Think about it: If there was no Covfefe in my Twitter feed this morning, I wonder just how I would have felt when everything else there was to read on there was sad, horrifying, and perplexing (and sometimes all of those at once.) How would my day have begun? How would my day have continued? If I had not had Covfefe to add a dash of humour to my day, I can tell you that I would not have felt very good at all, and I would have carried that feeling with me into my day, into my work, and into my home life. There are many days when the Tweets of my clients and colleagues would, if they were being quite honest, sound a bit like my morning Twitter feed. "Not one sale today. Not.One. WTF?!" "10K blown on FB ad campaign. No leads. #moneywasted #ugh" "Big launch yesterday. Big bucks invested. Return? 2 sign ups. #funnelfail" "Ambushed at MIL's dinner party. Apparently being a coach isn't a #realcareer. #lovemyinlaws" There are days that being in business isn't pretty. We don't usually Tweet about those days, but we do all have them. And on those days, we need someone to make us laugh with a good Covfefe Meme. Or, better yet, send us an email that says, "I do so wish I could send you a dried turd so you could burn it and symbolically say good-bye to the shit in your life. That's how much I love you." Yep, that's the email I received when I was on retreat and working through some rather trying personal pieces. And I am telling you, it worked. It made me laugh. And that's what I needed most of all. You cannot put a price on the value of that email, or on a really good Covfefe Meme. But what we can do is put our time into cultivating the relationships that bring us those Covfefe and the Burning of Turd moments. We can surround ourselves with people who "get it," who really know that life and business aren't always champagne and roses, and who will break up the "hard" times with humour and a really good belly laugh. If there is no joy, what's the point? This is what I asked myself this morning as I scrolled Twitter. My work day yesterday ended with a call with a man I've come to know over the last few years, someone I respect tremendously, and truly enjoy speaking with. We've cultivated this relationship that we have consciously, knowing full-well that we each gain from every interaction we have as we both strive to provide a safe sounding-board for one another, and a different perspective into business and life. When I began that call, I wasn't feeling that great, to be honest, and neither was he. But by the end? I felt stronger, somehow, full of ideas. Inspired. And happy. He was my Covfefe Meme, and helped me Burn Some Turds. Our interaction gave me that dose of fun and laughter I needed to pick myself up and get moving again. These are the relationships I wish for you, dear reader. I wish for you colleagues who "get it," who email you in your darker hours with the image of symbolically Burning The Turds that surround you in that moment, who make you laugh and remember the joy because it is true: If there is no joy, there is no point. And sometimes all we need is a little Covfefe to find our joy again.

On Covfefe and the Burning of Turds

In Chronicles of a CEO by Rebecca Liston

I know, you’re totally wondering what the heck “covfefe” and the “burning of turds” could possibly have to do with business.

And yet, you opened the email…curious to see just exactly how I was going to bend this into an article worth publishing, worth reading, worth pondering. (I sure hope I don’t disappoint!)

My Twitter feed was full of quirky and fun “covfefe” memes this morning — if you missed it, “covfefe” was a mis-spelling on a Tweet from @POTUS, Donald Trump, and of course, the social media networks blew up as people sought to out-do one another in making this a funny moment of note.

Interspersed between these Covfefe Memes were other moments of note: at least 80 people were killed in a terror attack in Kabul, Ariana Grande has decided to return to Manchester to do a benefit concert, and Putin is denying any interception in the US election. Oh, and Karla Homolka is volunteering at a private school in Quebec…just in case you were wondering.

So much “news,” so much tragedy, so much hard-ship, so many things that makes us go, “Huh?!?”

And in the middle of all of that, we’ve some very, very funny memes about Covfefe.

Sometimes, it can feel like we are playing out these moments of note in our own lives and businesses. There can be tragedy, and hard-ship, and so many things that make us go, “Huh?!?”

And today I want to advocate for more Covfefe, and the Burning of Turds.

Think about it: If there was no Covfefe in my Twitter feed this morning, I wonder just how I would have felt when everything else there was to read on there was sad, horrifying, and perplexing (and sometimes all of those at once.)

How would my day have begun?

How would my day have continued?

If I had not had Covfefe to add a dash of humour to my day, I can tell you that I would not have felt very good at all, and I would have carried that feeling with me into my day, into my work, and into my home life.

There are many days when the Tweets of my clients and colleagues would, if they were being quite honest, sound a bit like my morning Twitter feed.

“Not one sale today. Not.One. WTF?!”

“10K blown on FB ad campaign. No leads. #moneywasted #ugh”

“Big launch yesterday. Big bucks invested. Return? 2 sign ups. #funnelfail”

“Ambushed at MIL’s dinner party. Apparently being a coach isn’t a #realcareer. #lovemyinlaws”

There are days that being in business isn’t pretty. We don’t usually Tweet about those days, but we do all have them.

And on those days, we need someone to make us laugh with a good Covfefe Meme.

Or, better yet, send us an email that says, “I do so wish I could send you a dried turd so you could burn it and symbolically say good-bye to the shit in your life. That’s how much I love you.”

Yep, that’s the email I received when I was on retreat and working through some rather trying personal pieces.

And I am telling you, it worked. It made me laugh. And that’s what I needed most of all.

You cannot put a price on the value of that email, or on a really good Covfefe Meme.

But what we can do is put our time into cultivating the relationships that bring us those Covfefe and the Burning of Turd moments. We can surround ourselves with people who “get it,” who really know that life and business aren’t always champagne and roses, and who will break up the “hard” times with humour and a really good belly laugh.

If there is no joy, what’s the point?

This is what I asked myself this morning as I scrolled Twitter.

My work day yesterday ended with a call with a man I’ve come to know over the last few years, someone I respect tremendously, and truly enjoy speaking with. We’ve cultivated this relationship that we have consciously, knowing full-well that we each gain from every interaction we have as we both strive to provide a safe sounding-board for one another, and a different perspective into business and life.

When I began that call, I wasn’t feeling that great, to be honest, and neither was he. But by the end? I felt stronger, somehow, full of ideas. Inspired. And happy.

He was my Covfefe Meme, and helped me Burn Some Turds. Our interaction gave me that dose of fun and laughter I needed to pick myself up and get moving again.

These are the relationships I wish for you, dear reader.

I wish for you colleagues who “get it,” who email you in your darker hours with the image of symbolically Burning The Turds that surround you in that moment, who make you laugh and remember the joy because it is true: If there is no joy, there is no point.

And sometimes all we need is a little Covfefe to find our joy again.

Fully completely,

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Rebecca Liston helps her clients predict, pivot, and compete in an increasingly complex global marketplace. Her clients quickly uncover the root of their challenges and know the actions to take to overcome them. A six-time nominee for the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award, Rebecca combines business strategy with intuition, giving her clients the edge on forward-thinking, elegant answers to their most complicated problems. Her clients are entrepreneurs with CEO-mindsets and executives with entrepreneurial instincts. She is based in London, Ontario. What if you could get the answer to your biggest business challenge, in one sitting? Visit rebeccaliston.com to find out more.