The hand you are dealt

Playing at the game of life has its challenges but you should never have to gamble your physical - or mental - health for the sake of going all in.

So how do you go all in at work and not be all consumed to the point of exhaustion and burnout or worst yet the dreaded quiet quitting?

Working - and living - in a start-up (or start-up with legs) culture for most of my career, I have learned several things - most of them from my many trips to Vegas (my least favorite city BTW).

Go all in and play the game, give it your all, AND walk away a winner with your sanity mostly intact.

Every hand's a winner.

Why? Because we get to choose to look at life through the lens of positivity. Our mentality determines our reality. Our thoughts determine our actions and our actions determine our outcomes. So look at your cards, find a way to see the possibility and then play the hand you were dealt.

In your current role and situation, there may be significant challenges. So choose to see the positives including the lessons you are learning, and find a way to enjoy the journey. You will be happier and healthier.

Bet on yourself.

You have everything that you need at your fingertips to win at the game of life. There will be highs, there will be lows, but if you keep moving forward, do the right things and believe in what you can accomplish - you will win every single time because even a failure is just an opportunity to learn and get better the next time.

Advocate for yourself and ask the right questions. What does success look like? How do I get X resources to deliver Y results? And never be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

Work together with those at the table, beat the dealer, and everyone wins.

Teamwork is important. It may mean you won't always win at that moment, but if you work together, you can bend the will of the cards in favor of the table - causing the dealer to bust. The moment you think only of yourself, you put everyone at the mercy of the cards and the dealer. Stop always showing your poker face and be real with the people around you. Choose teamwork and help others win with you along the way.

Cash in your chips when you are ahead.

It's easy to keep chasing the high you get from the win. But how much sweeter is it to stop when you are ahead, put the chips in your pocket and walk away with more than you came with. Even if the "more" is wisdom from a failure, friendship from the team you were in, or watching someone you helped win at their game.

Think about the hand you have been dealt.

Will you see the good in it, choose to believe in yourself, work with those around you, and cash in when you are ahead? If you do then maybe, just maybe, you will not only survive, but thrive in this world.

I'm all in - how about you

'As you go' life lessons

As you go - that's a term I use about life and knowing that integrating ALL of life, means doing what God wants AS you go about your daily life activities. Here is one such 'as you go' lesson I learned yesterday - because God speaks in the normal everyday things we do.

What can you learn from a one pot meal after a crazy couple of days at work?

1. In the right order things can be made simple.

I could have used multiple pots and then combined all the pieces, but instead, I created a process that allowed me to use a single pot for the whole thing!

Boil noodles and drain
Brown meat add back to the pot
Add sauce and spices
Mix in meat, noodles and cheese
Voila - One pot to clean!

2. Stirring many ingredients together will produce a better result than any one thing on its own.

This is true for recipes and teams. Get lots of ideas, bring the smart people in the room and watch the magic happen when they build upon an idea and make it even better.

3. Don’t freak out when it looks messy - trust the process.

Everything was coming together, but the cheese was stringy and it was looking like it would not melt. I started to freak out (even though it tasted good) aren't we silly creatures sometimes. But continued low heat and constant stirring did the trick and the consistency was perfect!

3. Patience produces a wonderful result!

Frustration started rising yet I persevered. And even through the heat - the test, the trial, the conflict and the challenges - if you keep your cool and let them do their work - temperature and pressure create beauty like diamonds and amazing dinners too because God knows what He is doing.

In the end I had dinner with my kids and the payoff was...I forgot about the stresses of the day and enjoyed hearing about their worlds.

What can you learn from making dinner for your family? Apparently a whole bunch!