Big shoutout to Rebecca for suggesting this awesome topic! She brought up something we all face at some point: Accepting Help. Whether you're someone who insists on doing everything yourself or you feel overly dependent on others, finding that balance is key. We often fall into one of two extremes: Loner mindset – You believe if you don’t do it all on your own, you’re failing. It's a struggle to let go of control or admit you need help. Over-dependency – Relying on others too much because you don’t trust your own abilities or fear taking initiative. Both extremes can hold you back in life and business. Loners often burn out because they take on too much and don't delegate or collaborate. Overly dependent individuals may struggle to grow, as they lean on others for decisions and guidance instead of developing their own skills. The sweet spot lies in knowing when to accept help and when to take control. Asking for help doesn't mean you're weak—it means you're smart enough to know when your resources or skills aren’t enough. On the flip side, building independence doesn’t mean ignoring the value others bring to the table. Action! This week, think about a task or project you're working on, and ask yourself: "Where can I use help to move faster or smarter?" Take that one area and ask someone for assistance—whether it's a small task, advice, or a collaboration. Post your experience here! Let's start a conversation about how accepting help made an impact on your work or mindset. Thanks again to Rebecca for the awesome suggestion!

Let’s be honest, staying motivated isn’t always easy. Whether it's your personal life or at work. Some days motivation comes easy, other days, even the simplest tasks can feel insurmountable. So, how do we stay motivated on those hard days? For me, I try to find ways that I can genuinely make a difference. Like giving a hand to a coworker who's working on a difficult task, or something as simple as bringing in coffee or donuts for everyone to start everyone's days off with a smile and a treat. Knowing that I’m playing a part in creating a friendly, supportive work environment keeps me going, even when things get overwhelming. But I’ll admit, there are days when work feels heavy. On those days, I lean on small wins—like checking off an item on a to-do list, learning something new, or simply knowing that I’ve helped one person feel heard. What about you? What keeps you motivated, and how do you push through the tough days? I’d love to hear your experiences!

Never trying, though? That’s a different kind of pain. It creeps up on you years later when you look back and realize you didn’t take the chances on things you truly wanted to do. Failure is temporary, but the regret of not trying sticks around for a lifetime. What will hurt you most is waking up one day, wondering "What if?" Instead, let’s focus on pushing through and trying, even when it’s scary or difficult. Action: Take one step today towards something you've been putting off. Whether it's a small task or a larger goal, make that move. Don't wait until tomorrow—start now.

I've worked in a lot of different environments in my time. I started off working in sports bars, then moved on to work a couple other service industry jobs before I joined the military. Not a single one of those jobs did I ever work alone. I was always part of a team. So what does it mean to be a "team player"? To me, it means more than just showing up and working well with your coworkers. My time as a host really solidified my identity as a team player. The job of a host might seem trivial at first glance, all they do is seat people, right? But really, the hosts control the whole flow of a restaurant. My favorite part of the job was learning my waitstaff. Lauren tells me she really needs to make enough in tips to pay her rent by the end of the week? Well, that works great because Jon just broke up with his girlfriend and asked me to skip him every other rotation so he can go cry in the walk-in freezer. I used fake names but that did actually happen. I had one server tell me that he was never worried about busy nights when I was working because he knew if he got overwhelmed, he didn't have to come to the host stand and beg for me to find a cover. He usually didn't even have to ask for a cover because if I saw him stressing out, I already knew that if I sat his section, I would need to ask another server to handle it. I hadn't realized how big of an impact I had made on him until he told me. But that moment, I understood what being a team player really was. Being a team player, especially in a fast-paced, high-stress environment like a restaurant, is so incredibly important. To me, that means looking out for your coworkers; understanding that everyone is coming in to work with their own set of struggles and finding ways to help them bring their best even on their worst days. So, what does it mean to you to be a team player?

As someone who's spent a majority of my working life at the bottom rung of the ladder, I've experienced lots of different leadership types. My first manager was such a kind man and was always looking out for all of his employees. Working in the restaurant industry, I often felt like my managers didn't have my back when a customer complained, even if I hadn't done anything wrong. But he handled those situations with so much grace, resolving the customers issues without throwing any waitstaff under the bus. When I look at all of my past experiences with managers, the ones that stood out as being the strongest leaders, were the ones I could trust. They were dependable. If you did a good job, they recognized you; if you messed up, they called you out and showed you how to do better; if they messed up, they owned up to it. Now, that's just from my personal experience. I want to hear from you all. Do you have any managers you worked for who were strong leaders? What about their leadership stood out to you?