Change or Die is a thought-provoking book I've recently read and it has challenged me on a lot of levels. The book includes a story about the early years of Amazon and Jeff Bezos' hiring practices. They had 10-12 employees and it was the hardest place in America to get a job. When it was time to hire a new position or replace a current one, the employees would make dozens if not scores of recommendations. Bezos turned almost all of them down. It got to the point, that people thought Bezos was crazy and the company would die because the most basic of position requiring the most basic of skills was like trying to get nominated to the Supreme Court. The reason Bezos was so particular was because he refused to hire anybody that didn't fit a predetermined criteria for the type of person that he wanted in his little company. We all know that the rest is history.
As I reflected on this and some things I've been experiencing recently, my perspective on the power of 'no' has evolved. Bezos said 'no' which really exponentially empowered his 'yes'. I've gained some deeper insights through some personal experiences on the word 'no' too. When I communicate exactly what I'm looking for or what my expectations are and I say 'no' to anything that doesn't meet those standards the message is intensely clear that I'm committed to my standards. I've also found that in order to accomplish goals, saying 'no' to distractions, is actually as powerful if not more powerful than saying 'yes' to things that I want to accomplish.
In essence, my 'no' accomplishes a lot more than my 'yes'.
As I reflected on this and some things I've been experiencing recently, my perspective on the power of 'no' has evolved. Bezos said 'no' which really exponentially empowered his 'yes'. I've gained some deeper insights through some personal experiences on the word 'no' too. When I communicate exactly what I'm looking for or what my expectations are and I say 'no' to anything that doesn't meet those standards the message is intensely clear that I'm committed to my standards. I've also found that in order to accomplish goals, saying 'no' to distractions, is actually as powerful if not more powerful than saying 'yes' to things that I want to accomplish.
In essence, my 'no' accomplishes a lot more than my 'yes'.
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on
being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read
about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director
of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few
degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school
sweetheart and they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated
most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter
for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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