Rincon Awaits

No one foresaw 2020 coming – we all thought we would ride cool waves this year.  Then a tsunami struck!  Whatever expectations many people had, for better or worse they were not fulfilled. For some this year, it has been like surfing in Rincon, Puerto Rico – non-stop fun and action! For others, it has been a year for which they wish they had left their surfboard vertical, dry, and at home.

With a flood of information -- often conflicting and draining -- the challenge we all face is managing our own expectations. Based on the information available, how do we get the most out of our business and life? Let’s dive in on this, free ourselves up, and discover the Rincon surfer mindset.

Dealing with Expectations

The dictionary defines an expectation as “a strong belief that something will happen or be the case.” Can you spot the key word? The key word in that sentence means “an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof” and “trust, faith, or confidence in (someone or something).”  That word is belief.  Beliefs and expectations are tied together.

Your expectations hinge on your beliefs.  However, your beliefs may or may not be true. The name of the game is managing your beliefs, or what you hold to be true, especially when there is little or no information or evidence.

There is a saying “under promise and over deliver.” This is intended to manage expectations. Another hackneyed quote is “expect the worst and hope for the best”.  These can be useful business and life techniques, but you are just protecting yourself and the people you are working with from the impact of failure.  Is that really the kind of wave you want to ride?  Perhaps not.

When you are surfing, you are waiting for -- or expecting -- a wave to come. If you read our last newsletter, you are not just expecting a wave, you are anticipating your wave. You can’t control which wave comes, but you can control your expectations of it and how you will react. That means that you have to be responsible for your beliefs, and those beliefs have to be empowering and fact-based as much as possible. Keep in mind that you don’t know what’s coming. The waves could disappear, or a really strong wind could cause a wave to overwhelm you. All you can do is manage your beliefs of the unknown. All you can do is be prepared to ride your next wave.

Predicting The Future

I have found the best way to deal with business and life is to create and play my own game regardless of the noise out there.  That’s right, give up all the spurious expectations of those around you and focus on creating your own fact-based opportunities for yourself and others.  That antebellum prescience is what separates the surfers on Rincon from the surfers struggling to get back on their boards today. For example, those riding great waves now foresaw remote and digital business as the future before it became required for survival.
 

Abraham Lincoln: “The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
 

This is the time to start planning and prepping for 2021. Now is the time to prepare a survey to send your clients or customers around what could have been done better this year. Now is the time to research trends (get facts) in your markets so you can be best positioned for next year’s wave. Now is the time to develop yourself in such a way that no matter what 2021 brings, you are ready. Nobody knows what next year will bring -- no waves, ankle buster waves, some waves, your wave, or a dangerous tsunami (again). Remember, the future is always uncertain. Who foresaw 2020 coming? But this uncertainty has always been the case!  And it will be the case next October! 

So the opportunity for positive skewness in business and in life is to indefatigably prepare for whatever might come next while focusing on facts and data now. And as for your beliefs, give up the ones that you know don’t empower you and be in the moment as you work your plan with freedom, joy, and abundance.

Give up being at the effect of expectations. Rincon awaits.

Here's to you and your awesome future.

Until then, keep your feet on the board and keep riding your wave!

Robert J. Khoury

CEO Agile Rainmakers