Be the Coolest Person in the Room

If you were a tree, this would be you.

The world changes from moment to moment.  Governments teeter on the brink of bankruptcy.  Industries lurch from quarter to quarter.  Companies are bought and sold daily.

With all this anxiety in the air, as well as day-to-day demands, here's a solution to help you keep your focus.  In two words:
 
Stay cool.

History is filled with advice urging zen.  Rudyard Kipling's Keep your head while all others are losing theirs.  Great Britain's Keep calm and carry on.  Frank Costanza's Serenity now!  And, of course, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax, don't do it.

Here's the annoying part: It works.

When you're operating from a minefield of emotion, that's when mistakes are made.  You react.  You're impulsive.  You act out in a way that feels good at the moment, but that moment is fleeting.  This rarely ends well.

This is often a challenge in an industry as passionate as ours.  We're encouraged to think creatively (not just creatives, btw), interact with people with very different perspectives  and, oh yeah, reach consensus quickly.  Definitely a combustible combination.

Which makes it that much more important for you to always retain your composure.  Passion should never be mistaken for craziness, and vice versa.  You don't have to look any further than our political leaders to see that grandstanding and hostage-taking is not leading;  Looking for reasonable answers is.
 

Whether you're running the show, or freelancing for the day, stay focused on the ideas at hand and don't fall into traps.  It's easy to be diverted by personal issues (yours and others'), difficult situations, or looming crises.

Be the calm one in the room.  People respond positively to your confidence, and, in turn, eschew superfluous issues.

Stay cool.  It really, really, really works.  No, really.

It's all good...
-Ed Roth
edrothshow@gmail.com  

Subscribe below for e-mail updates

Follow us!