard stuff.