It’s time to take off your floaties and do more than follow your passion. If you’re trying to figure out what career to pursue or how to make the biggest difference in this world, you’re going to be searching for a long time.
The secret is that no one area of concentration is magical, all-knowing or more important than the other. The architect can design the house, but without the brick layer–it’ll never get built. Making our world better takes a multi-disciplinary network of individuals, communities, organizations and talents. Your passion only gets us so far. So stop searching and start doing.
Before You Eat Your Breakfast
Go. Don’t put if off any longer or wait until “you have it all figured out” to cultivate your talents, expand your knowledge, build connections and move plans forward. Albert Einstein once said “success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.” In other words, ideas inspire but execution leads to impact. How are you going from dreamer to doer?
Make the Leap
Traditional models for change are not keeping pace with today’s challenges. The remedy? “Be fearless,” says the Case Foundation. To help you move from dreamer to doer to achiever, they suggest adopting a five step mantra:
- Make big bets and make history.
- Experiment early and often.
- Make failure matter.
- Reach beyond your bubble.
- Let urgency conquer fear.
Is there room for more bravery in your mission? Let it marinate. When you’re ready, consider making the “Be Fearless” pledge.
Once you know fearlessness, it’s easier to recognize. You may even decide to nominate a Fearless Changemaker who has touched your life in the Case Foundation’s Finding Fearless competition which offers $650k in prizes and awards. In a guest post written for Marketing for Change, I share Laura Vandekam’s research on what successful people do before breakfast. Some additional motivation may also be found in the Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki, Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun, Rework by the founders of 37 Signals and Echoing Green’s Work on Purpose resources.