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No-vember – 11 Ways to Say No (Without Saying No) | Vol. 72 “When you say yes to something, it’s imperative that you understand what you’re saying no to.” – The ONE Thing Saying no is easy when Bark Twain and Winnie the Poodle play tug of war with our Nike Air Force 1s. The rest …

When you take on too many commitments, you short-circuit your effectiveness. You juggle priorities in various states of completion. Balls get dropped. Deadlines appear in the rearview mirror. Actually doing something well feels like a luxury reserved for others. The solution, of course, is focus. But that is easier said than done. That’s why this year we’re putting the “No” in November. All month, the TwentyPercenter will feature articles on how you can devote more time and energy to the things that matter.

For most of my life, I relished staying up late, reading, and watching movies. When we had our first child, I was on morning bottle duty. Gus was an early riser and ready for his first meal before 6 am. I came to love the morning time. The quiet stillness. Gus’s tiny fingers grasping my thumb and pinkie like handlebars on either side of the bottle. The first light slanting through the windows. He trained me to wake early—a habit I kept long after he started sleeping in. The owl became a lark. And that has made a huge impact on my life. 

In 1888, a Coke cost 5 cents.* That’s about $1.60 in today’s dollars. Slightly more than an impulse buy for your average citizen. Soon after buying the formula for Coca-Cola, Asa Candler needed a way to get people to try it. So he handed out hand-written coupons for a free glass. He figured that people needed to try it to like it. It worked and the coupon was born. He started putting free Coke coupons in the newspaper, and by 1895 you could order a Coke in every state. “Free” may be the ultimate value offering to hook your customers, but let’s not forget the original recipe for Coke included traces of cocaine. In any case, Candler’s coupon strategy quickly made the beverage the year-round, must-have pumpkin spice latte of its day.

Ever been in a conversation with someone and realized they stopped listening? You can see it in their eyes. They’ve gone inward and are waiting for their turn to talk. In improv comedy circles, this is sometimes called “rehearsal dropout.” Instead of listening for their cue, the cast member locks into their next joke at the expense of the skit. Rehearsal dropout derails comedy and conversations.

I recently got to know an entrepreneur over coffee. She’d overcome many obstacles on her way to business success. She was an immigrant from a culture that didn’t value her life choices. She’d graduated from MIT and battled her way to leadership on world-renowned engineering teams. Throughout, she relied on her determination and perseverance. Although she would never wish her past challenges on her daughter, she wondered how we could foster grit in our children.

If you’re a fan of the Amazon detective series Bosch, you may have noticed a sign he keeps posed in his cubicle that reads, “Get off your [butt] and go knock on doors.” It’s his reminder that the best investigators beat the streets and talk to potential witnesses. Sales is no different. Conversations create opportunities, especially ones about real estate.

You’re on a diet but you're craving something sweet. So you grab a spoon and find that pint of Graeter's “Midnight Snack” ice cream tucked away in the freezer. No need for a bowl. It’s just one bite, after all. You drop your spoon in the sink while savoring the malty goodness. You scored a smidgeon of brownie and peanut butter cup in your bite. What the heck? Maybe, just one more spoonful. After all, you didn’t get any chocolate-covered pretzels the first time. You know how this ends. Before you know it, you’ve tanked half a pint of ice cream while the freezer door stands open

Most people spend time like a gambler at a slot machine. They don’t bother pulling the arm, they just push Max Bet as fast as they can. 

Back when sports didn’t have TV contracts, player-coaches were a bit more common. Baseball hall-of-famers like Ty Cobb and Frank Robinson played the game while coaching. NFL great Tom Landry played defensive back while serving as defensive coordinator for the NY Giants. Perhaps the best player-coach of all time was Bill Russell. Russell won nine NBA championships for the Boston Celtics as a player before winning two more as a player-coach. He is one of five enshrined in the NBA Hall of Fame as a player and as a coach.