The M.A.P. Maker

Power your potential with promises

Every day, whether you are aware of it or not, you are doing something that sculpts both the way other people see you and the way you see yourself. Depending on how you handle it, that action can paint a picture of you as trustworthy and reliable or flaky, unreliable, or even dishonest.

What is that? You're making promises. 

Until a recent conversation with Jason Womack (co-author of The Promise Doctrine), my definition of a promise was pretty narrow. When I tell someone "I promise," well, that's a promise. Pretty simple. But in Jason's view, any time you create an expectation, you're making a promise. And the sum total of your kept and broken promises has a big impact on your potential. 

Your promises might actually involve the words "I promise," or they might be something like telling someone when they can expect something from you (e.g., a completed project),telling someone you'll send them some information, or even setting a time for a meeting. When you set up a meeting, implicit in that is your word that you are going to show up when you said you would. If you're late, you've broken your promise. 

If you interact with people, you make promises. It goes with the territory.  

Raising the stakes

There's something about the idea of treating every agreement as a promise that really struck me. I think part of it is that it raises the stakes on what you say you'll do. There's more of an emotional association (for me, anyway) with "I broke my promise" than with, "Oops, looks like I'm not going to get that to you when I said I would." 

Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of creating unnecessary guilt or self-flagellation. But the benefit to upping the ante by seeing your commitments as promises isn't about beating up on yourself. It's about recognizing that whether people feel like they can trust you, and whether you feel like you can trust yourself, plays a key role in the potential you have in life. And whether or not you do what you say is a big part of how that trust (or lack of it) gets shaped. 

Managing your promises

Raising the level of emotional importance is just the start, though. If you do that and nothing else, your best-case scenario is that nothing changes. More likely though is that your inner critic will have more ways to club you over the head. 

The real power of raising the stakes is that it makes each commitment you make more important. You start asking, "Is this a promise I'm really committed to keeping?" It can make you more conscious of what you say yes and no to. And that can help you be more realistic about what you take on and what you tell people you will do (how many people do you know who are chronically late to meetings because they try to shove four meetings in where there is only space for three?). 

Not only that, it makes it harder for you to slack off on keeping one of those promises just because you don't feel like it, or it's inconvenient. It raises your personal stakes. 

Creating self-trust

Keeping your promises isn't just about the internal perceptions you create. It also has an internal component. The more you keep your promises, both to others and yourself, the more you can trust that you will really do what you say. And the more you trust yourself, the greater your confidence. And the greater your confidence, the more potential you have to stretch yourself and achieve your dreams. 

Whether you are an entrepreneur, a solopreneur, or employeed by a Fortune 500 company, success in your career depends not on just your ability to deliver, but on people's belief in your ability to deliver. And that belief is built by promises. 

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

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by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

Get results: Create a public deadline

This morning I had coffee with my friend Lori Richardson. Over the course of our conversation, I committed to deadlines on two products I'm working on. Both of these are products that have been "under development" for much longer than they need to be. 

Now that I have committed to a deadline and actually told someone to expect that I will meet that deadline, the odds that I will get traction on both products have just gone up exponentially. 

Deadlines are great drivers, but if you want to get the biggest bang for your deadline buck, tell someone else. It's waaaaaay too easy to set a target and then let it slide when life gets in the way. Making it public - if only with one person - creates an accountability that doesn't exist when it's all just knocking around in your head. 

For some of my clients, the accountability that their work with me creates is almost as important as the clarity and direction that comes out of it. Because they know that every week someone (i.e., yours truly) is going to be asking, "So how did that go," they stay focused and keep taking action. 

Think of something that you have been wanting to get traction on. Maybe it's a project, or maybe it is finally taking steps towards a new career. Whatever it is, set a goal, set a deadline, and tell someone. Better yet, tell multiple someones. You might even get a group of people together for some mutual deadline accountability reinforcement. 

Try this: Identify a goal you want to achieve. If that goal is something really big (e.g., a career change, or writing a book), identify a sub-goal that you can accomplish within a month. Set a target date as a deadline for that short-term goal. Then find someone and tell them your intent. Ask them to hold you accountable to that goal. Once you reach that goal, do it again. 

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

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by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

Positive change tip: Get traction with a singular focus

Have you ever dived into personal development, only to find yourself feeling overwhelmed by all the bazillion ways you can grow, improve, and expand? It can feel a little bit like you're drowning. 

What's worse, because there are so many things you're trying to put into play, you end up getting marginal traction on all of them. The result is often a lot of energy expended, but little substantive change.

If you really want to get results in the long-term, pick one main thing and commit to exploring it thoroughly. Give it a chance to really take hold and make a difference in your life. 

Maybe you decide to make it an experiment to see what kind of results that technique or idea yields if you really embrace it. I'm fond of 30-day experiments. Some of them end up sticking and become part of my repertoire, while others fall by the wayside. One possible area of focus I'm looking at right now is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, or tapping). I want to take 30 days to jump in and put it to work in my own life, exploring what results I can get out of it. 

Or you might decide that you don't need an experiment. Maybe you have found something that really speaks to you and you want to build a deep expertise. Then you start learning all you can, putting it to use, and building on those results. 

If you want to put a heaping pile of personal development ideas on your plate and dig in, that's fine. I must confess, I can't resist all of the tasty morsels I come across. Think of them as hors d'oeuvres. But if you commit to spending the majority of your focus on one main idea at a time - making it the main course - the likelihood is exponentially greater that that idea will really make the impact it has the potential to make. 

It's worth noting that the same idea applies in any area you want to make changes and see positive results. In fact, this post was actually prompted not by my own personal development work, but by my exploration of ways to grow and build my business. I realized that, because I was feeling so overwhelmed by all the great ideas out there, I wasn't implementing any of them especially well. 

So how about you? What one thing will you focus on?

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

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by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

Getting Things Done: What's the point?

Here's a question for those of you who are Getting Things Done fans. As you devour GTD books and create systems that allow you to squeeze more productivity per square minute than should be humanly possible, have you ever wondered, "What's the point?"

Don't get me wrong. I'm not criticizing taking a GTD approach. I could use an uber-sized chunk of that in my own life. I mean the question more literally. What is the point to it? Where are all your jam-packed days leading you? 

Today over on Half-a-dozen Monkeys, there is a post on the need to incorporate a long-term framework into your GTD efforts. 

The post got me thinking about all the clients I have worked with who have been masterful at getting things done, but ultimately realized that all the energy and effort they were putting into their highly productive days wasn’t actually taking them anyplace they really cared to go. 

If you think about GTD in terms of ROI, the payoff doesn’t just come from being able to tick a higher density of things off your to-do list. It also comes from the cumulative effect of day after day, after month, after year of doing those things. If it’s not taking you anywhere that feels meaningful and fulfilling, you’ll likely come up empty.

That's the case regardless of whether or not you are a GTD afficionado. Take a look back at last week. What did you do? What actions did you take? What items did you tick off your to-do list? Was any of it leading you in a direction you really care about? 

If the answer is no, I encourage you to spend some time exploring that long-term vision so you can tap into the cumulative potential of day after day spent taking action aimed in a direction that matters to you. Until you do, your career is at risk of amounting to little more than a series of well-executed steps taken for their own sake. 

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

--

by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

What are you waiting for?

"Life is short. Don't wait." You've heard it a million times, probably so many times that it goes in one ear and slowly drifts out the other. But it's an important message. 

Sometimes, it takes the raw edge of reality to drive the point home. I heard that voice of reality today in a poetry slam reading by Gabrielle Bouliane, a woman who had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer shortly before the event. 

Her voice is a raw, pissed off, emphatic, passionate, and inspiring. And she has a message for you in the video below that I hope you stop for a moment and really, truly hear. 

[Hat tip to David Zinger Employee Engagement for the heads up on the video.]

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

--

by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

Get unstuck with a 7-day goal

Do you ever find yourself feeling stuck? You know you need to move forward, but somehow you've managed to sink your wheels into the mud and all momentum is lost. It can be a frustrating, draining experience.

In one of the herd of books I'm currently reading, The Power of Focus, I came across a great, simple idea to blast out of that stuckness. The authors described adventurer John Goddard's response when asked about overcoming roadblocks:

"When I get stuck, I restart myself by focusing on one goal I can finish in the next seven days - something simple. I don't think about anything else - that usually starts my momentum again."

I love that idea. For me, part of the challenge with getting bogged down is the inertia it creates. Stuck energy feeds stuck energy, and the cycle goes on ad nauseum.

Part of that bogged down inertia comes when my focus is too diffuse. Having something clearly defined to sink my teeth into helps me start taking action. With a 7-day goal, not only is it clearly defined, but there's a payoff within sight. The energy of both the progress and the payoff combines to break free of the self-perpetuating stuckness.

At the same time, giving it a time frame of seven days gives you enough time to engage in something substantial, something bigger than a box to tick on your to-do list. The sense of accomplishment there also feeds the forward momentum.

Try this: Do a brain dump of possible 7-day goals. What would you be able to accomplish in seven days that would energize you? What could you sink your teeth into that would start to energize you and get you moving? Pick one and start taking action. Let me know how it goes.

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

--

by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

How to be a life sculptor

I often talk about the power of choice to create the life we want (see my posts on the power of the crossroads of possibility and creating your dreams one choice at a time). One of the ways I think of it is using choice as a tool to sculpt your life.

As a sculptor, you have two options. First, you can start with a vision of what you want to create and start removing what doesn't fit. That might be a toxic job, limiting habits, people who drag you down - whatever it is that is standing between you and your ultimate vision. Your efforts are aimed at a specific result.

You can use choice to remove what doesn't belong and reinforce what does. The first step to doing that is to be consciously aware of what is standing in the way and what reinforces your vision. Then you can consciously apply choice as a sculpting tool. For example, you might make a short list of ways that you get in your own way and commit to first noticing them, then to making different choices.

With the second option, you can follow the flow and discover where it takes you. As Michelangelo said, "The idea is there, locked inside, and all you have to do is remove the excess stone." You notice what doesn't belong and remove it, watch for what does belong, and let a life aligned with what energizes and inspires you emerge. 

The beauty of this is that we don't always know what's right for us until we find it. If you aim to create a sculpture based on a flawed and incomplete perspective of what you really want, the end result is bound to be just that, flawed and incomplete. Allowing yourself to discover what's locked inside the stone frees you to learn and grow. You can see each choice you are confronted with as an opportunity to move closer to the heart of it all.

Neither of these approaches are superior to the other. In fact, they're complementary. The first option gives you focus and direction. It gives you a goal to aim your efforts toward. But by itself, it risks being rigid, unable to adapt to hidden features within the stone.

The second option allows you to let go and flow naturally towards your best life. But by itself it runs the risk of meandering aimlessly, dabbling a little bit here and experimenting a little bit there. The focus and direction of the first approach helps channel the energy towards results. 

The two approaches can be used simultaneously, or you can tap into them one at a time. For example, you might let the sculpting flow naturally to help you get out of a rut created by basing your career decision on external expectations, or societal definitions of "success." Once you start to get clarity about what feels right, you can use the focused approach to give it form and substance. That alternating process is likely to continue throughout your life.

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

--

by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

New Year's Resolution alternative: 52 New Week's Resolutions

'Tis the season for well-intentioned resolutions that ultimately go splat. This year, instead of making a flurry of New Year's Resolutions that never see the light of February, try something different. Resolve to make 52 New Week's Resolutions.

A new week's resolution is just what it sounds like. At the beginning of the week, you commit to something for the duration of the entire seven days. Maybe getting some kind of exercise each day, or reading a self-development book for half an hour each day, or eating your vegetables.

At the end of each week, you review how you did on staying true to your commitment. If you succeeded, celebrate. Acknowledge that success. Then make another resolution for the next week.

During the course of those 52 weeks, you might have the same resolution for several successive weeks. For example, if you are working on developing a new habit, it might be helpful to make that habit the focus of your resolutions for at least four weeks (since they say it takes 28 days to develop a new habit that sticks).

You can use resolutions to build on previous weeks' resolutions, or you might use them to give yourself a taste of something new. For example, you might commit to refraining from complaining for an entire week. It's a great small-scale way to explore something without having the daunting weight of forever-n-ever. You can see what it's all about, and decide what about it - if anything - you want to carry forward.

Why bother with new week's resolutions? Here are a few reasons.

You have more opportunities for success

When you make a New Year's Resolution, you have one chance for success, and 365 opportunities for your resolution to join the vast majority of resolutions on the failure pile. But with a New Week's Resolution approach, you have 52 chances for success.

Success builds on success. The more you succeed, the more confident you feel that you can continue to succeed.

Odds are good that you won't hit the mark all 52 times, but achieving your resolution most weeks will still have a cumulatively positive impact. Let's say you fail to keep your new week's resolution six times. You still have 46 weeks worth of success. Not too shabby!

You have frequent opportunities to refocus

When you're in it for the long haul, it's easy to veer off course. Setting a new resolution each week gives you the opportunity to check in and ask, "How's this going?" You only have a week's worth of veering off course before you check in and course correct if necessary, rather than potentially many months' worth.

You are more aligned with the reality of change

As I've said many times before here, real, substantive change doesn't typically happen with the flip of a switch. It happens gradually over time. We take a step, get a result, learn from that result and then put that learning to use as we continue forward. It's an iterative process.

Setting yourself new week's resolutions lines up with that idea. It lets you keep taking steps towards change, building on them as you go, rather than decreeing that a change has taken place and getting frustrated when you discover that, no, actually it hasn't.

Renewed commitment built into the system

Let's face it. Most of us have woefully short attention spans. Sure the resolution seems compelling on January 1st, but what about August 1st? By then it's likely to be ancient history. Making weekly resolutions keeps your focus fresh and current. And the best part is, you don't have to wait till next year to commit to positive change again. It's a continual part of your life.

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

--

by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

Say yes until it's REALLY time to say no

One of the things I've noticed over my years in my work is the amount of energy people invest in saying no. The form varies (No, I can't. No, that's not realistic. No, that's not likely. No, they'll never want to.), but at the heart of it all lies one central theme - a negative assessment of potential and possibility.

No as a default response

I'm not against saying no. Clearly, it has its place. But most people jump to it far too soon. Have you ever had a doctor test your reflexes by tapping your knee with a little rubber mallet, and your leg just jerks up of its own accord? For most people, saying no is a little like that. It's a default, reflex response.

I've seen that default no ultimately turn to yes far too many times to set much stock in its inherent validity. But when you accept it as the final answer, you cheat yourself of the potential and possibility that yes might bring with it. And odds are good you've done it without even realizing it. 

Let the possibility exist

Let's say there's something you really want to do, but your knee-jerk reaction is to shut down the idea. Make it something simple, like, "I want to take a glass-blowing class." Your default no might feel very reasonable. Something like, "I don't have enough time" or "it's too expensive."

But if you resist the urge to say no immediately, you can take stock of the things getting in your way. Let's say one of the big things is that it feels too expensive. One thing you might do in that case is sit down and make an assessment of where your money is going. You might realize that you can cut out some other expenses to make room for the class. Or you might figure out how much money you can regularly set aside and make a goal to start the class in a certain number of months.

Note that all I'm talking about here is not saying no. You don't have to say yes to taking action. You simply need to say yes to allowing the possibility to exist. When you allow a possibility to exist, you keep the door open to exploring ways to make it happen. When you say no prematurely, you slam that door shut.

Try making a habit of saying yes to allowing possibility to exist. Here are some steps to help you make it a habit.

Notice: Pay attention to when you default to saying no.

Step back from no: Just for the moment, step back from saying a decisive no.

Examine the reasons: Take a look at why you are saying no. Make a list.

Explore ways to make it yes: For each of those reasons you're saying no, explore ways you might make it yes. Depending on what it is you're looking at, that could be as simple as a quick brainstorm of ideas or as deeply involved as researching it, getting ideas from other people, etc. You might also take a close look at whether your reasons for saying no are really valid, or whether they are based on faulty assumptions.

Say yes or no to taking action: Finally, make a decision on whether or not to take action. At this point, you're prepared to make that choice based on a deep insight and understanding, rather than a knee-jerk reaction. 

You can use this approach for small things like the glass-blowing class I mentioned here, as well as big things, like a potential career path. You have nothing to lose by saying yes until it really is time to say no (or yes!). There is only upside.

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

--

by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

Aim for your dream: Out of reach doesn't mean impossible

There is nothing like a dream to create the future. Utopia today, flesh and blood tomorrow.

~ Victor Hugo

If you want to ensure that your life is dull, flat and uninspiring, just repeat this little mantra over and over: "My dreams are out of reach. My dreams are impossible."

A silly idea, you might think. Nobody would consciously try to deflate the potential of their dreams like that. And yet that is precisely what so many people do unconsciously. They look at their dreams and assess them as impossible, or unrealistic, or pie-in-the-sky. And they do it over and over again.

Imagine a world where everyone took that approach. Nothing new would happen. No ideas would ever be developed. Life would be flavorless and dull. We would all be stuck in an endless grey loop of what has always been. 

Here's the thing. Dreams are inherently out of reach. That's where they belong! If they weren't, we would simply call them the next logical step. And yet, the fact that they aren't readily accessible is often used as irrefutable proof that they're impossible.

That's flawed logic. There's a big difference between out of reach and impossible. Unfortunately, many people see them as the exact same thing.That's no surprise, really, since often the only difference between out of reach and impossible is what happens in the space between our ears. 

What is impossible today is impossible tomorrow. It doesn't change. But what is out of reach today might be a little closer to within reach tomorrow, and even closer next month. Think of a ship sailing toward the horizon. How much farther can it see once it reaches the original horizon? What is within reach is always expanding.

Dreams expand your potential. They give you something to grow into. They give you a sense of direction that matters. They also take time, and effort, and persistence.

The question to ask about your dreams isn't, "Can I easily achieve it?" It's, "Can I take a step in that direction?" And then, "Can I take another one?"

Achieving the big dream is almost less important than what happens when you commit to moving towards it. Committing to that direction and taking those steps opens doors, creates connections, and yields results you would never have imagined when you were sitting in the status quo. 

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Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

--

by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst