You can’t control many variables in life – so don’t even try

Why do some people prefer to drive instead of fly? Statistically speaking, flying is several orders of magnitude safer – the fatality rate in airline accidents is one in 11 million, compared to one in 5,000 car passengers. And yet, I know quite a few people who don’t fly. Maybe they’ve had a bad experience with turbulence that scared them, or maybe the thought of being in the passenger seat and not being able to take action if something happens is too scary.

But, they think if I’m driving, I’m in control, so instead of a one-hour flight from Nashville to Charlotte, North Carolina, I drive seven hours. People build such cars because they think the driver will be safer. is no safer, of course, but because they are under control, they feeling safer. They drink coffee to stay awake, and they do their best to avoid wackos on the road – but statistically, it’s a very bad decision. And it’s a decision that some people make because of that false sense of control.

I think humans tend to feel safe by forcibly controlling their environment. But doing so gives a false sense of security because you can’t control every variable—you can’t even predict which variables might present themselves.

If you don’t spend time dealing with things you can’t control, your blood pressure will stay much lower. Acknowledge and accept the obstacles you face, and then do something to address and mitigate them. You have to tell yourself Well, it’s true: my wife is leavingleave me and my child wants to give up on me; or my best friend slept with my fiance and so did i

about losing my job; or I was just diagnosed with a serious medical condition. All of these things are just part of the human condition – and if you live long enough, some of them will happen to you.

Acceptance and acceptance of the situation does not mean that you are happy with your misfortune or do not despair; it just means being pragmatic and says Thishappened and must have a reason. It is part of the plan of the universe. It’s just the waylife sometimes. I have to accept this reality and move forward with a plan to deal with this issuesituation

I will give an example from my own life. One of our current clients is a technology company. We are working on their AI marketing strategy and it is very encouraging but can be frustrating at times. This client is clearly very alert to their competitors’ every move, and this makes it difficult for us to market their premium structure, where you pay a subscription fee for what they offer for free. As the competitive landscape is constantly changing, they are forced to re-evaluate their strategy.

This periodic evaluation of strategy can sometimes cause our work to suddenly stop mid-stream. We’ve dedicated six people to this client, and suddenly they’re “pencil down.” This means that six expensive professionals will not be fully utilized for a week or more, and we will, of course, have to pay them until the client gives permission to resume work.

It is certainly frustrating, but there is nothing we can do. This is how our client needs to operate in such a fast moving and competitive environment. We may resign from this client. We can tell them that we can’t do it that way. We can leave them and try to work for one of their competitors in the hope that these stops and starts don’t happen. But the competitors are certainly not better and will probably be worse. And there are

hundreds of agencies that would be excited to work for our current client and accept any terms they offer.

I know the truth is that we are very lucky to have such a prestigious client who operates on the cutting edge of technology. Yes, the dynamics of this business may cause greater volatility in our financial results. But I don’t panic. I won’t sleep over it. I really don’t know.

I would be I lose sleep if we’ve done something wrong in some way—say, if we paid some expensive people and they did a bad job, or if I realized we weren’t paying enough attention to the customer’s needs. But I could control that I can remove those people from the company.

But it is not so. We have not failed and over the years we have earned the trust of a demanding customer. The client operates in a highly competitive environment. We can’t change that. And they always treat us with respect, thank us when we do well, pay us fairly, and pay us on time.

These are the hallmarks of a great customer.

When you are faced with a difficult problem, it is disastrous. It was part of my life. And part of me—the child part of me—still does. This passion dominated my mind. Not anymore.

There is a certain peace in accepting something is and accept the way forward based on your reality.

Written by Don Kurz

Don Kurz is an entrepreneur, former championship lacrosse player, and dance instructor who danced regularly at Studio 54 Hustle. He was a senior partner at a major international consulting firm, successfully took the company public on the Nasdaq, started a hedge fund, and is currently the chairman of the executive board and a major creative shareholder of an LLC. His new book, Hurry up – Life Lessons from Studio 54, the Championship Lacrosse Field and the Boardroom, is both a fun and serious collection of lessons taught to readers through his dynamic life story. Read more in DonKurzAuthor.com.