Eliminating “Bad Days” and the Bubble that Will Never Burst!
August 31st, 2011 // 11:14 am @ Scott
Recently I stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville…which happens to be very similar to one big giant bubble, all-encompassing with everything you need to enjoy a full experience under one roof, or in this case, under 3 greenhouse style atriums.
Simply driving into the Gaylord you immediately feel moved to a place separate from everywhere else. And inside, you enter a refreshing natural environment in their amazing atriums that captivates you and removes you from the “outside” that you came in from.
I just love “destination” locations, especially when they get it right.
While at the Gaylord the service was incredible, more than adequate staff, always helpful, and taking great pride in their work. In the resort everything is self-contained inside of the “bubble”.
You can take leisurely walks, float down their river in a little boat, take in the waterfalls and enjoy many more relaxing things. One of my favorites was watching the “dancing fountain” that put on an incredible display themed to different music and it was fun.
Of course, we ate at their top of the line restaurant, which was magnificent and an investment valued more than the one night stay…I’m happy to report we filled every corner of the table with different desserts, (my idea) and yes, it was just enough for the two of us to enjoy!
(we are both still skinny – Maddy made me insert this)
The waiter was superb, and in less than 3 minutes at the table, I’d already decided that this will be one of the locations for our Traveling National Mastermind Group next year…and an experience it will be. Same waiter will be essential.
Anyhow, a couple quick things, every word out of every employees’ mouth was scripted, no time to explain, or go through details, but believe me, I ask questions, I push them, I see what they’re made of and reward them for the show.
From the hostess to the valet to the maids and maintenance, it was all planned out and executed beautifully.
We ate breakfast the next morning at the waterfalls and just to sum it up, I ordered (didn’t eat, but ordered) the $23 pastry basket simply to set on the table and look at – everything was THAT good.
Another thing I’ll point out, and then I will tell you why it’s so important for you…
I asked many employees how long they had been there and what position they started in, 4 out of 5 were more than 5 years, one just over a year, even that one, started somewhere simple and moved up.
They have a delicate and deliberate process for grooming people and giving them room to grow.
Finally, when I asked the waiter of 9 years, the one a handful of you will meet in 2012, my treat (if you’ve not put yourself on the Scott Manning Mastermind Experience List for next year, you’d better hurry, we’ve got more than I can let in already; they won’t all shake out but you’ve got to be on the list to get the notification).
Back to the waiter, who also had a little side business of playing Jazz at some local clubs downtown, when I asked him, why 9 years, here…what’s the big deal about the Gaylord.
He responded immediately, stepped back from the table looked up at the ‘artificial’ stars and the real moonlight through the atrium glass, he gazed around, he looked back and said, “what’s better than the Gaylord…you can’t have bad days inside here!”
“WOW!” I said to Maddy, “this is the shit!”
Or something like that…
Now, let’s be clear, it really is comparable to Disney, to Vegas, just not as grand a scale; it’s for different people. I love them all, same concepts apply to all three…this just a DIFFERENT experience, different ENVIRONMENT.
And that, my friends is my message to you today.
What is YOUR Environment?
I could write about the lessons from the Gaylord all day long.
What’s important is what you take away from MY experience here.
The one bubble that will never burst is the one you live in.
Real Estate, Stock Market, Economy, whatever –
All under other peoples control…well actually, realistically probably not under much of anyone’s control, maybe that’s the problem.
None the less – YOUR BUBBLE is in your control.
The Gaylord controls everything, the people, the guests, the environment, the food, the music, the mood, the weather! Everything.
Literally, no joke, we woke up the next morning to puddles everywhere, obvious remains of a heavy thunderstorm, and we never noticed it, not for a single moment, and you can look up at the sky and see through the atrium and yet, nothing.
Inside that Bubble, you can create exactly what you expect because you are the master in control.
I’ve got to tell you, I detest the question “how was your day?”
I ask people the same question, and I’m guilty of not being more demanding and resentful about it. But it’s just a dumb question.
What do you mean, how was my day? Well, how was it supposed to be…it was exactly the way I wanted it to be; because I am in control of my days.
Oh, I know, it’s polite, and I do appreciate it, it’s nothing against others, I was raised with that type of family friendly questions and stuff…but, the reality is, asking the question IMPLIES that it could have been good or bad –
NO SIR, not for me, not good, not bad, just a day with a purpose.
I enjoy every minute of every day, some more than others, but enjoy I do, because I live in a bubble, I create my own environment, and I decide who gets in, who stays out, what’s thought about, dealt with, and everything in between.
You have the same power.
As Nido Quebein says, “you can create your own theme park!”
Whether the Gaylord, Vegas, or Disney, you really do get to decide the environment you live in, the environment you create success in, the environment you get to enjoy.
Perhaps the most provocative thing, (that most people intentionally ignore and make excuses for) is regarding people who create more success in their lives than others. Truth is, those people simply exert more control on and have more clarity in their bubble.
You have to set yourself up for success. It is NOT just going to happen.
Oh don’t misunderstand, we’re not talking about perfection here, we’re talking about your ability to control what you can control and by doing so, give yourself a fighting chance at overcoming everything else around you.
I’ve said this before and I know you’ve heard it –
Success does not happen by accident.
My question for you right now, today, is: What is your Bubble like?
What type of environment are you attempting to be successful in?
Who needs to be pushed out of the bubble?
What needs to be eliminated from your environment?
Are you dictating exactly what happens inside your world?
Hey, we teach you to put a fence around your herd…
First, you gotta be putting a bubble around yourself…
Are you training the people in your life the way the Gaylord trains theirs?
Certainly, your friends, family, and employees…
Are you managing every detail and mitigating possibilities of distraction, discomfort, and failure?
You choose where, how, why, when, what, and with whom you do business with!
You choose where, how, why when, what, and with whom you live your life with!
You either create the environment you want or others create it for you.
Variables are for the meek, weak, and helpless…
The bold, brash, and rich get a bad rap for being demanding and dictating of how things should be…there is a closed loop there.
If you think they can have exceptional experiences at places like the Gaylord by ALLOWING exceptions, people to have anything but GREAT DAYS and PERFECT ATTITUDES, you’ve got another ‘think’ coming, and it’s probably a mirror image of what you accept and allow in your life and business.
No, there is no room for error, sloppiness, others to be in control.
Not for you, not if those goals you tout are sincere.
Not if your ambitions are genuine.
Here’s the ultimate challenge of the most successful, and for you, if you want to be one of us, fight, scrap, demand, things to be as you need them to be in order for you to achieve your goals. Stop accepting, settling, making excuses, letting your environment get in the way of your progress.
Stop taking NO for an answer, primarily from yourself! Because it begins and ends with You.
One of the “ah-ha’s” from my friends that joined me last month at our Chapter Event from around the country was the extreme control I take over every detail of the Event, and I don’t stop there. It is in every aspect and area of my life…such as the thought put into this little weekly email newsletter.
Of course, it’s not enough to control your customers; you must first control yourself, and YOUR environment.
We all must set out to design and create an Experience in your own life, in the way you work, in what you do, in the way you live. Give up “bad days”.
I’m almost done…I want to prove to you that I’m stone cold serious about this, I’m on the verge of bringing on someone to fill a very critical role for me in my life and in our business…I stated in the “description of the position, roles and responsibilities” that there could be NO PERSONAL PROBLEMS. Some thought it harsh, and I said “good!”
Life’s going to throw you enough problems as it is, surely you can do without your own set of problems to throw fuel on the fire. My family isn’t perfect, but we don’t end a day with an existing problem, everything, no matter what it is, has some resolution at days end. It may be that we need to schedule time to address it more in depth, or whatever…but it doesn’t go beyond the day…because tomorrow’s going to have a whole new set of things to deal with.
Let me ask you something, if you’re driving down the road and have a flat tire, or wake up in the morning and you’ve got to be somewhere and your tire is flat…what do you do?
If driving, do you keep driving…uh, NO.
If at home, do you cancel everything and go sit in the house and say “oh, well, such is life, bad luck for me.”
No dammit. You fix the tire. Well there are NO FLAT TIRES at the Gaylord and there can be no flat tires in your life. Not because you don’t have them, but because you don’t tolerate them when they occur.
You may think me overboard about this; we can compare incomes if you wish… I just know how serious YOUR ENVIRONMENT is, and I know that within it IS EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING holding you back…including yourself.
Believe me, I make changes daily, moment by moment to upgrade my environment, because I’m trying to catch the next person and leap up to the next rung on the success ladder, I know the only thing standing in my way, is figuring out what’s their doing with their environment and control that I’m not…
What about you?
Scott Manning
P.S. This week I really hit a nerve with people, driving in more registrations for our chapter event in the first two days than ever before.
The reason – speaking the truth, saying what everybody else is thinking, that’s why.
I shared about all the things that we entrepreneurs are facing that continue to mount and the struggles that we must overcome.
The attack on the small business and capitalism in general in nothing new, yet, today we face a challenge more fierce, a battle more bloody, and an enemy with far greater arsenal than ever before.
At our Indianapolis Chapter event next week I’ll layout the specific and proactive counter attack necessary to ensure that your business succeeds, today, right now in this economy, during the 2nd coming of the Recession.
I’ve said you must OUT EARN the problems around you, because there will always be PROBLEMS around you. I’ve given you the foundational and most fundamental principles in todays’ message, if you’re local to Indy, you’ll get the blow by blow battle plan of how to make this come to life in your business next week.
Category : Blog
