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Tag: challenge

Hack your life

Few entrepreneurs and business leaders I’ve worked with have developed a consistent writing practice. This surprises me. You won’t easily find an artist without a notebook of scribbles. Art and entrepreneurship are tightly bound.

It doesn’t have to be pretty, and it certainly doesn’t need to be coherent. Write observations, experiences, reactions, hopes, wishes, failures. You’re gifting yourself a valuable reference tool and sounding board for your own progress.

Make it a ritual: Five minutes, every day.

Try it for a month.

Write a research paper: a lesson in empathy

During the past week, I’ve taught my most advanced students how to write a research paper (for more about my time in Nepal, visit here and here). The sixteen- and seventeen-year-old monks have never heard the term research before, and words such as “references,” “introduction,” “outline,” and “conclusion” are new additions to their vocabulary.

When I first explained their assignment, their charming smiles hid their bewilderment. As I despondently watched one student copy paragraphs directly from his grade-school English book, I realized my lesson wasn’t well received. I was quickly reminded of the importance of empathic communication.

In attempting to describe the purpose of writing and the value of communicating opinion, I’ve had to consider what already exists in their world. What might help them understand the (already challenging!) writing process? I’ve drummed up analogies such as making sandwiches (“Your introduction and conclusion is like bread. You need meat in the middle for a tasty sandwich!”) and playing soccer (“The introduction is the kick-off, when the whistle blows. Your conclusion is putting the ball in the back of the net. Goal!”). I’ve asked my wide-eyed students, “What do you want someone to remember after they’ve read your writing?”

The process has reminded me of flexible thinking, the ability to consider another’s world view, and the universal demand for effective communication.

The next time you find yourself frustrated and struggling to get your point across, pause for a moment to see if there is another way to convey your message.

The medium is only half of the art. The interpretation is the rest.

Adventure 101

WHY

  • fresh perspective
  • renewed creativity
  • understanding
  • compassion
  • discovery
  • learning and growth
  • to bond, to share, to discuss

WHAT

  • excursions
  • novelty experiences (something different or new)
  • seeing the familiar in a new way
  • surprise

WHO

  • solo
  • with others

WHERE

  • near (your backyard, your neighborhood, your home)
  • far (a foreign place, a vacation, a getaway)

WHEN

  • spontaneous
  • planned
  • tomorrow
  • next weekend
  • today

HOW

Make up your mind to discover adventure. Begin to write down the dreams that come to mind. Wander through the travel section of your local bookstore and observe which titles you pick up.
You don’t have to wait until you plan something. Here are 80 ways to get started.

Get to know someone today

Pick up the phone and ask someone to meet you for lunch. Invite someone you’d like to learn from, someone you could get to know a little better.

Choose four questions to bring along with you:

  • What advice would you have given yourself five years ago?
  • Favorite aspect of your work?
  • Most challenging part of your job?
  • You can pick one person to have coffee with. Who would it be?
  • Where do you go for inspiration?
  • What do you do to recharge?
  • Last meaningful book you read?
  • If you had an extra hour each day, how would you spend it?
  • If you were gifted one million dollars, what would you do?

Tomorrow, send a thank you email with two things you learned.

Nepal

While fundraising for the Discover Outdoors Foundation, I learned Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. One quarter of its people live on less than $1 a day and barely half of them are literate. After some research and plenty of emails, I found a local agency that places volunteers in projects across the country. My bags are filled with crayons, games and animal balloons, and I’m teaching English to kids before trekking to Everest’s Base Camp.

You won’t see quite as many posts in the upcoming weeks. In fact, as you’re reading this, I’m on one of several flights leading me to the Himalayas.

I feel incredibly blessed to have the freedom to connect and converse and discover and explore with people around the world. And I’m filled with a deep sense of gratitude for the confidence that comes with the support, love, and backing of so many. This journey has been magnified by the monumental encouragement I have received from friends, colleagues, clients, and strangers. It’s an incredible gift to do work you love, from anywhere.

I’ve debated whether or not to post while I’m away. I’ve toyed with the paranoia of disconnecting for an extended period of time. “But the momentum…but the readers…but…but…” I’ve considered the risks that come with automated content, as I’ve witnessed scheduled generalities firsthand during Hurricane Sandy. I remember sitting in a trembling NYC apartment, listening to water slosh around in the toilet bowl, and reading tweets advertising “10 creative ways to green your kitchen.” There’s a sensitivity and presence that is oh-so-irreplaceable, and fresh and timely cannot be undervalued.

I’m not quite sure what my access will be while I’m away, but I know I want to be present to my experience and not worried about technical malfunctions, open rates, or traffic. Absence alone can be lighter fuel for ideas, dreams, creation.

That said, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be blogging the “ole’ fashioned way” while I’m traveling — via journal and pen. You’ll find a few posts in your inbox (if you’ve signed up to receive them), but with less regularity. And if the mood strikes, I’ll pop into an internet cafe and post a few thoughts.

Count on a treasure trove of goodies upon my return. Project Exponential has some incredible, very exciting changes in the works, and I can’t wait to share them with you.

Until then, go find adventure, plan a few dinner partiers, put yourself on a weekend sabbatical, and become an explorer in your own neighborhood. Your community needs it. You need it.