Watch Your Language!

“Watch your language!” That’s what your parents might have told you growing up. The Diamond is telling you that right now. I got three separate phone calls in the past 24 hours, all of which started out with the following opening, “Hey Dave, I got a problem” or “Hey, we got a problem” and each time the person on the other end of the phone seemed dejected like their goldfish just died or something. I guess I must be considered to be a problem solver or a “transaction engineer” of some corny phrase like that because people keep calling me with their problems. By the way, when I actually find out what the “problem” is, it’s usually such a minor thing that requires literally no action for it to be solved. Maybe the greatest extent of action would be a simple phone call with a different angle.

One of the greatest things I’ve learned is how to be a better communicator. It may have had something to do with the fact that I spent a few years of my life making 300-400 phone calls per day to very unmotivated people. Yes, I actually made that many calls, not just imagined I did. Maybe that has allowed me to see the world differently than some. Whatever it is, I know one thing for a fact….the ability to REALLY communicate with someone is what separates the boys from the men. It’s what makes a problem become nothing more than some dirt on my shoulder I need to simply shake off….I wear a lot of white clothing so dirt doesn’t look good. A lot of people think they are communicating well or at an above average level but that is because they don’t understand the concept. Communication first starts with how you talk to yourself. At any given moment, I know when I might need to kick myself in the butt…and I’ll be the first to recognize it and I’ll then….kick myself in the butt. I don’t feel sorry for myself, I don’t go and watch television to take my mind off of it. I don’t call my Mom. I simply do it and DO IT NOW. That’s all. There are other times when I need to be my own biggest fan. You know, kick back for 20 minutes and think about what I just accomplished. I do that every now and then, maybe over a cup of coffee. But that’s boring to me. That’s feeling comfortable and I recognize that feeling right away and equate that with WEAK. Sure I enjoy it for the moment, I live in the moment and then I’m back at it again like my man Flanagan.

For those of you reading this who have a life full of “problems,” maybe this is the butt kicking session you needed. Just like you need to build up in anything you do, whether running long distances or bench pressing in the weight room or even learning to type faster….You also need to build up your tolerance for minor issues and stress. Start looking forward to squashing these things. Start enjoying when they come up so you can bring them right back down. Like the owner of the NFL’s Raiders, Al Davis, likes to say, “The quarterback MUST go down and he MUST go down hard.” Make that your motto for a day and see how easy things become. I’ve made it a motto for a lifetime. And by the way, problems don’t exist, they are mere bumps in the road. Lessons on the path. Maybe you need to just quit hanging around with losers, that’s all right, you can hang with me....Hey, I hope this stuff I’m writing is better than those corporate pre-written newsletters that others keep sending you …haha…signing off…The Diamond.