In the last 31 years, I have had hundreds of speaking engagements all over the world. For several years, I had over 20 engagements a year. Everyone wanted to hear what the crazy guy from Colorado had to say. From the beginning, I felt compelled to push members of my audience out of their comfort zones. Meaningful change will never take place until people are pushed to the edge of their comfort zone.
No one, however, likes to be pushed out of their comfort zone. The most common reaction to my pushing was saying, “You can’t do that here.” No matter where I was, at least one person would make that statement in reference to the management concepts and practices I was sharing. Ironically, in many cases, there was someone within 100 miles of them doing exactly what they said could not be done.
Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t – you are right.” This is as true today as it ever was. For the most part, we are limited only by what we think we can and cannot do. The “can-do” people will always have a HUGE competitive advantage over the “can’t do that here” people.
I am not asked to speak much anymore – and that is okay with me. It is becoming much more difficult to push cow-calf producers out of their comfort zones. That takes most of the fun out of it for me. My message has not changed one iota in the last 31 years – but more and more people are receptive to it. I miss the challenge. I do, however, have two speaking engagements on my calendar. I have been asked to speak in South Africa in January. I have also been asked to speak in Oklahoma in March. We will provide more details in future PCC® Updates.
Chinese Proverb
“Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it.”