Creating with intention
Go someplace quiet
Where you are truly alone
Turn off everything
Your phone, especially
And sit
Listen to your thoughts
Five minutes
Where does your mind take you
Ten minutes
Where does your heart take you
Fifteen minutes
What do you really, really want?
Be still
Be quiet
Repeat once a week (at least!)
And watch your life unfold
1. Get curious
Gather input and collect information from your team before the meeting is scheduled. What are employees struggling with? What would help them reach their goals?
2. Turn it into a competition
Split attendees into teams. Award points and reward initiative. You can keep a running tally from month to month and provide incentives for top scores.
3. Actively participate
Be prepared to present your own views and concerns instead of sitting passively in the corner. Listen carefully and think through problems.
4. Add music
Play a song in the beginning of the meeting when attendees find their seats. Turn tunes back on at the end of the meeting and allow time for socializing.
5. Design a seating chart
Placing name tags on seats can help encourage cross-collaboration among teams and introduce executives from different departments.
6. Vary presentation styles
Mix up powerpoint, video clips, role play and dialogue. With so many online resources available, supplement your biggest points with inspiring talks from other speakers.
7. Set due dates
Follow up with your team and ask for feedback about meetings. Discuss what is going well and what needs improvement.
8. Choose a theme
Designating a central theme can intrigue attendees and keep meetings focused and on point.
What could happen?
What are you afraid of?
What’s the risk?
What’s the benefit?
Who would you disappoint?
What if they don’t like you?
What if they laugh?
What if you’re wrong?
Recently, I’ve been receiving a lot of “No’s.” The proposals and emails I’m sending are falling flat, and my inbox is filled with rejections and denials.
I could let these responses discourage me, but I’m not. I’m using them as fuel. Like my friend Jodi says, “Care enough to push past the ‘No’.”
Rejection doesn’t have to mean failure; it can be a wonderful teacher. Jodi once set out to be rejected by 100 people in one week. Instead of feeling disheartened by negative responses, she only felt confident and more certain. She also raised money for five scholarships in the process.
Care enough to keep going, even if other people doubt your abilities or ideas.
This month I’m participating in an artist residence program. It’s my first experience like this, and I’m surrounded by trees and beauty and very talented creative people. When I first arrived, I was intimidated. Listening to the other artists’ stories and experiences and seeing their work made me feel like the outsider. I never went to art school, I’m a social worker, I’ve been living in Nepal, I’m a writer.
Determined, I pushed past my insecurities to focus on my work. I came with a goal in mind: it doesn’t have to be amazing, it doesn’t even have to be good, but I want to leave here with a solid first draft.
Most days feel like slogging through a forest. I’ve had moments of brilliance and inspiration, but more days have been clouded in despair and frustration. I decided it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if I think it’s a good story or whether it IS a good story. My work is to simply show up, put in time, and keep going.
If you sit around waiting for moments of inspiration and creative spark, you might be waiting a long time. I want to tell you to fight through it. Fight through the urge and don’t sell yourself short. You deserve to create. No matter your background or experience, make something. Build something. Dream something.
(And if you need more encouragement, check out Liz Gilbert’s Big Magic.)
There’s no substitute for hours put in. Good work requires commitment and emotional investment. You can try to make shortcuts, but your audience will know. More importantly, you will know.
If you don’t feel like it’s risky, it’s probably not worth doing. Don’t take shortcuts, no matter how tempting they may seem.
Do the work.