“Remember, our enemy is not lack of preparation; it’s not the difficulty of the project or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account. The enemy is Resistance. The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications, and a million reasons why we can’t/shouldn’t/won’t do what we know we need to do.”
– Steven Pressfield, “Do The Work”

As I write this post, I’m feeling the effects of massive Resistance. On one hand it’s a constant knot in my stomach, a faint headache, and a continuous pull to want to go to sleep.

The rational part of me knows I must tune out this Voice of Doubt and focus on getting this done.

The fear is irrational. I’m not face-to-face with a sabre-toothed tiger. I’m not walking a tightrope between two buildings or jumping a canyon on a rocket bike.

All I have to do is deliver an outline for my book, as part of my homework for the Book Breakthrough Mentor experience I’m doing with Janet Goldstein and Elizabeth Marshall.

The problem is that I’ve been wanting to produce this book for too many years. The idea of someday being a published author has been with me for so long that it has become a part of how I see and define myself. Not the “published author” part, but the “idea of someday being” part.

I’ve decided to draw this line in the sand, to move from the “someday I will be” to the “I am“.

However to do so means negating an important part of my self-image, jettisoning a part of me that has been with me for so long. And to replace it with something potential…possible…but as yet unknown.

Making this transition is probably the most frightening experience of my life.

The time for excuses is over. I must ship.

“What you do for a living is not be creative, what you do is ship.”
– Seth Godin

For more information

“Do The Work” by Steven Pressfield
http://www.amazon.com/Do-the-Work-ebook/dp/B004PGO25O

Video: Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain from 99% on Vimeo.

Article: “Fear”
http://blog.davender.com/2011/06/fear-trust30/

Image credit: alexperuso via Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aper3caper/2207870243/
Used under Creative Commons licence

With all of the bad news that pervades our collective conversation lately, one might wonder if the end of the world really is near. We are running out of money, of oil, of water, of food, of jobs, of health, of hope…

I was listening to the podcast of “Real Time With Bill Maher“, where one of his guests was the renowned astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Dr. Tyson asked the question: “Have we lost the ability to dream?”. Back in the 1950s and 1960s. general-interest magazines were full of articles about “the city of tomorrow” and “the home of tomorrow”. Where is this kind of future projection today? Now we project “peak oil” and “water wars”. It’s like pessimism is the new black, and optimism is out of style, old-fashioned, naive and silly.

Why has optimism taken a back seat? Why do we let the pessimists have all the fun?

The succession of crises and dramas and bad news that surrounds us, even if we don’t live it immediately in our lives, creates a sense of helplessness. The problems we hear about are so much bigger than us, and they dominate every moment of our collective consciousness.

The renowned psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman, in his book “Learned Optimism” describes the distinction between optimism and pessimism as how we interpret and react to setbacks:

Optimism – reacting to setbacks from a presumption of personal power:

- Bad events are temporary setbacks
- Isolated to particular circumstances
- Can be overcome by my effort and abilities

Pessimism – reacting to setbacks from a presumption of personal helplessness:

- Bad events will last a long time
- Will undermine everything I do
- Are my fault

Dr Seligman proposes that optimism is a skill that can be learned, and which must be exercised to grow stronger. In the end, overcoming adversity is not about luck or prayer or someone else coming to the rescue. It is about assuming our personal power, seeing the temporary nature of the adversity and choosing to invest the effort to overcome the situation. Optimism is a question of will.

The challenge is that our collective conversation has turned towards the elements of pessimism: that the failures of the past will continue into the future, and that there is nothing we can do to change this bad situation, so it is better to do nothing.

Which is why I believe that the key to recovery is to re-learn how to be an optimist, to make it fashionable again. Not pie-in-the-sky, wishful optimism, but what I call “practical optimism”, an optimism grounded in two fundamental principles: faith and fact.

The first foundation of practical optimism is faith in a mission – a clarity about who we are, our values and our principles, a reason for being – and a faith in a vision, seeing adversity not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity to define and prove our worth.

The second foundation of practical optimism is fact: that a solution to the problem set before us can be engineered from science and art. Humanity has overcome major challenges in the past, and will continue to do so in the future. Individuals every day triumph over adversity, it’s just we don’t hear enough about it.

The practical optimist recognizes the challenge, but doesn’t let it become larger than her. The question she asks is not “is there a solution?”, but rather “what is the solution?”. The practical optimist assumes success by becoming bigger than the obstacle.

The dual faith-fact foundation of optimism also makes it fragile. The biggest danger for the practical optimism is not pessimism, but cynicism. The construction of a house takes time, but blowing it up is a spectacular show. In the age of the sound bite, being able to point out a flaw or a hole in a plan is easy, which is why cynics rule the conversation if left unchecked. The practical optimist needs to protect his faith zealously.

The past is past, available for all to study and interpret. The present is the present. Tracing a line from these two points toward the future is simple, and it will usually point to more of the same.

However this reasoning is deeply flawed. If the future could be predicted by a straight line from the past, we would still be living in caves and wearing animal skins.

The natural state of human activity is not excellence, it’s mediocrity. Striving for excellence means exerting effort to break this tendancy towards mediocrity and bend the projection curve upward. To move the projection, we need to push with all our might, give it all we have. Half-measures are not sufficient, because eventually the inertia of the status-quo takes over and nothing changes.

It is the duty of the practical optimist to disrupt the projection towards mediocrity by proposing a vision and taking massive action that disrupts the status quo. The practical optimist’s foundation in faith and fact becomes a leverage point to move the projection, transforming a problem into an opportunity, and an opportunity into a new reality.

The future doesn’t have to be a projection of the past. The past is history. The present is just a temporary condition. It is up to you to imagine the future you really want, and to make it happen. No one else will do it for you.

Any “problem”, whether in our society or in our personal life, does not have to be terminal. You have overcomed adverse situations before, and you will do so in the future.

As Matt Ridley , author of “The Rational Optimist” says:
Am I saying that we should cease worrying about trends that might cause problems? Of course not. I am arguing that we should worry about real problems, including Africa’s plight, but that we should do so in the knowledge that we have solved many such problems before and can do so again. I am certainly not saying, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Rather, I’m saying, “Don’t despair, be ambitious”—though I admit it’s not nearly as snappy a song lyric.

For more information

Inspiration for this line of thought:

Real Time With Bill Maher (podcast): Episode #223 (broadcast 5 Aug 2011)
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/real-time-with-bill-maher/id98746009

Martin Seligman: Learned Optimism (book)
http://www.amazon.com/Learned-Optimism-Change-Your-ebook/dp/B005DB6S7K

Dr. Seligman’s site:
http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

Learned Optimism (Wikipedia): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_optimism

Matt Ridley: The Rational Optimist (blog and book)
http://www.rationaloptimist.com/

Sarah Robinson: Escaping Mediocrity (blog)
http://escaping-mediocrity.com

Drew Westin: What Happened To Obama’s Passion? (NYTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/opinion/sunday/what-happened-to-obamas-passion.html

Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sometimes I look back to decisions I’ve made in the past and wonder if I could have done better. If I knew then what I know now, how would things have turned out?

The danger of this game is that you can’t get a do-over on your choices in life. So the only outcome of this thought exercise is regret, and that does not get you anywhere fast.

However, I realize that the decisions I am most proud of, are not necessarily the decisions that made me richer or more successful, but rather those decisions which where crystal-clear to me at that time.

Those decisions felt “right” to me because they resonated with a wisdom at the core of me. When I made those “right” decisions, the clarity first came from the heart, then quickly confirmed with the information I had at that moment. The key characteristic of those decisions was how it felt… there was an optimistic inevitability to them. There was no fear, no doubt.

Did these “right” choices always work out the way I hoped? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But I feel no regret from those “right” decisions, and I feel just as “right” about them now as I did then, no matter the eventual outcome.

Other times when I tried to make the “best” choice, analyzing the pros and cons, decisions which were made with the head first…those decisions did not turn out so well. There was always an element of doubt, because of new information coming in, sometimes confirming my decision, other times contradicting it. These decisions felt mushy and uncertain. There was fear, doubt and regret around these choices, especially when they didn’t work out as I hoped.

Which tells me that if I want to live a life without regret, should I follow my head, or my heart?

If I give the authority to my head, I can never make a clear choice. It may be that in the future I learn something about the situation, or about myself, that if I knew now would lead me to make a different decision. Or maybe that piece of information would hold me back from trying something new, from taking a leap, from expanding my zone of possibility.

When man first attempted to fly, it was a process of trial and error, each step made on the information they had at the time. Given the track record of those early attempts, if they looked at what they were doing rationally, they would never have gotten off the ground.

To create the future you really want, you must challenge the status-quo, the way things are right now. Every decision requires taking a leap of faith. And only the heart is able to make that leap with confidence.

Let go of trying to make the “best” decision, and focus on making “right” ones. A “right” decision resonates with your mission, vision and values, using the information you have at hand. Then charge ahead with clarity, commitment, confidence and courage towards making your dream become real.

For more information

This post is part of a series inspired by The Domino Project’s #Trust30 Writing Challenge. Each day during the month of June 2011, we receive a thought from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance”, to use as a writing prompt. For more information about the #Trust30 Writing Challenge, see today’s prompt:
http://ralphwaldoemerson.me/tia-singh

Related posts on this blog:

Today Is Not Yesterday Nor Tomorrow
http://blog.davender.com/2008/10/today-is-not-yesterday-nor-tomorrow/

The Stuff Of Leadership
http://blog.davender.com/2005/12/the-stuff-of-leadership/

Image credit: Fergal Claddaugh on Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/feargal/5568944462/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

Men imagine that they communicate their virtue or vice only by overt actions, and do not see that virtue or vice emit a breath every moment. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I was making the transition from military life to the civilian world in the mid 90s, and again as I was transitioning from engineering to coaching at the end of that decade, I participated in a personal development program called “The Pursuit Of Excellence“.

Among the several truths I discovered through this program is this: ”How you do one thing is how you do everything“.

There is no dividing line between our public persona and our private life. If you preach one position in public and secretly do the opposite, you will get caught. Arnie, Anthony, Eliot, Mark… The examples are too numerous to be named.

I’ve been getting feedback from the #trust30 series and other blog entries, about how I am sharing my inner thoughts, wishes, fears and dreams with you. The question that I get asked is “do I worry that it will have a negative impact on my reputation?”  I believe it’s quite the contrary. If I’m preaching the gospel of Clarity, Commitment, Confidence and Courage, but secretly I’m hiding behind my fears, then I’m not walking the talk, and people will sense it.

It is too easy for those of us in the coaching and leadership industry to fall into “The Guru Trap“, where we start to believe our own hype and take shortcuts to shore up the image we want to project. It can be a route to quick financial success, but this instant success can be quite hollow. Keeping up a false front takes a lot of energy, while living authentically in our professional and personal life is much simpler and more fulfilling.

Be honest, be transparent, be open, and above all, walk your talk. Business is first and foremost trust. This means developing the courage to be real, in order to create a connection of trust between people.

For more information

This post is part of a series inspired by The Domino Project’s #Trust30 Writing Challenge. Each day during the month of June 2011, we receive a thought from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance”, to use as a writing prompt. For more information about the #Trust30 Writing Challenge, see today’s prompt:
http://ralphwaldoemerson.me/david-spinks

Context Associated: http://www.contextinternational.com
I will always be grateful to Kimberlee Faith Wolfe for encouraging me to get involved in this experience, as well as my first facilitator, Bobby Ng of Edmonton,  who gifted me with a set of life principles which continue to guide me today, as well as the many other leaders and colleagues with whom I shared a transformative experience during the Wall, the Advancement, and the Mastery programs.  Context programs continue in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and elsewhere. If you want to know more, I can put you in touch with the right contacts.

Related article:

Beware The Guru Trap
http://blog.davender.com/2010/01/beware-the-guru-trap/

How Big Is Your Whuffie?
http://blog.davender.com/2010/01/how-big-is-your-whuffie/

Related Book

“The Likeability Factor” by Tim Sanders
http://timsanders.com/books/likeability-factor.html

Image credit: “mikeyexists” on Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63101308@N00/360108233/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

In today’s Wikipediaed world of instant information, we are conditioned to have all the answers we need at our fingertips. Because, if it’s on the Web, it must be true!

But it makes me wonder why the answer which comes from others is more credible than the answer which comes from within.

To trust your own truth is scary. What if you’re wrong?

Well, what if you’re right?

What if your education, your knowledge, your experience, your failures, your successes, your heritage, your upbringing, your philosophy, your mission, your beliefs, your values, your instinct, your intuition, and your vision all combine to give you a unique perspective on the situation? To see what others don’t see?

You emerge as a leader when your truth allows you to see beyond conventional wisdom, out towards the blue oceans of unexplored possibilities.

Truth is not carved in stone. It is invented each moment as humanity moves forward, assimilating new knowledge and new experiences. No one has a monopoly on the truth.

There comes a point where you must stop looking to be validated by someone else’s truth, and start listening to your own.  You know what is true and what you need to do.

For more information

This post is part of a series inspired by The Domino Project’s #Trust30 Writing Challenge. Each day during the month of June 2011, we receive a thought from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance”, to use as a writing prompt. For more information about the #Trust30 Writing Challenge, see today’s prompt:
http://ralphwaldoemerson.me/jen-louden

Related posts

To Get The Desired Result, Ask The Right Question
http://blog.davender.com/2007/12/to-get-the-desired-result-ask-the-right-question/

A Thought About Intention
http://blog.davender.com/2008/05/a-thought-about-intention/

On The Right Questions
http://blog.davender.com/2007/03/on-the-right-questions/

Image Credit: Jeremy Brooks via Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremybrooks/2551580036/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

As of this writing, we are on the downhill slope of another Canadian Federal Election campaign. Being somewhat of a political junkie (whatever the flavor: Canada, Quebec or US), I can’t help thinking that all of the MAWMs (Middle-Aged White Men) at the debate podiums are doing whatever they can to avoid taking a stand on what really matters.

Instead of “bickering” about parliamentary procedure and who’s at fault, there are many real problems Canada needs to face. What is most important to me is our role in this disruptively changing world. Canada is involved in another war (and actually commanding it). Issues of environment, energy security, health, even downright practical issues such as disaster preparedness (think of what would happen if Vancouver fell into the ocean like what happened in Japan…).

This whole exercise just adds to the fire which fuels my Manifesto, declaring my belief that the solutions to the huge problems facing humanity and the planet will come not from politicos or old-guard CEOs, because they have too much invested in the status-quo. The real solutions are coming from solo, nano and small entrepreneurs like you and I who have our feet firmly on the ground as we aim for the stars. We have the perspective to see the solutions and the initiative to take action right now to make our little corner of the world a better place.

To me, any of the parties could manage more-or-less competently to keep things running on an even keel. However, the managerial mindset assumes things are going to stay the way they are, and mistake tinkering at the edges for productivity. And this assumption is dangerously false.

What we need in this period of disruptive change is real leadership. Real leadership is about setting forth a bold vision which energizes and inspires us to transform the status quo so we can experience our full potential as a people, a country and a nation. I do not see this vision, energy or inspiration in any of the choices before me.

My little Toastmasters feedback to Messieurs Harper, Ignatieff, Layton and Duceppe: Stop playing for the soundbite and start proposing a real vision for where the country should go. Please?

For more information

Image: Itzafineday via Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/itzafineday/2819991532/in/photostream/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

My Manifesto: http://about.me/coachdavender

Each week during the election I am interviewed by Postmedia about my thoughts on the election. You can see my comments and those of other undecideds here:
http://www.canada.com/news/decision-canada/video.html

I think the CBC Election website gives a good overview of the party platforms (such as they are):
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/

Even though I am pessimistic that this election will change anything, please go out and vote on May 2:
http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=vote&document=index&lang=e

Related articles on this blog:

Provoking the Lizard Brain is not leadership. So what is?
http://blog.davender.com/2011/01/provoking-the-lizard-brain-is-not-leadership-so-what-is/

Your Manifesto: Transforming Your Livelihood Into Your Calling (Video)
http://blog.davender.com/2009/11/your-manifesto-how-to-transform-your-livelihood-into-your-calling/

The World Needs More Real Leaders
http://blog.davender.com/2008/02/the-world-needs-more-real-leaders/

I signed up a while ago to get Seth Godin’s latest manifesto, “Poke The Box“,  then forgot about it.  Last night I couldn’t sleep, so I opened my Kindle, found it there and started to read.

Big mistake.

Not because it’s bad. Actually, it’s good. So good that my mind started racing about all the projects I want to start, but haven’t yet. So good that I was tossing and turning about my Big Hairy Audacious Project and wondering if I’m being audacious enough.

And that’s the point of this manifesto.

“Poke The Box” refers to those “busy box” toys for toddlers, which have dials and cranks and buttons and make noise and flash lights. Do something and there is a response. The child’s face lights up and wants more, so she pokes it more, discovering the joy of initiating stuff.

But somewhere in the system, we bleach initiative out of children, so when they become adults, the natural action is to conform, to wait for permission.

The message Seth Godin started in “Linchpin” continues with his latest missive:  Get Going, Do Something and Ship It. Initiative creates momentum, and momentum generates power.

The directness of the message in Poke The Box makes me uncomfortable. Because I really don’t have any more excuses holding me back.

Making you uncomfortable is the point of this slim book. I’m sure that when you read it, you won’t be able to sleep either.

Here are some of the passages I highlighted:

• The first imperative is to be aware—aware of the market, of opportunities, of who you are. The second imperative is to be educated, so you can understand what’s around you. The third imperative is to be connected, so you can be trusted as you engage. The fourth imperative is to be consistent, so the system knows what to expect. The fifth imperative is to build an asset, so you have something to sell. The sixth imperative is to be productive, so you can be well-priced. The seventh imperative is to have the guts and the heart and the passion to ship.
• The challenge, it turns out, isn’t in perfecting your ability to know when to start and when to stand by. The challenge is getting into the habit of starting.
• We have built the largest economic engine in history. All the tools are here, cheaper than ever before. The market is waiting, the capital is waiting, the factories are waiting, and yes, even the stores are waiting. They’re waiting for someone to say “go.”
• Human nature is to need a map. If you’re brave enough to draw one, people will follow.
• Ownership doesn’t have to be equity or even control. Ownership comes from understanding and from having the power to make things happen
• When can you start? Soon is not as good as now
• The market responds to the power that comes with capital. My favorite kind of capital is the last one, of course (initiative). It turns out that this is the most important capital of our new economy.
• In a world where news travels instantly and the state of the art is visible to all, the half-life of an insight or an innovation is short and getting shorter
• I define anxiety as experiencing failure in advance…and if you have anxiety about initiating a project, then of course you will associate risk with failure.
• Most things break. Most ideas fail. Most initiatives don’t succeed. And if you’re the one behind them, if you’re the guy who’s always starting something that fails, then it seems you’re doomed.
• The first rule of doing work that matters: Go to work on a regular basis.
• The problem: you can’t get blander than bland. You can’t grow by becoming even more predictable and ordinary. You might have a dependable and predictable and cheap product, but if the market wants something better, you’ll be stuck playing catch-up.
• When the cost of poking the box (ptb) is less than the cost of doing nothing (ø), then you should poke! [ptb<ø—> poke]
• The connected economy of ideas demands that we contribute initiative. And yet we resist, because our lizard brain, the one that lives in fear, relentlessly exaggerates the cost of being wrong.
• Poking successfully also requires tact. You’re trying to change things, not have people recoil in anger or fear from your poking.
• Poke, but be smart about it.
• Excellence isn’t about working extra hard to do what you’re told. It’s about taking the initiative to do work you decide is worth doing.
• Please stop waiting for a map. We reward those who draw maps, not those who follow them.
• How often do our heroes stand still? It’s hard to imagine Spock and Kirk landing on a planet and just relaxing for a month or two. Just hanging out has nothing to do with boldly going where no one has gone before.
• The factory has programmed that adventurous impulse out of us. The economic imperative of the last century has been to avoid risk, avoid change, and most of all, avoid exploration and the new. An efficient factory fears change because change means retooling and risk and a blip in productivity.
• Implicit in all of my ranting about poking is this: You already have good ideas, already have something to say, already have a vivid internal dialogue about what you could do and how it might make things better.
• Starting means you’re going to finish. If it doesn’t ship, you’ve failed. You haven’t poked the box if the box doesn’t realize it’s been poked.
• If you don’t finish, it doesn’t really count as starting, and if you don’t start, you’re not poking.
• The challenge is to focus on the work, not on the fear that comes from doing the work.
• The person who fails the most usually wins
• I’m not encouraging you to be bold and right. I’m not encouraging you to figure out how to always initiate a smart and proven and profitable idea. I’m merely encouraging you to start. Often. Forever. Be the one who starts things.
• We often turn to authors and experts for instruction on what to do. If we only knew what to do, the thinking goes, then we’d do it.
• The shortage is in people willing to do it. To take a leap. To walk out onto the ledge and start. Apparently, many of us have forgotten how to do it.
• I believe there is. I believe that if you’ve got the platform and the ability to make a difference, then this goes beyond “should” and reaches the level of “must.” You must make a difference or you squander the opportunity. Wasting the opportunity both degrades your own ability to contribute and, more urgently, takes something away from the rest of us.
• It’s impossible to have a “success-only” policy. That policy itself will guarantee that there will be no successes.
• Starting doesn’t mean controlling. It means initiating. Managing means controlling, but that’s an entirely different skill.
• If you can’t fail, it doesn’t count.
• The alternative to planning on late is to initiate before it’s required, to ship before deadline, to put the idea out there before the crisis hits. This act of bravery actually gives you influence, leverage, and control in a way that planning on late never can.
• Instead of propositioning everyone within reach of your e-mail box, invest some time and earn the right to ask. Do your homework. Build connections. This makes the risk on your part a lot bigger because you’ve invested more than two minutes. Initiating when you have more to lose is often better than just winging it.
• If you know someone who needs permission, share this with him. If you needed permission, think about the mentor or coach or friend who gave this to you. Someone is giving you permission. Someone, perhaps indirectly, hired you, funded you, trained you, encouraged you—all so that you would see something that needed to be done and do it.

Special offer: If you’ve read this post up to here, then you’re ready to Poke The Box. Send me an e-mail with your address and tell me about the Big Hairy Audacious Project that you are working on or you want to start, and I’ll send you a copy of Poke The Box, my treat. The e-mail must be timestamped before Mar 31 2011. Let me know if you want the Kindle or paper version.

For more information

“Poke The Box” on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936719002

Get the FREE workbook that goes with the book: http://www.thedominoproject.com/2011/03/poke-the-box-the-workbook.html

Seth Godin’s Blog (always intriguing): http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

My Kindle Notes Page (you must sign in with your Amazon ID to see): https://kindle.amazon.com/work/poke-box-seth-godin/B004KS3CGW/1936719002

My review of Poke The Box on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/review/R38JY4PYSH8FBD/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Of course I read with concern about the sad events in Tucson. I see this as the inevitable outcome of the decline of leadership in today’s society, and the symptoms of the revolution that is about to happen.

Our leaders want to be seen to be “serious” and doing “something”. One way to do “something” is to provoke the “lizard brain”, i.e. stimulating the amygdala, that primitive part of our brain stem which generates the base emotions of fear or excitement. When the lizard brain is stimulated, we jump into action – or, rather, reaction. I’m noticing that it has become the habit of politicians, media celebrities and business CEOs major and minor to appeal to fear, worry, envy and revenge. This provokes reaction all right. But provoking reaction is not leadership, it’s demagoguery.

Why are the leadership classes sowing fear, hatred and terror? Because they are losing power, and they know it is slipping from their grasp.

And this power is slipping from “them” to “you”, should you choose to accept the challenge.

Lizard-brain leadership posits that we are living in a time of crisis: disappearing oil, water, land, food, money, freedom. Lizard-brain leadership views life as a zero-sum game, where if I give you a piece of my pie, there is less for me, and that’s not fair.

By all means, we should have hit the boundary conditions of finite resources decades ago. But we haven’t. Why?

This is my view of how this came about.

In the old days, the key to wealth was how much gold you held. Kings obsessed about the possession of resources. Wars were fought over land and spice, wood and gold. Wealth was in the hands of the monarchy and the aristocracy, the “political” class of the time. The equation for wealth was very simple:

Wealth = Resources

The Industrial Revolution changed the equation. Humanity started to organize itself, and invented ways to transform the resources, adding value, making their use more efficient and more valuable.  The new formula became:

Wealth = Resources * Technology

But the technology was still controlled by a few, those who had access to the knowledge and experience. The wealth spread from the aristocracy who held the resources to the business moguls who held the technology and means of production.

The Industrial Revolution created the concept of a “job” and a “career”, where each person plays a well-defined role, a cog in the monolithic societal machine. The machine worked because information was hard to spread, so although the political and financial classes held most of the cards, those who had access to some knowledge and experience (i.e. white-collar professionals) were also able to share in a bit of the wealth. This created the “middle class”.

After World War II, technology started to spread faster and faster. Consider the adoption rates of the telephone at the beginning of the 20th century, compared to radio, television and computers.  Access to technology became more and more democratized.

Then, barely 16 years ago, the Web was born. In an instant, knowledge and experience was no longer limited to certain classes. Information starts to circulate faster and faster. People can now seek out like-minded colleagues to form their own networks, communities, tribes. And this kind of self-organization unleashes a resources that multiplies our abilities in an exponential way: the power of Passion.

Passion is a very powerful element, because it powers our confidence, our courage, our persistance and our ingenuity. In the past, our societal and economic systems contained our passion. Passion at work was not encouraged, because the machinery of living depended on each person playing a well-orchestrated part in a precisely-defined box.

But when Passion comes into the equation, it adds an element that supercharges the wealth equation.

Wealth = (Resources * Technology) ** Passion

People powered by Passion are willing to go the extra mile, to go beyond the status-quo, to take risks and to innovate.

Passion is also a chaotic element. The Passion sparked by the democratization of technology and the ease of communication and association, means that the old top-down ways of societal and economic organization are fracturing. I believe that the root cause of a lot of today’s economic problems is not only greed or government regulation, but that all our assumptions about how to generate wealth have fallen apart. The old economic models of GDP and productivity and employment no longer have any relevance in this new, Passion-powered economy.

The political and financial classes of today’s society instinctively know the power of Passion, because they seek to provoke it by poking at our lizard-brains. But that is like pouring gasoline on a fire, it makes a big flame, lots of sparks, but becomes uncontrollable.

The real leadership we need to overcome the challenges of our time will not come from politicians nor from big company CEOs. Those social classes have too much invested in the status-quo to risk losing it through revolutionary change. They actually gain by pitting people one against the other: left vs right, public vs private, middle class vs poor. They gain because we get distracted from what we need to do.

The key to the new leadership is by moblizing people around visionary projects. Projects that fire the imagination and stimulate creativity. Projects that inspire everyone to reach for their full potential.

We have seen what visionary projects can do. The textbook example is President Kennedy’s challenge in 1963 that Americans would set foot on the Moon before the end of that decade. And they did, with six months to spare.

We’ve lost sight of what visionary projects are. Infrastructure is not a visionary, mobilizing project, because the outcome does not engage the imagination. War, however well-intentioned, is even less of a visionary, mobilizing project, because there is no win-win outcome.

It is the new generation of entrepreneurial leaders, you and me, who now hold the key to progress. We have our feet on the ground. We see what people need, want and yearn for. We also can aim for the moon, defining visionary goals that engage the communities we build around us. And as entrepreneurs, we master the skill of simultaneously seeing far to keep the goal in sight, while seeing close to make sure the next step is well placed.

I believe each of us has the right to fully live our own individual potential, and the responsibility to help others fully live theirs. I also believe that although the world has finite resources, the true multiplier of these resources is human passion, which is limitless.

We need to stop the lizard-brain thinking which is short-circuiting our society’s potential, and embrace the Power of Passion through Visionary Projects.

Stop playing for survival. We need you to play to WIN.

<end rant>

For more information

Although my motivation for writing the above post was inspired by a tragic event, and borders on a pessimistic view of the world, I remain resolutely optimistic about the long-term prospects for our society, our species and our planet. See my “manifesto” on my About.me page:
http://about.me/CoachDavender

To give historical context to this post, see this article from Huffington Post describing the assassination attempt in Tucson that left six people dead and many injured (including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who is in critical condition as of this writing):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/08/gabrielle-giffords-shot-c_n_806211.html

I have read many articles by Naomi Klein, on the subject of her book “The Shock Doctrine”, which is related to the idea of the “old-guard” societal and economic leadership via fear and manipulation:
http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

A thought provoking article that posits that the current economic system requires crisis events such as oil spills and disasters, just to keep in a steady-state
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-harrington/why-our-economy-required-_b_800143.html

Image credit: AmberBrooke via Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amberbr00k3/4289936624/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

If you are like 90% of people (including me), the changing of the calendar has inspired you to turn the page on some results that you’re less than proud of.

Whether resolutions are a good way to make a change (or not – this is something I will address in another post), there are definitely some pitfalls to be aware of, so you can at least improve the odds of succeeding at making some kind of change.

Here are ten issues to keep in mind as you move forward with your resolutions, your intentions, your goals, or however you define the lifestyle and business changes you really want:

1. Resolutions are made to “stop” or “lose” something

Succeeding with your resolution has a lot has to do with how you frame it. Resolutions (or goals) often have negative contexts to them, which is not so motivating, especially when the going gets tough. And we make them usually in areas of our life that are the result of habits built up over a lifetime (i.e. smoking, weight). When we say out loud that we want to “stop smoking” or “stop eating sweets”, the unconscious mind forgets the “stop” and focuses on the other part of the statement. That’s one important reason why we end up craving what we want to stop.

Solution: Instead of framing your goal as a loss or a sacrifice, express it as a “gain” or “start”. Make it something you want to run towards (“pull”) rather than running away from (“push”). Instead of “Stop eating sweets”, say “start eating more vegetables”. Instead of “lose weight”, say “gain muscle strength”.

2. The goal describes a result, without referencing the underlying behavior

Have you heard of the definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”? Many people state goals to lose weight or start a savings account, but are not willing to change what they do on a daily basis to create the new behaviour. By framing the goal as a change in behaviour, you have more control over the actual outcome.

Solution: Frame the goal as a change in behaviour. Instead of “lose weight”, say “go to the gym 4 mornings a week”

3. There is no consequence to abandoning the resolution or failing

If there is no consequence to abandoning the goal, why make it in the first place? What is the price you are paying to maintain the results you currently have in the area of your goal? Is the price high enough to force you to make a change? What is the reward for you to succeed? Does the reward outweigh the price? If not, then there is little motivation for you to change, and you will (consciously or unconsciously) abandon your goal.

Solution: Make the price of the status quo very high, or the reward very attractive. Set a special reward for yourself if you succeed in your goal, a trip, or gift, something that commemorates your achievement. Set it up in such a way that you only enjoy the reward if you succeed!

4. Resolutions are set at the last minute, without much thought

Resolutions set at the last minute, or without adequate consideration, are hard to take seriously. Sometimes, we make a goal because we “have” to, following the crowd or a fashion. You do not have to necessarily start your changes on January 1. If you are just starting to consider your goals, give yourself enough time to make sure that this is something you really want to do, for yourself.

5. The goal is vague

Vague goals are not motivating, and are a key reason why goals are abandoned. The more precise you are about your goal, the more likely you will succeed. Use the (Davenderized) “SMART” principle to test if your goal is precise enough:

• SPECIFIC – Describe the details of your goal (feel, taste, hear, smell, look)
• MEASURABLE – How much? How many? How will I know that I have reached my goal?
• ACTION-ORIENTED – Does the goal compel me to take action? Are the steps that I need to take clear? What actions will I take to reach this goal?
• RESOURCED – What resources (time, money, support, etc) do I need to achieve this?
• TIME-FRAMED – When will I make this happen? When will I start? When do I need to be complete?

6. The goal is too big

Many results in our life are the outcomes of lifelong habits. It is unrealistic to change many of them overnight. There is no such thing as an unrealistic goal, simply overambitious timetables. Make sure you give yourself challenging (but physically doable) goals and timelines. Use the concept of “milestones” (4-6 week intermediate goals) and “heartbeats” (daily intentions) to subdivide your large goal into doable smaller steps.

7. There is little or no support to carry out the goal

It is possible that you could make the change you intend to make happen by yourself, but why would you want to? A support system gives you the added edge you need to stay on track and do what you say you will do. Your support system should include active components (a buddy or partner, expert resources, support groups, mentor or role model, coach) and passive components (books, tapes, videos, magazines, pictures, treasure maps, affirmations, journaling, etc)

8. The goal is not written down

Spoken goals simply vanish with their echo. Write down your goal, and you are already half-way to making it happen, because you create accountability with yourself in doing so. Write down your goal with the “SMART” format listed earlier, and post it in a place where you can read it every morning. The strongest way to make this work for you is to write it in the form of a contract with yourself, signed and dated.

9. Success in the goal depends on someone else

Giving the power over the success of the goal over to someone else is a guarantee of failure. How can you change what you cannot control? Do you have control over the goal? A powerful test is to imagine yourself stranded on a desert island with all the resources and time you need. Could you make this goal happen totally on your own? For example: “Get promoted this year” is a poor formulation because you do not have control (usually) over your own promotion. A better way to phrase it is “Get the highest client satisfaction ranking”, which is something you have control over, and it can lead to your promotion, a raise, or other recognition.

10. There is no commitment behind the goal

Full commitment means more than just saying “I will do it”. You have to get clear on four questions: What do you want? Why is this important to you? Why is now the time to make this change happen? And, most importantly, why do you deserve this change? Exploring these questions with an experienced personal coach will help you align your commitment with your values, so that it becomes crystal clear to you why you need to make this goal real. Once you do so, then nothing can shake you off of your resolve. And next thing you know, your goal will have successfully become reality!

For more information

From Resolution to Result: Transform Your Good Intentions Into Real Results
Why do most resolutions fail? Do resolutions really work to create lasting change?
http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1689937

Image credit: Jesse Menn on Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesse_menn/2156365871/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 license

To mark the birthday of HP co-founder David Packard, Gizmodo featured a speech he gave to his managers in 1960 that describes HP’s corporate culture, famously nicknamed “The HP Way“. Here is one passage that I found particularly inspiring (emphasis mine):

“We have looked at the company and found it exists to make a contribution – not just to make money. I think we can say the same about the people in the company. The individual works, partly to make money, of course, but we should also realize that the individual who is doing a worthwhile job is working because he feels he is accomplishing something worthwhile. This is important in your association with these individuals. You know that those people you work with that are working only for money are not making any real contribution. I want to emphasize then that people work to make a contribution and they do this best when they have a real objective when they know what they are trying to achieve and are able to use their own capabilities to the greatest extent.“

With all the discussion about how to kick-start the economy and create a better environment for business, I wish more business and government leaders would remember that people work for better reasons than to simply make money…

For more information

Link to Gizmodo post: http://gizmodo.com/5634378/the-hp-way-how-bill-hewlett-and-i-built-our-company

Excerpted from the business classic “The HP Way”: http://www.amazon.com/HP-Way-Hewlett-Business-Essentials/dp/0060845791

The text of “The HP Way”: http://www.hpalumni.org/hp_way.htm

Image: An HP dual-beam oscilloscope from the 1960′s. Image by Todd Lappin via Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/2116569398/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 license

Why do so few people live up to their potential?

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

The beauty of the Internet is that I can be searching for something, and stumble onto something else even more precious, like this, from Wikipedia:

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/

What does the word “tactical” mean to you? It might conjure up images of heavily armed soldiers storming a building, a swarm of tanks overrunning enemy defenses, a squadron of aircraft dueling it out over the English channel. Tactics rhymes with execution, punch, getting things done.

Are you thinking tactically enough to win?

Most entrepreneurs have a big-picture idea of what they want, recorded in a business plan or vision document or a simple list of goals. But then the document stays in a drawer or on the hard drive as they stumble into reactive mode, day after day, and not accomplishing what they initially said they wanted.

Planning requires two levels of thinking: strategic and tactical. Strategic planning is vision-focused, the “who am I”, “what do I want to create” and “why is this important to me”.  Strategic is longer term, one, three, five, ten years out. Strategic planning is important, because it gives a context and a purpose for action.

Tactical planning is goal-focused, the “how“, the detailed actions needed to move the yardstick forward toward the big vision.

Where the strategic plan can be done in the abstract, because it deals with possibilities and assumptions, the tactical plan is how we dance with reality, respond to the actual situation on the ground, execute to create results. Tactical plans are meant to be short term: created quickly, executed boldly, then superseded by the next tactical plan based on the new situation. Rapid execution of a succession of tactical plans moves you step by step towards realizing the overall strategic plan.

For the entrepreneur, thinking tactically means creating a daily, execution-focused, tactical plan.

When I attended the Canadian Forces Staff School course in the early ’90s as a junior Air Force captain, I learned how to prepare a tactical mission plan, using an acronym I still remember today: SMEACS. Applied to your daily tactical plan, this means:

• S = Situation: What is my current status with respect to today’s operation? (the starting point)
• M = Mission: What is the Specific/Measurable/Audacious/Real/Time-lined (SMART) goal I must achieve today? (the result)
• E = Execution: What are the tasks and steps that need to be completed to get it done? When will I do this (put in today’s calendar)
• A = Administration/Logistics: What resources (tools, supplies) do I need to get it done? Where do I get these resources? How much money/time will I need to get them?
• C = Command: Who do I need to connect with to get it done?  (collaboration, authorization, support, accountability)
• S = Signal: Who do I need to communicate with to get it done?  (E-mails, telephone calls, letters)

To think tactical, focus on one primary project where you want to create a measurable result in the next 24 hours. Draw up a simple tactical plan in point form using the SMEACS format, so it is easy to keep in your head or on a single piece of paper.

For example, let’s say that my Strategic focus at the moment is to write my book. Today’s Tactical plan would be:

• S = Situation: I’m now at Chapter Two of my Ten-Chapter manuscript.
• M = Mission: Today’s mission is to create a rough draft in point form of Chapter Two in the next 24 hours.
• E = Execution: 1. Make a list of two dozen sub-points I want to include in the chapter; 2. reorganize into eight major points; 3. complete each major point by breaking it down into ten to twelve sub-points; 4. post it on the wiki; 5. dedicated writing times today: 9am to 10:30am (eight major points) and 8pm to 10pm (expanded sub-points)
• A = Administration/Logistics: 1. Make sure laptop is charged up and backed up before starting; 2. morning session at Starbucks after spin class, evening session at home (wash dishes first).
• C = Command: 1. coordinate with Thomas for a brainstorming call (suggest 9am).
• S = Signal: 1. confirm with Annie for feedback from Chapter 1 (e-mail); 2. send note to Mastermind group after morning and evening sessions informing that the wiki is updated.

As you execute your tactical plan, you will find that instead of feeling that you are running around in circles reacting to your environment, you will now be in control, act more deliberately, and get much more done. Being tactical puts you in charge of the momentum.

Strategy points you in the right direction. Tactics ensures you do the right things right now, so you can win at creating the future you really want.

For more information

This post was inspired by  ”Rip Up Your Five-Year Plan” by Ian Sanders, BNET Insight http://blogs.bnet.com/smb/?p=145

Image Credit: Tactical Bacon is a real product! Image from http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/wacky-edibles/c399/

Why is it so tempting to procrastinate when faced with an otherwise simple task? Even if you have the skills, knowledge, experience, resources and even a great motivation to accomplish the task, there is something that can sabotage your best intentions, and before you know it, there goes another blown promise or missed deadline…

The culprit lies within the deepest recesses of our brain, in a primitive organ – the amygdala. This “lizard brain” is the centre of our basic emotions: fear, anger and sexual desire.

If fear exists is because it the amygdala senses a threat to our survival. Since the beginning of evolution, our natural fear reflex helped us to either avoid or react to the often fatal dangers we faced.  But does this visceral reaction still serve us well in our modern environment?

Consider the to-do list of the solopreneur. Instead of sabre-toothed tigers, what do we avoid out of fear? Tax returns, sending invoices or making payments, calling a client, going to a networking event … Objectively, none of these situations is potentially lethal, but something triggers the lizard brain, flooding the conscious brain with its fear response.

Afraid of what, exactly? The lizard brain does not like the unknown. Taking risks is anathema to the amygdala, because it seeks security in the known, the comfortable, the familiar. So, whenever there is uncertainty, the lizard brain triggers the flight reaction.

For me, I notice that my lizard brain is in full control of me when all of a sudden I’m sleepy in the middle of the day. Another symptom is a tension in my legs, as if I had to flee quickly. And the third element of evidence for me is a sudden desire to eat, especially something sweet.

The fatigue, the desire to flee and sugar are avoidance behaviors that tell me that my “lizard brain” is dominating my thinking. I can be totally aware this is happening, but I’m powerless to do anything about about it, because I’ve let myself become a spectator to my primitive self…

But is it true that I’m powerless? What can I do to dominate the fear response and regain control, so I can overcome the block and create the results I want?

A simple approach is to ensure to reduce or avoid the unknown or the uncertainties. Remove the risk, and the lizard brain goes back to sleep. Here is a simple strategy to do it:

1. Take the time to create a blueprint to guide you through the task. This blueprint should break the big task into smaller pieces, doable in 15 to 30 minutes each. Reducing the size of the actions reduces the uncertainty, because it is easier to see to the other side of the task.  In addition, a detailed plan provides allows the emotional brain to “rehearse success” – quelling the fear response and giving room to the logical mind so it can take control, even briefly.

2. Do one small action at a time, according to a precise schedule. Each action should be scheduled in the calendar, and rigidly controlled in time: do not take more that 15 to 30 minutes for the mini-task. When the action is done, move on to something else that is not as “difficult” to do.

3. Celebrate progress. Whenever you have done the action step, give you a small reward – something you love. But make sure your rewards do not become a distraction!

For example, if the “impossible” task is writing a blog entry, my plan is:

a. do a brainstorming of topics and write them in a list, without prioritizing. No ideas what to write? Surf on over to your favorite blogs and write down the subjects of the last four or five posts without necessarily reading the whole text. Don’t worry, this is allowed and even encouraged, as long as you refer back to the post that inspires you.
b. choose two or three of these subjects and break each one down four or five points for each subject – whatever comes to mind. If nothing comes to mind, move to the next subject.
c. choose one of these expanded topics, and for each point, write two or three sub-points
d. you now have a good outline for your post. Link the sub-points together and it’s done!

Allocate 15 to 30 minutes for each action, and the space them out by one to two hours during the day – this is how I wrote this note starting in the morning from a blank screen.

Whatever task you’re trying to avoid out of fear, remember: it doesn’t need to be perfect – it just needs to be done.

And the more you get used to producing, the more comfortable it gets for your lizard brain. Your task moves from the unknown into your comfort zone.

Remember that your lizard brain thrives on fear. Learn to side-step it and you will become a better producer – and you will be better able to create the future you really want!

For more information

Inspired by a note from Seth Godin
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/01/quieting-the-lizard-brain.html

This idea appears to be part of Seth Godin’s new book “Linchpin: Are You Indispensible?” http://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-Are-Indispensable-Seth-Godin/dp/1591843162 (no affiliate)

Photo credit: Image by lostartist on Flickr . Use permitted by Creative Commons CC BY-ND 2.0

Is your business project running off the rails, or turning into a “Death March”: a daily slog with no hope of any outcome?

If your project or your business is heading towards disaster, what can you do to get it back on track? In this discussion, Coach Davender Gupta will show you a simple process to take control of the situation and steer it back onto the path to progress.

Join Sharon Sayler as she interviews me about a simple five-step process to get you back on track, during her BlogTalkRadio podcast “Beyond Lip Service” this Tuesday at 1pm East / 10 am Pacific at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/BeyondLipService

Air Date: Tuesday Feb 2 2010, 1pm East/10am Pacific
Direct Link: http://bit.ly/9TzGvt

For more information:

Ustream.tv recording: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4398483

The situation in Haiti is appalling.

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

Do you have a task that you’ve been procrastinating on, one that gets bigger every day even though you’re trying to ignore it? I usually have a couple of those on my list. These are tasks that I’m dreading for one reason or another: tediousness, refusal to face the truth, fear, shame…

The more I try to push these tasks to the future, the bigger they get, to the point that just resisting them is sapping my energy and blocking my ability to spot and respond to other opportunities.

So it’s time to do something about it.  

Mark Twain, that great philosopher-sage, said “If you eat a frog first thing in the morning, the rest of your day will be wonderful.”  This is the premise behind a delightful little book by Brian Tracy, called “Eat That Frog“. This book, which I highly recommend (even if you are not procrastinating on anything at the moment), provides a simple process to blast through procrastination: imagine the yukky task as an ugly frog that you must first eat before you can enjoy doing other things.

I’ve taken to call the tasks I’m procrastinating on my “Ugly Frogs” (UF).  UFs are things that only I can do (what’s left after the delegating and dumping), but I am loathe to get started on for any real or imagined reason. And it’s usually the latter. By identifying the UF, I can then go through a process to help me break it down into bite-sized pieces so that I swallow the whole darn thing…and therefore get it off my plate.

I’m currently implementing this idea in my weekly planning by asking myself the following questions:

1. What is an important task that I’m procrastinating on which is draining my energy and stopping me from moving forward? (This task must be on a critical path for my most important priority at the moment)

2. How can I break this task down into three to five sub-tasks that take between 30 minutes to no more than two hours each to complete? (An ugly frog is easier to swallow if I first cut it up into smaller pieces)

3. On what days this week will I accomplish each one of those tasks? (Schedule the day, and if possible, the time)

4. With whom shall I share this commitment to help me be accountable? (I find an accountability buddy to be invaluable in making sure I finish my plate)

Sometimes you might not get through the whole UF in one week, but can get far enough that there may be one or two sub-tasks left. If so, try to schedule them at the beginning of the following week so that the whole task is done, or if this is not possible, make sure you schedule them now so that you complete them as soon as possible.  Or maybe my UF is too big, like two frogs stuck together. Then the idea is to separate the tasks to make them more manageable. With practice you will learn what are reasonable task sizes and timelines for you, depending on your workload.

Even with this preparation, the actual eating of the Ugly Frog can still be distasteful, stressful, even nauseating.  I’ve had tasks that needed to be done that would take someone else maybe 20 minutes or so, but take me two hours because it feels like I’m moving through cold molasses. Hang in there, gut it out. You know that it will be over in at most two hours. This is where the accountability buddy is so valuable, for encouragement or simply someone to whine to…but make sure that your buddy won’t let you off the hook!

Brian Tracy explains more thoroughly this process of breaking through procrastination. Don’t delay, get it now, read it now and do it now.

Don’t stare too long at that Ugly Frog. Just pick up your knife and your fork and get at it, so you can move on to the dessert!

For more information

Read: “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy  Amazon.com link (no affiliate): http://www.amazon.com/Eat-That-Frog-Great-Procrastinating/dp/1576754227

Photo credit: Photo by wahoowins on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons licence CC BY-ND 2.0

No, no – it’s not what you think! This is a real question, and an important one to consider!

Cory Doctorow (blog), in his novel “Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom“, imagines a world where money is obsolete, replaced by a personal reputation-based currency called the “Whuffie“.

Tara Hunt translates this idea into real life in her book “The Whuffie Factor“: we are already entering an age where our “relationship capital” is just as important (or maybe more important?) than our financial capital. The more people respect you, trust you, and like you, the more they want to interact with you.

Tara suggests five principles to increase your Whuffie:  

1. Stop talking, start listening:  As she says, “turn the bullhorn around”.  We have been conditioned by the thousands of marketing messages we absorb each day to think that the only way to communicate is by pitching. But one more pitch just gets lost in the din. Instead, start listening. Draw people into conversation. Find out what makes them tick, what they are worried, or dreaming about. This opens the way to building a connection.

2. Become part of the community you serve: You need to get “down and dirty”, to connect and to get involved with your community, your tribe. The interaction has to go beyond the commercial, and become personal. (This is where Tim Sanders‘ “Likeability Factor” comes into play)

3. Create amazing experiences: People already have too much stuff. What they now want, more than ever, is great experiences that build personal relationships.

4. Embrace the chaos: As Tara says, “people are not predictable”. Start with a vision of what you want to create, and then allow it to evolve and transform through the conversation and the community. You may find that you end up with something even greater than you could ever imagine!

5. Find your higher purpose: I especially love this point – it’s about putting purpose first, then the profit is generated out of how people appreciate who you express your purpose. Another way of looking at this, is as the “Givers Gain” principle.

It is tempting to look at your Facebook friend and Twitter follower counts as a measure of your Whuffie, but in reality it goes way beyond that: your Whuffie is the quality of the interaction with your network. What are you doing to be “nice, networked and notable”? What do you give? How do you inspire them (and how do they inspire you?) How do you engage them?

As you seek to get more and better clients, consider this question: What are you doing right now to help people create an experience of life that enables them to express their full potential? I believe that the more you focus on answering this question, the greater your Whuffie, and the more you will attract people who value who you are and what you offer, and therefore who are ready to commit to you.

For more information:

Must Read: Tara Hunt, “The Whuffie Factor”  Amazon.com link (no affiliate): http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Social-Networks-Business/dp/0307409503

Cory Doctorow, “Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom” Amazon.com link (no affiliate): http://www.amazon.com/Down-Magic-Kingdom-Cory-Doctorow/dp/076530953X (Disclaimer – I have not read the novel, and I’m sure there is a lot more to the story than the one-sentence summary above, but it’s this specific concept that I want to expand on.)

Tara “missrogue” Hunt on the Web http://www.horsepigcow.com/ and on Twitter http://twitter.com/missrogue

And yes, these two people are Canadians! 

If you say “yes”, is it a lifelong contract?

The situation you’re in when you said “yes” may change.  The commitment may not turn out to be what was promised. Things may not be happening as expected.

The key is to check your “happiness meter”.  Are you enjoying yourself in the commitment? You may be working hard, even struggling, but you still find meaning in the commitment, something worthwhile for you. Then by all means, stay committed. But if the commitment has lost its meaning, give yourself permission to rethink the situation.

Don’t be a martyr, doing something only from a sense of duty, or worse, coercion.  There has to be something in it for you, something that helps you experience what’s most important to you. If the commitment is not reciprocal, then it just empties you…this a problem both for you, and for others.

Because if you are not giving your best to the commitment, everyone loses.

It’s okay to change your mind, to say no.

Saying no takes clarity and courage. You will pay a price for breaking a commitment. Loss of trust, of income, of opportunities. Is the eventual upside for you, and for the other party, greater than the price? How you handle disengaging from the commitment is important. Take care of any unfinished business, and make sure to minimize the price of your decision to the other party.

If you’re not finding fulfillment in the commitment, the other party is orobably not, either. Maybe a “no” is the best thing for your both.

The bottom line in life is that things change, people change. Life goes on.

It’s okay to say “no”.

For more information

Commitment and trust are linked. See my article “Some Thoughts About Trust”
http://en.davender.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=31

I had a great interview this morning with Denis-François Gravel, an authority on how to use presentation technologies to improve your ability to communicate.

In preparing for this conversation, recorded for my French-language podcast “Radio Passion au Profit“, we had a whole list of topics. But we ended up going deep into one issue: Does PowerPoint kill or enhance our ability to communicate?

The biggest idea that I learned from Denis-François is that most people (including me) misunderstand the role of presentations technologies like PowerPoint, Keynote, and Impress: we try to make the presentation stand alone, and the presenter becomes a technician, instead of the other way around like it should be.

It turns out that the brain can learn well by paying attention to the spoken word alone, or the written word alone, but learning efficiency drops way off when trying to communicate using both channels at once.  I’ve seen this happen when I put up a wordy slide and all the eyes go to the screen instead of staying on me.

Denis-François recommends that the slides should use colourful pictures or clear graphics that complement the message delivered by the speaker. Let the audience focus on the speaker.

I’ve been trying this (without realizing it) in my last couple of speeches, using very simple illustrations or short messages on my slides. I find it looks more professional and I get fewer people squinting at the screen as I speak.  Plus it has the added benefits of making sure that I communicate my point clearly…and that the audience pays attention because -there-are-no-notes!

Takeaway: If your handout says it all, then why would the audience waste their time listening to you?

For more information:

Denis-Francois Gravel and his primarily English-language blog full of great examples and ideas about presentation techniques:  http://www.PRESENTability.com

Denis-Francois Gravel on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PRESENTability

Photo: Catherine-Eve Gadoury (Quebec City arts and media columnist) at the Quebec City PechaKucha (photo Denis-Francois Gravel)

Read Denis-Francois’s article on the event (great tips!) http://presentability.com/2009/12/04/7-speaking-lessons-from-pecha-kucha-quebec/

My interview with Denis-Francois Gravel on Radio Passion au Profit (French) and on YouTube (links coming soon)