I love these 12 principles of self-leadership from Rosa Sayat Lifehacker.
This is my favorite
5. Learn to love ideas and experiments. Turn them into pilot programs that preface impulsive decisions. Everything was impossible until the first person did i
It’s Friday again.
I’m sitting in front of my computer with several ideas to blog.
Honestly, I don’t want to.
Not because I don’t like blogging.
Not because I don’t like writing.
Mostly because they’re good ideas.
Not great ideas.
Not world-changing ideas.
It’s the kind of stuff you’ll read, possibly enjoy, but in the end… you’ll go back to sipping your coffee and checking your email.
What a waste!
(of my time and yours)
CRAP! [sudden realization of how long I've been writing without a true impact]
I used to write because I felt inspired. My first blog was about spirituality, inspiration, and musings.
Then I began blogging about business and marketing ideas that were bouncing around in my head. I needed a place for them to crystalize.
Now, I think I blog because it’s Friday.
It’s Friday and I promised my readers I would update on Fridays.
Did you hear that sound?
That was the sound of passion getting sucked right outta me.
I’m not complaining.
Things are good.
I’m not depressed… at all.
In fact, I feel more lucid and excited than usual.
I simply WANT IT BACK!!!!!
So forget Fridays.
If I get inspired on Monday, I’m going to post it.
I think my passion has a short shelf life. No preservatives added. Gotta use it now or it spoils.
If I’m not inspired on Friday, I’m not going to try to drum something up.
I love writing. I love blogging. I love marketing and business ideas. Heck, I love ideas! And I love participating in a community of other idea-lovers.
Well, now that I’ve let that tiger out of the cage, let’s see what happens.
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…to buy this later.
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Sometimes, death surrounds us. Like the slow, innevitable death of a dream. Maybe it’s the painful death of a relationship with someone you cared for deeply. It could simply be the death of passion for anything in your life… including your career.
This weekend carries with it a beautiful story of redemption and renewing. The story of the Resurrection isn’t just powerful because it happened then. It is also powerful because it happens today.
Maybe there’s a “rebirth” that can happen in your life. Rebirth brings us back to the beginning. So, think back to the start. The start of your dream. The beginning of your job. The initial moments of that relationship. What was there? Can you get that back?
Can that stone be rolled away, and the tomb be opened?
I think you know who to ask.
I had the wonderful pleasure of spending the majority of LAST Friday with Mike Wagner, President of White Rabbit Group and author of the Own Your Brand blog.
I have always been impressed with Mike through his blog writings, his contributions to MarketingProfs and through our email and phone exchanges. He was even more impressive in person.
Mike presented a 1/2 day workshop for the annual BMA Tulsa(Business Marketing Assocation) Seminar Friday morning. Then we spent the afternoon together, meeting with a few Beyond Agency clients and partners.
What impressed me most about Mike was his ability to do two things simultaneously:
1. He acknowledged the difficulty of “brand ownership” for owners and managers. I know they appreciated the brutal facts being addressed.
2. He gave strong, applicable principles that demonstrated how organizations can own their brand. He gave them hope in the face of the brutal facts.
Many of you aren’t in the Tulsa area, so you didn’t get to come see and hear Mike last week. If Chicago is closer to you, I’d highly recommend you see him at SOBCon 07. Here’s a good synopsis of why you should attend.
The title of this post is based upon the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
I know two people who can’t share ideas with each other. They don’t trust one another, so every comment is met with skepticism, which breeds indignation and ultimately… anger.
I know others who have been trained, like one of Pavlov’s dogs, to not speak up when they disagree with an idea. It’s too risky because they’ve been burned too many times.
There are still others who won’t even share their own ideas… no matter how great. They’ve been told they’re not creative (or simply never told they ARE creative), so they discount any contribution they could bring to the table.
I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no such thing on earth as “a free exchange of ideas.” Every transaction involving an idea is weighted with some amount of risk. Risk of pain, embarrassment or validation of a perceived reality.
There’s risk attached to sharing ideas. I think we all realize that. What do we do to address it though?
We open up people for criticism all the time and paint it as an opportunity to “voice your opinion” or “be heard.” We may even try to reassure by saying, “There’s no such thing as a bad idea.” Sure there is. We need to quit lying about it.
Quit lying to our employees.
Quit lying to our audiences.
Quit lying to ourselves.
What do we do to communicate how much we value ideas? Do we reward risk-taking or simply reward results? Do we reward ideas we agree with, or ones that challenge us?
I don’t have the answers. But I am searching for ideas here.