Before you start the next project, think about the conditions of satisfaction.

What does that mean? That means that whoever it was that gave you a project probably has some idea about what they want to have done with it; they have an outcome in mind.

They also know what procedures have been followed in the past.

They know where things can go wrong, what you should be managing around, when this thing is due, and what “done” looks like.

By getting the conditions of satisfaction before starting a project, your likelihood of having to do it only once AND having somebody give you a high-five at the end goes up substantially.

Sadly, here’s how it works for most people:

1. They hear there’s something to be done
2. They start running wildly toward that direction, not understanding…
   1. the when
   2. the how
   3. the goal, what the outcome is supposed to look like

And then, when they deliver something to their boss—or worse yet, have it sitting on their desk or in a folder on their computer, that is NOT a recipe for getting things done.

When we don’t find out the conditions of satisfaction first and then come back afterward and ask, “Did this meet the conditions of satisfaction?” What we’re doing is creating chaos in the workplace.

Listen, nobody needs to be working nights and weekends doing rework—not you and especially not your boss, because if they keep having to do your work over again, likely that does not bode well for your career. So, every time you’re given instructions about what to do, first just stop.

Ask a lot of questions to get the conditions of satisfaction before moving ahead.

But move quickly once you have them and bring it back and ask if the work you’ve done meets the conditions of satisfaction.

My dad gave me $20 to go to college. I was 17 years old. I didn’t have a backup plan. I didn’t have somebody I could call home to and say, “Send the check.” At that point, I knew I had to figure it out.

I had three jobs while going full-time to college, it was just what I did because it was an opportunity. I realized that my past circumstances were no indication of my destiny.

I got to choose my destiny of what’s next based upon the fact that I was not going to accept what I had, but I wanted to have something better to move forward.

The same opportunity is there for every one of us, every day. Our past circumstances are not necessarily going to drive the trajectory of the rest of our lives.

We simply have to intervene and decide what we want and decide to roll up our sleeves, get busy, make that happen, and develop ourselves in such a way that people will give us the chance to make those things happen.

Your past circumstances are simply that. They are not your destiny.

The Dalai Lama says that happiness is a habit.

What if you could be “love on wheels”? What if you could be the person who is always happy, regardless of the circumstances?

My father had a dream for me. Because I was the fastest typist in my typing class. He said, “Honey, you could stay right in town here, and you could type loan papers and other papers for the law firm in town.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I heard those words, it was like, some kind of dagger in my heart. I decided at that time, that is not my dream.

I want something else in life. I wasn’t sure exactly what it would be, but I knew it wasn’t going to be typing papers at the law firm.

I decided I wanted to have something different.

I think the power of great dreams is the power to understand that any one of us can make a difference in other people’s lives.

Meaning, I never knew that I could use that skill to become a New York Times bestselling author because that was something that just came as a result of my commitment to helping other people.

I wonder what happens when you have great dreams about the impact you have on your customers, about the impact you have on the rest of your team, about the impact you have on your own life, your own family, your own community.

It’s astonishing what can happen when we have dreams about being of service to others. Welcome it.

When Henley wrote, “I am the master of my fate, and I am the captain of my soul,” what he failed to mention was that it’s true because we have the power to control our own thoughts.