It’s a great day, Danny Smith

If you call me, you'll notice that's the how I answer my phone.........It's a great day, Danny Smith. It's also part of my voicemail greeting.

It’s not just on my voicemail, it’s a new voicemail I record every morning, weekdays at least!

Why do I do that?

Originally it was for a couple of reasons. Years ago, probably 1994 or so, I began recording a new message every morning because I habitually didn’t check my voicemail enough and didn’t return calls on a timely basis. So, as a matter of being accountable to myself, I started changing my voicemail every day, including the day and date.

That way I would know that people would know I was checking my voicemail.

I know, maybe a bit weird, but I valued what people thought about me and I needed the accountability. In this case, to my values.

What I wasn’t expecting was what saying IT’S A GREAT DAY THIS IS DANNY SMITH, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME AND NUMBER, GOD BLESS would do for me. Ha! Some mornings it took me 5 to 10 tries just to get it out correctly!

I’d always get the “It’s a GREAT DAY…..” but not the rest.

It was painful some mornings. If you ever called me back in those days and I hadn’t changed the day and date………it was probably because I gave up for the day! LOL. Poor Cathy. I didn’t know sometimes she was hearing me!

You know the “comfort zone?” That thing you can get stuck in even when it’s not serving you well? Thinking back, and knowing what I know now……I know at least of part of my problem, aside from the stuttering thing, was my subconscious trying to keep me in its sense of reality. Even though it wasn’t serving me well.

Great therapy though. Great message to be putting into my head. IT’S A GREAT DAY.

But I stopped the voicemail thing 5 or 6 years ago.

Bad decision. For me.

Not the GREAT DAY DANNY SMITH when I answer the phone though. I did get a little relaxed with it from time-to-time. But the voicemail. I stopped that 5 or 6 years ago.

Bad decision. For me.

Not NOW! I've been back on it for a few weeks and it really does feel good.

Why do I do that? That’s a great question.

I do it because of what I value.

My values. My values. It helps me set and reset thinking for the day. I value my thinking and my thinking can stink sometimes.

What do you value? Founder Tom Watson knew what he valued when he started IBM in 1903. He knew what he wanted the company to look like and how he wanted to company to act.

That’s knowing what one values.

It’s a good question to ask and a GREAT answer to know……

WHAT DO I VALUE IN LIFE?

To that end……when you lay your head on your pillow tonight, let it be said you’ve been SPEAKING GREATNESS.