The other day, I had the privilege of having a passionate discussion with a new acquaintance, debating the nature of Mission, Vision and Success. I shared with my lunch partner my own philosophy about the nature of the soul and the ego. What comes next is somewhat spiritual, reflecting my own belief framework that helps me to understand what makes me and other people tick.

The soul is "Who I Really Am", my essence, my wisdom, my consciousness. The soul is timeless, because it lives in the present moment. The fundamental state of the soul is happiness, it is happy to simply be. In my mind I picture it as a smiling Buddha.

One's Mission in life is encoded in the soul. Each human being is born with the DNA of one's Mission already present, providing the soul its fundamental frequency. This is why the Mission is fundamentally constant, it just "is". The words used to describe one's Mission may evolve, because words are at best rough approximations of ideas, but the energy of the Mission remains constant.

Then there is the ego, which seeks to shape the world around me so that it mirrors the soul. It is like a projector, my soul being the light source and my ego the lens. If my ego is out of focus or misaligned, the image projected into the world about who I am becomes blurry or false.

One's Vision is a construct of the ego, and by extension, so are dreams, goals, objectives and projects, because they all seek to modify the external world to make it align with one's Mission. The ego does not necessarily seek results, it is fed by experiences. Results are simply means to create those experiences.

Passion and motivation comes from the ego. The better the alignment between my Mission and Vision, between my soul and my ego, the more of my essential energy gets projected out into the world and the brighter I shine. The task of self-improvement then becomes to clean up and align the lens, to adjust how I project my Mission onto the external world through my Vision.

I define success as: "To create an experience of life that expresses Who I Really Am". Success is not a destination, it is a feeling, an experience. I feel success when my ego faithfully projects the energy of my soul onto the external world, allowing me and everyone around me to experience my true essence.

I realize my interpretation of "ego" and "soul" differs from the classical psychoanalytical (Freudian) interpretation. I'm not sure where I picked up this insight, but the concept of "Who I Really Am" comes from the series of books "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsh. If this approach rings a bell with you (no pun intended) as to where it comes from, either in psychoanalysis or spirituality or philosophy, please let me know in the comments...

For more information

Site for Neale Donald Walsh: http://www.nealedonaldwalsch.com/

Site for Conversations with God (the site may be "under construction"): http://www.cwg.org

Conversations With God Book 1 (my favorite): http://www.amazon.com/Conversations-God-Uncommon-Dialogue-Book/dp/0399142789

Wikipedia entry for "ego" (Freudian interpretation): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego,_and_super-ego

And a somewhat-related article from Time.com (2005):
"The Science Of Ambition: Why Some People Are More Likely To Succeed"
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1126746,00.html

Image Credit: Image by Michael Porter on Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/libraryman/110679756/
Use under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

As I transitioned to my new career, that hope was somewhat dashed, but it wasn't so bad. There were some tests, but nothing that really pushed me to my limits as did the exams I endured in college. And what tests I did have to take became fewer as I progressed in my career.

Our society is set up to minimize discomfort, but I'm not sure that it is necessarily a good thing. Without opportunities to measure our abilities, there is little incentive to further explore our potential. I'm grateful for not having to relive the pressure of test-taking like I had in college, but on the other hand, I miss the opportunity to measure my abilities and push myself to a new level of performance.

I believe it is important to proactively put challenges in front of oneself in order to provoke growth and development, before life imposes a test that one might not be ready to take.

I was fortunate in the early days of my career to surround myself with people who wanted to improve themselves on many levels. As the number of tests imposed on me by others declined, my friends encouraged me to start choosing other occasions to expand my experience of life. I took up running, which led me to start testing myself in 10km and marathon runs. Then I graduated to biathlons and triathlons. I didn't win, but that was not the point. It was about besting my previous performances and discovering my other strengths.

Then during my masters degree, I discovered long distance cycle-touring, and I tested myself on a Seattle to San Francisco ride which helped me to redefine how I saw myself.  Moving to Western Canada, I discovered backcountry hiking and skiing, and two significant tests I fondly remember are hiking the West Coast Trail and traversing the Wapta Icefields. When I left the military, the tests I set for myself shifted to more spiritual and emotional pursuits, by taking the Context Associated series of courses and embarking on the path to becoming an assistant facilitator. Then there was my career change to become a coach, and the courses and experiences that I chose to undertake to develop myself on that new path.

And all during this time there were other lesser challenges that I gave myself that allowed me to explore my creativity, my analytical skills and my physical fitness.

What I notice is that each of these tests helped me to define who I am and what I'm capable of. The tests I chose for myself helped me to build my confidence and especially to help build my capacity to overcome the obstacles of everyday life.

As I reflect back on the tests I've set for myself over the years, I notice some elements that helped to make them a success for me. Therefore, here are some guidelines to help you choose a test that will help you to succeed:

1. Make it something that you choose to accomplish. Tests imposed by others are not as meaningful as ones that you choose of your own free will. It should be something meaningful to you, in alignment with your values, your passions, your strengths and your goals.

2. It is focused on a particular date and time. Nothing focuses the mind like a deadline.

3. It sets a high-water mark of your capabilities. Choose or establish a test that causes you to stretch yourself in an area of your life that you want to improve.

4. It inspires confidence in yourself. Completing this test makes you proud, building your confidence in all areas of your life.

5. Preparing for it helps you establish positive rituals in your life. Select a test that requires discipline and endurance as you prepare for it. The longer you need to prepare (between three to twelve months), the better the positive changes you can create for yourself.

6. It is something special. Your test should be something out of the ordinary, which creates positive memories and from which you can extract valuable life experiences. By selecting a positive event, you can share it with others and even inspire other people to complete it.

7. It is something that you win just by participating. Avoid a pass/fail or win/lose test.

8. It tests one or more of the dimensions of living. A test does not only have to be a physical or a mental feat. Consider how it expands your emotional and spiritual ways of being.

During the last couple of years, my annual test was to complete a half-marathon (21km) race at the end of each summer. In 2006 and 2007 my focus was the Demi-marathon des Deux-Rives here in Quebec City, and in 2008 I completed the Toronto Half-Marathon. Various other tests I have given myself were to participate in a silent retreat, compete in Toastmasters public speaking contests and taking on leadership roles in community organizations.

But in 2009 life took over and I did not plan or prepare for a half-marathon, which caused me to set aside my personal fitness habits. I believe that by not testing myself, I allowed my physical and mental health to decline, and given the challenges I had to face in the following months, it was a contributing factor to my burnout experience this past spring.

By choosing tests that challenge us to stretch our abilities, we become better equipped to face the peak demands of everyday life. Well-chosen challenges help to develop the reserves and strengthen our confidence and our courage to transform the status-quo around us.

I strongly suggest that you take time right now to choose a test of your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual fitness, something that you will complete in the next twelve months. Use this opportunity to measure your mettle. Then when life decides to impose her trials upon you, you will be up to the challenge and pass with honors.

For more information

Image credit: Image by sashamd on Flickr.
Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sashamd/132071876/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 license

In his book “Linchpin”, Seth Godin posits that people who are remarkable are those who are totally dedicated to their “art”, exhibiting a willingness to plunge forward despite the fear and the risks, and deliver results that change the world around them.

In one of his blog posts, he asks the further question: How much support does someone need before they create remarkable results?

His observation:

“(…)Most mentors and coaches and teachers will tell you that few of their students ever do, not in comparison with their potential. A few break through and change everything, and we celebrate them, but what about everyone else?
The artists are different. They took a leap.
They weren't pushed. They jumped.”

What is the difference between jumping and being pushed?

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this, and what comes to mind is the idea that maybe the difference between jumping and being pushed is about expectations. And specifically, expectations about “winning conditions” that guarantee success.

As I look at the opportunities before me, there is a part of me that wants to leap, but another part of me that is holding me back, waiting for the right conditions that can maximize a successful outcome:

- If only I had more money in the bank
- if only I had more time
- if only I had more help
- if only I had more support
- if only I had more accountability
- if only I had more recognition
- if only I had more energy
- if only I had more resources
- if only I had more knowledge
- if only I had more structure
- if only I had more encouragement…

...then I could feel better about making the leap.

Deep down I want assurance that everything will turn out okay before I take the risk. I also want insurance that will compensate me if the result doesn’t turn out as expected.

But this is a lie.“Winning conditions” will never show up by themselves. And if they do appear before I make my move, it’s too late.

This is the conundrum: If I wait for the winning conditions, they can’t happen, because winning conditions are only created once I make an irrevocable commitment. It is the energy of my commitment that creates the winning conditions.

And that’s why being pushed is not the same as jumping.

If I wait for someone to push me, the winning conditions can’t happen, because the commitment is not fully mine. So I need to fully commit to jumping now, in the absence of winning conditions, knitting my parachute as I plummet to the earth, hoping I can make it work before I become a stain on some farmer’s field.

This is the problem with the coaching, personal development and self-help industry. We want to provide winning conditions for the client to make the leap. But if we provide the client with the parachute, and push him out the door, the winning conditions can’t appear. The client has to make the decision to leap on his own. As I look back on the success stories with my clients, it is those who decided themselves to take that leap, who succeeded.

If success were guaranteed, there would be no reward, because success would be so ordinary. The reward of success comes by pushing through the fear and the odds to create remarkable results that express my full potential.

Pain, disappointment, stress and fatigue are guaranteed. I chuckle to myself as I think about this… if it’s guaranteed to hurt, why am I afraid of the pain? Wouldn’t it be better to focus on the reward and aim for that? To have the unshakable belief in success carry me through the pain…

In my own life, right now as I write these lines, there are several amazing opportunities that are opening up for me. These opportunities challenge me to take my game to a whole new level, but also trigger my lizard brain to shift into overdrive, causing me to hesitate when I should be going full throttle. Seth’s post reminds me that maybe I’m waiting to be pushed, instead of leaping of my own accord.

Thus the real question I must answer for myself: Am I waiting to be pushed, or will I jump towards my potential on my own?

For more information

Amazon.com link for Linchpin:
http://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-Are-Indispensable-Seth-Godin/dp/1591843162

A very good overview and interview on Mashable:
http://mashable.com/2010/02/14/seth-godin-linchpin/

Seth’s blog post that triggered this thought process:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/05/mentoring-platforms-and-taking-a-leap.html

Related posts on this blog:

• This is Think Big Week!
  http://blog.davender.com/2009/04/this-is-think-big-week/
• Yes You Deserve It: Five Tips To Strengthen Your Deservability Muscle
  http://blog.davender.com/2008/11/yes-you-deserve-it-five-tips-to-strengthen-your-deservability-muscle/
• A Thought About Making Decisions
  http://blog.davender.com/2008/04/a-thought-about-making-decisions/

Image credit: Josephine Dorado via Flickr. Direct link to image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/funksoup/66512710
Permission via Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/funksoup/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Work It. Make It. Do It. Makes Us
Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.
Work it harder, make it better,
Do it faster, makes us stronger
More than ever hour after
Our work is never over

But what if this belief is false? What if working harder, instead of making my results happen faster, just contributes to burn out?

Does turning the thermostat all the way up make the room heat up faster? So why would just "working harder" accelerate success?

My realization is that I should "work smarter": find the right level of effort that yields the best results. And take care of myself better so I can build a stronger personal foundation to support results that last longer.

For more information

Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cYWfq--Nw

Official video (non-embeddable): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgBgnoEY4iM

Daft Punk: http://www.daftpunk.com

Daft Punk on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daft_Punk

The engineer Buckminster Fuller is often cited for his use of trim tabs as a metaphor for leadership and personal empowerment. In the February 1972 issue of Playboy, Fuller said:

"Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Mary -- the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there's a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trim tab.

It's a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trim tab. Society thinks it's going right by you, that it's left you altogether. But if you're doing dynamic things mentally, the fact is that you can just put your foot out like that and the whole big ship of state is going to go.

So I said, call me Trim Tab."

Update:

The followup that comes to me, rereading this post, is that you don't need to convince everyone in order to provoke a major change. You only need to get some key influencers to adopt your idea, and everyone else will follow.

For more information

Wikipedia source for this post: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_tab#Trim_tab_as_a_metaphor

Wikipedia article on Buckminster Fuller: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller

Amazon link for the February 1972 issue of Playboy: http://www.amazon.com/Playboy-Magazine-February-1972-Buckminster/dp/B000FSJTFY

Buckminster Fuller Institute: http://www.bfi.org/

Then I received a morning thought from Heather Frey, a fitness trainer who I follow on Facebook:

You are unfinished. Yet everyday you race, scramble, and pressure yourself to be finished, which is both impossible and exhausting. Your life is a beautiful project, not a task. It is not to be completed and put away but rather relished, enjoyed and learned from. Your life is not one day after another, it's a span of time with rest in between where you get a chance to grow and build momentum. Your life is suppose to be joyous and your "project" is to figure out how. Stop trying to "finish".

Stay CLEAR...stay FOCUSED...and it will be yours...

Best,
Heather

The moment I read Heather's message, the buzzing stopped, and I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders.

I also then remembered what columnist Roger Cohen wrote in a recent New York Times essay called "Florentine Choices":

In the U.S. culture of achievement, efficiency and logic are prized. In the Italian culture of aesthetics, the artful scam has its place. America acts in the belief that life is linear and leads to the realization of goals. Italy idles in the belief that life is circular and objectives an illusory distraction from pleasure.

Are objectives really an illusion? Did I get so wrapped up in the linear pursuit of trying to "complete", that I started driving myself to exhaustion chasing the impossible?

For goals to have meaning, they need to be connected to what is most important to me: my personal mission, my vision of the change I wish to create in the world around me, and my beliefs about my talents, strengths and abilities (my "permission"). The point of having a goal is to orient my energy and provoke movement. Whether I reach the goal or not is, in the big scheme of things, "unimportant".

I define "success" as creating an experience of life that allows me to explore my full potential.  The moment a goal urges me to take a step, my perspective about the goal changes. Whether the step is forward, or back, or to the left, or to the right, I've accrued a bit more experience, a bit more knowledge. This new experience causes me to reevaluate the goal - how is the goal still relevant to the experience of life that I wish to create, a life that allows me to explore my full potential?

It could be now that I've shifted where I am, that the goal is no longer as relevant. Or that it's even more relevant. No matter, the objective is to be continuously reevaluating the goal, treating it as something dynamic rather than static.

If I am too focused on a static end-goal, my project ends when either I reach my goal, or the goal escapes my grasp. The end of a project is a little death. This is why goals need to be dynamic, always under reevaluation. Because the only purpose of a goal is to move me to action, so I can live an experience.

A linear life ends up being singularly focused on completion - and the ultimate completion is death. A circular life is focused on experience, and the experience of exploring my mission, vision and permission need not end... The circular life can go on forever, because it never needs to be complete.

For more information

Check out Heather Frey on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/SmashFit and Facebook Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/HeatherSmashFit Heather's web site is http://www.SmashFit.com

The essay that got me thinking about "linear" vs "circular" lifestyle: "Florentine Choices" by Roger Cohen, NYTimes.com, 11 Mar 2010
Direct link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/opinion/12iht-edcohen.html

Image credit: "Six Blue Circles" by qthomasbower on Flickr. Link to author: http://www.flickr.com/photos/qthomasbower/
Link to image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/qthomasbower/3835549101/
Used under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 licence

It is virtually impossible to break away from the news, it is on the television, the front page of the newspapers, on the radio, in the Twitter stream I follow. The images, the sounds, the stories...it is overwhelming.

But before the earthquake in Haiti struck, what occupied our collective attention? Was it the swindle or terror attempt du jour? The war, or scandal, or the crotch-bomber or whatever the crisis of the moment, imagined or real? I don't remember, there were so many. It is important to know what's happening, but what is the potential effect of that constant bombardment of bad news?

And most importantly, in what way does this bad news help me to live better, right here right now?  

It doesn't.

As a solopreneur, my emotional energy must be managed differently than other people.  I need to protect it in order to invest it as fully as possible in my projects. It's like they say in the airline safety briefings: first put the oxygen mask on yourself, then help your neighbor if required. I need to ensure that my emotional energy level is healthy, then I can give some to others.

Mixed in all this media attention is a not-so-subtle pressure to donate money and possibly time to relief organizations. If you have energy or resources to spare, please do so. On the other hand, if your business is taking all your energy, such that you have little to give to the relief efforts, that's okay. Don't feel guilty. You are still contributing to making the world a better place.

You can also find ways to integrate your business with giving, creating a win-win situation. But again, if you don't want to, or you're not in a position to do so, don't let others make you feel guilty.

We have a responsibility to ourselves first, to make sure we have that emotional oxygen mask on, that we're breathing correctly, that we're emotionally healthy. Our clients, our families, our community - they are counting on us to stay focused and strong. By helping to make my corner of the world a little better, it enables others to do the same...and I believe that the ripples will reach out and help everyone in need, whether here or in Haiti.

For a couple of years now I have been programming my own media mix, using podcasts, GoogleReader, iTunes, Twitter, Facebook and some online video and news sources. I'm still hyperaware of what's happening, but I feel I have more control to block out ads and negative news. I choose my media sources and my social media friends carefully, to keep me plugged-in to positive, inspiring information, which fills up my emotional energy tank to be there to help my clients and to invest in their success.

Resist giving into despair and guilt. Look for the positive, be inspired by the good. Look for the light.

I'm not saying to ignore the bad in the world. To see the light one must also recognize the shadow.

Just beware not to become obsessed with it.

For more information

Photo credit: Janex & Alba at http://www.flickr.com/photos/janex/. Permission: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

• Successful People Focus on the Process, not on the Result
  Chuck Blakeman - TeamNimbusWest Blog
  http://blog.teamnimbuswest.com/2010/01/successful-people-focus-on-the-process-not-on-the-result/

Are we too focused on the result, thinking that “arriving” will make us happy? Why do athletes, music heroes, and business people who are already at the top of their field and financially secure keep going? Why don’t they retire as soon as they get there?

• Success and Motivation: What will you remember when you are 90?
  Mark Cuban - BlogMaverick
  http://blogmaverick.com/2009/12/04/success-motivation-what-will-you-remember-when-you-are-90/

Mark Cuban may be a multi-millionaire, but he does ask a good question that puts wealth (and the pursuit of wealth) in a proper perspective

• What Makes An Entrepreneur? Perspiration (6/11)
  Mark Suster - Both Sides Of The Table
  http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/12/21/what-makes-an-entrepreneur-perspiration-611/

A great series of posts by an entrepreneur-turned-venture capitalist about what it takes to succeed today. I like the point that he makes in this post the best: "If you want a safe job or a balanced life don’t be an entrepreneur."

• 6 Things They Mean When They Say They Have No Money
  Naomi Dunford - IttyBiz
  http://ittybiz.com/customers-cant-afford-it/

The brutal truth about what "I don't have the money" really means (and what to do about it)...

For more information

Check out these and other posts that I share from a list of over 220 blogs on my Google Reader sharing page:

https://www.google.com/reader/shared/davenderg

Do you have a blog you suggest I should follow? (Maybe even your own blog?) Post it in the comments below!

• Thot: In whatever you do, start the way you want to finish.
• Thot: I judge the competence of someone not on the answers they give but on the quality of the questions they ask.
• Thot: Urgent vs important? Important tasks move me towards my priorities, urgent is responding to other's priorities. Choose wisely.
• Thot: Real, sustainable profit only comes from making a positive difference in people's lives.
• Thot: Don't be scared by structures, systems and discipline: the crucible from which you can create great things.
• Thot: In committees, talking about politics makes you feel important. Focusing on getting things done makes you important.
• Goodnight thot inspired by Tim Sanders' blog: Are you committed enough to your Big Dream to "break some ribs"? http://is.gd/f6OS
• Thot: If you don't have a dream, you can't spot opportunity.
• Thot: The best way to create positive cashflow is to first create positive change.
• Thot: Success is not about achieving a goal, that thrill quickly fades. Success is what you learn and how you grow by reaching for the goal, and beyond.
• Blog post: Greatness is never a given - it must be earned http://bit.ly/6y3lP4
• Thot: Luck means settling for what fate decides to give me. I don't want to settle!
• Thot: We budget our money as if it was finite and spend time as if was infinite-should it be the other way around?
• Thot: Money is the measure of your client's commitment to the impact you promise them through your offer.

The 2010 season starts off particularly strong with two great sessions:

• Publishing Strategist and Author, Janet Goldstein

DATE: Thursday, January 7 at 1 pm Eastern Time

If you are an aspiring author or communicator who wants to write a book and successfully build a following for your idea, join this conversation with publishing strategist and author Janet Goldstein. You will discover six easy and effective steps you can take right away to powerfully proclaim your message.

Specifically, on this call you will learn:

• Three specific action steps you can use to immediately strengthen your idea.
• Three effective ways to build your following (platform) and establish key relationships with strategic partners.

MORE INFO AND REGSTRATION: http://bit.ly/gopubliccall

• Dan Pink, author of the new book "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us"

DATE: Tuesday, January 12 at 1 pm Eastern Time

Dan's book "Free Agent Nation" was the catalyst that supported me in taking the decision to go solo. His latest book explores how can keep the passion alive. In this season of resolutions, it is essential to upgrade our understanding of how to motivate ourselves (and others) and discover proven ways to awaken our true motivation and align our actions with our deepest values and desires.

MORE INFO AND REGISTRATION:  http://bit.ly/danpinkcall

Go to the links, save your seat and attend these FREE information-rich calls!

For more information

http://www.authorteleseminars.com (click on the direct links above to go to the specific event pages)

Janet Goldstein:  http://goldsteinjanet.web.officelive.com

Dan Pink:  http://www.danpink.com

I love Peter Senge's definition of Leadership from his famous book "The Fifth Discipline": leadership is the ability to get things done.  Getting things done means turning ideas into results.

For the past ten years I have been working on this vision of mine. When things work well, it is because I focus on making things happen. When things don't work so well, it's because I get too wrapped up in dreams, hopes and wishes...

Yes, positive thinking is important. The Law of Attraction (Ask-Believe-Receive) sounds nice, neat and tidy. But all the Big Dreams in the world amount to nothing until someone is willing to roll up their sleeves and get sweaty all over.

Here is what Execution means to me, right now.

• Execution means clarity - keeping the main thing the main thing
• Execution means discipline - taking purposeful action regardless of how I feel (about it or about me)
• Execution means accountability - measuring and reporting my tangible and intangible results so I tell myself the truth about my current situation
• Execution means systems - having processes and structure to free my mind from sweating the small stuff, so I can focus on what's important
• Execution means efficiency - doing things right to maximize the return on my investment of time, money and effort
• Execution means effectiveness - doing the right things that move me forward towards my goal
• Execution means progress - making sure I move forward each day
• Execution means commitment - doing what I say is most important to me
• Execution means collaboration - assembling and building a team that actively supports the vision and the mission
• Execution means communication - communicating my intentions constantly and clearly so that everyone who is involved and impacted by what I do knows what is happening and where I'm going
• Execution means purposeful courage - expanding my comfort zone by keeping one foot in and one foot just beyond, giving me a fulcrum from which to propel myself forward into the unknown
• Execution means planning - thinking things through before I act, to optimize my efforts and my results
• Execution means standards - establishing performance levels that I require of my self in all my actions
• Execution means results-focused leadership - ensuring that I stay out of the "strategy trap" where all I do is conjecture and plan, and that I move into action mode
• Execution means celebration - recognizing and celebrating progress so that I can enhance it
• Execution means acceleration - from first learning to crawl then to walk then to run, what is in common is that it's all about putting one foot in front of the other
• Execution means boundaries - being clear about what I tolerate from others, and being grounded enough to say no (or no more) when it does not serve my purpose
• Execution means imagination - keeping the big vision alive in my mind's eye
• Execution means relentless focus - being obsessive about creating results in alignment with what I say is most important to me
• Execution means responsibility - adopting the attitude that "the buck stops here": if it is not working, first look at myself to see what I can change within me, if it is working, then recognizing the contributions of others that make it possible
• Execution means excellence - making a positive difference in the world that fully expresses Who I Really Am.

Dreamers open up the possibility of change, but it's the doers that make revolutions happen. In 2010 I will be the revolution-maker.

What value matters most to you as you move into 2010?

For more information

Read my original post here: http://blog.davender.com/2009/12/what-matters-most-whats-your-one-word-theme-for-2010

Get Seth Godin's thought-provoking e-book here: http://www.squidoo.com/Whatmattersnowfreeebook

My favorite thinker Seth Godin asked this question to over seventy big thinkers and produced an inspiring (free!) e-book "What Matters Now". Each person chose a one-word theme for what's important to them in 2010 and wrote a little riff on the topic.

My faves are Hugh Macleod's riff on "Meaning" (read the fine print!), Jackie Huba on "1%" (see one of the banner images on my blog!), and "Gumption" by J.C. Hutchins (made me smile!).

As complete as this little book seems to be, there are so many more themes that you can claim and express in 2010. I have a couple of ideas I want to explore... Stay tuned for my own choice - I will post it here this week as my "New Year's Resolution Project".

Pass the word about this inspiring e-book. Post it on your blog, on your Facebook page, Tweet about it.

What is your One-Word Theme for 2010?  Please share it!

For more information:

Link to post on Seth Godin's blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/12/what-matters-now-get-the-free-ebook.html (actually this post includes TWO free e-book downloads)

Link to Squidoo lens: http://www.squidoo.com/Whatmattersnowfreeebook (includes a reading list of amazing books...)

Direct link to download e-book (pdf): http://sethgodin.typepad.com/files/what-matters-now-1.pdf