Monday, August 11, 2014

Wisdom from Roseanne Cash.

I'm not a fan of country music. I like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Bob Wills and his Texas Cowboys, but I really don't have enough time in my life for another musical genre. That's probably not fair. But it's the way it is.

That said, last night there was an interview on NPR with Roseanne Cash, the daughter of the aforementioned Johnny. Imagine growing up at Johnny Cash's daughter. Interesting.

The reporter quoted her website which in the "about" section, had this line: "Roseanne Cash keeps her head down and shows up for work."

Keeping your head down and showing up for work seems pretty fair to me. Wherever you are, whether you're playing basketball at a local school yard, at a holiday meal with a bunch of relatives or in a conference room working on a Fortune 100 company, there will always be people looking to steal the limelight, people who seem to spend half, or more of their energy, drawing attention to themselves.

It's best in these situations to just button it.

Take in the assignment or the task or the objective. Leave and do it. And come back with it done.

When I played playground basketball there were always gifted showmen who could shoot like a Katyusha and dribble like a Harlem Globetrotter. I could do neither of these attention-getting acts. So I focused I was good at. I played tenacious defense and I rebounded.

I kept my head down and showed up.

It's good to do that at work, too.

Don't get distracted by the furor around you and the hyper-competitiveness. Write simple clarifying thoughts while others are dabbling in flamboyance.

Keep going like a diesel engine.

Keep your head down and show up.



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