Matt Petroski's Blog

When I was a kid, I could run circles around other soccer players.  Many told me I must have had a ball on my foot from the moment I was born.  I could juggle the ball without using my hands or touching the ground for thousands of hits.  Traveling the country on select and premier teams, I played against the best and thought I was the best.  Until, I played against players who had a soccer ball in the womb.  Once I started playing against players from England, Canada, and South Africa I quickly realized I was not good at all. 
I was good against a few, but against the many I was not.  Every time I got beat I began to think about that comparison.  I might be good, but compared to what?

I have learned that I can be great, good, and bad all at the same time, depending on who I am comparing myself too.  I will never reach the best until I start comparing myself to the best, recognizing my shortfalls, and working to improve.

Who are you comparing yourself too and what are you doing about it?

There is a break down in performance when Truth and Fact are not clearly defined.  From the surface these two words can easily be confused as one and the same, however that is the beginning of the break down.   Let me first provide my definition of these two words:

•Fact:  a piece of information that cannot be disputed no matter who is reviewing the information.  For example, if two people took a measurement of the outside temperature on a typical early December  Buffalo NY day with a calibrated thermometer (by a respected calibration house of course) both people would see that the outside temperature for an average day is 30 F.  Both can agree on the temperature that is being displayed by the thermometer.  They cannot really dispute the measurement.

•Truth:  a piece of information that can be disputed depending on who you are.  For example, let’s consider the origin of those same two people above.  One person is from Bermuda and the other person is from High Level, Northern Alberta Canada.  The person from Bermuda would be cold because their average temperature in December is 68F and the person from High Level would be warm because their average temperature in December is 0 degrees F.

What does this mean?  A “situation” can be blurred by the perceptions, experiences and background of the individual, because multiple people can claim their own Truth to impact the situation.  This is not being presented as a good or bad thing.  This is being presented so as to understand maximum performance, that perceptions can impact communication (both positively and negatively) and decisions that need to be made.

The best and most successful performances in the world recognize this over and over, and are able to distinguish Truth and Fact.  They make their decisions on Fact, while considering all the Truths involved.

Our data has shown that over 80% of the population has difficulty separating Truth from Fact on a regular basis.  As a result, poor decisions are made and communication breaks down.  The reason perception gets in the way is because people either refuse or don’t know how to separate the Truths and the Facts.

There is a process to learn how to do this.  It can be learned!

All the hype about JFK airport’s hustle and bustle is not true.  I found it no where near as busy as people claim it to be.  I found it rather barren and desolate albeit it was only 5am after landing on the red eye just moments before.  The amazing part was that although I had the ability to walk the entire airport unobstructed of passengers, bags, and carts; and get to any location I wanted inside the airport I could not find the one thing I needed.  Having walked from end to end a few times, and after checking every monitor along the way, I could not find my connecting information.  You would think an airport would want its passengers to know where to go so that they can ultimately reach their final destination.  Walking the concourse multiple times, the thought began to occur to me that my final destination was going to be JFK airport.
     A funny thing happened at that point; I found an elusive creature
inside the walls of JFK.  Being one who just covered the entire floor plan of JFK on foot and seeing virtually no life, I was not sure if I should be shocked at finding this creature or shocked that there was only one to be found.  After walking for 45 minutes I finally found an
airline representative, actually a baggage handler who happened to come in to warm up from outside on the ramp.  With one simple question, I found the bit of information that I needed to escape the city.  With one little question my problem was solved.  And to think I was hesitant to ask because, “he wouldn’t know the answer to my question; he was just a “baggage handler”“.  Well, that baggage handler saved my bacon, made my day, and provided a lesson:

• Be willing to ask questions, even from sources you think won’t have the answer.
• Be open to any answer that is provided, the new direction could lead you home.

    For as much as we know, there is even more that we do not know or understand.  In this world there is a pretty clear line, based on an
individual’s behaviors and thoughts, between those that are making things happen,  and those that are not.  This blog post is going to focus on JUST one of those things that we can change to possibly get on the right side of the line.  It starts with a question, “are you an L3?”

     Understanding that we do not know everything is not as common as you might think.  The human being does not easily admit when they do not know.   The concept of “not knowing” leads one to feel dishonor or a lack of intelligence among peers, when in fact; admitting that one does not know is the first step to knowing.  This is one of the clear distinctions I suggested earlier, those that are making things happen know they do not know, and as a result expend quite a bit of effort to learn, research, listen to others and ask questions themselves.  That admission of lack of knowledge, allows the individual to drop the pretense of having to be a
know it all, and allows for pursuit of knowledge.  One who thinks they know it all will not pursue knowledge and lock themselves into a stale state.

     Almost half the adult population of the US will not pick up a book
this year.  Reading is not the sole way to learn, however it does open up the mind to new ideas, new thoughts, and new views….which leads to new ideas.  Reading does take discipline and it represents a significant behavior that those that are making things happen possess.  Plus reading across topics, industries, fields of expertise is a significant way to combine ideas, innovate and create.

  People who are L3 do this regularly.  I am guessing by now that you are puzzled as to what is an L3.  When you didn’t know at the beginning, did you get frustrated and give up, or did you have a desire to learn what it means?  The answer:  it is a “Life Long Learner”.

     Life Long Learners:

-Are naturally curious
-Read broadly
-Read specifically
-Ask questions and Listen to Answers
-Are open to ideas (really)
     “Are you an L3?”

The average adult in the United States will live to 77 years of age. 
Males a few years less, and females a few years more.  For this blog we will stick with the average for everyone.  Did you ever think about how many days you might have left?  Take your current age, subtract it from 77 and multiply by 365.25 days to see how many you have left.
Does this sound crazy?  The most successful people in the world know this number….it keeps them focused.
How precious is time to you?  What importance do you put on it in turns of prioritizing your work schedule, family time, practicing of faith, caring for yourself, or planning finances, etc?  Some of the most successful people in the world have grasped the concept of time as the most precious item in life, and they realize it is finite.
Do they hoard it and fear it?  Absolutely not.  Do they spend
it recklessly?  Absolutely not.  They have realized it’s the ONLY “item” they can not get more of and they don’t even know how much they have.  As a result they utilize every moment against a plan, a priority…more importantly a combination of each.
The first realization they have to put time in perspective is to
realize at best what they might have and keep it in focus so they do not waste it.  They use this number to keep on track toward their ultimate vision.  If the activity does not fit the vision and even wastes time then they learn how to say no.  Do you know how to say no?  To many this may sound cold, but its not because the plan for their life prioritizes what is important and they guard those values, those principles, those precious moments like life itself depends on it…because it does.
The most successful in the world realize time can not be saved, nor is it endless.  To keep reminded of this, they keep track of the days they MIGHT have left.  Everything else becomes crystal clear as to how to live a successful, happy, precious life.  Today is 11,998 for me.  If I live to the average life expectancy, I only have 11,998 days left.  Makes me want to go do what is important, to put things in perspective, to treat others like they deserve to be treated even in the face of the stress we face everyday! 

What day is it for you?