The conversation I was looking for ...

Yesterday, I enjoyed the conversation of a lifetime.  For some reason, I connected with a potential mentor and business partner.  The stars were aligned and for the first time in over 6 months I have a very clear sense of clarity and the next steps to take.  There is not much more to say in this post other than I have a new path and am looking forward to taking the next steps.

Remaining Clear

I have shared many times that it is challenging to keep the sense of what you want as a clear picture in your mind.  It is very easy for me to get bogged down in the details and forget why I started this process and where I want to end up.  I would like to share a few tips or my plan for remaining clear through this process:

1) Go back to the visualization exercise I did at the beginning of the process.  I remember that I saw myself 1:1 and that my heart was engaged in my work.
2) Practice sharing what I want to do with others several times a week.
3) Take a risk and put it out there. Again, take the risk and go practice what I am visualizing.  In other words, I have been seeking 1:1 conversations and I am loving it.

My plan is to remain clear even on the cloudiest of days like today.

Thoughts on Detachment

I have been thinking through this idea of detachment a great deal. As I have gone through the exploration process, I realized that these meetings were very productive because I was like a journalist or a third party observer looking for an exciting story to report back on. This process provided clarity or as Seth Godin discussess, I found truth.


As I moved into part 2 of this process, I realized that I lost sight of the truth in that I was no longer a third party investigator, but someone looking to receive. I became attached to an opportunity or a job. This pulled me down into the weeds. There have been various moments of lost perspective.

I love what Seth Godin shares, Page 175 of Linchpin referring to Prajna " A life without attachment and stress can give you the freedom to see things as they are and call them as you see them" He goes so far to share that trying to change what we cannot change is really not our job.


2 Signs of Attachment
* If we are trying to control what others think of us. We expend tons of energy here.
* If bad news changes your emotional state, then you are attached. Godin suggests saying "Isn't that interesting." Move on

Time for travel...

I am looking forward to my trip to Atlanta here in the coming weeks.  I plan to attend the Hogan certification program.  I have been so drawn to this tool and their style.  For one, they seem like the smart ones, who get that personality has great impact on job performance and leadership.  I love their tool as it is comprehensive.  Second, the folks that use it are at the top of their game.  That is where I want to be one day.

Another reason I am excited is that I need a change in scenery.  I think it is time for a new focus and time to move toward the next season in my life.  I really see this next adventure as a hybrid of my first nine years of work and my next five.  The ethereal and the tangible living in a dynamically tense reality, with a cause to help people each and every day!

More thoughts from "DRIVE" : Mastery

This idea of control and engagement is fascinating.  I can look back over my work career and recall times when I felt controlled vs. engaged.  Even those wonderful days at McDonalds as a college student where I was fraught with McCompliance.

I like the phrase that "autonomy leads to engagement." Is it really true that 50% of employees are not engaged at work.  Basically, if you are engaged then the person next to you is not.  Or said another way, 20% of people are actively disengaged.  Monetarily we are looking at $300 billion in lost productivity.  Page 111 of Drive.

My favorite quote in the book was "Figure out for yourself what you want to be really good at, know that you'll never really satisfy yourself that you've made it, and accept that that's okay." p.121 Robert B. Leich Former U.S Secretary of State

Mastery hurts...It takes 10 years of intense practice to become great. Painful, excruciating effort...