Have you ever asked yourself, “Is it okay not to try my best?” After all, not every opportunity that comes our way represents a life or death situation. This question comes up more often then you think, and the temptation to do less than your best work is always there.
In my world of professional speaking, there is nothing like the sensation of stepping onto the stage, in front of a large audience, feeling great, and knowing I’m ready to give it my all! It makes me glad to be alive, and I am ready to do my very best.
Of course, not every presentation or moment in life brings with it that level of excitement. As a matter of fact, most days consist of only a fraction of those powerful motivators that help us to fight to do our best. And because the mundane is more the norm, the temptation is always there to do less than your best.
Disguised as a rational thought, it is a whisper that you might hear inside of your head that suggests that you don’t really have to do your best… today. For me, it might begin with these words: “You don’t need to take this presentation very seriously…” As it speaks to me, it continues to build its case.
- “You don’t need to prepare. You’ve given this presentation dozens of times before.”
- “You don’t need to show up early. You’ve set up for presentations like this a thousand times before.”
- “You don’t need to work too hard on this presentation. No one of consequence will be in the audience.”
- “You don’t need to expend too much energy. The audience is much smaller than usual, and their energy is nonexistent.”
- “You don’t need to go above and beyond. They aren’t paying me as much as usual.
The temptation is always there. If you think this single-minded focus just applies to speakers and presenters, you are mistaken. Those same whispers are there for most of us, and the temptation to do less than our very best is always there… The most dangerous excuse of all is this one:
No-one will ever know.
Of course, that isn’t really true, is it? No matter how hard you work to convince yourself it’s okay not to try your hardest, the most important person of all will know; you. You might hear the whisper telling you this: Nothing is at stake. Wrong again.
I will tell you what’s at stake: The pride of performing at the highest level you can, regardless of the circumstances. Pride is not the only thing at stake here. You can add your personal reputation to this list.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler, a tremendous fighter in the 80’s and the middleweight champion for seven years, once said,
“When I wake up, I train as hard as I can. But when I wake up weary, unmotivated, and I don’t feel like training, I work twice as hard. That’s what separates me from my competition.”
We all cherish the mornings we can wake up and enjoy the more exciting aspects of our jobs and of our lives. For me, I love the challenge of disciplining my mind to perform at an even higher level during those unglamorous and probably tedious moments, and thumbing my nose at those whispers. As a matter of fact, why not go one step further and double your efforts to really teach those whispers a lesson! At the end of the day, I’d like to think that’s what separates us from our competition.
WONDERFUL! I really needed to hear that.
It’s a simple message, but one that slips into that unconscious incompetent area. Keep pushing towards your best. Thanks for the post Kate!
Rob- beautifully expressed, as usual. No one is ever unhappy when they’ve “knocked it out of the park”. Things can go wrong, but if it was based on imperfect preparation, that’s a diasapoointment that stays with you for awhile.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Well thanks for reading the inspiration! Things almost always go wrong. It’s how we respond to those moments that define us. Great hearing from you Michael!
Truly inspiring! Rob. Your best shows up weekly in these blarticles!
Thanks Beth, and I will tell you I don’t take a BLArticle® off! That said, I suppose six years of posting would fine some better than others, but never, I repeat NEVER because I didn’t give it my best at that moment. When you think about it, doing our best is one of the few things that is always 100% under our control. That’s comforting! Thanks for the post Beth.
Rob, you are hitting on something that affects each of us – at any age. My son (who is a freshman in High School) has always tried to slide by with “less than his best,” and it bothers me on a deep level too. I remember a saying I used to hear as a kid: “Good, better, best, Never, never rest until your good is better and your better is best!” It’s corny, but true, and it’s saying the same thing you are. Thanks for pointing out how important this really is.
There’s nothing corny about that saying. I learned it too, and it was lurking somewhere buried in a mental file cabinet until you brought it up. Thanks! As for that boy of yours, do YOUR best to look for those unique moments where an opportunity presents itself for a real teaching moment. As a father of three, the pestering doesn’t work… but the careful messages, and opportune times does! Thanks for the post Ron.
Rob
Thank you for An article to be read often.
On the same lines what you and Marvin Hagler said –
a quote from Vince Lombardi :
“The harder you work the harder it is to surrender.”
Best wishes
Harry
Harry, there isn’t a post from you that doesn’t teach me something. What a great quote, and one that I will remember. Outstanding! Thanks so much for your post Harry.
Rob,
Great Blarticle — and like so many others, it applies to several other aspects of our lives.
A few years ago, I listened to Earl Nightingale (on CD) tell a story of a young Hindu man he saw sitting on a bridge — for five straight days. Finally Nightingale asked him what he was doing. The young man responded: “In my religion, we believe you get many lives, and I’m sitting this one out.” What if that life was his last?
If God whispered in my ear “the next presentation will be the last one you ever give” how would I want to be remembered, and how would I move to create that memory? The thought extends to the next vacation… next outing with my bride, next time I get to visit with my sons. Last time I checked, getting that notification wasn’t in my contract. Thanks for helping me remember that fact with another great message from the House of Jolles, my friend.
Best of weekends to you!
JV
Wow, another powerful post. BLArticle® nation you’ve been eating your Wheaties! I was hoping when I wrote this piece that people would see past the presenter view of doing your best, and see this message on a larger scale. You did just that JV, and you did a beautiful job reminding others to do the same. Thanks so much for the post.
Rob,,
Great article!!
Doing your very best is always a WIN WIN for everyone and requires hard work. People intuitively know when they see a great speaker or accomplishment . (Sports- acting-etc.). It’s not about money, it’s not about fame, it’s what’s right, plan and simple.
Regards,
Buddy
Plain and simple – agreed. We ALWAYS know when we’ve done our best, or something less than our best. One key is to block those whispers of excuses; plain and simple. Thanks for posting Buddy!
I considered it my responsibility to do my best and to give it my all everytime. Maybe the client didn’t pay as much as the last client, but they are paying what they budgeted…maybe it’s a promo gig, and you want to give it your all because you believe in their purpose….or maybe you should just want to show up early, be the best you possible, shake hands, sign books and create a lasting memory for all of the attendees because all of those things are the RIGHT things to do. Once you own a moral compass, you will never need help finding direction. xoxo
Talking speaker to speaker it’s price and audience size that is the biggest challenge. It sounds easy to divorce yourself from cost, but ask yourself this question: “How hard did you work the last time you worked a program that was paying the most any client paid in a year?” Lots of motivation to do your very best. You were pumped. Now, did you put forth that same level of effort when you received the least amount a client paid in a year?” It’s subtle Doug, but the temptation is always there, and that’s why we’re talking about it. Double that effort for the low paying audience, or small audience, or small sale to a client and thumb your nose at those whispers. Thanks so much for posting Doug.
Rob, I must admit this one hit me where it hurts. I’d like to think I don’t listen to that voice, but, as you say, the temptation is nearly always there. I remember when my daughter was just 7 and playing soccer for the first time. I asked her why she she never ran to get to the ball–she told me, “Dad, I always need to save a little bit for later.” That was a great learning moment for both of us. It’s hard to play soccer if you’re always planning to get to the ball later!
Having coached a lot of soccer, and a bunch of 7 year olds that one is tricky. Seven is a little early, but I will tell you when I coached I was not a fan of “save a bit for later” strategies. Don’t think less of me when I say I offered those who were saving a bit for later some time on the bench to think about how much they wanted to save. That said, when I conduct a keynote presentation I move at a much faster pace then when I conduct a one or two-day workshop. I just couldn’t go eight hours at a one hour pace. So, the line is a bit gray on physical performance, besides, I don’t want to get in trouble with your daughter! Great hearing from you Neal!
Because you use the context of professional speaking, I will use that as the statement, “don’t always have to do my best.” As a professional speaker, I am acutely aware of how much I want to repare, to customize, to practice and to show up early and stay later. Why: because if I am not as good as possible, I become the worst type of thief. I stole their time!!
I can steal your car, your wallet, your art work, whatever and you can get it back or have insurance cover the loss. But when I take your time, I am taking precious minutes of your life. You can NEVER get those minutes back! I have always believed in the line from Kipling: “to fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run.”
I know no other way to work.
Now when I get a post from a powerful professional speaker, I’m listening hard. When that speaker quotes Kipling, that’s a home run! I love what you wrote Eileen because I never thought about this as robbing time… but now I do. I see it as a habit. The habit can be to take pride in our effort and not rob our client of precious time, or the habit can be to fool ourself into giving into temptation, and thinking pretty good is good enough. You knowing, “no other way to work” tells me which habit you’ve formed. Terrific post Eileen!
Well-said! Thanks for the inspiration, Rob.
Some people may give you the answer “when” is OK not to do the best, but I cannot think of any, esp. things I’m passionate about. For me, I get it done, get it done right, and get it done the best I can.
When we are passionate about something, it’s not much of a challenge to do our best. But when we are not passionate about it, the challenge is there. As Yoda once said, “Do, or not do. There is not try.” The next time you get hit by something that holds no challenge for you, double your efforts and see how that feels! Great hearing from you Hui!
Rob;
As usual, great lesson. You are a great writer, speaker and man. Always in enjoy your thoughts and laughs. Love the ironic typo – you are too cleaver for me to keep up. But I’ll always be inspired.
Oh, that typo, that was clever wasn’t it… or was it a legitimate typo at a very inopportune time? I’ll never tell! Thanks for the post, and the kind words Tom.
Discipline, focus, professionalism and competitive nature dictate we ALWAYS make our best effort. Although our performance may ultimately be less than optimal, preparation MUST be thorough and complete. As the great coach, Vince Lombardi once said, “the spirit, the will to win and the will to excel, these are the things that endure.” Regardless of the endeavor, history reveals that poor preparation guarantees failure, and failure is NOT an option!
Our man Vince gets quoted twice this week with two different quotes. Clearly, when we think of the discipline to do our best, Lombardi seems to come to mind. I like your take on this; effort is critical, but preparation is a critical part of effort. Thanks for sharing this great post Jack!