As I was repairing my sunglasses I realized that I have had this repair kit since high school. In all of my moves and adventures through college, in my studio apartment in Rogers Park, getting married, buying our first house in Gurnee, moving to Indianapolis… I have kept this repair kit. How amazing that a corporate giveaway, the promotional item for 1982 that was handed out at railroad trade shows and corporate events, has remained in use for 29 years.

This got me thinking. The interactions we have every day, the thoughts we share, the conversations we have, the products we sell and service… we have some idea of the consequences of our actions. However, we never know their true impact.

What did you give away this past week that will remain with someone for 29 years? If you knew that your interaction would have such an effect, would you have behaved differently? Why? Why don’t we treat every opportunity as one that will last for 29 years?

I spent three months rebuilding strength and flexibility in my shoulder. At first, I felt ridiculous limiting myself to simple stretches without weights. I was not breaking a sweat and worried that I would lose strength. But the twinge in my shoulder when I pushed a little too hard told me that I needed to keep at it.

Little by little, my range of motion improved. Then the number of reps I could do increased. All the while, the pain lessened. Mid-January I made the decision to start working out with weights in February. I was nervous when I lifted a ten pound kettle ball for the first time, but nothing snapped and my shoulder was fine.

And here’s the best part: I improved my form over the past three months! I didn’t realize while going through the exercises without weight that my core became stronger and I was more fluid in my movements. When I added weights back to the routine, my workout was more effective because the basic elements were better.

Now, apply this to your business. What will happen when you find and pay attention to pain indicators? How will your core, your foundation benefit from going back to the basics to build strength and flexibility? And how much more will you be able to attain when you have everything back in order and increase your pace?

It took my lovely wife to point out that I must have injured myself because my shoulder twinged every time I lifted my arm a certain way. Her brother had torn his rotator cuff in the past, and she recommended I stop working out and maybe see a doctor since a rotator cuff injury can be serious.

To the Internet I went, and I soon discovered that I had the symptoms of a strained rotator cuff. I also discovered some stretches and exercises to limber up my shoulder and help recover. I dutifully incorporated the new stretches and exercises into my workout routine. But here’s the kicker — I kept working out, attempting to muscle through (no pun intended) the discomfort. I pared back some of my intensity and repetitions, but I continued using my shoulder. And not surprisingly, my shoulder got worse. My discomfort turned to pain.

Realizing that my shoulder was getting worse, I took a different tack. I decided that I would avoid all situations that caused me pain. I continued to stretch and work out in ways that did not cause my shoulder to hurt, and if I did something (reached for a cup, lifted my briefcase) that hurt, I stopped doing it immediately. After ten days, my shoulder improved; less pain, more range of motion.

So why do I tell you this story? Because as I thought about my shoulder and my reaction to being confronted with a problem, I realized that my reaction is similar to many people — interpret the problem indicator (in this case, my shoulder) to my best advantage. Rather than recognize the pain I was feeling as an indicator that I should slow down and allow my body to heal, I interpreted the indicator as validation that my workouts were working. Why? Because I wanted to believe that my workouts were effective. My shoulder pain indicated to me that I was developing strong shoulders and would bulk up accordingly.

How often do you interpret problem indicators through the wrong perspective? When a problem arises, do you spend your time explaining and justifying? “Muscling through” the problem rather than objectively evaluating what the indicator means? Think back on a problem that you denied for a period of time. How much time and / or money did you waste before the problem was solved?

Paying attention to problem indicators is hard, and recognizing them on your own is nearly impossible so find objective people to share your problems with. Ask them to provide advice and guidance when confronted with a problem and give them permission to call you out when you are not paying attention to the problem indicators.

The success of my family and my business is directly tied to how quickly I recognize problem indicators and address the underlying problems. In my case, I am blessed with a wife who is also my business partner. She called me out when I was denying that my shoulder was a problem, and as a result I am healing and improving. She has done so in business situations as well, and our business is the better for it. Also, I have a business coach, mentors and colleagues I can turn to for advice and guidance — people who are not afraid to challenge me.

Who have you surrounded yourself with?

The main reason goes back to one of my prior posts regarding silence and reflection. I set aside time each week to write a blog because I want to get better at thinking about my personal and business goals; to realign and ensure I remain on track; to foster curiosity by seeking topics of interest; and finally to get better at blogging and communicating through social media.

To be honest, I have no clue if writing this blog will be remunerative, and I’m pretty sure the only traffic to my blog is me checking in weekly. But the only way to get better at doing something is to practice. So much like I sat in my room practicing my saxophone when I was younger, I write to figure out the basics; learn the scales if you will; read the sheet music, so that when the time is right I can perform appropriately.

And I am certain the practice of spending time each week reflecting on personal and business goals and activites will be fruitful.

When you find yourself in a silent moment are you uncomfortable? Do you switch on the radio or TV? Grab your iPod?

Think about the last time you sought out silence. If you’re like me, it was on vacation when you let yourself “do nothing”. When you were recharging and rejuvenating. As I thought about this fact the following came to me…. I seek out silence when I want to rejuvenate; I often feel tired during the week; I rarely experience silence during the week; SO I’m tired because I rarely experience silence.

As a result of this realization, I have made time for silence. The easiest thing to to is turn off the radio while driving to and from work. In addition, I smoke a cigar every Saturday night, giving myself time to reflect on the past week and prepare for the next. And I only read the paper in the morning; no TV or radio.

These small changes have enabled me to be more focused and present, and I don’t find myself dragging toward the end of the week. So I challenge you: how can you experience silence?

That said, I always wear traditional collared shirts. (Shameless plug — I LOVE the non iron, slim fit shirts from Brooks Brothers – if you want to look good, BUY THIS SHIRT!!)

The problem is that for a traditional collar to look good you need collar stays — plastic inserts that keep the collar straight. I have a collection of collar stays of different sizes that I have collected from shirts and that I have purchased at stores.

I like to have my shirts cleaned professionally. I have skimped and washed and ironed my shirts myself, however, no matter how much starch I use and time I spend I cannot match the crispness of a professionally cleaned shirt. The problem is that in order to have my shirts cleaned, I need to remember to remove the collar stays before I send them to the cleaners. Otherwise, I end up losing the stays or worse yet, having the stays returned in a crumpled, melted state because they were sent through the dryer or ironed (or both). And, assuming that I removed the stays, when the shirts are returned all cleaned and pressed, I needed to remember to put the stays back in. Otherwise, I end up with floppy collars that end up looking worse than button-down collars.

So why have I spent my time (and perhaps, you may ask, wasted your time) discussing my preference in shirts and the tribulations involved in cleaning shirts while maintaining the collar stays? Because I have found a cleaner who sweats the small stuff and who has earned my business and my loyalty: Fabric Care Center.

Why have they earned by business and my loyalty? Because they provide collar stays when they clean shirts!

Initially, I signed up for their free pick up and delivery service. It is convenient. The first batch of shirts I sent in came back not only clean and freshly pressed, but with collar stays. I didn’t think about this fact much. I thought that perhaps they were doing it because I was a new customer — treat me right the first few times and then go back to what every other cleaner does. I was wrong. They have continued to provide collar stays every time I send in shirts.

Initially, I removed the stays out of habit. I then left them in, but with the expectation that they would come back crumpled and melted. Now, I leave them in knowing that Fabric Care will clean the shirt, iron the shirt and put fresh collar stays in the collar so that when I reach for the shirt in the morning, it is ready to go.

Why is this small detail so important? Well, for one thing, I’m writing about it. I wouldn’t have had the thought to write this blog if I hadn’t noticed this small difference. I’m promoting Fabric Care to my friends and to you because of this small detail.

Also, I’ve noticed that Fabric Care does other things very well. Things that may appear “insignificant” to other cleaners. For example, they send a reminder email every week that they will be in my area to pick up my cleaning. If I have cleaning that week, I am reminded to bring it to the office for pick up. If I don’t have cleaning that week, I send a response letting them know so they don’t waste their time stopping by. I get a reminder and they get a response letting them know whether or not to stop by – allowing them to schedule deliveries to maximize their time on the road. A true win-win situation.

So here’s my question for you: what one or two “small” things do you need to be sweating? What one or two “small” things can you do to make your customers spend their time promoting you to their friends?

Which is more motivating?

I would argue that hating to lose is more motivating. Why? Because losing is painful. Whereas winning is gainful. And people run away from pain faster than they run toward gain.

Now, I am someone who hates to lose, so admittedly I am biased. However, think about it. When you win, how motivated are you to get better? Somewhat motivated.

Now look at the other extreme. When you lose, how motivated are you to get better. VERY motivated!

Don’t get me wrong, I like to win, and I have been blessed to win many times. But I have improved because I have lost. I have grown because I have failed. And I have succeeded because I have been humbled.

Think back on the life lessons that stick with you. I wager that many of them involved loss or disappointment. So if you are ending this year on a down slope, what have you learned and how will you take these lessons into 2011? And if you are ending the year heading up, what led you here? What disappointments and failures were the catalyst to your success?

It will be great to see everyone. The last time our extended family was together was in 2000 just after we moved to Indanapolis. That visit was a lot of fun, and I’m excited to see everyone today.