If you don't like it, change it

My former brother-in-law, Lewis, may he rest in peace, was a huge influence on me during his time with us. Lewis was a talented artist whose creativity shined through his artwork. In one of his canvas pieces, he allowed me to add to it in the final stages. I suggested we add a coral figure since the painting reminded me of an underwater scene. Lewis added it and it looked horrible. I was mortified. I thought we ruined an amazing piece of art.

Lewis confidently said to me, “don’t worry Doug, we can easily change it.” He worked his magic with the paint brush and blended the coral figure into the piece where you could barely tell we added it in the first place.

He then said to me “if you don’t like the way something looks, you can change it.” It was an aha moment for me because his words resonated with me in so many aspects of life. We often dwell on things that are not working out for us, but don’t do anything to change it. When we finally make the change, we realize that it wasn’t that hard to do after all.

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I see many professionals fall victim to aspects of their professional lives that make them miserable yet are not willing to step out of their comfort zone to change it. Many are risk adverse and fear that if they try to change, they may end up being in a worse position. Others fall into a state of complacency where their current state is “good enough” yet they continue to swim in a pool of mediocrity.

When we get caught up in our daily routine, we tend to forget that our careers and lives don’t go on for an infinite amount of time. It becomes easier to push important initiatives or changes to another day. A slippery slope that extends mediocrity or misery for weeks, months, or even years.

Unfortunately, it often takes a “wake-up call”, e.g. the loss of a family member or friend, to remind us that our lives are finite on this planet, and that if we don’t act now to change what is not working for us, it might be too late.

I miss Lewis and the positive influence he had on me. I am also grateful for the lesson he taught me several years ago in his art studio. The painting that we created together now hangs in our house as a reminder to act now rather than delay. On the back of the painting, he wrote “Life – if you don’t like, change it!”

There is no reason why you cannot build the ideal business. To do that, it often takes courage and drive to act now rather than procrastinate.

For those of you who are risk-adverse or complacent, I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone to pursue what you want. You will soon realize that it wasn’t as hard as you thought it would be.

Life is too short to float in mediocrity.