#378: SPOTLIGHT: Robert Rose
Question for Robert:
What is one thing that is small and perhaps nuanced or surprising and perhaps typically sub conscious that you can tell drives you each day ?
Robert's Response:
The word “yes”.
There’s this life tip – made famous by entrepreneur Derek Sivers - that says “if it’s not ‘hell yes’ then it’s a ‘no’”. It means that as you try to be as focused as you can – that you must reduce the things that have the potential to distract you – especially if you’re generally a helpful person.
The saying has always struck me as limiting in some subtle way. It’s always felt like if I only use the approach of “if it’s not hell yes, then it’s a no”, then I end up missing out on a lot of the surprises and nuances about the adventure of being human.
So – there’s this quiet part of me that feels like every time I get to say “yes” to something – whether it’s a request, going somewhere, a task, some random conversation etc… - I feel satisfaction. Now of course, conflicts, preference, and other parts of life prevent me from saying yes 100% of the time. But I find one unconscious thing that drives me, is how much I have the balance of choice of saying “yes” to every adventure that comes my way – big or small.
Amanda’s thought…
I suspect Rob would love all direct responses from you. I find it incredibly encouraging when I hear from any of you after I share my thoughts. It is powerful for me. I assume many others have a similar experience. So here is Rob's email… pip
Rob, I love the fact that you found a potential limitation in that saying as I feel like I never know what a subtle "yes" or "sure, why not?" could bring. For example, while feeling sluggish on my woods-walk yesterday, I debated between taking a shortcut back to the car or doing the full loop. I chose to take the longer route even though it did not feel like a "hell yes" at all as I dragged my feet onwards. But because I decided yes to it, I ended up crossing paths with a really wonderful woman who happened to be moving to the area. We had a great conversation, shared some laughs, and exchanged contact info. As you put it Rob, it turned into one of those lovely surprises on the human adventure.
- AP