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Two decades ago, my little family headed out from our home in Boca Raton, Florida, for a week at Disney World. Orlando was a three hour drive and I was taking the kids up to meet up with Sam, who was already there attending an engineering conference.
Driving long distances alone with very young children can be trying, but I could manage the trip without a hitch with some careful planning.
About 90 minutes into the trip I realized that I had left our annual passes in my dresser drawer. At home. Sure, I had thought about packing them about 400 times. I had planned to pack them. I just hadn't bothered to add them to the packing list.
That minor detail cost me an extra three hours of driving a van of unhappy munchkins around, a chunk of gas, a big dent in our vacation plans, and a boatload of blown nerves.
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, killing everyone aboard, in 1986 because of a defect in an O-ring…a part that was seemingly insignificant in the overall structure.
In events that matter, details matter.
How many times have you been hit with a huge late fee because you missed a payment by one day? How often has costly damage occurred to your car because you put off regular maintenance, like oil changes or transmission fluid? How many assignments did you lose points on, just because you turned them in shortly after the deadline? How many opportunities have you missed because you always show up just a few minutes late? How many times has your day been ruined because you didn't pay attention to where you put your keys?
You will be challenged by problems that could have been prevented if you had paid closer attention to the details.
Recognize this truth. Embrace it. Determine to pay attention to those things that will make your life better, happier, more productive, and less stressful.
It's not that the devil's in the details. But that every detail contains a seed that could potentially make the difference between success and failure.
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Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.
Pay attention to the little things you do that you think won’t affect other people. Like double parking your car while you “Just Run in to grab something” mean while the entire traffic flow has to be adjusted to accommodate you little convenience. Grabbing that photo you saw on line to use in your presentation, no one will ever know, but the photographer that went out and took that great photo needs to be paid for his work. “Can I have a copy of that song, or software”. Wow you dodged that bullet, that stuff cost $300 of the shelf, beside the fact it took countless hours to write and develop and it put’s food on the table and is the authors bread and butter, you just got it for free, “No one will ever know, so it’s ok.” Think before you do things like this. If your company decided to instate a policy that they were going to take $100 out of your check a day to create a slush fund for what ever they wanted and did it with out your knowledge or approval, you’d be howling mad and demand to be reimbursed. Yeah….but as long as you don’t know …nobody is “really” getting hurt and besides be happy you have a job. I guess that mentality really makes you think doesn’t it.
David, such great examples! It sounds like you’ve spent the time to think through not only important details, but a life of integrity. Thank you for your contribution.