This is a guest post from the new “Opposite Success” creative project which was initiated by a close friend of mine. Outlook is often a choice. Opposite Success is an alternative view on the standard success formula and loosely based on the hope that people can laugh themselves through the inevitable periods of struggle and into success (whatever that means) and happiness.

Sock-Dogs-sm

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The Lessons

Sometimes it is uncanny how much alike we can be with our furry family members. Sometimes we should be more like them… and sometimes not.

The 20 best lessons on business, leadership and life that I learned from my border collies:

  1. The Law of Attraction Works: You just need to stare or bark at what you want and the universe will provide it. Unwavering belief and persistence is the key.
  2. If you have lots of patience and are fast you can steal toys from your competition when they aren’t looking.
  3. Abundance thinking: When you are hungry food magically appears and it never runs out. It may not be as much as you want but is probably as much as you need.
  4. When meeting a stranger it is best to get the posturing and butt sniffing out of the way as quickly as possible so you can relax and have fun.
  5. The job of a leader is to throw balls for the team until they are too hot or exhausted to continue.
  6. The last one to pee on something owns it. “It” is loosely defined and could include the universe.
  7. Cat people think they are interesting but it is really the cats that are interesting; and they must be around somewhere.
  8. If you know really good tricks you can get more treats with less work. Kids and Food
  9. Something good that happens once is a new pattern until proven conclusively otherwise. See Law of Attraction.
  10. If you focus on one thing intently with your whole being for a long period of time, people will think you are smart.
  11. Some dogs do exciting things and some dogs like to watch others do exciting things.
  12. Some dogs always follow the Frisbee and some seem to just know where it is going to be. The second group catches more often and with less effort.
  13. When you live in the city being in the country is exciting. When you live in the country being in the city is exciting.
  14. Some dogs are the alphas and some dogs “think” they are the alphas but it is all show and bluff. I call them alfalfa dogs. It rarely works out well when the two mix.
  15. If work is fun, they will do it all day long. Work is anything that is fun.
  16. Hearing and understanding decreases when someone is asking you to do something you don’t want to do and they are not within reach. The opposite is also true.
  17. If you go fast enough, no one will notice that you missed the mandatory contacts on the dog agility course. Tunnel calvin3
  18. Some people have treats in their pockets and don’t even know it. It is ok to point it out.
  19. If you miss an obstacle on the agility course or the directions are not clear, bark at the leader.
  20. Servant leaders are the best kind.

Bonus Lesson: If there is nothing worthwhile to do, go to sleep until life improves.