human spirit

The Race and The Chase

On December 18, 2009, In Personal Brand, Professional Development, Purpose, Success, brand you, human spirit, By DUST!N

Do you remember chasing anything as a kid?

… chasing friends while playing tag.
… chasing your pet dog as he was running away with the chew toy.
… chasing your dad around the house, eventually falling in a heap on the couch and ending in a tickle fight.

At some point, many of us grow out of chasing and sign up for the (rat)race instead. We…

… race to a job before others can beat us to it.
… race against our peers to get the better car, bigger house and “perfect family.”
… race against time to try and find significance before it passes us by.

Simply running a race lacks passion. What can you do to rediscover yours? Maybe you just forgot what you were chasing. Maybe you need to know your red rubber ball. “Discover your passion and chase it for a lifetime.” As Kevin Carroll says.

Before you can do that though, ask yourself the question. “Am I just running? Or am I chasing something?”

That’s a good (even if it’s scary) place to start.

Embracing Embarrassment

On November 6, 2009, In Personal Brand, Purpose, human spirit, By DUST!N

Fear of failure is overrated.

We don’t care as much about failing as we care about being embarrassed.

Picture yourself on a baseball team. If there wasn’t a chance of losing the game, it wouldn’t be nearly as exciting to play hardball. The mantra is, “Win as a team and lose as a team.” Still, no one wants to be the batter who watches strike three pass by or the infielder who fails to snag an easy grounder ala Bill Buckner. The embarrassment would simply be too much.

Now picture yourself on a business team. If every business decision made was guaranteed success, it wouldn’t be nearly as exciting. If your group doesn’t hit their numbers, hopefully you can absorb the hit, adjust and go on. Still, no one wants to be the one who launches an unconventional marketing campaign that fails to get a response, or the champion for the product that flops. The embarrassment would simply be too much.

Do you believe in something you haven’t acted on? Is there something amazing stirring inside of you, but you quiet it because it scares you?

There are ideas and dreams inside of us, tied up by our fears and insecurities. Innovations and glorious endeavors never begun because we fear embarrassment as an individual.

We resign ourselves to “lose as a team” instead.

By the way, Bill Buckner was not a failure. Amazingly, he ended his (over 20 year) career just 285 hits shy of 3,000. This (near) milestone is so great, baseball enthusiasts created a term for it… The 3,000 Hit Club. Only 27 players achieved 3,000 hits, while still only 88 players reached 2,500 hits since the inception of the league in 1869.

Living Among Critics

On October 10, 2008, In Personal Brand, Persuasion, Professional Development, Society, brand you, human spirit, By DUST!N

Last night, I attended a meeting held by my daughter’s teacher. She was explaining the structure of the class and led us through some sample exercises she uses with the students.

Occasionally, she called upon us parents for volunteers to read or give answers.

I was stunned by the silence and awkward glances downward.

The teacher shared her observation that her students were much more eager to participate than their parents.

It gave me pause to wonder – why were we so hesitant to speak up, give answers… hesitant to take even the smallest risk? Much has been said of our fear of failure, but failure was not the deciding factor here. It’s not like our success would be dictated by how well we read “See Jane run.”

How come parents paused when our children would have eagerly spoken up?

I think somewhere between 3rd grade and our 3rd year of college, we have been beaten, chiseled, hardened and restrained by perpetual criticism. We’re a cynical society. We make snide remarks all the time about someone’s speech impediment, religious affiliation, choice of wardrobe or choice of friends. The constant wear has made us paranoid… even as adults.

It’s obvious in politics. Candidates like McCain, Palin, Obama and Biden know the very words they speak will be used in an attempt to hang them later. But should they let the critics dictate their speeches, let alone their policies?

How about you? Are you paranoid because of living among critics? And how much power do you give them over your life?

Innovation @ Fight Club

On October 3, 2008, In Creativity, Ideas, human spirit, By DUST!N

Brian Clark at Lateral Action put together a great list of Tyler Durden’s 8 Rules of Innovation.

The list is based on statements by Brad Pitt’s character in Fight Club. Below is my favorite:

Tyler’s Eighth Rule of Innovation:

“This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.”
Brian does a great job of expounding on this statement and seven others. It is well worth the two minute hiatus to check it out.

Talent vs. Time

On August 8, 2008, In Human Resources, Professional Development, human spirit, By DUST!N

Challenging thoughts from Brian at d’bug.

After reading this, ask yourself:

Am I willing to sacrifice in order to have time to be the best?

What do I need to sacrifice?

What do I believe should NOT be sacrificed?

The Independence Myth

On April 11, 2008, In Society, human spirit, By DUST!N

Unlocked

Financial Independence.

The Declaration of Independence.

An Independent Spirit.

We esteem independence. Our society celebrates freedom. As we should. But, do we miss the point?

We’re not seeking absolute independence. Well, we may be seeking it, but we won’t find it. It cannot be obtained.

We want to free ourselves of dependency on foreign oil. In order to do so, we become dependent on something else (i.e. biofuel, coal for electricity and/or our domestic supply).

It is not independence. It is a transfer of dependency.

Consider the recent demise of Bear Stearns. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said the collapse of Bear Stearns was due to a lack of confidence, not a lack of capital. Even one of the largest brokerages in the world is dependent on something as uncontrollable as our confidence.

This global truth funnels down to you and your business as well.

What is your business dependent upon?

Vendors?
Trends?
Investors?

Is your dependency upon something trustworthy? Is it a healthy dependency?

What about you? What are you dependent upon?

The security or status of your home?
The love of your family?
The convenience of credit cards?
The comfort of food or drinking?
The trust of a friend?
The strength of your faith?

Is the object of your dependency worthy of your faith in it/them?

What is the result of your dependency? Does it help you build on your life, or dig a hole? Does it undergird your hope, or chain down your dreams?

What is worthy of your dependency?

Casual Fridays

Ideas put to work.