Keith Goodrum

I remember as a kid we would go to my uncle’s lake to go swimming. It really wasn’t his lake. It was by his house. But for some reason my brothers & me use to call it his lake.

Anyhow we would go out on the dock and get ready to jump in for the first time. This was a deep lake in Michigan, and in the summer the water would be cold the first time you jumped in.

All of us kids would hesitate to jump in because of the shock of the cold water. We would stand there swinging our arms like we were going to dive in headfirst. But, no one would move. Then the conversation would turn into a back-n-forth of “You go first” “No, you go first” “I dare you to go first” “No, I dare youuu to go first.”

Then someone would say. “On the count of three we all jump in together” Head nods all around… of course you knew not to actually jump in on the count of three. You were trying to get some ’sucker’ to go first.

OK, so on the count of three…

ONE!

TWWOOOO!

THREE!

And nobody jumps in… You had tried your best fakey move to get someone else to go first, but it didn’t work. Since everybody had tried their best fakey move to draw someone else we were all slightly off balanced…. laughing and carrying on. At that point all it would take is the right push to make you fall in the water. So, you would reach over and give your neighbor a good shove.

Unfortunately you weren’t the only one to get the same idea, and usually everyone would go into the lake.

Hitting that water felt like jumping into ice water. It just grabs you and takes your breath away. But after the initial shock wears off, and you’ve been swimming around you don’t hesitate jumping in again and again

Isn’t that what’s like when we try something for the first time?

You get right up to the edge and peer in… You keep asking others if they’re going to do it. You might make a couple ‘fakey’ moves, but stop short.

Then finally you either jump in, or someone gives you a little push. At first there’s the shock, but it wears off. Pretty soon you are wondering why you took so long to get going.

I know I messed around getting the blog up. I’ve been playing around with the idea for a longtime. But, I kept stalling & putting off launching this thing. There’s one thing I can say about this now… Why did it take me so long?

So, what’s taking you so long?

A couple weeks ago in a blog post What’s The Greatest Success Secret Of All Time? I answered it was action.  Just jump in the lake… before you know it the initial shock will wear off and you’ll wonder what took you so long.

Ryan Healy made a great post titled Does Transparency Hurt Business? Transparency in this case is when you let others see your mistakes & weaknesses.

Personally I don’t think it does. In fact I believe it actually helps your business. By laying it out there warts and all, it shows you are human. And in spite of the missteps, hiccups & obstacles things are still getting done.

I also like to think that people see these things, and are inspired in a way. They may think… if that dork can do this, imagine how much I could accomplish.

Speaking of dorks…

Usually on Fridays I post the TGIF Video Book review. And I was recording it today… when halfway through it stopped. The message on the screen said “Memory Full!” So, I cleared out the memory and went back to recording. This time about 2 minutes into the new recording the lo-battery light started flashing. Hey I bet I could get this done before the battery ran out… right?

Since you’ve read this far you know the answer was wrong. The recorder turned off about minute later. So, I started looking around for the charger… I still can’t find the *!?#%&@ thing.

I’ve made a command decision, and am postponing the TGIF Video Book Review for the week. It will resume it regularly scheduled programming next week. Who knows maybe I’ll find the charger by then.

Transparency Shows You Don’t Have To Be Perfect To Succeed 

In an earlier post titled Help I’ve Fallen… & I refuse To Get Back Up I talked about some of the mistakes I’ve made on this blog.  I’ve tried to be transparent and shown the mistakes I’m making along the way.  My intention is to show that not everything zips along according to plan.  You just work with the hand your dealt, and make the best of the situation.

So, do you agree?  Does transparency help a businesses, or person?

Post a comment, and let me know your thoughts.

Ryan Healy the other day listed on his blog The 12 Books That Changed My Life. He wrote that he loves to read and track each book he reads.

In fact, I began logging every book I finished starting in the 8th grade, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Every January, I close out the prior year, print my log, hole-punch it, and put it in my book log binder.

It’s nothing fancy, really. Just the book title, author, a few sentences about the book (including what I did or didn’t like), and a rating.

Wow, that’s impressive. I’m lucky if I can keep track of the bookmarker while reading a book.

Anyhow here are my choices of the books that changed my life.

1. Never Give In by Stephen Mansfield

This book is an excellent study in the leadership skills of Winston Churchill. Many of the leadership lessons I strive to follow.

2. The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton

The principles taught in this book are simple, yet effective. The story is entertaining, and a quick read. When I was done, I realized that the story had taught me the fundamentals of financial planning. Stuff I still to this day use.

3. The Tough-Minded Optimist by Norman Vincent Peale

I had been around people who practiced “positive thinking”. They would run around saying… everything’s great… Nothing was negative & the glass was always half-full. This attitude always seemed odd to me. It came across like you were suppose to stick your head in the sand, ignore the situation and everything would magically fix itself.

This book showed me that it was OK to recognize things for what they were. Then get tough, deal with it and move on. Changed my way of thinking.

4. Theodore Roosevelt An Autobiography

I like to read autobiographies of great leaders, and Theodore Roosevelt was one of our greatest leaders. Many people do not realize that he laid the foundation that made the US the superpower it is today. It was inspiring to see the obstacles he overcame to become president.

5. The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey

This is the book that converted me to Christianity. I never understood the true meaning of salvation until I read this book. I could go on about this, but it’s as simple as the last 2 sentences.

6. The Ultimate Marketing Plan by Dan Kennedy

My Window cleaning business was slowly circling the drain until I picked up this book at Kinko’s. This book was a radical paradigm shift in my way of doing business. I can clearly point to this one book as the reason I built a profitable business.

7. The Bible

If I was stranded on a desert island & could only take one book, then this would be the one.

8. Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman by Merle Miller

The one thing that got Harry Truman into so much trouble was he spoke his mind. Because of that trait he is probably one of the most under rated presidents of our time.

The buck stops here was on his desk while president. Taking responsibility was a strong theme throughout his life. That principle left a strong impression on me.

9. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This Pulitzer Prize winning book was required reading in high school. It made a huge impression on me concerning race, and standing up for the right cause… no matter what others around you are saying.

Those are the books that greatly influenced me. I’m glad that Ryan wrote this post, and asked others to put up their list. It was fun to sit down and write about why these books influenced me. In fact I’ve decided to read the books on this list again. It will be interesting to see what I get out of them this time around.

OK, what about you? Make your list; post it on your blog, and link back to Ryan’s post. It will be interesting to see the books that have influenced you.