COMPANY BLOG
Let’s tie it all together
BUT WHAT DOES IT REALLY TAKE?
There’s one word that ties it all together. Without this you don’t stand a chance. Without this you will give up. Without this marriages do not last, people jump from job to job.. or chase opportunity after opportunity and never really accomplish much.
Without this you will wonder “why me” alot.
You wanna know what that one thing is? The one thing that will without question keep you in the game of life. When things don’t go your way and your commitment level is tested.
That one thing is….
RESOLVE
If you have resolve you have a chance. Resolve is something that those who have “burned the boats” have. It is for people who don’t have an exit strategy in their marriage. For people who don’t waste time worrying about all the next moves and what ifs. People who focus and can be present in the moment have resolve. Resolve is the key.
People with resolve understand this…..
James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness (Endurance). And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Expect to Win, Zach Vassar l Company Coach coachvassar@gmail.com Matthew 6:33COMMUNICATION
Isn’t it crazy that the most simple, understood word in our vocabulary is also the one we point to most often when asked “what do we need to do better?”
Here’s why:
WE ALL THINK & LEARN DIFFERENTLY
So it’s deeper than just “let’s over communicate”. That helps, but only goes so far.
How do you get better at communicating? You take time to understand the people you are communicating with. I already know what you are thinking…. THAT TAKES TIME…
ANSWER – YEP.. sure does. And so does everything else in life that is worth doing the right way.
Instead of looking at it as time waste. Look at is as time investment. Miscommunication is already costing you time. Invest in the time it takes to understand others better and you begin to lose less time in miscommunication.
I realize this is a deep concept. We have to understand that the creator of our world created each one of us.. and everyone else around us unique. We are not all the same.
Start with this:
After you communicate something to someone, ask them to re-tell it back to you. This is a great practice in any relationship… marriage, parenting, business conversations, with friends… saying “hey run that back to me so I know we are rock solid on this…” IS A VERY SIMPLE EFFECTIVE WAY TO COMMUNICATE.. AND TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THOSE AROUND YOU THINK.
Ultimately “communication” stems from the word community… I can’t think of a better time than now when we’ve needed more unity amongst people. It all starts with “seeking to understand vs seeking to be understood.”
This could unlock A LOT of success in your life!
Expect to Win,
Zach Vassar l Company Coach
coachvassar@gmail.com
Matthew 6:33
DEDICATION
This one’s tough… follow me for a min…
I’ve worked in 4 totally different industries. Teaching & Coaching, Direct Sells, Corporate, and now as a company Chaplain. Something I have observed over the years has a common theme. NO MATTER the industry, dedication remains the same.
People who are dedicated are hard to explain. It’s hard to understand something for someone else. Someone dedicated to their craft only truly knows their own personal dedication level. Some people are really good at doing “just enough”… getting by… They are typically easily satisfied, cut corners, and expect others to get the job done.
Dedication looks like a job well done… even if takes a few times to get it done right. Dedicated people are not too prideful to ask for help. Dedicated people tend to see the big picture and not just how things effect them personally. What I am talking about is rare.
BUT YOU CAN BE RARE! You can stick out. You can do a job the right way because that’s the right way to do things. In fact.. IN SO MANY cases I am preaching to the choir. So many of you reading this do an excellent job at the things you do.
I want to point out the guys in the shop for this example. You hardly ever hear from them. I check on them at least 2 times a week. EVERYTIME I am in there those guys have a smile on their face and are getting things done. And if they don’t like the outcome they do it again… and again… and again… until it is the best it can possibly be. They get called out all over the roads and I NEVER hear them complain. It’s really amazing. What I realized after observing is that they are simply dedicated. I’m really proud to be around those guys. They challenge me and make me better.
I could go around the locations and say great things about you all. Those of you who are truly dedicated are rubbing off on those around you. You are making others better. AND THAT is something to be admired for.
Expect to Win,
Zach Vassar l Company Coach
coachvassar@gmail.com
Matthew 6:33
FEAR
Towards the end of Paul’s life he wrote a farewell letter to a guy named Timothy. Timothy was not Paul’s biological son, but both viewed their relationship father-son like. Paul was like a mentor/dad to Timothy. As this was the last letter of his life, (assuming he knew it would be) think of it as straight to the point…… “here’s what matters most child”. Here’s my favorite part of Paul’s letter:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has NOT given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
This is not the kind of fear like we get standing on the edge of 10,000 foot cliff or if we were being robbed, etc… This is the kind of fear that rests in our minds. Like anxiety, timidness from worrying of what others may think, fear that we might be rejected again… fears of uncertainties in today’s economy and other things happening in our world. It’s not that reality isn’t real. We are in fact in uncertain times. However, the spirt of fear that can consume you because of these times is the trap. You see those are all lies… and there are many more – you get the point.
Notice he didn’t say fear is not real. In fact he called it what it is – a spirit. He also tells us it does NOT come from God. That would leave only one place the spirit of fear comes from – the deceiver. These sort of fears are designed to keep us from being all who God created us to be… even in uncertain times. He created you just like He created Timothy – with a spirit of:
POWER, LOVE & A SOUND MIND!!
This Lion painting reminds me of this daily. My wife Rachel painted it for me a few years back and it hangs right behind my chair as I type this. Reminding me to be bold and courageous and never let the spirit of fear dictate the direction of my life. It doesn’t mean I am not afraid at times. There’s just no reason to submit my life to that fear. Like many reading this, I am also a parent. And like Paul, I desire for my children to see me handle that fear well, and in turn, they understand this lesson too.
I pray today that you are reminded of who you are and how powerfully you are created.
You are a lion/lioness!!
Expect to Win,
Zach Vassar l Company Coach
coachvassar@gmail.com
Matthew 6:33
House Rules
One thing is certain… we are in trying times. And no matter what you try to do you keep running into multiple opinions from so many different perspectives. Just when you decide you have a stance something else grabs your attention.
A couple of years ago, the leadership team decided to go on a journey at Dunagin Transport and pressed into their core values. This sounds really simple, but let me be the first to tell you otherwise. IF you really dig into what matters to you the most you will see what I mean.
Obstacle #1 – When we start talking about what we value we tend to take a trip to fantasy land. Instead of writing down what matters, we like to write down what we wish mattered. So it turns in to a gaol setting session of “aspiring values.”
Obstacle #2 – It’s very tempting to look around at others to see what matters to them. This NEVER works. Your values are not the high school quiz you weren’t prepared for…
Years ago I read a book that challenged how I was handling obstacles. What I discovered is that the very best way to handle an obstacle is to go right at it. If you try to dance around them, 9 times of out 10 you will come right back to where you started… hence, getting nowhere.
Here is what we discovered. The only way to overcome the obstacles is to get very vulnerable. A word that most business leaders will tell you to be careful with. Here, we would suggest right the opposite. If you want to get somewhere you have to first start with where you are.
So here’s where we are. Honesty, Generosity, Respect, Unity. These are the things that truly matter to us the most at Dunagin Transport. We honor these. We protect these. We defend these. And we make our decisions based upon these. This does NOT make us perfect. If anything, it just challenges us more. We use these like a great coach would use at half-time of his most important game. We consider them to be our fundamental core values.
I challenge you to dive into this process in your personal life. Determine what truly matters to you the most. What do you really care about? What do you value? Bring this practice into your home. Ask your wife the same questions. Let your children share what matters most to them. Develop your own “house rules”. Most importantly, honor them, protect them, defend them… and be prepared to change them somewhere along the way.
“You may not believe in what we believe in, but you cannot deny that we believe in what we believe in.”
Expect to Win,
Zach Vassar l Company Coach
coachvassar@gmail.com
Matthew 6:33