Issue No. 497 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting spotlights a new book that double-dares you to face your fears—and JUMP! And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), click here for over 500 book reviews, and click here for the Mastering Mistake-Making webpage. (See Mistake #22 below.)
Jump author Kim Perell says you can inoculate yourself against rejection—and learn to do what scares you!
Inoculate Yourself Against Rejection!
Quick! Cancel your next meeting and invest 15 minutes in viewing this hilarious TedTalk, “What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection.” Jia Jiang grew up with a traumatic fear of rejection. “Rejection was my curse,” he confesses. It “was my boogeyman.” But…rather than fleeing rejection, he embraced it!Jiang embarked on a creative 100-day journey of rejection—and you’ll laugh your way through his TedTalk and share it with colleagues. According to Kim Perell’s new Wall Street Journal bestseller, Jump: Dare to Do What Scares You in Business and Life—this young wanna-be entrepreneur figured out how to inoculate himself against rejection! Click here for his TedTalk.
View this hilarious and insightful TedTalk, “What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection” (15 min.).
Kim Perell (her own bio includes rejection, but also big wins) has an uncanny understanding of our fears and our excuses, listing dozens of reasons why we fail to take the leap into the next big thing.
Jump is the perfect encouragement gift (Christmas, birthday, any reason) for your colleagues, friends, and family members. In just nine short chapters, Perell’s big ideas are irresistible reading—and her book complements and enriches the wisdom of many other authors.
Chapter 1: TAKE THE LEAP. What kind of jumper are you? Your colleagues? 1) Survival Jumper? 2) Opportunity Jumper? Or 3) Stagnant Jumper? (#3: “You’re considering a change because you’ve stagnated, are bored, or feel unfulfilled.”)
This reminded me of Hans Finzel’s poignant confession, “My heart had left the building,” in his book, The Power of Passion in Leadership.
With five gut-check questions, Perell counsels, “look before you leap,” and asks, “Can I see my first three steps onto this path?” Or maybe just one, per Henry Blackaby’s insight: “When Jesus invited Peter to get out of the boat to walk on the water, He did not assure Peter he would stay afloat! The Lord simply said, ‘Come!’ (Matt. 14:28).”
Chapter 2: MASTER YOUR MINDSET. “Delete your excuses,” preaches Perell. Her family “would celebrate who had the worst failure. We normalized failure and developed a tolerance for it because that took away its power and mystery.” Don’t have enough time, money, or experience? Just excuses!
Oh, my! Jump was released on Nov. 16, 2021—but I could have used it earlier this fall. My granddaughter, Annika (14), is in the South County Community Handbell Choir (adult choir) and I was her Uber Grandpa transportation to rehearsals. Had I read Jump earlier, I would not have wasted my litany of excuses when Annika and the director asked me to join the handbell choir! (Excuse #1: “But…my most recent serious musical endeavor was in 1968 as a church choir director!”)
Well…I did JUMP in. It’s the hardest thing I’ve tackled in 10 years—but I’m blessed to be ringing with Annika. Our third of three Christmas gigs is Dec. 12. Y’all come!
Granddaughter Annika (14) invited me to JUMP into the South County Community Handbell Choir. (Please hum along: “Jingle bells, jingle bells…”)
The author inspired me! “As a rule of thumb, if something scares me or I hesitate because I haven’t done something before…I make myself do it!”
Chapter 3: TURN YOUR FEARS INTO FUEL. “Failing doesn’t make you a failure. Giving up does.” Kim Perell uses a four-step F.E.A.R. process: 1) Feel, 2) Embrace, 3) Act, 4) Repeat.
My favorite morning meditation from John Baillie (see Mistake #22 below), included this prayer on Day 29, “God, so many people who came before me have trusted You and weren't disappointed, so remove now all my useless anxieties and paralyzing fears."
Chapter 4: THE POWER OF DECISION-MAKING. Perell notes that Colin Powell (1937-2021) was “a big fan of the 40-70 rule which says that you need no less than 40 percent and no more than 70 percent of the available information to make a good choice.” She also urges jumpers to trust their gut more.
I’m reminded that the intuitive approach is especially challenging for two of the four social styles. Read more on social styles here.
• Analyticals: avoids risks, based on facts.
• Drivers: takes risks, based on intuition.
• Amiables: avoids risks, based on opinion.
• Expressives: takes risks, based on hunches.
By the way, the two-page chapter summaries are split into two groupings: Jump Prep and Jump Hacks. Here’s a hack: “Another way to force yourself to trust your instincts on a smaller scale is to count to ten, then make a decision.” Or…try my suggestion in the Hoopla! Bucket: “Take a team walk and don’t turn back until you’ve made the big decision!”
Chapter 5: DEFINE SUCCESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS. My opinion: there is inadequate wisdom available on “jumping away from a situation” and how to “make peace with the past.” Gratefully, the author blends her counsel on goal-setting along with how to take stock of lessons learned in your present situation—before you jump.
This reminded me of Michael Hyatt’s book, Your Best Year Ever, and his wife’s wisdom, “People lose their way when they lose their why.”
Chapter 6: CREATE YOUR ONE-YEAR SUCCESS PLAN. Practical, gritty, and workable. “Do the hardest thing first” reminded me of Brian Tracy’s book, Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. He quotes Mark Twain’s wit and wisdom, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” Click here for my review and Tracy’s two funny frog rules!
Click here to download Kim Perell’s 37-page template for a one-year success plan.
Noting that your one-year success plan should be “aspirational (yet attainable),” the author highlights the innovative fitness program, “Couch to 5K”—one of the world’s most popular exercise programs, according to the BBC. By creating a weekly regimen of small wins, even a couch potato can run five kilometers in just nine weeks. Click here for the 2018 BBC video, “Anybody Can Run: The Story of Couch to 5K” (4-min.), click here for a 2021 update, and google your favorite app store for the "Couch to 5K" app.
Chapter 7: THE ART OF RELATIONSHIP BUILDING. Perell urges jumpers to “build bridges, don’t burn them.” And then this alert: “I promise that scorching the earth when you leave is one of the least pragmatic and intelligent things you can do for your career and reputation.” For more on this no-no, read the wisdom in Rob Barnett’s recent book, Next Job, Best Job.
Chapter 8: TAP INTO YOUR INNER STRENGTH. When is the last time you’ve exercised your emotional courage muscle? (“…it gets stronger the more you exercise it.”) Perell adds, “Emotional courage is a common trait among many of the most successful people I’ve worked with. They’ve trained themselves to be able to feel uncomfortable feelings and have hard conversations, because successful people know that not addressing the hard thing head-on will hurt more in the long run.”
The author confesses she struggles with emotional courage. Ditto. I appreciate Max Lucado’s wisdom in his book, Fearless. “Don’t waste an hour wondering what your boss thinks; ask her.”
Chapter 9: STOP CARING WHAT OTHERS THINK. It was tough to pick my favorite chapter, but this one has three memorable take-aways:
• “People-pleasing is a losing battle.”
• “Cut out the critics.” (Read the five powerful questions for your own life audit.)
• “It’s never too late to jump.”
Perell spotlights Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. He jumped at age 62 and in 12 years, KFC had more than 600 franchises! That brought me back to a favorite book, 5: Where Will You Be Five Years from Today? by Dan Zadra.
I hope you’ll jump into this book. Two options:
• Option 1: Delegate your reading for all the books I’ve mentioned here.
• Option 2: Just read Jump—a sweeping approach to doing what scares you!
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Jump: Dare to Do What Scares You in Business and Life, by Kim Perell. Are you a listener? Listen to the book on Libro.fm (4 hours, 19 minutes). And thanks to HarperCollins Leadership for sending a review copy.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) Kim Perell is goal-oriented. She uses the “Rockefeller Habits” approach recommended by Verne Harnish in Scaling Up (my 2018 book-of-the-year). “I asked every team member to pick three goals or milestones for each month and to monitor their progress toward those goals.” Pop Quiz! What are your three goals for this month?
2) OK, since you asked—here’s one more book recommendation! Seth Godin asks, “What is the desperate need in organizations today? We need a VP of Starting. We need armies of gutsy people who don’t wait around asking for permission to launch.” Urge your staff to also read Poke the Box: When Was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time? by Seth Godin (just 84 practical pages).
Breaking News! You don’t earn heavenly brownie points for practicing spiritual disciplines! John Ortberg writes, “Once the game starts, basketball players get no bonus points based on how many free throws they shot in practice. The only reason to practice them is to be able to make them in a game.” (See Mistake #22 in Mastering Mistake-Making.)
Mistake #22 of 25: Checking the Box, But Missing the Message
Insights from Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned
John’s Mistake #22: “Looking back over the years of my morning meditations, I realize now that I often found comfort in the methodology—not the Message.”
In this chapter, Pearson recommends John Ortberg’s book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted. Ortberg writes, “Spiritual transformation is not a matter of trying harder, but of training wisely.” He warns do-gooders (and check-the-box devotees) that God is not impressed with the activity of training.
Ortberg: “Spiritual disciplines are to life what calisthenics are to a game. Once the game starts, basketball players get no bonus points based on how many free throws they shot in practice. The only reason to practice them is to be able to make them in a game.”
For Mistake #22, John recommends two books:
• A Diary of Private Prayer: A Devotional Classic, by John Baillie (2014 edition with introduction by Susanna Wright)
• The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People, by John Ortberg
Click here to view the list of all 25 mistakes and read the introduction to Mastering Mistake-Making. To order this book from Amazon, click on the title for Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned (10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning Workbook), by John Pearson with Jason Pearson.
"MISTAKES ARE LIKE TUITION." Read the blog by Dr. Richard (Rick) Goossen, Chairman of The Entrepreneurial Leaders Organization (The ELO Network), "Have You Mastered the Craft of Making Mistakes?" And listen to George P. Wood's interview with John Pearson, "“How to Make Mistakes Well” on the Influence Podcast. And, if you missed John's half-day board seminar on Nov. 18, 2021, hosted by The Barnabas Group/Orange County, “The 4 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board – How Leaders Enrich Their Ministry Results Through God-Honoring Governance," you can now order the 107-page workbook on Amazon. Click here.
JASON PEARSON: UNEXPECTED CREATIVE. Is your organization facing a bold opportunity—but timidity is holding you back? We can help you JUMP strategically, thoughtfully, and prayerfully. We’ll help you face your fears! Contact Pearpod Media (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
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