The M.A.P. Maker

Reinvent your story. Reinvent your world.

We are by our very nature pattern-seeking creatures. The patterns we find, whether through experience or education, form the framework for our experience of the world.

Our minds tend to make the leap from, "This is a pattern I see" to, "This is true." And when we make that leap, we start to look for more evidence to support that truth. That in turn can create a filter that no longer lets evidence counter to that truth through. The pattern goes from seemingly true to rigidly true.

Our patterns = Our stories = Our reality

One of the ways those patterns show up in our lives is through our stories about ourselves. We all have them. "I can do anything I set my mind to." "I can't do anything right." "I'm selfish." "I live to give." "I'm misunderstood." "I'm lazy." "I'm hard-working and industrious." And on and on.

Whatever story we have about ourselves sets the stage for how we experience life.

A few years back, I interviewed a guy who had been very successful in pursuing a passion-filled career while thriving financially. I asked him what was behind his success.

He said that it was at least in part due to being lucky enough to have had some early successes in his career. He took some risks and ultimately they paid off. That started creating the story that he has the ability to make things happen, and that risk is OK. That even failure is OK, as long as it doesn't stop you for good.

He contrasted that to his brother's experience. His brother had the same upbringing and had similar talents and gifts. They weren't all that different. But the brother had a series of failures early on that set the pattern for how he perceived the world. His story was defined by that early failure. He engaged the world with more fear, more timidly, and as a result he continues to struggle.

Truth is relative

Neither of those stories were strictly true, of course. They were both based on personal experience and the patterns that were set by how each brother interpreted that experience.

And that's the good news. Truth is relative. Much of it is based on what you believe to be true. And that truth can be sculpted and formed to give you a more positive view of what's possible. If you reinvent your story, you can reinvent your world.

In tomorrow's post, I will offer a simple exercise to help you start sculpting your stories, reinforcing the positive ones, and reinventing the negative.
 
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Navigate reality to reach your dreams

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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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Unrealistic, impractical, outrageous dreams!

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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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Adjust and adapt on the path to your dreams

A venture capitalist once told me, "I can tell you one thing about the business plan of anyone who comes through that door...it's wrong."

His point wasn't that the people who were seeking investment were bad at planning, or stupid, or unreasonable. It was that the business plans inherently represented best guesses. And as the companies move forward in the real world, the reality they encounter gives them more information that either confirms the plan or shows its flaws. And based on that information, they adjust and adapt. 

As this VC saw it, the company is rare that has the dream, executes it, and ends up with exactly what they intended. They have to make course corrections all along the way.

It's the same in our own careers as well. Often success isn't a matter of identifying a goal and rigidly grinding away towards it. It's identifying a goal that inspires you, taking steps towards that goal, and adjusting and adapting based on what you encounter.

Part of that process is taking the time to stop and evaluate. "What do I know now that I didn't know then?  How does that affect what I'm doing? Are there steps I'm taking that aren't working? Are there steps I need to take that I'm not currently taking? Does my goal need to be revised? Are there opportunities I see now I didn't recognize before?"

The more you can pay attention to what's happening and adjust and adapt accordingly, the greater your potential for turning that dream (or something like it) into reality.

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Reflect your vision of the future today

Are you living your past, or becoming your vision of the future?

It's a question prompted by a fabulous podcast from Lisa Haneberg where she interviews Bill Strickland, author of Make the Impossible Possible.

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.

During the interview, he talked about something his art teacher in high school said to him that would have a profound impact on his life. "You don’t have to be a reflection of your environment exclusively. You can be a reflection of your vision of the future."

Be a reflection of your vision of the future. I love that! What if we started making decisions and living our lives like that future has already happened, and the ripples of that vision are reaching back to us. What would we do? What wouldn't we do? Who would we strive to be?

The thing I love about the idea is how it turns the conventional way of looking at life on its head. We often give so much power to what has happened in the past, and what our current "reality" looks like. The result can be a little like walking in gumbo - sticky and slow-going. Maybe even completely stuck.

Being a reflection of our vision of the future, on the other hand, lets us focus on the potential. It is also a way to bring that dreamworld of the future (which can too easily remain always somewhere in the future) into the reality of today.

If who I am and what I do today is reflecting this future, what does that look like? Where am I at odds with that future? What steps can I take to bring myself back into alignment with the future?

What if you committed to living into your vision? What would you do more of that you're already doing? What would you change? What would you do differently?

 

Check out 101 Ways to Get Wild About Work

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Daydreaming: Indolence or inspiration?

“Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate accomplishments.”

— Napoleon Hill

As we worship the gods of BiggerBetterFaster at the Temple of High Octane Achievement,  there seems to be little room for anything as unproductive and slow-paced as daydreaming.

But that's a short-sighted and, ultimately, self-limiting perspective. It's a little like being so busy that you don't have time to stop to eat. In the short-run you can do it, but in the long-run it's going to put a damper on your potential.

I started pondering the role of daydreams in M.A.P. Making after reading a post at I will change your life. As Peter points out, daydreaming can be a double-edged sword. It can be the beginning of something wonderful, or it can keep you good and stuck.

Ultimately, whether it is indolence or inspiration depends on you. Stop for a minute and think about your daydreams. What role do they play in your life? Are they planting seeds for amazing things in your future, or are they just something for you to focus on while you avoid taking action? Do they open doors, or are they just another installment in an endless tail-chasing loop?

Of course, we all have daydreams that never become reality. There's nothing wrong with that. But when our daydreams become an avoidance tactic for actually moving forward, then they deserve that bad rap they've gotten.

Try this. For the next month, pay attention to your daydreams. You might even start a daydream journal to keep track of them. Then look back over those daydreams and ask yourself, "Where is my future?"

You don't have to turn all of your daydreams into future reality, but if you ignore them completely you're selling yourself short. Somewhere in those daydreams are nuggets of possibility you can start to act on. And taking action is the first step in the alchemy of turning those dreams into the substance of your everyday life.

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Embrace your blue sky vision (Don't hide your big dream)

In a recent conversation with a friend about where we want to go in our respective career paths, I asked the question, "What's your blue sky vision?" That is to say, in your ideal world, where do you want to take this? What do you want it to become? What do you want to achieve? What role do you want to play? Who do you want to be?

While she shared that blue sky vision with me, she also admitted to being hesitant to share it with most people in case they laughed, or thought it was stupid, or that it was over-reaching.

My response to her blue sky vision was, "Why would you even bother doing all this if you didn't have that big dream?" I loved hearing about the potential she saw.

Far from being silly, for me that blue sky vision sets the stage. It defines what you'll even allow yourself to reach for. It shapes how you think about what you do and where you're going. It expands the scope of your perceptions of possibility. It helps you get beyond the nitty gritty of making things happen and draw inspiration from where things could go.

As with most things, that blue sky vision needs room to grow. Rather than hiding it and only sharing it with a select few, I say lead with it. Let it out into the open. Let it help define people's perceptions of who you are and where you're going. Let it help define your own perceptions of who you are and where you're going.

Not everyone will get it, and that's OK. As Bill Cosby once said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."  But if you don't let it out into the light, the blue sky vision is almost guaranteed to stay overcast.

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Dreams and reality belong together

I'm a big believer in the power of dreams and positive thinking. At the same time, I have little patience for the notion that somehow that's all it takes. You'll hear me repeat variations on this same theme over and over: "Dreams have to unfold in the real world." If they don't, they remain just so much wishful thinking.

I want to combine the energy and inspiration that comes from those dreams with real, concrete steps that can take that energy and transform it into forward motion.

One of the ways I describe the M.A.P. concept is "the intersection of dreams and reality." Meaning and Passion are about the dream. Abundance is about taking an approach to fulfilling those dreams that allows you to thrive in the real world.

Take a look at your own life. Do you have a good balance of dreams and reality, or is your focus lopsided on one or the other?

If it's overly focused on the reality side of the equation, how can you commit to bringing more of the dream into the equation? Maybe you simply need to start by asking, "What are my dreams?"

On the other hand, if you're immersed in the dream, but spinning in circles rather than barreling dow the path to a thriving life, What concrete step can you take today? This week? This month? How can you move forward?

Dreams and reality aren't opposing forces. They're complementary. And one without the other is a recipe for disaster.

 

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM