Come on time, know the text, bring ideas.

24 hours. It has been 24 hours since I heard those words from Tom Hanks in a TikTok video. That is by far the longest any content from TikTok has stuck in my mind, and I wonder why…

I’m thinking out loud here, but even though this advice was given to him on a movie set, I feel like we could apply it to any realm of human endeavor (I like using these words lol).

Being on time-- which really means coming a bit early-- is just a sign of respect for the other party. Nothing much to elaborate on here. We all know it, but few of us execute it (me included).

“Know the text” is where it gets interesting. For Hanks, it meant literally knowing the lines he was supposed to read for the movie. For you and me, commoners, it could mean different things. Maybe it means familiarizing yourself with the topic of conversation or the main points of a meeting. Doing some research so you don’t appear clueless. Anything, really, that would help the meeting be more productive and move smoothly.

As for the last part “bring ideas” well, that one is self-explanatory. Given that you’re familiar with the context and the topic at hand, it might be interesting to bring some ideas to the table.

But even more than that, bring implementation suggestions, especially if it’s a professional meeting.

It’s just such a beautiful way of summarizing a life mantra. One sentence that says it all. One sentence that, if followed and implemented every day, has the potential to make us great.

I’ll start my journey by actually coming on time from now on, especially to a friend’s meetup. I tend to come very late, thinking it’s cool to be late.

We have something to start a conversation with, I think.

My task is to do better. Let’s hope I can.