Academy Awards

I’ve got a confession to make. I’m not hooked on Lost. I don’t know what “frack” means and I’ve never watched American Idol. I used to keep my television in my closet (it was a 12″ black and white) and it wasn’t out of shame – I just didn’t watch TV. Even though we now have one of those state-of-the-art flat screen, surround-sound systems (ask Tom for details), I still don’t watch TV. I will also confess there are a couple of exceptions. I set aside an evening for each of the Grammys^®, Golden Globes^®, Super Bowl^® (for Tom) and the Academy Awards^® as sacrosanct (don’t call me, I won’t answer). But the other 361 days of the year, my TV is off. My Google^® homepage tells me the news headlines and Tom keeps me in the loop. If the world was going to come to an end, my executive team would notify me and ask me to release the Institute employees early so they can go home and prepare (being on the Gulf Coast, I’ve even gotten tsunami warnings). In other words, TV doesn’t play a role in my life – it’s not an early warning system and it’s not a distraction.

Now, on the other extreme, I know legal nurse consultants who live and die by their TVs. Between reruns of Seinfeld, Friends and shows like The Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars, they eat, sleep, relax and work. That’s okay for them and possibly for you. I understand the need to let your mind coast and let your body relax. One of my best friends gets home from work each day in time to watch Oprah – that’s how he (correct, this is not a typo) relaxes. I relax through books, movies, Jacuzzi^®, meditation and a glass of a great red wine.

Let me ask you a question – if you turned your television off for just one night a week and put that time into your legal nurse consulting business, what dividends would it return?

TV is passive. As Zen master Takuan says, “This day will not come again.” Every hour you sit in front of a television you’re accomplishing nothing. Each of those hours is irretrievably lost to you. Sure, the next morning you and your friends can discuss Glee or which of the fifteen hundred versions of CSI had the most fun autopsy scene, but where will that get your legal nurse consulting career?

I challenge all Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to take one day a week and turn off your TV. Put that evening into your legal nurse consulting business. Concentrate on a different aspect of your business each week, marketing, report writing or a new CLNC^® service. See what you’ll reap from that time. You’ll never be able to say “I’m too busy to…” again because you’ll have recovered 2-3 hours of time lost from Lost. If this whole topic is making you nervous, you can always TiVo^® your shows to watch them at a later date (after you’ve accomplished all you want).

If you dare to fully realize the power of this, try taking a week off from the TV. Put that time into your CLNC^® business and your family. You’ll make exponential leaps in both. I warn you though, this powerful practice is not for everyone – it’s only for those who choose to take back their time and make something powerful from it.

Success Is Inside!

I think I must have been the last person in the world to see Avatar. Sunday, a week ago, Tom and I went with a large group of our friends (all of whom were seeing it for the second time) to see this movie. Everyone I knew who had seen it, raved about it (which seemed to be everyone I know) and I was so excited about seeing it that I even brought my own 3D glasses!

About an hour into the movie I turned to Tom, and after yanking the popcorn away from him, whispered, “If this doesn’t get Best Picture I’ll be shocked.” I loved the movie.

Last night, I watched the Academy Awards and was indeed shocked when Hurt Locker won Best Picture. In all fairness I never saw Hurt Locker and will have to add it to my list. Until then my vote is still Avatar. Not only was it entertaining, Certified Legal Nurse Consultants can learn several lessons from director, James Cameron. The lessons all stem from an opinion I feel strongly about after growing my successful legal nurse consulting business for 28 years – the experts are often wrong and you shouldn’t always listen to them!

Think about it. Hollywood experts said audiences won’t go see an intelligent movie; that they only want gross-out, teen-style comedies or star-driven vehicles where the star walks through his role in his sleep. Cameron ignored them and penned a movie that required your full attention and one that put its leading characters into unrecognizable avatars.

The experts say the attention span of audiences cap out after 80-90 minutes and that audiences won’t sit for a movie that runs 162 minutes caption-to-credit. Cameron ignored that line of thinking and cut the movie he wanted audiences to see. Again, the experts were wrong to the tune of over $2.5 billion worldwide!

Experts also believed that audiences weren’t ready for full-length 3D movies other than horror, children’s or the occasional IMAX^® film. Instead of following that thinking, Cameron went out on a limb and filmed the movie in 3D applying it tastefully, without cheap shock effects. This has turned out to be one of the most popular methods to see Avatar.

Like I’ve always told CLNC^® consultants, you can’t always listen to the experts because they’re often wrong. Like James Cameron you have to make your own decisions and follow your own dreams. Like James Cameron, your CLNC^® business may not win a coveted Academy Award, but there’s nothing holding you back from trying, except the experts.

See you in the theaters!