“It’s easy to complicate things, but the hardest thing in the world is to keep it simple.”
This phrase has been firmly planted in my brain by my dad. If I have heard it once, then I have heard it one thousand times. It’s great advice, and now it seems I only hear it when I need it the most.
From time to time I call and ask my dad (Mike) for his advice on things. Sometimes I just call not really for advice, but because some really crazy shit just happened, or someone I know just did something really stupid and the call is as much for comic relief and humor as anything. But when I find that I need advice or want someone else opinion on something, he is always a tremendous resource. He has taught me the art of performing simplicity to perfection, and it is a trait that I am really glad to possess.
Complex problems can always be dumbed down to a very simple common denominator, and that is usually the best way to go about solving a problem. Far too often, people make problems even bigger than they are because they do not know how to keep it simple. And keeping it simple is generally the easiest way to solve a problem. Not that life is chock-full of problems, but usually when you come across something in your life that is not quite right – this is your best solution.
When I think about all the things in my life where I do keep it really simple, here are a few that stand out:
- I focused my business on doing one thing and doing it extremely well. Automotive Marketing for Automobile Dealers.
- I am really good at one aspect of my job, and that is getting in front of clients. So for almost 20 years, that is where I have spent almost all of my time.
- I don’t invest money in things I don’t know and completely understand.
- My hobbies are narrow, but what I enjoy doing I do a lot of, i.e., hunting and fishing. I don’t golf, play tennis, ride bikes, play poker, or do a lot of other things my friends and peers do for fun.
- When I undertake a large project like buying a business, building something, or things outside of my knowledge base, I don’t try to become an expert at it – I go find an expert and hire them to take care of it. There is no reason to ever think I can teach myself what they already know, and why would I want to.
- I know the warmest way to greet someone is with a smile.
- I believe a great attitude is the key to all success in the world.
- I subscribe to the rule that if people aren’t happy together either in work or in life, then there is no reason for them to be together.
As complex as things appear around me – they really boil down to a few very simple things.
Keep it simple in your life, and you will see just how clear your vision can be – and you can enjoy the world around you.