The M.A.P. Maker [Meaning, Abundance & Passion]

What's your Big Why?

Let's face it, however much you love your work, there will always be times when it will be complete crap. Maybe things go wrong and you have to deal with it, or you have to buckle down and do something that isn't all that much fun but needs to be done. Whatever.

If you rely entirely on the Whee Factor ("Wheee! I can't believe I get paid for this!") for the energy in your work, it can be challenging to get through those stretches, because the Whee Factor is missing.

That's one of the reasons a focus on making a personally meaningful difference (in addition to the parts that make you go whee) can be so beneficial. It gives you a bigger context beyond just what is happening to you day to day. When you put your passion to work towards something greater than yourself, there's a difference that inspires you that pulls you forward. 

I've been thinking a lot about this lately for my own journey. I call it The Big Why. Why am I doing this? What is it that I ultimately want to achieve? What is my big dream when it comes to the difference I want to make in the world?

I'm still working on turning my Big Why into actual goals, but the spirit behind it is, I want to help people put their passion to work to make a difference that inspires them, in a way that lets them thrive.

Basically, I want to tap into the incredible power for positive change that comes when people are on fire about what they're doing and why they're doing it. And for each person's efforts to be a long-term, sustainable thing, they need to thrive.

So now I look at everything I do in terms of that Big Why. What are my opportunities to take what lights me up and put it to work in service of my Big Why? Doing that provides both an additional source of energy and a cohesiveness to what I'm doing and the direction I'm going.

What about you? What's your Big Why?

 

Check out 101 Ways to Get Wild About Work

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Reach out for inspiration

If you want to tap into a ready source of motivation and energy, try reaching out to someone who inspires you.

I spent an hour a couple days ago interviewing Brian Johnson for my podcast. Brian is the founder of Zaadz, a social networking site with a social conscience (think Facebook for people who want to make a difference).

As always seems to happen when I talk to people who are up to some amazing things in the world, I came away feeling so inspired I could barely see straight.

If you remember, I did a 30-in-30 experiment back in November, attempting to reach out and have 30 phone conversations in 30 days with people I had never talked to before, with no intention other than to connect. I think it actually ended up being 23-in-30, but the number was less important than the pattern it set.

I have started incorporating that idea into my life on an ongoing (albeit more sustainable) basis. Once or twice a week I try to reach out and have a conversation with someone new. Invariably, it gives me a boost. I might even come away with new ideas or perspectives.

There's a long-term benefit as well of course, because what I'm actually doing is planting the seeds for relationships. And it's in relationships that the magic starts, whether in our own careers or with the change we want to make in the world.

Who would you reach out to? Why not make a list, pick one, and drop them a line? Take a step, then build on it. Who knows where it might lead?

 

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Does your future self inspire you?

I talk a lot in this blog about the inspiration I draw from others. I've also talked about looking at your future self thirty years down the road and asking, "What would I look back and be proud of? What would I regret if I didn't do it?"

Now, thanks to Kate Hudson's post about drawing inspiration from your future self, I find myself asking, "How would my future self inspire me?"

If I were to create a future self who would be a source of inspiration to me today, what would that look like? What life would I have lived? How would I have lived it? What decisions would I have made? What impact would I have had on the world around me?

The first step in figuring all that out is taking a look at the people who inspire me and asking, "Why?" What is it about them that are inspiring? And once I put my finger on the reasons, how do they relate to my life?

This merits a deeper exploration, but off the top of my head I see several characteristics that are consistently there in the people that inspire me.

• They care.
• They're focused on making a positive impact in the world.
• They're doggedly persistent.
• They encounter obstacles, but refuse to let the obstacle define the path.
• They hear their own tune and dance to it, even when nobody else can hear it.
• They speak their own truth, unswayed by the opinions of others.
• They have had the courage to change and grow.

Once I have the list, I can start taking a look at my life through the lens of those inspirational characteristics. How does my current life measure up to them? Where am I strong in self-inspiration? Where am I missing a step? What do I need to do differently in the future? What do I have the opportunity to build on?

What about you? Who inspires you, and why?

[Hat tip to Inspiration Bit for the link to Kate's post.]

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Role models of persistence and self-belief

If there is one thing that can exponentially increase your chances for success in whatever you do, it's persistence. So much of turning your dreams into reality is sticking with it long enough for that reality to unfold.

The stories of Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln's dogged pursuit of their quests (for a light bulb and for political office, respectively) get told so often in self-help material that they have almost become cliches. Every time I run across them, I think, There must be more examples of persistence than these."

So I was delighted to find this list of people who have stuck it out through various forms of adversity to find success on the other side.

It can sometimes be tempting to get down on our own ideas and abilities when others express doubt, skepticism, or even outright hostility towards them. So I especially loved the ones that showed how it pays to take the opinions of others with a grain of salt. For example...

Rocket scientist Robert Goddard found his ideas bitterly rejected by his scientific peers on the grounds that rocket propulsion would not work in the rarefied atmosphere of outer space.

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.

After his first audition, Sidney Poitier was told by the casting director, "Why don't you stop wasting people's time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?" It was at that moment, recalls Poitier, that he decided to devote his life to acting.

After Harrison Ford's first performance as a hotel bellhop in the film Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, the studio vice-president called him in to his office. "Sit down kid," the studio head said, "I want to tell you a story. The first time Tony Curtis was ever in a movie he delivered a bag of groceries. We took one look at him and knew he was a movie star." Ford replied, "I thought you were spossed to think that he was a grocery delivery boy." The vice president dismissed Ford with "You ain't got it kid , you ain't got it ... now get out of here."

Michael Caine's headmaster told him, "You will be a laborer all your life."

Rodin's father once said, "I have an idiot for a son." Described as the worst pupil in the school, he was rejected three times admittance to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. His uncle called him uneducable.

And that's just a smattering of the examples you'll find. Definitely a list worth bookmarking. 

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

15 questions to prompt your gratitude

Here in the US, it's Thanksgiving day, and that's a great reminder to really stop and ask, "What am I thankful for?"

Studies on actively engaging in gratitude have shown that it has an enormously positive effect on our lives. Yet in the go-go bustle of our day-to-day activities, and the pressures and stress of modern life, it's easy to lose touch with it.

With that in mind, here are some questions to help prompt your thankful thoughts...

1. Who do I appreciate?

2. How am I fortunate?

3. What material possessions am I thankful for?

4. What abilities do I have that I'm grateful for?

5. What about my surroundings (home/neighborhood/city/etc.) am I thankful for?

6. What experiences have I had that I am grateful for?

7. What happened today/yesterday/this week/this month/this year that I am  grateful for?

8. What opportunities do I have that I am thankful for?

9. What have others in my life done that I am thankful for?

10. What have others done that I am benefiting from in my life (even if I don't know who those people are)?

11. What relationships am I thankful for?

12. What am I taking for granted that, if I stop to think about it, I am grateful for?

13. What is there about the challenges/difficulties I have experienced (or am currently experiencing) that I can be thankful for? (e.g., What have I learned? How have I grown?)

14. What is different today than it was a year ago that I'm thankful for?

15. What insights have I gained that I am grateful for?

These questions are a great start, but don't stop there. Come up with your own questions. Brainstorm as many gratitude-prompting questions as you can think of. Then, instead of sitting down with a gratitude journal and thinking, "OK, what am I grateful for," pick one of the questions and explore that.

By the time you finish all the questions, you'll have a really deep picture of the gratitude in your life. You'll also have a great resource to go back through on those days when you're feeling a bit bah humbug.

What other gratitude prompting questions come to mind? Post them here!

 

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

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

Maintaining momentum: Play with inspiring playmates

Want a surefire way to bog yourself down and make sure you never turn those dreams into reality? Surround yourself with people like these guys. Here are the words so you can sing along...

Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me

Man! That was fun, huh? (Uhhhh...no.)

If, on the other hand, you want to want to both stay on fire about the possibilities and take persistent, consistent action to make them happen, stay away - preferably far away - from the gloom and doom crowd.

If you're going to play, play with inspiring playmates. Look around you right now. How many of the people you surround yourself with are on fire and motivated, and how many are taking their cue from  the gloom boys? 

Are the people around you steeped in an inherent belief in possibility, or are they mired in resignation? Do they try to build you up, or do they drag you down instead?

The people you surround yourself with play a huge role in what you are able to achieve. Take stock of the people in your life. Which ones are the inspiring playmates?

Now look further afield. Where can you connect with more inspiring people? Where can you find people who believe in the amazing potential of the future, and can't wait to make it happen (as opposed to let it happen to them)?

There are countless areas to explore. Here are a few:

• Get involved in relevant professional organizations
• Find volunteer opportunities that attract "moves and shakers"
• Get active in the religious / spiritual institution of your choice
• Seek out successful alumni from your school
• Find others who not only share similar dreams to you, but are also doing the work to make it happen

You might also try something like my 30 in 30 experiment to start reaching out to inspiring people.

While you're at it, watch out for the gloom and doom crowd masquerading with a face of hope. These are the people who dream about what could be, but never do anything about it, preferring instead to stay stuck in their unsatisfactory but comfortable reality. They may talk a good game, but the end result is still the same.

Ultimately, you want people around you who will feed your potential, inspiring you with their beliefs and actions and supporting you as you move towards your dreams.

[Go here and scroll down for a compilation of my momentum maintenance system posts.]

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Maintaining momentum: What motivates you?

A no-brainer part of any system designed to help you maintain your momentum is the simple question, "What motivates me?"

In your career, part of the answer will be, "the work itself," and, "the end result" (see my thoughts on passion and meaning for more about this). But beyond that, what else motivates you?

Here are a few ideas to ponder. The list is by no means exhaustive. It's simply a place to get your thinking started.

Competition

I always like to use a non-work example to illustrate the power of tapping into your particular source of motivation. A few years back a friend and I both started studying Spanish about the same time. She was taking a class, and I was teaching myself.

We're both pretty competitive (ding!ding!ding! Anyone see a motivation source coming up here?) and at one point early on we made a bet on who would be more fluent by the end of a year. We planned on hiring a Spanish teacher to test both our written and oral fluency to settle the bet.

The hardest part of learning a language is the very beginning, when everything is new and confusing. It's easy to lose momentum and let it drift off. But our bet kept me hyper-engaged in it. Every time we saw each other, we would needle each other on how our Spanish was going. There was no way I was going to let her pull ahead in it.

As it turned out, we never did hire a teacher to test us, so to this day we have no idea who actually won the bet. But the motivation that our little competition gave me is one of the reasons I was able to stick with it to the point where I could actually use my Spanish.

Public goal setting

Goal setting can be a great source of motivation. Even better, public goal setting. When I wrote my e-book, The Occupational Adventure Guide, I posted in November of that year that I intended to have it ready for the New Year. I described it as throwing my hat over the fence so I would have to climb over and get it (of course, the following week as I realized how monumental the task really was, I wrote, "Ummmmm...could someone throw my hat back over to me?")

But it did the trick. I worked incredibly hard on it, and finished it on time.

Think about the goal-setting from a long-term and a short-term perspective. It's great to have a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) to inspire you, but a series of smaller goals along the way can give more immediate gratification and a sense of accomplishment.

Rewards

Are you motivated by rewards? Maybe you set your own rewards, ranging in size according to what they're for. For example, "When I reach my goals this month, I'm going to treat myself to a concert, or a dinner at an especially good restaurant, or a day at the spa." Or, "When I reach my goals for this year, I'm going to treat myself to that dream trip, or that personal development retreat I've been wanting to go to." 

Those rewards might be external as well, like working towards getting a special certificate or license.

Recognition

Perhaps it's recognition that motivates you. Are there ways you can incorporate the potential for recognition into what you do that would inherently support where you want to go?

Seeing the outcome

It might be the tangible reinforcement of the difference you've made along the way that gives you that motivating spark. It certainly is part of it for me. One of my favorite things in the world is getting random e-mails or comments from people whose lives were impacted in a positive way by some aspect of my work.

The motivation factors I described here are just a smattering of all the possibilities. You may share some, all, or none. I'm not here to tell you what your motivation factors are - I'm just here to ask the questions... 

What motivates you? How can you incorporate that into your journey?

[Go here and scroll down for a compilation of my momentum maintenance system posts.]

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

CNN gets it right with the Heroes series

In general, I'm no big fan of what CNN adds to the world. A look at its focus on murder, mayhem, tragedy, and scandal was part of what prompted me to create my HappyRant blog (a step that ultimately led in the direction of this blog).

But they got it right with the Heroes series of reports about everyday people making the world a better place. I posted last week about my habit of starting my mornings with positive, inspiring reading to set the stage for the rest of the day. I may just have to ration these out and watch one report each morning as well.

They'll be doing a program highlighting the most outstanding "All-Stars" of the Heroes series on December 6th.

Kudos to CNN. Write them and let them know you want more news like this.

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