4 C’s to an ICONIC Mindset; How to Thrive in 2021 and Beyond

Introduction: 0:07

Welcome to the iconic mindset podcast with John Avola and Calvin Stovall. This is the only place that uncovers the multiple levels of iconic businesses and brands. Every episode reveals the secrets behind what it takes to make your business idea or movement iconic. Now, here are John and Calvin.

John Avola: 0:35

Calvin, how are you?

Calvin Stovall: 0:37

John, what's going on? How are you?

John Avola: 0:38

Calvin, I'm doing great. I'm excited to be here as always.

Calvin Stovall: 0:42

I know we talked about this and what we really want to do is try to bring people into 2021 with some tools and practical things that they can do to have a better 2021, which we're all hoping for, and beyond. Today we're going to give you four Cs. We're going to talk about the four Cs of an iconic mindset. Really try to give people some tips on how they can thrive in 2021 and beyond. That's what we're going to talk about. But before we get into that, I want to have a little fun, right? I've always got to throw in some kind of music thing, but I thought this was pretty cool. Actually I was looking online and @HashtagRoundup and @MusicalHashtags asked people on Twitter to share songs that described 2020. And of course the responses poured in and they were pretty much spot on and I'm going to share a few of them. I'm going to give you my top three, which was cool. I'm not going to read them all. The first one was Every Day is Exactly the Same by Nine Inch Nails, then From a Distance by Bette Miller, and Dancing with Myself by Billy Idol. I Want to Break Free by Queen. This was probably one of my favorites. I probably should have put this in my top three. Don't Stand So Close to Me by the Police. That was one of my favorites. Then All By Myself by Celine Dion. This was one of my favorites too. You Can't Touch This. You can't touch anything!

John Avola: 2:33

And if you do, you need your anti-bacterial.

Calvin Stovall: 2:36

Yeah, exactly. Another one is We've Got to Get Out of This Place by the Animals. If I Could Turn Back Time by Cher.

John Avola: 2:49

That's going to make a comeback .

Calvin Stovall: 2:51

Don't Come Around Here No More by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Now this is my favorite one. I don't know if you remember a group called the Commodores , but they had a song called Zoom.

John Avola: 3:09

No. Zoom before Zoom!

Calvin Stovall: 3:15

Yes. So I just thought that was pretty fun. And I thought those were some pretty cool songs to describe this year, but what we want to do now is take you into the next year and provide these four Cs. Let's just start here. An American professor of mathematics at Temple University, John Allen Paulos, said, and I know everybody will relate to this, "uncertainty is the only certainty there is. And knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security." I think everyone that's listening right now can relate to that. And we all have had to live with this uncertainty. What we really want to know i s, how do we start turning that corner? And I know we've all had to pivot, make some changes in our lives, and do some things like that. But what I was hoping you and I c an do today, John, is o ffer people some things that they might want to focus on with these four Cs, as they move past this holiday season and focus on some things in the next year, to really be successful and keep pushing forward. How does that sound?

John Avola: 4:25

Sounds great. And I did just want to comment there on your point on uncertainty. I think all of us living in such a difficult time these days, especially as the holidays are getting close, we're all going to be in different situations. Some of us are more apart than we'd like to be at this time of the year. Regardless of what's happening today, we've all dealt with uncertainty in the past, whether it's relationship uncertainty, financial uncertainty, career uncertainty . And so what I've found is maybe helpful for our audience out there, that if you think back to one of those times and reflect on what you did well and what you didn't do well, that could also help you get through this uncertain time as we move through the holidays and into 2021.

Calvin Stovall: 5:09

I think we all had to make some changes and start thinking about things differently. I want to share a story with you, John. I have a lot of years in the hospitality industry, probably 25 or so. Started my hospitality career at the Chicago Holiday Inn City Center in downtown Chicago as a desk clerk. But I had made up my mind that once I became an executive in this industry, in the C -suite , I was going to buy myself a car and not just any car. I wanted a BMW and I wanted a black BMW with beautiful gray interior. But it had to be a stick shift. So, I went through my career and everything. I was blessed to be able to become a vice president of brand marketing for Homeless Suites by Hilton. So now is the time for me to go get this car. I was living in Memphis, Tennessee, at the time, working at the corporate office there. And I went down to a BMW dealership called Roadshow. It was Roadshow BMW. And I met this guy, he was a salesman there, his name was Tom Adair . Tom, if you're listening to this, I've got to share this story. It's one of the best. And Tom, he was a great salesperson. So he sits me down. I give him the description of what I was looking for. He goes through the list and we built this car, this dream car of mine. And he said, well, Calvin, you can watch the car being built online. Day after day, I was looking and watching this car being built and everything. And a few weeks go by. And one day he calls me. He said , Calvin, your car is ready. John, I see the car. It's absolutely beautiful. Talk about the ultimate driving machine. Thomas was standing there, his eyes open . He says, Calvin, here it is.

John Avola: 7:06

He opens the door for you.

Calvin Stovall: 7:10

He opens the driver's door. I sit down. He goes to the passenger side. And you've got the new car smell. It's all wonderful. And then he looks at me with that salesman face, with that smile, with those beautiful teeth. And he says, Calvin, let's take her for a ride. Let me tell you something. I'm excited. But it was something that I failed to tell you, John. And I didn't tell Tom either. I had never driven a stick in my entire life. I'm talking not one time. Who does that right? He cracked up laughing though. We had a wonderful laugh and the thing that was cool about it is, of course, Tom taught me how to shift gears. He spent about an hour or so with me and taught me how to shift gears and everything. About a week or so later I was doing it pretty well. So here's why I told you that story. We're all faced with uncertainty but there's nobody to teach you how to shift gears. There's nobody there that's going to teach you how to shift your mindset, shift gears, and how to go on a different direction or adjust or be flexible or whatever it is you have to do. So the first thing I want to talk about is first you've got to change your mindset and shift your gears to be able to move into this new year. Because if you're still thinking 2020, 2019, 2018, it's not going to fit.

John Avola: 8:59

Before we jump in here today , let's just quickly go over the four Cs of an iconic mindset. So the first one, we've got celebrate innovation. The second, we'll talk about committing to curiosity. We'll touch on being motivated, trying something new. Third is cultivate connections. Let's touch a little bit more on the importance of networking, talking to new people. And then lastly, we're going to close with choosing optimism and keeping that positive mindset as we move forward into 2021.

Calvin Stovall: 9:32

Let's talk about celebrating innovation first. Do you know someone who has to sit in the same particular seat when they attend a meeting or when they're at church? They always have to have the same parking spot. And if somebody is in their spot, they get all messed up about it. The thing is, our brains crave routine. But doing the same song and dance every day of your life doesn't lead to any growth or maximum performance. So we're talking about celebrate innovation. I want to talk about getting out of your comfort zone from time to time, and that's going to alter your brain's tolerance to change for the better. You have to shake things up every now and then, and then it's going to show your brain that there's nothing to fear, that you're going to be fine on the other side of stress or the stuff that's been going on. But you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It can be easy to fall into a routine and get comfortable with the way things are, John. If your life and your work are good, why change them and risk getting things worse. I believe that pushing yourself to expand your horizons to get a little better each day is going to be central to your growth in dealing with 2021. Then it can also foster creativity too. I think we've all had to be creative this year , but it makes it easier for you to be more flexible when unexpected things can happen to you in the future. Learning new things throughout your life also contributes to happiness. Remember, it's really when you feel comfortable that you should be fearful because it's a sign that you're not stepping out far enough, out of your comfort zone, to take steps that will help you rise and thrive. Teach yourself. As I mentioned before, you've got to teach yourself to be comfortable with ambiguity and the unknown. And I know that's hard.

John Avola: 11:25

What if you were to teach yourself to unlearn? Unlearn or reduce the desire to be perfect. Don't let fear of uncertainty keep you from accomplishing your goals.

Calvin Stovall: 11:38

I love to talk about fear. Because that's really what keeps us from stepping out of our comfort zone in most cases. What is it? False evidence appearing real. That's the definition I like to use because it appears real, even though it may have no real substance , but fear arises when we feel threatened or undermined, which makes us cling to the known and familiar. Fear creates paranoia, worry, nervous disorders, and apprehension. Most of us won't take a step into the unknown or outside of our comfort zone because of the possibility of failure. That's it. When you hear, come step out of your comfort zone, some people get afraid. I mean, we're not asking you to jump out of a plane or do something crazy. It's just really making small changes in your life to do things that you've never done before. And just take a little leap of faith. That's the kind of mindset that you want to have. Just do some things a little bit differently and try to just step out. But here's the thing. Often it's easier to take the steps to break outside of your comfort zone because it is hard for some people to do this, when you have a mentor or a support team. Get somebody to help you. If you know someone who can help you and encourage you along the way, they can make these changes seem less daunting for you. So in 2021, get somebody that can help you do some things different. They can also introduce you to things that you would never have thought of on your own anyway. And having someone to mentor, they'll hold you accountable and keep you from slipping back into your comfort zone.

John Avola: 13:20

Yes. That's why we've got each other, Calvin. As you said, it's a little daunting, right? You get very comfortable with where you are and then going into an uncertain environment or stepping out of that comfort zone, it is a risky move. And so as we plan for 2021, I've got a few tips that would help our audience be a little bit more adaptable to that new environment which they're pursuing. The first tip is planning for the moment. So instead of planning from A to Z, plan from A to B. After all, by the time we get to B, things have most likely already changed given the current environment we're in anyway. Which leads to the second point, which is taking it one step at a time. Focus on the small, simple steps. Ask yourself, what is the simplest action I can take to progress forward toward reaching my goal. Third is keeping that positive uncertainty perspective. We'll touch on positivity and optimism toward the end of the podcast today. But as a step to overcome stepping out of your comfort zone, keeping that uncertainty, but a positive uncertainty perspective, helps you by accepting what the world currently is accepting--uncertainty, being comfortable with uncertainty, and providing yourself more confidence in your ability to adapt. And then lastly is examine your own thinking. Why do we believe what we believe. Most of our preconceived notions about ourselves are negative. Step out of that. Get of that mindset. Get out of the negativity. The assumptions that we have about ourselves just need to be unpacked. And we need to look for gaps in our logic until we find the fear-based beliefs that are driving our thinking and we change them and we get rid of them and we move on. And then lastly, I know I said I had one more, but I also can't stop here without practicing gratitude, thanking others, the mentors that you've reached out to, the friends, the family. It's the smallest thing you can do. And it's the biggest thing that you can receive back.

Calvin Stovall: 15:23

That's right. Celebrate innovation, do things differently. Step out of your comfort zone, out of the things you talked about, but you can't be afraid to make a mistake or afraid to fail. So in 2021, step out. We are going to move on to the next C, commit to curiosity.

John Avola: 15:40

Commit to curiosity. Try something new and be motivated.

Calvin Stovall: 15:44

That's right. Stay curious. Always remain curious and teachable. One of the best ways to better prepare for 2021 is approach whatever it is you're doing with a curiosity mindset, completely open to new ideas and suggestions. Because truthfully, it doesn't matter how long we've been doing something, we really don't know everything. We just don't. All of us can use a checkup from the neck up every now and then.

John Avola: 16:10

That's right. Mental health check. But you're so right about mindset. Mindset is what prevents us from building or moving forward or taking that step out as you just referenced. It's the mindset. You've got to change your mindset to be curious and want to learn more.

Calvin Stovall: 16:30

You don't have to have all the answers, but you know, what's funny about us as leaders, John, sometimes we feel like we have to have all the right answers. But that's not the case. You don't have to be all knowing, but what you do need to be is curious. Albert Einstein's famous words are, I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. So leaders, you don't need to know everything. In fact, it's probably impossible anyway. The ability to know what to do when you don't know what to do is only possible through curiosity. But the prerequisite to that is you have to have humility. Effective leaders have to have both. So you have to be curious, but you also have to be humble enough to know that you can't know everything and that you're going to ask and seek out other people's opinions. That's what's going to be great for you in 2021 and beyond.

John Avola: 17:31

That's such a strong skill to focus on, Calvin, as we move to 2021, is humility. It's one of those leadership styles that at one point, maybe say more pre-COVID, was not looked upon as highly as it currently is today. But having the ability to just say you don't know, or to be curious to find out or to ask someone regardless of their level in the organization, to help you through a particular problem or challenge, that's where it's at. It's humility and being that servant leader.

Calvin Stovall: 18:04

That's right. Curiosity is a super power for anyone. Everybody has that superpower, but it's particularly for those facing a condition of stress or ambiguity. Curiosity is the perfect counterweight to fear and anxiety. You learn to focus on the positives of any situation, but you've just got to ask the questions. Ask early and often. Keep an open mind and do not stop questioning and learning. Look forward, open new doors, and experience new things, and just have a genuine thirst for knowledge and understanding. Am I making sense?

John Avola: 18:41

It actually gave me an idea. I'm going to call it the ABCs of 2021. Always be curious. I'm listening to you and I'm understanding. I said, you know what? 2021. Always be curious. That should be everyone's goal. ABC.

Calvin Stovall: 19:05

I like that a lot. That's a good and an easy way to remember it too. So to sum this section up, John, I have some points to just throw out there. Apply a beginner's mindset or a curiosity mindset. Be open to look for new and novel ways of doing things. Number two, ask questions. Listen and observe. Seek first to understand, not to explain. Try something new. And again, I talked about stepping out of your comfort zone a little bit earlier and it doesn't have to be anything big. You never know what you're going to find out. It's being inquisitive. Ask others their opinions, their perspectives, and their approaches to certain things. Everyone does things a bit differently. And there are potential new answers and solutions to problems hidden in other people's thinking. I believe that is a hundred percent true. And as I've asked people more and more questions about things that I'm dealing with or whatever, they come up with a solution that I may have never thought about. So you have to be open to that. That's where that humbleness comes from. You've got to be willing to share. So that's the second C . We have celebrate innovation. We have commit to curiosity or constant curiosity, however you want to position it. The third one, I want to just encourage you to surround yourself with people that think differently. I think you will agree, John, we really as human beings like to surround ourselves with people that are like us because it's comfortable. And they think like us, were raised like us, etc. The kids were raised like their kids. However, if you want to be the best you or better prepare yourself for the future and achieve maximum potential and accomplish the things that you never have accomplished before, you must surround yourself with smart people who see the world differently than you do.

John Avola: 21:01

Well said. You could even touch on diversity and inclusion a little bit here, right? Taking that time to understand different cultures, different religions, getting out of your comfort zone as we talked about, but opening your perspective, getting rid of some of that unconscious bias that you've grown up to know and you don't even realize you have it.

Calvin Stovall: 21:22

Yes . We all have unconscious biases. I want to touch on that for a second. And I have a story. I'm going to be pretty transparent here in that you just brought something to mind, because sometimes we think we don't have unconscious bias, but we do. I did a fast track management program. And actually I came to Charlotte for four months and worked at an Embassy Suites. After that, they told me, we want to send you to Memphis, Tennessee, to work as an assistant general manager at a corporate owned Embassy Suites in Memphis. I'm from Chicago. And my unconscious bias kicked in immediately. Like I'm not going down south. Those people, they're not going to be as fast paced as us. I'm just being honest. And the thing is that we all have those unconscious biases, because I was like, I don't want to go down there. I had the image in my head. It was slow. The pace wasn't as fast as I was used to. So all of those things crept up, but of course, I went down to Memphis and it wasn't the case at all. I had to do some adjustments, but that's just a perfect example of how you can have unconscious biases and not realize it . Cause we all say "those people ," they're not like us, but if you want to thrive and be successful, going into this next year and beyond, you have to start thinking about surrounding yourself with people that aren't like you. The main problem with that mindset is that there is no really growth for you at all. By surrounding yourself with ideas and perspectives you are already familiar with, you are not actually able to challenge yourself and improve and grow in those senses . Bottom line.

John Avola: 23:15

Absolutely. And if you don't take your own initiative to step out and to surround yourself with people that are not like you, you never will. You'll be surrounded by the same people all the time. Let's say you're on social media or Facebook. I've watched The Social Dilemma. It's a Netflix documentary. I got one point out of it. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, you name the social channel, the content that you're seeing is relative to the beliefs in the individuals that you associate yourself with. So a great example is, look at the election. If you are an avid Republican, you're only receiving Republican content. If you're an avid Democrat, you're only receiving Democratic information and it's brainwashing you because you're not being able to see the other side because that's not showing up in your stream. You're seeing all your friends who support either candidate and their comments, and you're not seeing anything else. And you're not seeing any other perspectives. And you're unconsciously being put into this mindset that what you believe is right. And because what you believe is right, all your friends do too. But the reality is Facebook is only showing you what you want to see.

Calvin Stovall: 24:27

So what are we saying? Talk to someone who has a different type of childhood than you. Talk to someone who has lived or studied abroad. Talk to someone older or younger than you. I think in the workplace right now, we have five different generations. If you are a Boomer, go talk to a Millennial. Find out some stuff about how they do things differently. When you meet these people, please avoid the small talk, like how's the weather or whatever. No. I want to urge you to dig deeper. Ask them about their life experiences and what wisdom they have to offer. And when you open your mind and you challenge yourself to know more about the world and the people around you, I promise you, you will grow exponentially and you will have a much more fulfilled life.

John Avola: 25:10

A couple more points, Calvin, on that. I came across three behaviors that are holding us back. I want to address those three behaviors and then offer a solution on how to overcome that particular behavior. They're quick. There's three of them. The first one is completely relevant to our conversation today and that's your mindset. Your mindset is holding you back. The first thing that prevents us from building a strategic network or network of people or a new community is our mindset that the network is self-serving. And that we believe that any attempt to establish relationships is only for our benefit. We are less inclined to pursue those conversations. However, a stronger network is actually built mutually beneficial to all relationships. Both parties benefit in the end . And then in the process of getting to know someone, you understand how you can add value and help them just as they are willing to help you. The second behavior that's holding us back from creating better connections is limiting our network. So our comfort level, as we've just been talking about, is with the people we know and like. Similar backgrounds, similar point of views. But as we've talked and research shows that this is a type of closed network. This limits our exposure to people, and it limits our ability to receive new ideas, as well as share our own ideas with new connections. And then lastly is you're not being proactive. The proactivity is holding you back and we tend to wait. We wait to need help when we're applying for that job, or we need assistance in a new idea. And now we need help pushing the idea to the finish line. We wait until we need, and then discover that we need that social network. We're not cultivating our network as we go, but we're more so taking advantage of it as we need it. The solution? Don't wait. Cultivate your network now, so when you need them, they are there and ready to help you, just as you will be ready to help them.

Calvin Stovall: 27:15

You know what, John, you have just hit the nail on the head. There is nothing worse than when you haven't talked to someone for like five or 10 years, and then they send you an email. Hey, I'm looking for a job. Can you please forward my resume? Dude, I haven't heard from you in ages. I think we all could do a better job of making sure we stay connected with people that we love and things of that nature. Like you said, it's not good to reach out to somebody after you've not talked to them in years. It's so crazy, but it happens all the time. Those are all great points. And I hope people think about that as they go on to the next year. Make sure you're cultivating your network, building it, cultivating it and staying in touch with people. Okay. That was great. So we have celebrate innovation, commit to constant curiosity, cultivate connections. Last one, one of my favorites, choose optimism. I love the whole thing about optimism. And I think it's essential, particularly if you're leading a team to celebrate your successes, all of them, the small ones and the big ones, if you had some. Then really making sure you've given everybody hope for the future . I just think that's important. And then people know that they made it. But as you mentioned before, we're capable of dreaming up a lot of gloom and doom in our heads. I think you've mentioned that before. We're the worst architects of our brains and we can do that. And a lot of the time we expect the worst and when people are fearful about the future , they think up , we, I'm going to say me too, think of worst case scenarios that most of the time don't even materialize. As a leader, for your team or for you, you have to know that optimism is like a force multiplier. And without it, organizations can quickly fall into varying states of paralysis and, consciously or not, become overwhelmed by fear and anxiety. And that's not what you want. Grieving a past that no longer exists not only deters employees from being able to access the fullness of their capabilities, but also greatly diminishes the organization's capability to problem solve or imagine a brighter future, the only antidote to which is a dose of pragmatic optimism. You want to be positive, you want to be motivated, but you also have to keep it real, as they say.

John Avola: 30:12

You've got to keep it real. It's not easy right now to stay positive. I was going to say, let's get real, right? It's hard. It's hard to be positive. We're all dealing with the global pandemic. As I've said before, same storm, different boats. Everyone's got a unique situation. And regardless of that situation, we all have the ability to change our perception, which goes back to what you're saying. Choose optimism. I would focus on the word, choose. It is your choice to be optimistic just as much as it is your choice to be pessimistic. It's our thoughts. It's the way we feel. It's the things we do. We've got to choose optimism. It's the only way we're going to get through this individually and together.

Calvin Stovall: 30:58

That's right. And I talk a lot about the inputs, what we're putting inside of us. Things like the news, stuff that you're reading, all of the stuff that you put inside, it controls your thoughts, that controls your emotions, that controls your actions, that controls your results. So you have to be careful. If you want to change your results, you change your inputs. And I'm talking about people too. John, you've got to be careful who you surround yourself with too . You know what I'm talking about. Some people are just negative and they will bring you down, down, down. You have to be careful, not only what you're looking at and reading, but just your circle.

John Avola: 31:38

You've got to also be doing what's best for you in this situation, right? It's taking your life one day at a time. Sometimes it's minute by minute. And you've got to understand, too, that you're not alone. There are days you feel like you're the only one struggling. And that's simply not the case. Take a moment to remember everyone is also struggling. You're not alone. We said earlier, call a family member, call a friend, do something that will help you feel more positive.

Calvin Stovall: 32:10

You've got to think of yourself as a human magnet. You constantly attract what you speak, think, and feel. If you think of problems, you're most likely going to attract problems. If you think of solutions, you'll attract solutions. Cultivate your thoughts. Remain positive and optimistic. We get what we think. So think positive.

John Avola: 32:31

Yes. Think positive. And to add to that, think about what's going right. Focus on what's happening in your life that is going good. It could be as small as the ability to get out of bed or a momentary pleasure, like a hot cup of coffee in the morning. It's not easy, but instead of focusing on the elements that are bringing you down, try focusing on what's going right for you.

Calvin Stovall: 32:55

And I always tell people, you've made it. You're making progress. It may not look like it but you are. Take a look back at some of the awesome things that you've accomplished during these times. Pat yourself on the back, give yourself some credit. We can be so hard on ourselves sometimes. So don't let the stress and the worries of what's going on outshine your passion. Don't sweat the small stuff. Everything that you're doing is making a difference. We can't always choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it. I want everybody to go into the holiday season and in 2021, with these four Cs. Focus on some things that you can do, small things, and just make things better for you to go into the next year and beyond.

John Avola: 33:45

There's good happening all around us, all around you. It's up to you to see what you're looking for.

Calvin Stovall: 33:50

Regardless of who you are. I don't care what role you have in your organization. I don't care if you're a vice president , senior vice president, or you're on the front line, we're all going to face uncertainties. We're all going to run into hurdles and obstacles and unexpected surprises that trip you up. You've got to remember, you control how you react to those things. What do they say? Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it, right? Never lose the beat, right? We always talk about that .

John Avola: 34:19

Never lose the beat. And I want to add, never lose the beat, but also have faith. And I'm not trying to get all religious on you here, Calvin. I'm referring to faith more as just having faith in yourself and your endless capacity to work toward being positive. Believe in yourself, move yourself forward. There's a lot of good happening in science, technology, and there's a ton of opportunity to overcome those most difficult obstacles and ensure our desire that there is good and we're living good lives. And we have loved ones that we care about and just have a little faith during this difficult time as well. It'll help move you forward.

Calvin Stovall: 34:58

That's right. I like that, John. That's okay. You can get spiritual on me. I like it. All of these things, the celebrate innovation, committing to curiosity, cultivating connections, choosing optimism, those four Cs, you want to adapt those to your life. And I believe that can help you be successful in 2021, and beyond.

John Avola: 35:21

Couldn't have summarized it any better. Are you going to leave us with some iconic points? You're going to do something a little different? What are you thinking?

Calvin Stovall: 35:27

We've talked about all of these, so I just want to run through quickly and you can add on. When we talk about celebrating innovation, we talked about stepping out of your comfort zone, right? Not letting fear get in the way of trying something different. It doesn't have to be as big as jumping out of an airplane or anything like that. Just do some small things, some small things that you may not have done in the past. The next one , commit to constant curiosity. Just be curious. ABC, always be curious. One of the biggest things you want to remember is, for you to be able to do this successfully, you have to have humbleness. You have to be willing to ask the questions. You have to be willing to listen and act on people's suggestions. That will help you. Cultivate connections, be open. Let other people into your circle, let other people outside that are different from you inside of your bubble, because we do put ourselves in bubbles. Bust the bubble, let people in. Pop it, pop the bubble, and let some other people in. Be open to have conversations with people outside of your circle of people that you're used to having conversations with. Again, I think you mentioned the whole thing with racial equality and all of those things. Now is the time you can talk to people outside of your race, because we're all trying to get better at that. So this is the time. 2021, do that. Outside of your generation, all of that , open it up. And then last but not least, of course, choose optimism (with a dose of reality). Stay positive, watch what you speak, watch what you think, watch what you feel. Be careful of the people around you and what your inputs are. But remember, don't beat yourself up. You've done great. You're getting to the other side of this thing. Stay positive, stay focused and you'll have a successful 2021 and beyond.

John Avola: 37:25

Excellent. And as we always remind our folks, if you want to learn more about Calvin or myself, you can visit us at iconicpresentations.net. We've got the iconic framework. We've actually done a few updates to the website. So let us know what you think. And until next time Calvin, don't just be, BeICONIC.