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Tag: challenge

20 questions to ask as you enter a new year

They work best if you’re honest:

  1. Am I holding onto any beliefs that aren’t serving me?
  2. What do I want to learn this year?
  3. Have I set any long-term goals?
  4. Are my daily decisions setting me up for success?
  5. Do my present priorities accurately reflect my innermost dreams and desires?
  6. Is my work fulfilling my creative desires?
  7. Am I creating time to pursue outside interests?
  8. Do I regularly allow myself to dream?
  9. Is there a specific topic I can learn more about that will help advance my career?
  10. Have I surrounded myself with people who can help me achieve my goals (and encourage me to get there)?
  11. Are my personal relationships fulfilling?
  12. How do I want to be introduced when meeting strangers?
  13. Do I take an active interest in my health?
  14. How can I regularly create a supportive, positive environment for myself?
  15. What lessons have I learned from past failures and mistakes?
  16. What decisions have I made that that support my belief in my own aptitude?
  17. Do I believe that I have art/work/products that will benefit the world?
  18. Am I becoming more of the person I hope to be?
  19. What is preventing me from change?
  20. How can I start today?

10 things entrepreneurs [should] know

I’ve learned some tough lessons during my transition into the business world. I’m sharing a few of them here and believe they can be applied to more than entrepreneurial endeavors.

I hope they are as valuable for you as they have been for me:

  1. You’re never finished. There’s always more to be done. Bigger plans, more emails, another phone call, scheduled meetings, surprise encounters…
  2. You have to set boundaries. For yourself, your relationships, your time, your values, your abilities, your email checking. Prioritize, identify what is important to you, and rank your daily to-do list.
  3. Everyone has an opinion. That doesn’t mean you have to take their advice. Listen, and take what works for you.
  4. You’ll be scared and nervous and anxious as hell. Starting is scary. It doesn’t go away, but it gets better.
  5. You will fail. And you’ll fail hard. You’ll really f— something up, but you’ll learn from it and you’ll change it for next time.
  6. Not every idea is a slam dunk. That’s OK.
  7. Celebrate the wins. Even the really small ones. If you don’t recognize where you’re going and how far you’ve come, you won’t want to keep moving forward.
  8. It’s OK to ask for help. It’s impossible to know all there is to know about everything that is involved with running a business. Find people who can help and don’t be afraid to admit ignorance.
  9. It’s a process. You learn to ride the tide. Sometimes it’s in your favor, other times you’re swimming in the ocean for what seems like forever. There will be another wave, you’ll get to the shore, and then you can swim back out and do it all over again.
  10. It’s OK. It’s going to be OK. You’re OK. What you don’t know is OK. What people think of you is OK. Be OK with yourself.

Jumping is scary. Do it anyway.

As a young woman, I hitchhiked alone and traveled across many countries. I went head-to-head with lawyers and counseled delinquents. I earned a masters from an ivy-league, received a state license, and wrangled my way into an entirely new industry. I directed and designed and produced successful events, facilitating valuable connections between people who otherwise might not have met.

But it wasn’t enough.

I needed more experience. I wanted more connections. I didn’t have enough knowledge. I wasn’t ready. And if I’m entirely honest, I didn’t think I was enough. (Turns out, I was wrong. I just needed to jump.)
I know I’m not the only one. Everyday I talk to entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and artists who struggle to take the first leap into the unknown.

…It’s not the right time…I don’t have the resources…I can’t find the time…I’m worried about money…

We do this to ourselves. We sabotage our dreams. We’re afraid.

Deep down, we know that if we put our mind to it, we have the capabilities to break our biggest goals into manageable, digestible chunks. But we over-chew. We convince ourselves the path we’ve been traveling on, the one we’ve been walking down for some time, is the safest and best option. We lower the height of our own sky and the limits to which we’re capable of flying. We lull ourselves into forgetting the sweet deliciousness of new experiences.

Fortunately, it’s never too late. It is just a matter of making that decision.

You must choose. Nothing will happen until you decide to venture away from the safe waters into territory where there is no rulebook, no play-by-play. While you can find leaders and teachers and people whose experiences might mimic your own (and it is imperative that you do), there is no “on the job training.” It’s up to you to figure it out.

Sometimes the hardest thing is recognizing what you want. The next hardest is to begin. By recognizing there’s no prescribed way to land that dream job, dream family, dream life, we open ourselves to an entirely new world. A world that is uniquely ours to create.

Dare yourself. Set goals and work backwards. Plan checkpoints along the way and reward yourself when you reach them. Gather information, collect the necessary experiences, and confidently step in the direction of your dreams.

Don’t hold yourself back. If not for yourself, do it for the people around you. Show them what it looks like to lead a life that is uniquely yours, a life filled with magic and dreams and adventure.

Jump.

The $12,392,786.00 blog post

I have had the good fortune of meeting, counseling, and sitting in business seminars with intelligent, driven, successful individuals — and they just want to become better. Industries range from music to publishing, finance to social good, art to real estate. Age, life experience, and stage of life vary; students, fathers, midlife, C-level, nearing retirement, starting up.
Despite a plethora of variables, I’ve noticed a few themes that come up again and again. In fact, they repeat themselves so frequently I wish I could bottle them for distribution, sending them around the world to inspire people to do more and dream big.
I’m sharing them here in hopes they resonate with you.
Why $12,392,786.00? Because I believe if you act, the following nuggets will add value to your work and life. And if you’re really diligent, you’ll see benefits worth even more.
———
We get in our own way. Believe it, accept it, move forward.
Be willing to listen — to the point someone could convince you to throw your idea out the window or drastically change it.
Don’t wait. Do it now.
No one is going to give you permission.
You have a choice. Don’t be seduced into thinking otherwise.
Relationships are important. The “unexpected ones” often prove to be the most valuable.
Milk the in-between spaces. In-between jobs, appointments, calls, relationships, events, ideas. They hold more potential than you think.
There are an infinite choices. Pick one. If it fails, there will be another.
No decision is irreversible.
Question. Ask lots of them.
Who (or what) can you connect? Everyone can bridge two people, two ideas, two companies. And it will multiply.
Stop trying to sell to people you don’t know. Start with the people you do.
Be vulnerable. Connect, reach out. People cherish authenticity.
What are you really saying? Get honest with yourself and with your audience. Cut the crap and get real.
Don’t assume. You never know whose talents can help you and how.
Set dates otherwise you’ll never get it done.
Pick up that pen, make that call, stop waiting to begin.
There is no perfect.

How do you see risk?

Everyone experiences risk. No one is immune to the anxiety that comes with it.
The difference between the daring and the successful is that they’ve learned to cope with it.
Questions to ask:
How can I minimize my anxieties surrounding this?
Can I make myself feel better about this decision?
The more you dive, the more you’ll enter the water in a way that doesn’t hurt, and the board won’t seem quite as high…
Jump.

empty highway overlooking mountain under dark skies

A manual for daily adventure

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Go to work, come home, throw together dinner, veg out on the couch.
You’ll never live the life you secretly wish for if you become routine’s slave. You have to shake things up.
When you enjoy your life, you’ll inspire people around you to test limits they’ve drawn for themselves. Passion and excitement are contagious. Improved relationships, enhanced creativity, boosted productivity, discovery of yourself and the world around you are just a few byproducts of a life with fire behind it.
Sounds great, but how does this happen? Certainly not overnight.
Here are 80 ways to get you started.
We all have different thresholds for daring and adventure, so pick a few that feel brave to you and dive in. Let me know how it goes.

  1. Pack a lunch. For a friend.
  2. Go see a movie by yourself.
  3. Bring a slinky to the office.
  4. Rotate a stack of favorite photos in your wallet.
  5. Buy sidewalk chalk.
  6. Invite people you don’t know very well over for dinner.
  7. Dance.
  8. Call a friend unexpectedly, for no particular reason.
  9. Put Play-Doh on your desk.
  10. Write a love letter. To yourself.
  11. Stroll through a bookstore and notice which section pulls you in.
  12. Buy the Sunday paper and savor it with a treat.
  13. Do something to fail. Something you know you’re miserable at. And enjoy.
  14. Ride a bike. Rent if you don’t own one.
  15. Host a themed party.
  16. Take public transportation, even if you think it’s slower.
  17. Start a scrapbook with images you tear out of magazines, newspapers, funny office memos.
  18. Schedule a coffee date with someone you admire.
  19. Write a pageful of questions. Don’t worry about answers.
  20. Try a new restaurant.
  21. Mail a thank you note.
  22. Walk home from work a different way.
  23. Book a trip.
  24. Stare out the window.
  25. Set aside fifteen minutes to write. About anything.
  26. Make a themed playlist.
  27. Ask a friend for a book recommendation.
  28. List 100 things you’d like to do before you die.
  29. Sign up for a class.
  30. Teach a class.
  31. Move! Jump. Climb. Skip.
  32. Bake lasagna for the local firehouse.
  33. Compliment a stranger.
  34. Brush your teeth with opposite hand.
  35. Run an extra 5 (minutes, miles, blocks, laps).
  36. Concentrate on nothing except pouring yourself a cup of tea.
  37. Host a trivia night at your place.
  38. List 10 “self care” items. Aim to do 2-3 each day.
  39. Order in. Unplug and turn off everything. Eat by candlelight.
  40. Support a local business owner.
  41. Take your workout outside.
  42. Don’t send an email. Walk over to your colleague’s desk.
  43. Smile at a kid who isn’t yours.
  44. Find a recipe and cook.
  45. Look up. See the sky.
  46. List 4 things you are thankful for in this moment.
  47. Pick up your favorite book and head to the park.
  48. Watch a black and white movie.
  49. Make yourself feel uncomfortable.
  50. Consider the book you’d write.
  51. Bake something — a pie, cookies, bread. Wrap it in pretty paper and give it away.
  52. Set a new fitness goal.
  53. Initiate conversation at the coffee shop.
  54. Volunteer.
  55. Do 1 thing today that really excites you. Tell no one.
  56. Sing loudly in the shower/your car/your backyard.
  57. Doodle.
  58. Plant something.
  59. Allow yourself 5 minutes of nothing.
  60. Set out to scare yourself.
  61. Paint. Draw. Make something. It doesn’t have to be good.
  62. Visit a farmers market.
  63. Count your breaths, 6 seconds for each: Inhale. Pause. Exhale.
  64. Buy yourself flowers.
  65. Book a massage.
  66. Style your hair differently.
  67. Hide a note for your partner to find.
  68. Put your other shoe on first.
  69. Be a slob. Don’t make the bed. Leave it on the floor.
  70. Daydream.
  71. For one day, don’t make any plans.
  72. Write on a napkin.
  73. Eat with chopsticks.
  74. Act like a tourist.
  75. Clean. Throw out junk. Organize.
  76. Build a tent in your living room.
  77. Pretend you’re famous.
  78. Ask yourself: “If you could do anything, anywhere, what would it be?”
  79. Donate money to a cause you’re interested in.
  80. Write down what your life looks like this time next year. Five years from now. Next week.