Thought Tweet #714 The people you know have enough challenges and fears on their own plates to make your problems pale by comparison.

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Also, your achievements do little to alleviate others’ fears, or address their challenges, or attack their opportunities, or resolve their problems. You will have excelled if your achievements alleviate some of your own fears, let alone touch at removing the fears of others.

You may obtain value by considering that, from time to time.

It can be very difficult to take care of oneself...looking out for #1 can be a real chore.

Machiavelli knew this.

Some 500 years ago Machiavelli wrote the facts of it. For all his wisdom, he is now seen by the ‘mob’ as the harbinger of bad things…sinister, the speaker of the unspeakable. But, like most of us, Machiavelli is at best understood just enough to be misunderstood. While he spoke simple, honest, straight-forward realism, his name is now a cliché for the toughness or nastiness of the human condition around strength and power.

It seems to me Machiavelli just wanted to support his homeland. He just wanted to guide those more powerful than he. He just wanted to be factual and ‘pragmatic’ and he just wanted to sell his novel-efficient ideas concerning lordship and power.

He just wanted a piece of the pie.

He wanted to help others make the pie bigger…and he wanted his piece.

But Machiavelli...boy...this guy was weak on sales skill.

He was horrible at it. Not as bad as some of the people who have worked for me, of course, but that’s another story and Machiavelli’s sales skills were awful nonetheless.

Sure, his words have stood the test of 500 years of time. But, at the time when he wrote them, his words were not selling anyone on anything. In fairness to him, there is no question – it was tough to find a good audience for much in the 1500’s.

Yes, Machiavelli was not that successful in his day. And, history and ‘mob’ rote-thinking has not been much kinder to him. Today’s ‘mob’, none of whom I am sure has ever read a word he put to paper, view Machiavelli as the cliché for manipulative skepticism. And, that is a damn shame. After 500 years it is time to cut this guy some slack.  I mean everyone is pretty happy about giving many others credit where credit is due: Galileo, etc.

So, why not cut some slack for Machiavelli?

We will all do better if we spend some time increasing:

• self-awareness [Who am I?, How do I fit in?, etc.]
• self-knowledge [What inspires me?, What do I have to offer?, etc.]
• self-monitoring [What am I doing...and what's driving me to act this way?, How are others reacting to me?, Do I care about their reactions?, etc.]
• self-regulating [Oh...wait a second...I'm not doing the right thing here...How can I adjust my behaviour?, etc.]
• self-control [Which is a life-long, challenging process. And, self-control is one of the defining traits of a leader.]

Try looking at skins and skulls from different perspectives.

Here's a dark-side way of looking at them...

The majority of people have either thick skulls, or thin skin, or both. Certainly, 'both' is not a rare thing. About 9 out of 10 people have thick skulls or thin skin or both. You know this. You see it every day. You see it all the time.

You know, when you go back to work tomorrow morning, you will be forced to deal with these people: thick skulls and thin skin will lurk or swagger all over the place.

Thick skulls and thin skin will be the body parts of: 

• many of your co-workers
• many of your suppliers
• many of your accountants & lawyers
• many of your company executives
• many of your business consultants

Someone with a thick skull will have his car in your assigned parking spot.

Someone with a thin skin will honk her horn at you, shake a finger or a fist at you, and mouth some words at you while you search around the parking lot trying to find another place to put your car.

Good Morning! That stuff will happen before you even get into your work-place building.

Then, you will make it into your building. Then what?

Well, you will encounter more thick skulls and more thin skin. Perhaps, these will be worn by the person who lets you know your access key has expired? Perhaps, it will be the person at the reception desk who again shares with you that contorted frown like, “Oh, it’s you again.”? Perhaps, it will be the nasty look on the coffee-cashier’s face or the nasty tone in the cashier’s voice when you muster the courage to mention you only received change for $5 when you had paid with $10?

A barrage of thick skulls and thin skin will surround you. You will be under thick-skull and thin-skin siege …at your own workplace. Your little castle will have no moat or drawbridge to save you.

But your castle...well, that's only the beginning of it.

Thick skulls and thin skin will be on every beach, on every landing ground, on every field, on every street, and around every hill.

And, worst [or is it best?] of all...

Those with thick skulls and thin skin will be your customers. 

And, here’s a most-awesome thing to remember…

Those with thick skulls and thin skin will be your competition.