Tag Archives: personal development

do not resuscitate

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we’re taught from the time we’re eating cheerios and pooping in our pants that we can do whatever it is that we want to do. with enough hard work and dedication, we can change things and we can be the person we want to be.

but that’s not always true.

there will be times when people and places and things and organizations will be trying to tie you down. they’ll systematically shut down all the parts that make you who you are like a chronic illness shutting down the organs in your body. there will be people telling you ‘no’ in the most polite way possible while asking you to keep doing what you’re doing—keep dreaming, keep brainstorming, keep working hard, stay focused—because it’ll pay off one day.

*beep*

there will be places, towns, and cities (and maybe countries) which don’t have the resources you need to become the person you were meant to become, but you’ve already built a home there. it’s familiar to you.

*beep*

houses, cars, televisions, and all the material things we’re told we need to have to be happy turn into anchors preventing us from taking risks. the things we own begin to own us.

*beep*

it may even become that the organization you’ve built your life around and identified with for so many years isn’t the company you originally went to work for. or, as happens in life, you merely grew in a different direction and now your organization’s goals and ideals no longer match with your own.

*flatline*

and there it is. you’re dead inside. a shell of a person waking up in the morning and going to work with no real purpose aside from surviving another day. but there’s another option instead of trying to make it work like everyone taught you as a child.

do not resuscitate.

find more people who are like-minded and thrive off of their support instead of dying from the constant negativity you receive from others. move to a new town with similar interests and other like-minded people where you can be a part of, and thrive in, a community that shares the same ideals as you. leave the things behind you don’t really need (get a cheaper car, drop your cable television package, pay off your debt faster). and find an organization that aligns to your personal values and conducts business the same way you conduct business.

chances are you may have to do this all again in a few more years, but here’s the key truth in all of this: there’s nothing wrong with that.

the uncomfortable spaces

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as people and organizations, we all have limits to what we can do and things we merely prefer not to do. it’s our safe zone. it’s comfortable and we know it and it’s never surprising. we can anticipate what we’ll find and how we can expect to deal with it.

but growth happens in the spaces outside of our limits. when we choose to do and be what we’ve refused before, we become better versions of ourselves. more experienced and wiser about our surroundings. by pushing into these spaces we begin to find where our limits truly lie.

it’s foreign and unnatural to us. it brings with it an inherent risk. but you’ll find that the uncomfortable spaces are where the important work gets done. the question then looks more like this: do you want to keep living the same life, or do you want to become something greater?

let’s do some important work together.

the wrong questions

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there has been a recent influx of questions about personal development on our corporate yammer site. however, they’re simply the wrong questions.

the question should not be about what skills or knowledge our clients are looking for, or what certifications and corporate boot camps are the best to pursue. it should be about what you want to do. about what excites you. about what you want to be doing for the rest of your life.

when did we stop believing in ourselves? when did we stop believing that who we are is good enough? stop worrying about what other people want. do what you want to do. learn what you want to learn. become the person that you were meant to become. people naturally gravitate towards that.

and if you can’t find work to match your skills and interests, it’s your job to create that work.

you owe it to yourself to be happy. stop asking the wrong questions.

consistency is king

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talent is valuable. but talent also cheapened if you don’t back it up with consistency. to say that you’ve done something impressive is great, but to say that you can consistently produce impressive results is rather extraordinary. it will set you apart from all the rest.

too often we try augmenting our talents before we nail down the consistency part. instead of trying to operate at a higher level, try consistently operating at your current level first. when you do, you’ll know that you’re finally ready to make the jump.

and along the way you’ll start to build a reputation—one that says you can get the job done. every time.

racing cars

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image by cheukiecfu, flickr artist

work is a lot like racing cars.

the one’s who go full throttle all the time are the ones who surely wreck. the key is being smooth around the track, easing into and out of turns and knowing exactly when to shift.

there’s this thought that if you’re not writing code all day, or you’re not editing powerpoints all day — if you’re not on the throttle the entire time from 8 to 5 — that you’re not really working.

and it’s bogus.

if you’re doing nothing but ‘taking care of business’ all day long, you’re forgetting about the most important part: you. if you don’t slow it down every now and then, you’re going to end up in the wall, and that’s not good for anybody.

it’s time to declare your independence

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this way out

image by Robert S. Donovan, flickr artist

“wishing someone would sneak up behind me with a chloroform soaked cloth while I sit here in my pathetic cubicle doing work that means absolutely NOTHING to me.”

wow.

a few days ago, i saw this in my facebook feed. it was a post from a friend of mine with no fewer than 6 ‘likes’. it’s a pretty powerful statement and a sentiment that apparently resonates with more than a few people.

we need to find a way out. and soon.

on this 4th of july, it’s time to declare your independence. independence from the norm. independence from society’s expectations of cradle to classroom to cubicle. independence from NOTHING.

read, books, the internet — read anything that deals with what you want to be doing. watch documentaries about that field. LEARN about what those people do, and what they have done, in order to live the life you want to be living. pay close attention because chances are you’ll have to do some of those same things to achieve your own goals.

it’s time to declare your independence from yourself.

people have made changes before; they have given up on the 9-5 workday and they’ve gone out and made their lives work for them. in all of these cases, one thing remains true: it started with a conscious decision to give up on what they knew in order to start something else. that kind of commitment takes courage. it requires fortitude. if you’re going to have any chance of living the life you want to live, you’re going to have to decide if it’s worth the risk or not. is it worth giving up the comfort of a consistent paycheck? is it worth moving to a new city? is it worth moving away from your closest friends? your family? your mettle is going to be tested for sure; before you go running off to start your own company or head back to college, ensure that it’s really what your heart desires.

it’s time to declare your independence from doom and gloom.

you might strive to reach your goal, to find that new job in that new place making more money than you hoped for, and never see those dreams become reality. yet there is no failure for anyone who strives to make themselves better, for even if you never reach your goals you are still better off than you were on the day you started. you will have experienced new things, seen new places, and learned what it means to be on the path of continuous improvement. and should your new endeavor not work out, you can always return to the corporate world of “business casual” dress and cubicle farms. there is no shame in that; there is no shame in trying.

it’s time to declare your independence.

what better day to start than today?

i hear what you’re saying, but what are you saying?

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i recently finished up a very busy three week stretch of travel which included two industry conferences i was invited to present my wares at. both of those conferences followed a working group format with a lot of quick presentations about a lot of different topics in a very short amount of time. from working group to working group, albuquerque to monterey, one thing stayed constant: i had no idea what people were talking about.

what was worse than being stranded in denver’s airport after a redeye flight cancellation fiasco was being stranded in presentation after presentation filled with slides of information and no real message. for some reason, it seemed to me that people forgot a very key aspect of any presentation: a clear, understandable purpose.

there’s no doubt in my mind that those people who presented their work at these conferences are smart, talented, ambitious people. i was honestly surrounded by some brilliant people — leaders in their field with more certifications and degrees of higher learning than they have the wall space for. but knowing what you’re talking about and being able to pass that information on to others is an entirely separate matter.

it’s imperative that you reach your audience. why are they there? what’s in it for them? you have to convey what you’re talking about, where is it going, and why they should spend the next 30 minutes listening to you speak. you have to connect.

each of my presentations started off with a reason for listening ['this is going to solve these specific problems that our clients are having'], and each ended with a call to action ['this is just one example, and it's only the start. let's build on this together']. i was shocked to see just how few followed the same approach and just how many presentations i felt lost in.

we’re better than this, and there’s no shortage of resources available to help us improve.

even if you don’t give presentations in your day-to-day work, read these books or any of the hundreds of articles online devoted to making presentations better. at some point in time, the lessons you learn are going to be valuable; i promise you that.

    practice for your project teams: why don’t we do it?

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    image by NHLFlyers, official twitter handle of the philadelphia flyers

    when your favorite sports team finds issues to work on, they spend more time on it in practice.

    powerplay numbers down? you can bet that your favorite hockey team is going to spend more time in the umbrella during practice.

    not winning the battles along the boards? eat your wheaties and have yourself a powerbar before you hit the ice, because we’re doing nothing but 2-on-2′s for a solid 15 minutes down in the corners.

    sloppy line changes in the second period? get ready to play a lot of dump and chase and listen for your line to be called.

    i think we’ve got the individual training down pretty well in industry. we have one day training events to introduce people to new concepts. we have 2 and 3 day seminars to teach solid fundamentals of what makes a good consultant. we have week long “boot camps” for certification training and exams. but what about the rest of your team?

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