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F R OM T H E F O U N D E R
Trying to stay positive
If you are a leader in an AEC firm, it’s crucial that you stay positive in spite of all the bad news we’re seeing these days.
I ’m trying to stay positive right now in spite of all the bad news constantly coming in. After paying $4.39 a gallon to fill up my very large and thirsty car this morning, I stopped in Walgreens on the way to dropping my 15 year-old off at high school. There I grabbed some 9-volt batteries for our metal detector (what fun we had with that this weekend!) and was blown away by the $22.95 price. That’s crazy!
Mark Zweig
Then there’s the war in Ukraine, which is just awful. My heart goes out to those people who were living completely normal lives like the rest of us just a few weeks ago and are now huddled in basements with no heat, no power, and maybe even no food. Terrible situation and I’m worried it could spread. But in spite of all these things that are well beyond my control, I have so many other things to be thankful for in my life and I don’t want to take anything for granted. My highest aspiration is to appreciate every single day for the good it brings. If you are in business, it’s crucial that you stay positive. Yes, COVID-19 showed us that you must be prepared for the unexpected, yet you should also always hope for and expect the best. To the extent you can do this will determine your willingness to invest in your
business, invest in your people, and keep everyone motivated. So it is super important! Here are some strategies I have learned that can really help you stay positive: 1. Lower personal overhead. You may not think this is crucial, but it is. Keeping your personal overhead as low as possible and having some cash in the bank is going to reduce your stress and help you keep a positive state of mind. Simplify, sell off unneeded assets, and don’t buy anything at all on time if you can avoid it. 2. Surround yourself with positive people. Some people are basically negative, and some positive.
See MARK ZWEIG, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER MARCH 14, 2022, ISSUE 1432
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