Must Be Present To Win

Have you ever had this experience?  You are at an event. You are tired and you just want to go home early.  You could easily slip out and no one would notice; maybe.  You bought that raffle ticket for the Alaska cruise.  It's okay, you never win anyways and the money goes to a great cause.  The problem is the ticket says, "Must Be Present To Win".  If you leave now it is almost certain they will draw your name.  How foolish you would feel if you found out later your name was called and you missed it.  

What if, "Must Be Present To Win" was more of a cheat code than a rule?  Do you remember cheat codes?  I am not sure they still have those in the gaming world.  Cheat codes are certain button combinations that would allow you special powers, take shortcuts, etc.  I remember playing Mortal Combat against my roommate and he knew all of the cheat codes for each of the characters so he would always destroy me.  

Well, life has cheat codes too.  There are certain combinations of things you can do that will give you an advantage in life.  Some of the codes have to do with physical relationships, building a business, and achieving goals.  Jon Acuff talks about how mentors can give you cheat codes.  It was funny I started working on this post before I heard him talk about this.  

"Must be present to win" is a cheat code that can help you in a couple of key areas of your life.  One of those is work.  If you want to win in your career you have to be present to win.  My wife and I ate at a small local restaurant last night.  I had heard great reviews about their Aussie Bowls and wanted to check it out myself.  I quickly learned the secret of their success of their two table restaurant.  They are present.  The owners of the business engage with their customers.  They know their repeat customers and what they like.  They recognized us as new customers and engaged with us t make sure we had a fantastic dining experience.  

If you want to improve how you do in the area of relationships you must be present to win.  When I say present I am not talking about just being in the same room.  You must be engaged with the people in your life.  The people messaging you on your phone can wait.  I have tried and tried on multiple social media platforms to scroll to the bottom.  They are like the fries at Red Robin, bottomless.  That meme will be there next time you open up the app.  Those people in the room with you, they will not always be there. 

One of the great things about cheat codes.  It isn't considered cheating to use them.  Now you have a cheat code for life.  Start using it today.  

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