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

62 questions to ask

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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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Falling forward, Part II: Keep your feet moving

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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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

If you fall, fall forward!

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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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Readjusting dream logistics (292 days at sea - and counting)

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.

www.around-n-over.org

Incremental excellence: An alternative to perfectionism

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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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

Use today to build a better tomorrow

One of the recurring themes that fascinates me is the degree to which we create our reality by the way we perceive it. Two different people can have the exact same experience, and interpret it two completely different ways.  Our perceptions can help us either create our dreams or build a wall between us and those dreams.

Take when things go wrong, for example. It happens to all of us. One person might try something, flop on his face, and come away convinced that there's no point in trying again. Another might try something, do the exact same face plant, and come away thinking, "Bummer...now I know what I can do better next time."

The outcomes for those two people of that same scenario are vastly different.

This comment from Tiger Woods in an ESPN article does a beautiful job of illustrating the "now I know what to do better" mindset...

"The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today...That's the beauty of tomorrow. There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better."

I love that outlook. Everything that happens is potential fodder for a better tomorrow. Everything. What if that was the lens we all looked through? What if we really and truly could resist attaching a negative meaning to the bumps along the way and only focused on the positive insights and growth we're taking away from it?

I think that would blow the doors open for who we could become and what we could achieve.

Take a look at your own life. How can you use today to build a better tomorrow?

[Hat tip to WorkHappy for the link to the ESPN article]

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Want positive change? Apply the 30% rule

Everything I talk about in this blog, and everything I focus on in my work, is ultimately aimed at one thing - catalyzing positive change. For me, that positive change starts at the individual level and ripples out.

An awareness of the issues is important, but too often the quest for awareness turns into little more than "bad news porn." This is wrong, and that is screwed up, and those people over there are doing such stupid things! We can get so caught up in what's wrong that we never focus our attention to what's really important - how to take the steps to create what's right.

I spent yesterday at the GreenFestival in Seattle. One of the speakers I caught was Sharif Abdullah, author of The Power of One and Creating a World That Works for All. In his talk, he described what he called the 30% rule.

In a nutshell, the 30% rule says we should spend no more than 30% of our time talking about what's wrong, and focus the remaining 70% on exploring, strategizing, and taking action.

On his blog recently, he described how it plays out in his own life:

• I only spend 30% of my time talking about problems – any more than that is disempowering (which is not my intention). The other 70% of my time I focus on visions and solutions.

• I refuse to pay attention to sources that spend 100% of their time talking about problems (the negative energy stream). This includes highly credible, well researched, fact-filled sources like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. We simply don’t have the time to bathe in a constant stream of negativity.

• I am encouraging others to follow the “30% Rule”. WE SIMPLY DON’T HAVE TIME TO RUN AROUND TALKING ABOUT PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF SOLUTIONS. It’s like running into a crowded theater yelling “Fire!”. Instead of showing people to the exits, instead of coming in with a fire hose or a fire extinguisher, you just keep yelling “Fire!”. Very quickly, that becomes counterproductive. Someone said, “You don’t get points for just predicting rain; you get points for building an ark.”

I love this mindset, whether we are thinking about positive change that needs to be made in the world around us, or changes we need to make in our own lives. Nothing happens by focusing entirely on the problem. Positive change happens when we ask ourselves, OK, so what do I do about it? And then start taking action.

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

Save energy - go with the flow

One of my biggest challenges over the years has been learning to accept that I'm not actually in control of the world. (Yeah, I know, it still surprises me too. But it's true.) However tempted I am to believe otherwise, I find that the world just goes about its business, completely ignoring my expectations.

Running late and traffic is backed up? Not my choice. Trying to make a connection and my flight is delayed? Nope, not what I would pick either. Bad hair day? Hmmmm...OK, so that one's not so relevant for me. ;-) But still, you get the idea.

I've discovered that the more I am able to go with the flow and not waste energy being upset about things I can't possibly control, the happier I am. Not surprisingly, I'm also more productive, and more able to focus on what matters. I won't claim to be perfect (or even close to it), but I'm way better than I used to be.

With all that in mind, I loved this post on Zen Habits offering 12 practical steps for learning to go with the flow.  I'm listing them here, and you can follow the link for all the details. If you even incorporate only one of these into your habitual approach to life, it will be well worth the read.

1. Realize that you can’t control everything.
2. Become aware.
3. Breathe.
4. Get perspective.
5. Practice.
6. Baby steps.
7. Laugh.
8. Keep a journal.
9. Meditate.
10. Realize that you can’t control others.
11. Accept change and imperfection.
12. Enjoy life as a flow of change, chaos and beauty.

In The Gain to Drain Ratio, part of the trick is maximizing what gives you energy, and the other part is minimizing what drains you. Learning to go with the flow is a great antidote to the energy drain that happens when we waste energy getting our knickers in a knot.

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

10 ways we waste our time (and what to do about it)

If you've been reading this blog for long, you know that when I talk about abundance (the A in M.A.P.), I'm not just talking about financial abundance. I'm talking about multiple kinds. One of those is time abundance.

Unlike financial abundance, where it's possible to increase the sum total of money you have available to you, with time abundance you have what you have. Rich or poor, wildly famous or unknown, we all have one thing in common. Each and every one of us has 24 hours in our day. So if you want to up your time abundance, you have to focus on one thing - how you use that time.

One aspect of creating time abundance is being diligent in evaluating how we spend our time. You have to ask the question, "Is the time I'm spending on this contributing to the life I want to lead? Is this a good use of this scarce and valuable commodity?" If the answer is no, do everything in your power to jettison it.

Alex Shalman has a great blog post putting the spotlight on 10 Global Time Management Pitfalls (and what to do about them). It's a great place to start. I like it because it goes beyond technical efficiency of accomplishing the most with your time into the energy gain or drain things carry with them (remember The Gain to Drain Ratio?).

Here are some of my favorites...

4. Entertaining Bad Company. There really isn’t any excuse for subjecting ourselves to the company of people who are bringing us down in life. The type of energy vampires who suck the life, vitality, optimism and dreams right out of us with constant complaining, as well as their input on why life sucks and you’re going to fail.

• Solution: Get rid of them. The world is full of amazing people, I’ve seen a bunch. Surround yourself with the best people in the world, and keep them close.

6. The Lack of Presence. Ever notice that while you’re supposed to be paying attention your mind wanders to something else? When you get to that something else your mind wanders to the next thing? When you’re living in this state of future, you aren’t giving your 100% to what you are doing. You are constantly wasting the time away.

• Solution: Give your 110% to whatever you are currently undertaking. If whatever is at hand is not worth your 110% than that’s a sign that you should drop it and pursue what’s real for you.

10. Not Being Valuable. The biggest waste of time and oxygen that you can be is not being a valuable person. Not valuable to yourself, to your family, to society, and to the planet.

• Solution: By the time your time expires, make sure you can answer how you’ve left this world a better place than you got it.

For the moment, don't worry about eliminating each and every time waster in your life. Sit down and take stock of the pieces of your life that aren't contributing to the life you want to live. Pick one thing, and for the next week or two, focus on eliminating it. If it's really big, break it into pieces and make it an ongoing project.

Once you have done that, you're ready to move onto the next time waster, and the next...

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM