Evolve or Die
by
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When you were young and living
with your parents, you probably couldn’t wait for the day to arrive when you
could leave their house and no longer have to live under their scrutiny or
rules. You loved them of course, but you were frustrated by their power over
your life. You wanted to run your own life, and the sooner the better.
After entering college or some
other post-secondary training, you quickly noted how incompetent the instructors
were and couldn’t believe that you had to do what they said to earn the grades
you needed to graduate. Who were these schmucks who had control of your life?
You landed your first job and immediately wanted to help improve the company’s inane policies, but you were quickly shown the way to the door if you didn’t live according to the company’s rules. So you lowered your head and did what you were told; or you left in search of a better job.
Now you come home after a long,
hard day working for some creep who can’t put on his own shoes by himself even if
they have Velcro straps. And you’re tired and disgusted because of all the dissatisfied customers you had to deal with and the lying
sales people and the person in payroll that can never get a single paycheck
right. You don’t know whether you’d rather kill somebody or just sit down and
drink yourself into oblivion. You look forward to the day you can retire and
actually start living your life the way you want to live it.
Listen! Our lives have always been in our control. We are where we choose to be. If we want to be victims, then that’s what we choose to become.
I didn’t choose to be male, or an American, or five foot seven inches tall for that matter. But within that context, the life I live is my own; this is the life I have chosen for me. I am responsible for who and where I am. Sure I’d like to blame my problems on someone else. I’d like to be able to say that I would be happy if it just weren’t for that certain person I have to put up with. But then I’d never face my own problems nor realize that it is within my power to change my life.
Maybe you are already living the life you had always dreamed. Or maybe you just like to complain. For me, every second that goes by is another opportunity to enjoy the life I have or to change it toward the life I want. Every second is the opportunity of a lifetime. . .. . .During the next energy crisis I’m going to offer to let them just plug into me and I’ll light up the state.
Anyone who knows me has firsthand
knowledge of my energy level. Get me going in a meeting and I’ll be pacing the
floor, jumping on the table, whatever it takes to keep the momentum of the
meeting alive. That’s just the way I am. Don’t let it freak you out.
Am I dangerous? You bet! I’ve had enough of people playing it safe. LIFE IS NOT SAFE! Whoever told you so lied.
I don’t ask my attorney what I
can do; I ask how I can do what I want to do. I never take no for an answer.
Life is too precious to play it safe. If I had played it safe I’d still be
living in
Life’s such a kick. I just don’t see what everyone’s so worried about. So your feelings get hurt once and awhile. Big deal!
I’m not crazy, you know. I’m just excitable, or I’m just fast enough to stay ahead of the men in white coats. I love life and want to make the best of it. I don’t have time to worry.
Listen. The only thing to be
scared of is your own judgment. You have to learn to trust yourself. You don’t
have to be brilliant. When you don’t know something, admit it. Ask for help. Lots
of people out there are just dying to help somebody, so it might as well be you!
Don’t kid yourself. You can’t hide from who you are, no matter how crazy you are, because wherever you go you take you and your judgment with you. That’s just the way it is. No matter what you do, whether you play it safe or not, you’re betting your life on your actions each and every day.
There’s no way around it. The rest of your life is dependent upon what you do today. If you don’t believe me, look at the sparks.
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Book Details
About the Book
Listen. We all know that the best way to survive in Corporate America is to never make a decision. You make a decision and you might just get fired for it. I want to change that. In my company we have an environment where employees are encouraged to make decisions. No one can make decisions without probably half of them turning out, in hindsight, to not be the best option available. It’s inherent in the decision making process.
Performance is the only criteria of value.
Once we learn to make decisions with a limited amount of information at the workplace, we take this process home with us. We learn that we cannot take control of our personal lives without risk. We become better at making decisions with a limited amount of information, because most decisions can’t wait. We are no longer victims of our circumstances. We realize that the only security we have is confidence in our own abilities.
EVOLVE OR DIE! is a collection of motivational articles written over my twenty-some years in business. This book challenges us to take risks, to make decisions, in both our business and personal lives.
About the Author
Timothy S. LaBadie
is the founder and chairman of the board of CrossCheck
Inc., the nation's largest independently owned payment
guarantee company. He is past president of American Marketing Corporation and
The Green Sheet, Inc., a national financial services newsletter and magazine
publisher. He is also founder and past president of Hasslinger
Studios, a fine art cast glass sculpture studio, and Planetspin
Productions, which included retail record stores as well as concert and music
video production.
Mr. LaBadie
approaches the business world as an artist might approach the creation of a
piece of art: He is more interested in the process of creation than the end
result. Having founded several businesses and worked with thousands of business
and sales professionals, he has a natural eye for details and a flair for ideas
and concepts. By training he is a writer and artist, and holds a BA degree in
art from
CrossCheck
Inc. provides payment solutions to over 79,000 merchant outlets across the
country. Founded in
The company’s guarantee services
enable merchants to increase sales by safely accepting checks from more than
180 million individuals who have checking accounts. Merchants are protected
against losses on checks approved by the company’s authorization center because
CrossCheck agrees to reimburse at face value checks
which have been approved, up to the maximum approval limit. Consumers benefit
through easier and faster check acceptance
CrossCheck
employs over 350 associates in