Family – Encouragement is Personal

When you enter the octagon (speaking metaphorically, but maybe literally), it’s just you and your opponent. Only your strength, skill, speed, luck, stamina, cunning, toughness and courage will help you find victory.

If you play roulette, the chance that the ball will land on red or black is the same…a little over 47%. Remember the green 0 is in there to mess things up.

But, what if you only have the time and money to play roulette for ten spins? Will the distribution of red and black numbers come out to just over 47% each? Maybe, but probably not.

What if you could spin the wheel 1,000 times? Would the distribution of red and black approach 47% each? That’s much more likely. In fact, the Law of Large Numbers says as much.

What about that cage fight? Theoretically, you have a 50% chance of winning, all things being equal.

Of course, all things are never equal in a cage fight (or real life).

The other guy is meaner, stronger, faster, and more skilled. You didn’t sleep well last night, you have that nagging knee injury that always shows itself at the wrong time. You don’t punch very hard, and you’ve heard that he has a great ground game. You have no idea what having a great ground game means, but it sounds dangerous, and that was the sound of the bell.

How’s that 50% chance looking? More like 5%, or maybe 1%.

What if you could fight the guy 1,000 times? Would your chances improve? Would you ever approach the 50% mark? Would you survive to find out? Probably not.

The good news is we don’t have to count on the Law of Large Numbers. And, while it’s nice to say that we can count on ourselves, it’s even better to know that we can count on our family, friends, associates, co-workers, teammates, competitors (yes, indeed), and countless others to help us achieve our victories.

You don’t have family, friends, associates, co-workers, teammates, competitors or countless others who can help you?

Then, your cage match is going to be all about how you become one or more of these things for someone else. Look around for who you can help. Who can you befriend? Who can you support? Who can you encourage?

In life, the largest number in the Law of Large Numbers is you and your tireless and relentless effort to make a difference for someone else.

Each of us has our own cage match to fight, often with ourselves. Wouldn’t it be great to see what you can do to help someone else win theirs?

Trust me. You’ll find your own path to victory along the way.

P.S. There’s not much anyone can do to help you win at roulette, but I always recommend 32 red.

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Joshua Clay

When was the last time you assembled a puzzle?

Did you do it yourself, or did you have help?

How long did it take to assemble? Minutes? Hours? Days?

In our house, whenever we started a puzzle, it was an “all-hands-on-deck” affair. We’d all start working it. Some of us would focus on organizing the pieces to make them visible. Others would dive right in and start putting pieces together.

I worked the edges. It’s the only thing that helped me get my bearings on the puzzle. Start with the flat sides and establish a border…then work into the middle. Working from the middle, out, was way too random for me.

“Hey, does anyone want some hot chocolate?” always seemed like a good question for me to ask after about a half-hour of diligent work. With marshmallows. Without looking up, I’d get some slow yesses and a few grunts. By the time I came back with the hot chocolate, I was always amazed at the progress.

I’d get back to working the edges.

Each of us had our specialty and our own pace. Some of us were easily distracted (me). My wife would stay focused for hours…one piece at a time.

“Hey, who’s up for a break from the puzzle? Maybe we can hit it again in a couple of hours with fresh eyes.” I was always a proponent of fresh eyes.

But, then we’d get most of the edges completed. I’d get my own personal rhythm, and I could start to see the patterns. The puzzle started to take shape. First, in my mind and then on the table. My perspective on the puzzle and my ability to add value to it changed as the image emerged from all the pieces.

I don’t know if my wife and daughters (or anyone else who’d stop by and get sucked into the assembly project) went through the same evolution in their perspective as I did.

Our latest puzzle is a new business (actually, an existing business that we recently purchased). Once again, our family is building a puzzle together. This time, it’s not at the dining room table with a clear picture of the final product. In fact, new pieces are being added to this puzzle all the time.

Once again, we’re each approaching the puzzle in our own way. Center-out. Edges-in.

Distractions? Definitely.

Is an image beginning to emerge? Yes.

The best (and most challenging) aspect of this puzzle is that it’s never finished. It grows and evolves. It occasionally leaves us feeling a bit perplexed. But, it also takes beautiful shape before our eyes as we continue to build, one piece at a time.

Anyone up for some hot chocolate? We’re gonna be here a while!