The Power of Pushing Bounadries, Buttons and Yourself

You know that guy who knows everyone, who always reaches out and says hello, who meets people and builds relationships not because he has to but because he genuinely loves it? Yeah, we know him, too. 

Stepping into the Five on Friday fray this week is Eclaro Vice President of Sales Jeff Metz, who delves into the Engage, Evolve, Excel mantra that is so important to everything we do here at Eclaro. Whether he's diving into his passion making connections, a love of learning something new or his advice on why it might be time to hit play on your favorite playlist, you'll want to come along for the ride...

Engage: My wife and I went to high school together (although we didn’t start dating until college). We live in the same area we grew up in and sometimes we’ll see someone on Facebook we went to high school with, or be talking to someone we graduated with, and I start bringing up this person and that person. She always teases me and says, “I don’t know how you know every person we went to school with and I know about 10.”

The main reason for this is that I always try to meet new people and say hello to a new face. I wasn’t friends with everyone in my high school, but I got to know most people by name and face, at least enough to say hi. Thirty years later and I follow the same mantra: Put yourself out there, introduce yourself and say hello to a new face. Now maybe it’s because I’m in sales that I do this more than others, but it can never hurt to meet new people and expand your network.

Evolve: Things change on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. This is true of all aspects of life. I think it’s important to always be learning something new—even if it doesn’t relate to anything else in your life. Take an online course, listen to a nonfiction audiobook, watch a documentary on a topic you don’t know much about. I am a lifelong learner and encourage everyone to keep learning and evolving.

Excel: “Always try your hardest.” Most of us have heard this or made this statement at some point in our lives. If you don’t put everything you’ve got into something, what do you expect to get out of it? Those who are successful and excel at what they do practice their craft and give it all they’ve got. I’ve said this phrase to my kids many times, and I take it a step further, advising that, “Even if you try your hardest, you might fail, but you’ll learn from the experience and be better for it.”

Explore: There are three things in my life I can relate to this that I always love to share...

1. When using a computer or program, unless specifically told not to, don’t be afraid to press buttons, click on things and find out how things work. In most cases, you can’t or aren’t going to break anything, and you’ll learn a ton!
2. When visiting a new city or town, don’t go to the national chain restaurant across the street from the hotel. Ask someone at the hotel or ask a local where they would go to eat with their family. Trust me, it’s worth it.
3. If you get the opportunity to do so, travel. It can be to the town next door, a different state or around the world. There are amazing people and places out there that you’ll never meet or see if you don’t get out and explore.

Etcetera: At least two to three times a week, take 15 minutes to sit down alone, put on your favorite tunes and get lost in the music. Music cures everything.