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The little things are the big things

When I was younger, my parents always emphasized finishing. Whatever task I was doing, finish it. 100%.

Not 99%. Not 99.9%. Not 99.99999999% — 100%.

It took into my thirties to finally internalize that message and finish.

That last tenth of a percent may seem silly but there’s power in completing loops and crossing things off the list.

Those little things may not seem significant but they are big in ways that aren’t always immediately obvious.

If you Run a Small Business Park In the Back of the Parking Lot [Skyclerk] – “Even on 30 below zero days with 3 feet of fresh snow on the ground, he would not waver and park any closer to the front door.” This story is framed for small businesses but I’d argue this is a good principle for how people should behave. The little things are the big things.

If you want to be a part of the 1%, you can’t live your life like the other 99% [Steve Adcock] – “If you want to be above average, then you can’t keep acting like you’re average. Living an above-average life means you’re making decisions consistent with being above average, not just average.”

What Really Happens When You Become an Overnight Millionaire? [Marker] – “Peter Rahal, a 33-year-old energy-bar impresario who sold RxBar to Kellogg for $600 million and became something of a consumer-products legend in the process, stood in the gigantic, spotless kitchen in his new Miami Beach mansion. Behind him, floor-to-ceiling windows revealed his pool, his outdoor bar, and Sunset Harbour. Throughout the house were expensive-looking modernist metal chandeliers; in the kitchen’s drawers, there were gold utensils.” That’s the opening paragraph but this isn’t an article slamming wealth. It’s the story of what happens to so many people when they are financially secure after selling a business… it’s half the story of RxBar and half the financial version of a kid growing six inches in a year and learning how to adjust to his new form.

And now for something that tickles the trivia and fun side:

The Secret Story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s Last Tango [Daily Beast] – This was one of my favorite movies and I never knew the real ending. “One of the two hosts, James “Santiago” Ryan, had once worked as a butcher, and outside the cabin, he must have cast a critical eye on the men grilling the lamb and beef. The other man, Henry “Enrique” Place, spoke better Spanish than his friend and business partner, and would have spent more of the evening inside with Ethel, his wife. […] In another life, they had gone by other names. Many other names, in fact; the men put on aliases the way other people put on coats. In Argentina, they hoped to conceal forever the names history would remember them by: Butch and Sundance.”

Have a great day!