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?
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:
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.
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So, as you wrap up your week, ask yourself: What am I working for? Are you working for retirement or are you working with a purpose? Clayton Christensen, over at the Harvard Business Review, offers some great insight into work, meaning and our purpose in life. In his words:
For me, having a clear purpose in my life has been essential. But it was something I had to think long and hard about before I understood it. When I was a Rhodes scholar, I was in a very demanding academic program, trying to cram an extra year’s worth of work into my time at Oxford. I decided to spend an hour every night reading, thinking, and praying about why God put me on this earth. That was a very challenging commitment to keep, because every hour I spent doing that, I wasn’t studying applied econometrics. I was conflicted about whether I could really afford to take that time away from my studies, but I stuck with it—and ultimately figured out the purpose of my life.
Had I instead spent that hour each day learning the latest techniques for mastering the problems of auto correlation in regression analysis, I would have badly misspent my life. I apply the tools of econometrics a few times a year, but I apply my knowledge of the purpose of my life every day. It’s the single most useful thing I’ve ever learned.
Working with a purpose–no matter what that purpose is–whether it be to put dinner on the table, to provide opportunity for your family to doing what you love, matters. And we are never done. Call it an end-of-the-week rant, but what do you think–are we ever done working?
flickr credit: markbarky
PS: Christensen’s HBR article is quite possibly the best article I’ve read to date. It’s worth the read.
So I might have exaggerated a bit (though she has done voice overs for Radio Disney), but Holly took the usual ‘resume’ section on her blog, and instead of posting her actual resume, Holly provided a new range in entertainment. Literally. Check out Holly’s “Sing-A-Long Resume” below. Who wouldn’t hire someone with this innovative creativty (and bravery)?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w35SnjFoYco
You can get catch more of Holly on her blog and at BrazenCareerist. What other unique ways have you or your friends done to re-frame and refresh your resume?
Liked what you read? Feel free to share with others:
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Conversation: What ingredient turns you into the Energizer Bunny? On a more serious note, in the very beginning, when you were with Apple and all, what made you finally let go of the ledge, and follow that first big idea?
2. Rohit Bhargava: Not only does he work for a very well established company at Ogilvy PR, but he doesn’t let himself get comfortable. He seems to always be on the go, expanding his own personal horizons, and living his passions and interests. I feel that, from reading and following his blog, he is in the business because he truly loves it – a rare quality in a marketer.
Conversation: Let’s talk about 1) writing a book 2) publishing a book and 3) a book tour. This year Rohit published Personality Not Included, and in doing so, not only elevated his personal brand, but also expanded his following, further established his name, helped elevate his company, met some cool peeps, seemed to have buckets of fun, and made a mohawk chicken cool in the process. Not an easy task, especially the chicken.
3. Craig Lefebvre: Dr. Lefebrve’s blog has encouraged and inspired me professionally as he writes, researches, practices and pretty much breathes all items social marketing. I am continually learning from him and inspired by his leadership in a field that is working to grow itself and its professionalism.
Conversation: Dr. Lefebvre has a range of experiences in the states, and from what I gather, abroad. Plus, he’s a professor. I am a journalism major; thus, I love asking questions. And professors have loads of information, but they share that information with a learning curve in mind. Not to be flashy. Not to gain attention. But to share….hence open publishing. First item: Where do you envision the field 5, 10, 20 years from now?
4. Geoff Livingston: Geoff seems like an all-around great guy, go-getter, and someone who ‘gets it.’ Not only has he published a book, started a growing company, leads a great team (go Qui and friends), is a recognized leader in the field, is an off-line role model, but he also sincerely wants to do good. This is the apple in the eye of Socialbutterfly readers. Keep that eye on Livingston Communications and the Buzz Bin. They are going to re-define how we do business.
Conversation: Business is still business, but I’ve read on the Buzz Bin that you all have some tricks up your sleeves that you will be rolling out. And, that this could include a social entrepreneur-type set-up. Now, this is a conversation I am all ears (all two of them) about hearing.
5. Beth Kanter: If you are not familiar with Beth, I recommend getting familiar. She is the go-to-guru for all items non-profit tech. A fundraiser, writer, blogger, practioner, speaker and sector role model, Beth continually gives us her best. I follow Beth’s blog like it’s my job. She offers the tips, she begins conversations that need discussing, highlights those in the field, calls us to action and gets us involved.
Conversation: When do you sleep? Do you even sleep? Though she’s posted about her experiences and shares them, there is something to be said about hearing it first hand. This is why I want to hear specifically about Beth’s outreach and work in Cambodia. How, why, when? I’m an avid traveler, and the fiance and I really did consider the Peace Corps vs. real jobs last year, so would love to hear more how Beth has combined her love for social media, non-profits with work abroad.
6. Chris Brogan: If there is anyone’s writing style I love, it’s Chris Brogan’s. He lays it out. Step by step. And, he magically succeeds in being relational, personal, yet professional and educational all at the same time. Not only do I love Brogan’s resourceful blog, but also his helpful e-newsletters, which had a great free e-book about personal branding the other week.
Conversation: About personal branding…(smile), let’s explore that some more shall we? Now, I am probably one of very few, who have yet to see Brogan present, let alone have the honor of a face-to-face conversation. My question would be: how do you manage multiple personal brands? Or, let me re-phrase: multiple personal interests –> online. Another one: what are the biggest mistakes people make with their personal brand online?