Early in my career, I would do things as a salesman that only benefited me because I did not understand that Everything Counts!
I would sell things to clients that they did not need, take advantage of my employer’s trust and business, and manipulate every opportunity to get over at work.
Making a sale at any cost to the client, cutting corners, blaming others when things did not go well, coming in late, and leaving early were all traits I excelled at.
Until you understand your Passion, you will never understand Everything Counts!
Passion will drive you to serve others first. It will inspire you to do the things you do not want or like to do.
When you have a mentality of Everything Counts, you inspire excellence and drive exceptional results.
Too many of us and the organizations we work for are mired in mediocrity of our own making.
They focus their attention and efforts on getting the big things right because of the benefit and attention we think it will bring us.
In doing so, we ignore the little things that we believe are beneath us but can produce unbelievable results.
My dream was to play in the NFL as a young man.
I spent most of my time working on getting stronger, bigger, and faster.
These were the BIG things that drew a lot of attention to ME because at the time I believed I was the center of the universe.
Failure came swift and without mercy!
It was painfully obvious to every coach, player, and those watching that I never paid much attention to the little things.
Growing up, my coaches would tell me to work on my 3-point stance, the first step, how to use my hands, and many other boring things that I thought were meaningless.
I was as big, strong, and fast as most of those in my position in the NFL, BUT none of it mattered.
The slowest, smallest, and weakest lineman could beat me because they had mastered those boring details that I thought were meaningless.
The real failure was my focus. I thought playing in the NFL was all about me.
Tunnel vision happens when all that counts to you is YOU!
When we do our jobs for a paycheck, promotion, and building our brands, we are focusing on all the ME stuff.
As a result, reputations are damaged, brands are diluted, and loyalty is lost by the blatant disregard for the small stuff, which negatively impacts the customer, our co-workers, and employers.
Everything Counts is a call to greater responsibility to raise the performance bar.
Solomon wrote about this.
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).
As you reflect on your daily activities, whether public or private, always remember: “Everything counts!”
Find Your Passion…Find Your Life!