M.A.P. Making is about crafting a life of Meaning, Abundance, and Passion. Who is "The M.A.P. Maker?" In your own life, you are! Find out more about the M.A.P. concept (and if you like what you read here, be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed).
This blog is brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst.
If you're reading this blog, odds are good that you have more than a passing interest in creating a career chock full of passion. With that in mind, you should probably zip right over and download a brand spankin' new copy of Kim & Jason's quarterly newsletter.
This issue focuses on following your passion and includes an article from yours truly. I have a copy of the paper version, and it's a pretty impressive piece of work.
While you're over there, spend some time on Kim & Jason's blog. I love what they're up to (Less stress! More fun!).
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When it comes to looking at the future, there seems to be two big ways people get stuck...
Lost in the dream: This one is a pie-in-the-sky wishfulness. Lots of big dreams, but not much happening to make them happen. This is the track that gives dreamers a bad name.
Trapped in reality: The basic message of this one is, "Forget all that dream crap. You're living in reality. Suck it up and accept it - this ain't no dream world." The horizon tends to be full of obstacles that get in the way of anything but the reasonable, pragmatic and dull.
It's probably no great surprise that I'm not a big fan of either of those modes of thinking. Like much black and white thinking, each of those paints you into a corner and keeps you from living a rich, vibrant, meaningful life.
Instead of one or the other, my vote is for both. Would it be nice if you could just snap your fingers and have your dreams fall in your lap? Sure. Is it likely? No. But that doesn't mean they're out of reach.
Navigate your reality
Rather than looking at reality as an impenetrable barrier between you and your dreams, look at it as simply the landscape you have to navigate on the way there. If you're hiking out in the mountains, just because there's a big boulder in the path doesn't mean there's not a beautiful glacial lake to enjoy on the other side. The existence of one has nothing to do with the existence of the other. It just means you need to find a way around the boulder.
It's the same with your dreams. Just because you encounter obstacles doesn't mean that the dream isn't still possible.
Get off your butt cheeks and onto your feet
On the flip side, sitting on your butt thinking about how nice it would be to someday bask in the sun next to a pristine mountain lake isn't going to get you very far either. You have to actually find the trailhead and start walking. Your butt cheeks will never carry you to your dream destination. You have to use your feet and start taking steps.
Are you navigating reality on the path to your dreams? Are you taking the action you need to make it happen? If not, ask yourself, "What one step can I take today? What one step can I take tomorrow?"
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Imagine jumping into a boat six feet wide and twenty-three feet long and aiming it towards the other side of the Pacific. Now imagine that it's not a power boat. Or a sailboat. Now imagine that the only way it is going to get across the ocean is the oars you are going to pull on day after day.
How long do you think you could last? I know my answer is, "Not long." But for my friend Erden Eruc, the answer so far is a record 309 days. Previously, the most consecutive days spent at sea in an ocean rowing boat was 304, so Erden now has the record for longest row.
The original plan was for a much shorter journey, from San Francisco to Brisbane, but winds and currents conspired to keep him north of the equator, and he kept heading west. He finally broke through the equator a few days ago, and now it looks tantalizingly possible that he will be making landfall in Jayapura, Indonesia shortly.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Here's a recent post I wrote about Erden and his efforts.If you want to read more about his row, or see a map charting his progress, you can go to www.around-n-over.org.
The ability to stay grounded and centered is a huge asset on your M.A.P. Making journey. You feel more focused. You waste less energy feeling stressed. You have more clarity. And if you're looking for a way to get grounded and centered, meditation can't be beat.
One of my favorite meditation resources is Meditation Made Easy by Lorin Roche, Ph.D. It's easily the most accessible meditation book I've come across, and one many of my clients end up buying. It's also the book that played a key role in my discovering meditation to begin with.
Early in the book, Roche talks about an idea he calls meditative reading (I call it "readitation").
What's a meditative style of reading? It's really simple - just pause at the end of each paragraph or each page and take a couple of conscious breaths. (This pause is actually a mini-meditation, and all you have to do is breathe.)...Enjoy the experience of air flowing in and out as you process the information you've just covered. This will help you translate the information in the book into an internal ability.
Later, he describes part of what happens when you do this.
When you take a few conscious breaths after reading something, you shift your sensory focus from words to feeling your body. When you do this, your body gets to assimilate the learning.
It's a simple idea, but there are so many things I love about it. First, it's a really, really easy way to start dipping your toe into meditation. It's about as easy and non-onerous as you're going to get.
Second, so many of us have a tendency to treat reading (and many other things we do) as a race to the finish. Jump in. Get it done. Move on. The result can be a bit like rain falling on bone-dry soil - the ideas we read just run right off, without a chance to soak in. A meditational approach to reading gives you a chance to really stop and ask, what am I reading here? What am I learning?
Third, it gets you out of your head and more fully into the whole of you (something most of us desperately need).
And finally, it's a way to simply slow down and focus your awareness.
Why not give it a try? Pick a favorite book and try some readitation. Maybe just a couple minutes at first, enough time to play with it, but not so much that it feels like a chore. As you get more comfortable , you can expand the time you spend with it.
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One of the steps I take my clients through, after we have identified a handful of paths that align with what energizes and inspires them, is digging in to get a deeper understanding of what each of those paths is really all about. That might involve online research, or informational interviews, reading books, or taking classes.
Or now, it might involve reading Alexandra Levit's new book, "How'd You Score That Gig?" In the book, Alexandra spotlights dozens of jobs, weaving together an overview of what each job is all about and insights from people who are actually doing it.
She starts it all off with a self-assessment test to help you determine of you are...
Within each of those categories, she examines numerous jobs.
One of the biggest challenges in figuring out "where to from here," is the fact that we don't know what we don't know; we can only explore what we're aware of. With this book, you get a sneak peek at a variety of possibilities, expanding the realm of what you know.
If you're ready for a career change, check this book out. It's a great way to start exploring, "Who am I, and what's out there that fits that?"
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On a completely off-topic note, I just got back from a week in Paris (a quick vacation). I put a few of my photos from the trip up on flickr if you'd like to take a gander at them.
Enjoy!
Yesterday, U.S. News & World Report launched On Career: Outside Voices, a blog featuring experts with a focus on a variety of career topics. One of those writers is yours truly. Starting this week, I will be writing a weekly post on how to create a career filled with meaning, abundance, and passion.
Zip on over and check it out. Lots of great people with excellent insights and ideas to share!
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If there's one piece of punctuation that has the potential to change the world, it's the question mark.
I'm a huge fan of the power of questions to solve problems, shine a light on opportunities, shift your perspective, spark understanding, and more.
Here's a fabulous list of questions from Scott Ginsberg to help you tap into the possibilities life has to offer. A lot of questions are workplace-related, but you can change them to personal questions if you replace "you" with "I" (i.e., "how can I...").
Check this list out. Bookmark it. And most importantly, use it.
There's magic in them thar questions!
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Want a peek behind the scenes at a book publishing company that's out to make the world a better place, one book at a time? The new installment of the M.A.P. Maker Podcast features Steve Piersanti, founder, President, and Publisher of Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Enjoy!
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Yesterday, riffing of an experience of almost falling while inline skating, I wrote about falling forward, and how it can actually help you stay upright and moving forward when you stumble in life.
Looking back, I realize that I only addressed part of the picture. Following the momentum of the fall is one element, but the other part is letting your feet scramble to stay under your weight.
If you don't keep your feet moving when you trip while skating, you'll ultimately go splat. It's the same in life.
I can't even count how many times I have done something, completely botched it (as I saw it, at least), and then felt too gun shy to try again. My feet stopped moving. I could do all the learning in the world from the experience, but without that continued movement, it was all moot.
On the other hand, I have no shortage of examples where I said, "Huh, well what if I do it this way? What if I try this? What if I take this approach?" And ultimately something good happened.
Next time you find yourself falling, ask yourself, "How do I need to move my feet? What do I need to do to make sure I keep moving forward and don't get bogged down? How can I make sure I don't go splat?"
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I just came back from inline skating a few minutes ago. While I was warming up, I managed to catch my skate on a seed pod, which stopped the skate cold. I went pitching forward off center onto the grass, ran a couple feet up a small slope and back down to the pavement, and continued on my way, nice as you please.
I was completely out of control, and definitely falling, but everything turned out OK. Why? Because rather than trying to control my fall and catch my balance, I automatically followed my momentum forward and went where it was taking me. I fell forward and let me feet scramble to stay under the weight (OK, it helps that I used to play inline hockey and feel really comfortable on skates).
How, you may be wondering, is that relevant to M.A.P. Making? Because as you pursue your dreams, there will probably be times when you stumble, or hit the occasional unexpected bump. In short, it's likely that there will be times when you fall.
When you do, you can either resist it, fighting rigidly to stay upright, or you can fall forward.
A great example of the benefits of falling forward is how we react to failure. If you try something and it doesn't work, you have two choices. First, you can rigidly try to stay upright, insisting that you SHOULD succeed, and you SHOULDN'T fail, all the while beating yourself up for the fact that you're falling.
Or second, you can fall forward. "What happened here? What did I just learn? How can that learning feed my success? If I look back ten years from now, how did this just move me towards where I want to go?"
I've done both, and let me tell you, I far prefer the latter. Falling forward helps you maintain momentum towards your dreams. Sometimes falling is just a natural part of the heading down the path, while other times it means you need to adjust your focus. Regardless, if you fall forward, you'll keep moving ahead.
Rigidly insisting on staying upright and in control, on the other hand, will leave you with nothing but bruises.
How about you? How do you fall forward?
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Turning a big dream into reality isn't just a matter of deciding where you want to go and setting the controls to autopilot. It takes hard work and persistence. More than that, it takes a willingness to adapt on the fly as you encounter unexpected obstacles.
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is running into an obstacle and letting it stop them, rather than saying, "OK, what are my options now?"
My friend Erden Eruc (pronounced air-DEN air-ROOCH) is a master at asking that question. He is currently on a quest to circumnavigate the globe by human power (by bike, foot, and ocean rowing boat), with a summit attempt on the highest peak of each of six continents in the process. He is also the founder of a non-profit called Around-n-Over, focused on using the journey to educate and inspire kids (I'm on the Around-n-Over board).
Since a first meeting about his dream in 2003, I have watched him pursue it with dogged tenacity. Nothing stops him. He has bicycled from Seattle to Alaska in the winter and climbed Mt. McKinley. He biked across the US. And he rowed across the Atlantic from Portugal to the Caribbean islands. Through it all, he has found ways to make the logistics (financial, bureaucratic, health, equipment, etc.) work in the face of what seems to me crazy odds.
One of the things I find most inspiring is the way he deals with obstacles, either finding ways around them, or - if they really are insurmountable obstacles - asking, "What's the spirit of what I'm trying to do," and adjusting his efforts accordingly.
Right now, Erden is 292 days into a row across the Pacific. His goal was to row from San Francisco to Brisbane, Australia. Unfortunately, unusual winds and currents have prevented him from being able to get south of the equator.
Recognizing that there was nothing he could do about where the winds and currents were allowing him to row, he came back to the spirit of his dream - a successful, safe, human-powered circumnavigation of the globe. As it became clear that Australia was not going to happen, he readjusted his sights, now aiming for the Phillipines en route to landfall on the mainland of Asia and ultimately on to Everest and beyond.
As he describes it in his dispatches at sea...
It would have been nice to reach Australia as was the original plan with this long crossing, which is progressing mostly at the whim of the Pacific. Yet a door closed creates other opportunities to be pursued.
If Erden had a rigid attachment to his expectations of exactly how the journey needed to unfold, this leg of it would already be considered a failure. He didn't reach his goal - Australia. But by keeping it in the context of his bigger vision and the spirit of the dream, and adjusting his plans to adapt to reality, he continues to move forward towards ultimately making a dream reality.
Because his dream is so big, how it unfolds may end up looking completely different than the original plan (it has already changed numerous times along the way to adapt to various unforeseen challenges).
But that same bigness creates an enormous canvas for Erden to paint the spirit of the dream. In the end, it's not the logistics that matter, it's what the journey is about.
As I mentioned, Erden's non-profit, Around-n-Over, was founded with a focus on educating and inspiring kids to dream, believe, and achieve. You can see the education portal here.
If Erden's efforts inspire you, find out how you can support his journey and Around-n-Over here.
Are you a perfectionist? If you are, you've probably felt how it can put a damper on pursuing your dreams. Perfection is an elusive beast, the hunt for which inevitably leaves us feeling like we came up short.
One alternative that still lets you play in the neighborhood of perfection is "incremental excellence," or what this article calls "creeping excellence."
...Adopt the habit of creeping excellence in which you ensure that everything you do is just a bit better than it was the last time you did it. Leave everything better than when you found it. Creeping excellence reduces the time and costs racked up by perfectionism. Perfectionists spend 80% of their time and resources perfecting the last 20% of everything.
I re-dubbed it incremental excellence (it just sounds better to me), but the idea is the same. Instead of an absolute perfection, focus on using everything you do as an opportunity to discover ways to do it even better.
Make sure you approach it with a positive attitude. "Where are my opportunities to learn and grow" can lead to an upward spiral. "What the hell did I do wrong this time" will take you in the opposite direction.
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I can always tell when a book really speaks to me because I find myself irresistibly compelled to break out my highlighter and slather the pages in line after line of bright yellow. It's Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks by Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks International and Starbucks North America, is one of those books.
I must confess, I'm not that much of a leadership lit junkie; the leadership-specific books on my shelf are few and far between. But I was drawn to this one because so much of what he talks about fits hand in glove with the ideas I talk about here in this blog.
Many of the ideas Behar discusses are just as applicable in our own personal career journeys as they are in a leadership context. For example, in his view (as in mine), it all starts with a solid, fundamental understanding of who we are ourselves. He describes it as one-hat living and one-hat leadership...
Wearing one hat is the epitome of personal leadership. It is the starting point - and the end point - of the lifelong process of discovering who you are and what you stand for. When you wear one hat:
- You know what makes you feel most deeply alive.
- You feel good about yourself.
- You have no need for secrets or pretending or posturing.
- You can lead yourself and others from a place of clarity and integrity.
Wearing one hat is essentially having a deep understanding of who you are, what energizes and inspires you, and what you value - and then acting in alignment with that. Behar goes on to say, "One-hat leadership, like one-hat living, is synoymous with honesty, clarity, passion, and a sense of being truly engaged and alive." (Sound familiar?)
"Know who you are" (i.e., wear one hat) is the first of ten principles laid out in the book. Those principles are:
You won't find any magic epiphanies about successful leadership (or a successful life) in this book. Everything he talks about is simple and straightforward - yet often contrary to the approach we actually end up taking.
Behar's experience and success gives weight to his message and the human element woven through it. Though straightforward, it's a message we need to hear again and again, in as many ways as possible.
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This morning Making the Impossible Possible by Bill Strickland found its way into my morning reading rotation. After only a few pages, I found myself inspired to jump up and blog.
As I described in a previous post sparked by Lisa Haneberg's podcast interview with him, "Bill grew up in what he describes as a very bad inner city community. Today, he is the President and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation, an organization that blends business and social change."
In the book, he describes one of the underlying keys to his transformation from "just another aimless kid, coasting through school, bored, and disengaged" to CEO of an organization that has been the subject of multiple Harvard Business School case studies and recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant:
...one of the greatest obstacles blocking us from realizing that potential is that we believe, or are told, the things we want most passionately are impractical, unrealistic, or somehow beyond our reach. The story I have to share with you is the pursuit of one unrealistic, impractical, outrageous dream after another, and the remarkable consistency with which those dreams have come true. That didn't happen by magic. It happened because I refused to be limited by what conventional wisdom, or other people, or the cautious little voice we all have in our heads told me I couldn't do.
I love the idea of serial unrealistic, impractical, outrageous dreaming. Turning one dream after another into reality. It recognizes that, as we get closer to one dream, there's something else that seems way out there. Something else to make us stretch and inspire us.
And it always starts with where we are right now. Sometimes pursuing a dream means jumping in and starting to build it right away. Other times we first have to start filling in the hole we're standing in so we can stand up and scan the horizon. Sometimes the dream comes rushing up to meet us. Other times we have to diligently chip away at it to make it happen. Whatever the situation, it starts by taking steps.
What's your unrealistic, impractical, outrageous dream? What dreams are you saying no to because you don't see an obvious, readily attained path to get there?
What one step could you take in that direction today? What one step could you take this week? This month?
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