Achievement

Have you documented your greatest and proudest achievements?  I value achievement because there is nothing like finding yourself fully immersed in your work and seeing results that are fabulous!

I felt engaged, empowered, passionate, strong and clear during the last six weeks.  I set out on a project and cause that was my own.  It was a great success in so many ways.  I want to recreate the following components more often in my life:

• It was a cause that was from my own personal story
• It was a project that came from my own personal vision. It was my own vision and it aligned with a greater cause
• It was about a group of people coming together and feeling like they are a part of something significant
• It was something that I had ownership over and the results are fabulous
• I did not really care about the results as much as I cared about being present in the moment of the work knowing I had given it my heart and soul
• I expected it to go well
• I really did not fear failure because it was an experiment and a learning experience

The moral of the story for me is that I long to find work that provides an income, is collaborative and has a cause that comes from my story.  In other words, it is real to me. 

Waving the Magic Wand Part II

My daughter loves Harry Potter, so I dedicate this entry to her.  Would it not be great to be able to say the magic words and "poof" out comes your ideal job?  A pretty unrealistic idea or picture I am sure, but what if you do not take the time to articulate what you want? I think you create greater risk for yourself by not taking the time to create the picture.  

I call this exercise the Waving the Magic Wand.  If I could wave the magic wand my ideal picture would have the following components:

1. My work that is about a cause that comes from my story and connected to my values. (Passion, Achievement, Empathy and Compassion)

2. I would be 1:1 for the majority of my day and meeting new people along the way.

3. I am creating my own content 

4. I have a strong sense of my own value and deliver that value regularly

5. I am able to measure my accomplishments and live in the tension of measurable and immeasurable accomplishments

6. Those I work with reach their goals and make progress toward their ideal future

7. Obviously I am getting paid for the work I do

8. I have great flexibility in my work and I am able to manage my own schedule

What about you? 

Passion

Too bad this word has been reduced and overused in life.  I for one think that this word is loaded with impact for me.  I get very frustrated, upset and sometimes even angry when I do not see passion in my life. Passion means enthusiasm, powerful attraction, energy, engagement, importance and life.  Here is where this gets very important for me.  It all is a function of my story.

Let me explain it this way, when we are younger we are formed by our parents, friends and teachers.  I figure much of our values are formed during our youth by these people.  I have had three very strong experiences with three influential people.  First, my 7th grade civics teacher who called me a loser in class. She lacked passion for her students and an understanding of the positive influence she could have had.  Second, my father who exudes passion for life.  This includes his vocation, his wife and his sons.  He does not know a stranger and moves into life without fear.  Thirdly, my math teacher in high school.  She raised the bar and loved what she taught.  She was only doing her job.

Passion is a value for me mostly because I want to see it in my own life for my wife, children and my work.  I for sure want those around me to have passion about their lives and work because I think huge impact can be made on those around us when it is absent and when it is present.  Let us not dilute the word any further.  Let us give it the proper standing and not over use it.

What about you?  What are the values that are instilled in you?  Stan Slap says it well "There's is an intimate connection between your emotions and your strong opinions about the way things ought to be.  It's impossible to separate your emotions from your values because one keeps influencing the other."