Ever wonder what your brain is up to while your going about your usual daily routine? Pick up a copy of ‘Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain‘ by David Eagleman to find out more.
It’s a fascinating account about ‘the non-conscious brain and all the machinery under the hood that keeps the show going’. It’s also surprisingly approachable and entertaining for a work on neuroscience.
“My brain: it’s my second favorite organ.” -Woody Allen
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The next time you ask someone what they want, consider following up by asking them what they are willing to work their ass off for. It’s interesting to observe how large (or small) the gap between the two answers can be.
Perhaps you can ask yourself the same two questions. Are your answers to the two questions much different?
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All of the thoughts and comments you make and receive throughout the day are neutral – that is to say, they have no value. It’s what happens next that places a value on them.
Your choice about whether to make them positive, negative or something else is completely up to you. It’s a lot of responsibility but I’m sure you can handle it.
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According to the dictionary, a job is:
“a piece of work, especially a specific task done as part of the routine of one’s occupation or for an agreed price”
or ”anything a person is expected or obliged to do; a duty; responsibility”
Inspired? I’m not.
A mission on the other hand is defined as, ”an important assignment carried out for political, religious, or commercial purposes, typically involving travel” another definition is “a strongly felt aim, ambition, or calling“
Now that’s more like it!
What I want isn’t a job; what I need is a mission.
Sure, we need to pay the bills so a job may be necessary but that job could just be the vehicle we use as part of our mission – whatever that mission may be.
A mission keeps us engaged when we have distracting tasks and issues to deal with. It’s what keeps us on track. Reaching the top of the mountain is the mission. Dealing with terrible weather and conditions, making food and putting up the tent are just jobs we have to do. But they are necessary for the mission to be successful.
Do you have a job or a mission? Perhaps you have both.
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Are you overwhelmed by the volume of email you have to deal with?
Consider using (and encouraging others to use) this email charter that originated from a TED.com blog post. It certainly is ‘an idea worth spreading’.
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Obviously there are much worse things in life than a bad presentation but with all the information out there competing for our attention and the lack of time we have to get our message across it is important that we stop for a moment and think about this – people have dedicated a chunk of their valuable time to give you their undivided attention – it’s up to you to be prepared.
Fortunately help for these kinds of corporate atrocities does exist:
I certainly do not claim to be an expert on the topic but it is one that I am passionate about. Several authors and other organizations are declaring war in the ‘death by PowerPoint’ approach to presentation delivery. One of leaders of this revolution is Garr Reynolds and as he points out, PowerPoint is not the enemy, how we design and deliver presentations is the issue that needs to be addressed. He has published three books on the topic, has a website and runs a blog dedicated to the subject of presentation design and delivery. I recently read the Naked Presenter and Presentation Zen: Design. As you may gather from the last title, Mr Reynold’s is heavily influenced by Japanese culture and the Zen arts. He takes lessons learned from art and design that is also grounded in logic. He is also pretty obsessed with slide design and how to deliver great presentations. If Mr. Miyagi had ever been forced into using PowerPoint to sell his services I’d like to think that he would have come up with something similar.
Another good idea is to watch world class presenters in action, starting with this one from my last post. One of the best resources on the web for great presentation can be found on TED.com. Just take a look around for a topic your interested in or take a look at one of the more popular ones.
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If you ever needed a great example of how to make a speech, this is it…
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There are 2 things that you can take without getting in trouble. Or perhaps I should phrase that differently: there are 2 things you should take regardless of the trouble it may get you into.
They are responsibility and initiative.
Sure, you may get into trouble some of the time but it will probably be worth it.
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Whether you’re trying to write a song or a novel, paint a masterpiece, make a speech, or any one of the many other things that could benefit from a little inspiration it seems to me that you have several options. You could wait patiently and hope that inspiration strikes at just the right time, you could attempt to summon the gods of inspiration and hope they hear your cries, you could even use the ‘law of attraction’ and put out some kind of positive energy that would attract inspiration your way (good luck with that one). Or perhaps the only way to invite inspiration is to forget about it completely and just get on with doing what needs to be done – perhaps inspiration will come or perhaps it won’t. Inspiration is a fickle creature, she is illusive and selective. She comes to visit when she decides to, not when she is summoned. And if she does decide to visit she could be gone as quickly as she arrived. What then?
Sure, go ahead and hope for a little inspiration but do not expect it; and certainly do not rely upon it. Good things happen mostly because we put ourselves out there, are willing to try – and therefore fail some (or much) of the time. We must pick up the pen, or the brush. We must prepare and practice and labor. Above all else we must get on with doing what needs to be done. Perhaps that is all we need. Perhaps that is all we have.
Quit waiting and start doing.
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If there are two things that I really appreciate but have never quite managed to combine it is probably Star Wars and Organic food – unless of course you count the time I consumed a large bar of organic dark chocolate while watching the Empire Strikes Back. Well, I just came across this video from the folks at Free Range Studios who managed to pull it off. Enjoy.
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I’m sure you must have heard the phrase that ‘life is a marathon‘ – or some variation of it? We are told to pace ourselves, to move steadily toward some distant finish line. The theme is reinforced by the famous fable about the tortoise and the hare where the plodding tortoise wins the race.
Slow and steady may have its place but I prefer to think that life is a series of races, when one ends another begins. There is more than one finish line and slowly plodding toward a distant target doesn’t necessarily make sense. I’m not sure that plodding through life like a turtle is going to be all that memorable, productive or exciting anyway. I prefer instead, to think of it as a series of very fast, very intense sprints with short purposeful breaks between them.
If you manage your energy and can sustain the sprint long enough you will win. Take your strengths as far as you can take them, sprint along the road of life with them and see where they take you. Aim for the highest peaks, cycle back through recovery and then go again. Only this time go for an even higher peak. Repeat forever.
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Very few people are criticized for listening too much.
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When starting out with a new business, project or idea I prefer to stay away from getting into too many of the details; they just seem to get in the way or worse, they give us reasons not to keep going. The early stages are meant to be limitless, unbound from reality. At this point there are no rules, no limits. It’s all about what could be. Your ideas need to soar they shouldn’t be dragged through the weeds. Not yet.
It’s inevitable that someone in any group will want to tell you about all the ways that your idea won’t work because if this or that. Many people’s first response is “that would never work”, or “what about xyz”, “management would never let us do that” or something to that effect – we’ve all been there. You’re trying to light a fire and the group that’s supposed to be nurturing and encouraging you is throwing water on every little flame you get started. It’s exhausting.
Some folks are fantastic with the details and are well grounded in practical matters like rules, restrictions, policies etc. Get these folks involved later in the process; they will be a great ally when it comes to actually getting stuff done in the real world. By this time you will hopefully have a raging inferno burning and the momentum to carry you through the negative terrain of the reality to come.
When the dreamers and the doers come together in the right sequence great things can happen. Just know who is who on your next adventure.
- James Lionel Price in the movie ‘Layer Cake’
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Ideas, especially new or challenging ones are delicate things. They must be nurtured and cared for like seedlings. They need time to breathe; they need to be handled with care so they can grow a little. We must be patient. We must be open to possibilities we cannot yet imagine.
There is no way to differentiate between a truly great idea and something really silly when the idea is first born. And even the craziest ideas that may ultimately fall apart can lead to other (unrelated) gems if we are open to them.
My plea is that you aren’t quick to judge new ideas that come your way. That you switch of the naysayer in you just for a while. Think ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’ take the idea for a spin and see where it leads.
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My daughter loves to draw and paint and there are plenty of places where she can do this. The couch, however, is not one of them. Engrossed in what she’s doing, she wanders over and shows me her latest creation but then continues coloring with a big red marker while leaning on the sofa. I don’t want big red marks on my sofa so my choices come down to these 2 basic options, 1) I ask her to stop doing it immediately and perhaps explain why I don’t want her to draw on the sofa, or 2) I ask her to keep drawing but to put the paper back on the table she was previously using. There’s a subtle but vitally important difference. The first option tells her what not to do, the second what to do. I go for option #2 every time.
All too often we focus on telling the folks around us what NOT TO do. I learned this lesson a long time ago playing golf and now as a parent I am fanatical (annoyingly so) about telling my kids what TO do instead of what not to do. If you’ve ever played golf you will know that the very place where you don’t want to ball to go is usually where it ends up. Focusing on the sand trap or the water hazard puts your attention on the very thing you want to avoid. A more successful approach is to focus on the desired target, whether that is the hole, the fairway, the green or the guy in the bullet proof tractor picking up balls down the range (my favorite). Here’s a challenge for you – Try to not think of a pink elephant. What happened? I bet you thought about the very thing I asked you not to.
I think the lessons of this positive direction transfer to most every human interaction, save perhaps emergency situations. Maybe I’m a little bit obsessed about this but I am convinced that a focus on explaining and putting our attention on what we do want rather than on what we don’t want is vitally important.
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