BYS 06/07/25 🟨 Rearranging Stars
Actively shape your situations instead of waiting for ideal conditions to align just for you.
Use your skills, effort, and foresight to tilt the odds in your favor. This means preparing earlier, preparing better, thinking differently, or simply outlasting the competition.
Build your own opportunities in today's Big Yellow Sticky...
Create Your Own Advantage.
When one path is blocked, create a new one.
I once heard a comedian comment on how he didn't understand why the announcers at some venues would point out where the Fire Exits were located in the building, because if the place did catch fire, EVERY exit would be a Fire Exit.
Today's BYS quote is attributed to my friend Randy Malloy (aka @RandSanity on the socials). I've learned a lot from working with Randy on corporate, charitable, and promotional events for both local and national brands. The events have varied in size from a simple pop-up tent with table and prize wheel outside of a retail location all the way up to multi-day ticketed events that have taken over city streets and required more permits than you can possibly imagine. The one thing that was consistent for every event was the time and energy and thought put into pre-planning, scheduling, and preparation.
Randy doesn't just plan for what is going to be loaded into a supply truck headed to the event, or what time the load-in will take place, Randy knows the placement of each item within the truck and what order the items are going to be loaded. This is because he has planned and strategized in advance how the truck is going to be unloaded at the event destination because he knows the tents have come out of the truck first because they're the first items to get setup. Then the tables get unloaded, then the stuff that goes on top of the tables, etc.
For some event locations where parking will be a challenge, Randy's been known to park a staff vehicle or place orange traffic cones the night before so that his event vehicle is assured the best parking spot required for loading and unloading.
Heck, I've seen him completely move an assigned tent and table location from one area to another because his experience has earned him the insight to know you don't wait for permission to make a change that will benefit everyone involved -- you take action that gives you and your clients an advantage.
Your advantage isn’t always about having the best tools or the best connections -- it’s about using what you have better than anyone else. Maybe it’s your attitude (Randy has the best attitude!), your timing, or the way you solve problems (Randy always has three different ways to solve a problem in case the first two don't work).
Look for ways to tilt the field your way. Don't put yourself into a position where you're stuck waiting for a stars to align in your favor. Reach up and rearrange them yourself.
You’re not just playing a game, you get to write the rules.
See you tomorrow with a brand new Big Yellow Sticky...
