bloglovinBloglovin iconCombined ShapeCreated with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. rssRSS iconsoundcloudSoundCloud iconFill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch. Fill 1Created with Sketch.

Category: Inspiration

The best opportunities

Most really talented people are never discovered. Most will never make it onto the Best Sellers list, won’t speak at TED, won’t be contacted by NPR.

Chances are you may never find yourself on the big screen. That manuscript? It might end up in more trash cans than hands. And your promising business venture? You’ll be lucky if you get funded within the first ten pitches.

So you have a choice: you can sit back and wait to be called upon…

Or you can claim ownership of your own success.

Don’t wait for the best opportunities to find you. Create them.

Steps can you take to build your tribe, ship your art, design a viable solution — today:

  • Start a blog and schedule a regular publishing calendar.
  • Organize monthly roundtables with speakers of varied and interesting content.
  • Record a series of podcasts on subjects you’d like to learn more about.
  • Make sure your plan doesn’t include a stroke of luck or a winning lotto ticket.
  • Pitch your mentor, pitch your friend, practice your pitch on the stranger in the elevator.
  • Plan a film festival in a friend’s backyard (or rooftop).
  • Set a recurring alarm and write for twenty minutes each day.
  • Gather three friends and meet every other week to discuss challenges and progress.

Note: This blog post may sound harsh, but I want you to realize this is your life, your career, your dreams, your goals. No one else will take responsibility for them.

What do you want?

My manual for daily adventure is one of the more popular posts I’ve written on this blog.

People are looking for excitement. They’re looking to add spice and variety to their lives. Sometimes it’s so easy to get stuck in a holding pattern that it feels like it’s too late to get out.

Today, I want to encourage you to carve out time for yourself. Set aside the “shoulds” and “musts” and deadlines and pressing calendar invites. Give yourself the space to ask the following question:

“What do I want?”

I’m serious. Get honest with yourself and listen to the answer. What do you really, really want?

I’m not just talking about a pay raise or a new car. What makes your heart soar? What are the things you dream of? What is your adventure?

What do you want?

If you have trouble with this question, break it down into parts. Think about your career, your love life, your home, your body, spirituality, money.

Is it a title you’re after? Are you wanting to feel connected and respected? Do you look forward to returning home? Is your relationship with your body uplifting and energizing? Do you feel grounded most of the time? Are you creating a life of abundance?

You can take this exercise one step further by writing it down. List what comes to mind when you consider each topic. Post this list someplace you’ll see it often and revisit it regularly to align your daily actions with your long-term goals.

Where you channel your focus is where you’ll attract opportunities.

Find what you love. Find what excites you. Refuse to settle into a rut that’s binding. If you’re in one now, get out. Visualize possibilities and pinpoint goals that will move you closer towards what you want.

Give yourself permission to ask the question (and don’t be afraid of the answer). It might not be clear, it might seem out of reach. The important thing is that you ask.

What do you want?

11 ways to “pick yourself”

Seth Godin encourages us to stop waiting for that call, the publisher, that big chance, the label. We’re at a place in history where opportunities to put ourselves into the game abound. We simply must choose to play.
But let’s get real. It isn’t always easy to find a straight line from Point A to Point B. The journey is often a winding one, filled with ups and downs, frustration and enthusiasm, celebrations of triumph and moments of despair. We see the Amanda Palmers and the Jerry Weintraubs and place them in a category separate from ourselves. They have more talent. I couldn’t do what she did. I have a family to support. He has all the right connections. She had nothing to lose. We come up with excuses upon excuses, ultimately scaring ourselves away from plausible outcomes. It’s easier to toe the mark, be complacent, play it safe.
For those wanting to “pick yourself,” it can be challenging to know where to begin. Leaping from a set job description with specific duties to a blank slate in which you create your own career path seems daunting to even the most entrepreneurial among us. (Hint: running your own show rarely happens over night.)
You may be clocking hours at a 9am-5pm and fantasizing of a life in which your product/service/offering/business/time/art/talent is all your own. Give your dreams a chance. Here are 11 simple ideas to help you move in the direction of picking yourself.

  1. Write. Set aside time to ask questions, dream, think big. Put your phone on silent and set an alarm twenty minutes out.
  2. Find a mentor. Schedule a fifteen minute phone call with someone you admire. Ask about their daily schedule, where they find inspiration, what keeps them motivated. Thank them for their time.
  3. Walk. I call them Creative Walks. Go outside for forty minutes. Do not bring your phone, but do bring paper and a pen. Let your mind wander. The best ideas rarely happen when you’re sitting at a desk.
  4. Become an impresario. Organize an after-work meetup or a social gathering. Invite speakers who can add value to your project and excite your team. Orchestrate a potluck and recruit guests to moderate discussion.
  5. Contribute. Challenge yourself to speak up in your next meeting. Pose a provocative question or make an unnoticed observation. Actively participate.
  6. Be an intrapreneur. Look for a project within your company. Has no one addressed company culture? Is there an unmet need? An open opportunity?
  7. Pitch yourself. That thing you’ve always wanted to start/produce/make? Sell yourself on it.
  8. Lunch and learn. Have lunch with a colleague you don’t know very well. Seek to understand their work and job functions. Find out which projects excite them.
  9. Surprise someone. A colleague, a partner, a parent. Call them out of the blue for no particular reason, leave a card for them to discover, gift them with something thoughtful. Add unexpected meaning to their day.
  10. Book a vacation. You don’t have to spend a fortune. Go away for the weekend. Plan a day trip. Take a tent to the mountains. Break from your day-to-day and surround yourself with something different.
  11. Write a letter to your hero. Compose a letter to your role model, the person whose life you most admire. You don’t have to send it; use it as an exercise to more clearly define your wants and desires. Or send it and see what happens.

Don’t wait. Pick yourself. Today.

10 questions to the best version of yourself

  1. Are you surrounded by people who encourage you to step up your game?
  2. Does your work excite you?
  3. Do your daily priorities align with your grander visions and dreams?
  4. What do you gravitate towards during unscheduled time?
  5. Have you set subgoals that tee you up for greater success?
  6. Do you schedule time each day to recharge and create?
  7. Have you written your dream list?
  8. Do you actively step outside of your comfort zone and seek adventure?
  9. Do you scare yourself regularly?
  10. Are you proud of the story you tell? (Is it positive or discouraging?)

Two words

Dream big.

Bigger than you’ve ever imagined.
Greater than you thought possible.
More daring than they taught you.
Risky beyond your comfort.
Away from the path that’s known.
With two words, change your life.
Dream big.

Daily choices

The choices we make impact much more than our day:

  • conversations we have
  • magazines we read
  • apps we open
  • moments we check Facebook
  • meetings we participate in
  • time we set aside to create
  • phone calls we answer
  • emails we send
  • the moment we power off
  • the times we say no

Set priorities with care. They influence your destiny.