The Occupational Adventure (tm)

The Think Big Revolution

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Have you spent any time with Michael Port's Think Big Revolution podcast yet? If you haven't, march right on over and start listening to what he has to say.

I drove down to visit my parents for Christmas. It's a four hour drive, so I downloaded several Think Big Revolution podcasts to listen to as I drove. I'm glad I did!

The focus is thinking bigger about who you are and what you have to offer the world. I found myself feeling inspired, motivated, and full of ideas. I plan to listen to several of them again so I can take actually take notes as I listen and not worry about running off the road.

Definitely worth listening to.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Do you heart your job?

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Do you love your job? Scott Ginsberg at Hello, my name is BLOG has a boxload of I heart my job buttons and for a buck and a self-addressed envelope, he'd like to send you one.

His basic notion is, "What if you loved your job, and wore this button? What conversations would that spark?" Very cool ideas, that Scott has. Here's what he proposes...

If you love your job and would like me to send you one of these buttons, please send $1.00 and a self-addressed stamped envelope to this address

If you choose to wear this pin, observe and record people's reactions and email them to me

As they come in, I will post your stories on this blog

I'm proud to wake up every morning and say, "I love my job!" So I think this is a beautiful message to send to the world; both as a reminder to the people who love their jobs, and also as an inspiration to the people who hope to do so in the future.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Get unstuck with a big picture view

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I was in the climbing gym a couple days ago and found myself working on the beginning of a route that had me stymied. I would climb, reach a certain point, and fall. Over and over again. I couldn't seem to get past that one point.

Finally, I stepped back from the wall to get the big picture. I looked at all the holds available and tried to run through in my mind how I could get past that falling point. When I did, I saw something in the way the route was set up that I couldn't see with my nose up against the wall.

I went back, fell a couple more times, but ultimately made it past that sticking point because of taking that big picture view.

Of course, since all the world is a potential blog post, I immediately though of how that experience related to people's careers.

In a nutshell, when you're feeling stuck, get your nose off the wall. Back up and look at the big picture. Look at all the options. Look at the different possibilities available. Brainstorm on how things might unfold.

Often when you're feeling stuck it's simply a sign that there's another, better way to get where you want to go. Stepping away from the  wall and looking at all the pieces of the puzzle can help you see what that might be. 

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

It's all about the SHOES

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I want to give a quick plug for It's all about the SHOES, a new CD set from a friend of mine, the fabulous Nancy Solomon. Here's the nutshell description from her website:

Turn potential into performance...
Gifts and talents into prosperity...

Stop talking about what you are going to do someday and actually do it.

It's all about the SHOES is the ultimate women's leadership program. You will be inspired, supported and celebrated on your journey to be the best possible you.

These are two CDs you will want to listen to again and again and again. You will learn to live your life more purposefully, passionately and profitably.

Nancy combines a straightforward New York honesty with a compassionate heart of gold (that's actually my personal perception of her, not marketing-speak). I love her message, and I think you will too.

(If you're a Worthwhile magazine reader, you might recognize Nancy from her collaborative article with Ben Brown in the most recent issue.)

Whether you buy it for yourself or as a gift, this CD set is worth checking out.

[Update: See what Kevin over at Worthwhile magazine has to say about It's all about the SHOES.]

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Find meaning in the moment

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Most of us spend much of our lives waiting impatiently for the future to arrive. Sometimes it helps to be reminded that there is meaning and value to be found in the right-here and right-now.

I recently found that reminder in a page from the online version of Charting Your Course: A whole person approach to living with cancer.  The page is about finding meaning in the cancer experience.

It is written with a focus on people facing the end of life, and maybe that's what made it so powerful to me - because the focus is inherently on the experience of the here and now, not the long-term future. These thoughts, under the heading, "When Time is Short," felt especially relevant:

As you ponder the spiritual issues of illness, you may realize that there are things you wish to accomplish, and that time may be short. What unfinished business do you want to complete? What will give you a sense of joy and accomplishment? Make a list of things you want to finish.

What if you answer those questions regardless of how much time you have? What is truly important? What is meaningful? What needs doing now that you would regret not doing?

Food for thought.

[The page is originally drawn from the book, Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness.]

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

You might be in a rut if...

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Sometimes the path we're on has worn a groove so deeply ingrained in our brains that we don't even realize it has turned into a rut. Here's an article with some red flags that should warn you that it might be time for a change.

In a nutshell, you might be in a rut if...

1. ...you can't remember the last time you tried something for the first time.

2. ...you compare yourself to others more than to your former self.

3. ...you've become comfortable living a life filled with goals mostly unrealized.

4. ...you find yourself playing the victim.

5. ...you haven't made a big mistake lately.

More details in the article. Check it out.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Recruiting.com Best Blogs: Vote now!

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OK, time to make your voice heard on the Recruiting.com Best Blogs Awards. Just click on the graphic to head on over to the voting booth and cast your votes!

You can find links to the nominated blogs here.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Plant the seeds of happiness

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Most of what I talk about in this blog focuses on things related to the big picture of creating a career you love. But sometimes it's worth paying attention to the little everyday things we can do to bring more happiness into the picture.

A multi-disciplinary group of experts in the UK did an experiment to help the residents of a town there find happiness. Here are the ten tips they came up with.

1. Plant something and nurture it.

2. Count your blessings--at least five--at the end of each day.

3. Take time to talk. Have an hour-long conversation with a loved one each week.

4. Phone a friend with whom you have not spoken for a while and arrange to meet up.

5. Give yourself a treat every day and take the time to really enjoy it.

6. Have a good laugh at least once a day.

7. Get physical. Exercise for half an hour three times a week.

8. Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once each day.

9. Cut your TV viewing by half.

10. Spread kindness. Do a good turn for someone every day.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

The loop of confidence

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Self-confidence can make all the difference in the world in creating the life you want. When you feel confident, you're more willing to take risks. Setbacks don't phase you as much. You feel capable of doing whatever you set out to do.

Lack of confidence, on the other hand, can block you from creating the life you want.

The good news, regardless of how confident you feel right now, is that you can always develop more. How? In this article, the author calls it "entering the loop of confidence." You take a step, gain confidence from taking that step, and build on that confidence. The more confidence you feel, the better you feel about taking the steps. It feeds on itself.

And it doesn't matter if that first step is successful or not! I love the spin the author puts on it:

Now here is the key to entering the Loop of Confidence: the outcome of your initial step is irrelevant. What do I mean by that? It’s not the result of the initial step that matters (although if positive it’s an added bonus) but rather the fact and the act of taking the step. You had confidence in yourself to take the step. Let’s reinstate that again…the outcome does not matter, what does is that you made the leap and took a step forward.

Simply having the courage to take the step is a confidence builder. "Success" of that step is merely frosting. The key is breaking the logjam.  What I love about that idea is that it removes one of the biggest obstacles I see holding people back - the fear of failure. If the success lies in taking the step in the first place, the risk of failure doesn't exist.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Don't wait for certainty - do something!

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If you've been reading this blog for long, you know that I have a friend who is rowing from Portugal to Costa Rica, and that I am constantly finding parallels between that and creating the career of your dreams.

Take uncertainty, for example. So many people are stuck in their careers, waiting for "certainty" to arrive so they can take a step towards work they love. But certainty seldom comes from standing still, so they keep trudging down that same dissatisfied path until either the frustration grows greater than the fear, or they retire.

For Erden (my friend) and Tim (his rowing partner), uncertainty pretty much defined the beginning of the journey. Erden had no open water rowing experience, Tim only had experience from rowing a converted sailboat across the Bering Sea, and they had only met each other briefly once before (go here for the story on how it came about).

Now, with the bulk of the Atlantic Ocean still ahead of them, a definite certainty still isn't part of the picture. But after nearly a thousand miles of rowing, they do have a greater certainty that they can handle whatever comes up. As Erden says in yesterday's dispatch:

By now, we know our limits, and we know the boat. Our minds are tuned to the winds and waves, we seem to be able to figure out what is required of us to reach a given destination. I am more confident in our abilities now than I was back in Lisbon; we will grin when that silly "have you done anything like that before?" question ever comes up again, instead of fidgeting...

With experience comes confidence, and understanding, and the knowledge that you really can handle things as they come. But the only way to get that experience is to plunge into the uncertainty and start rowing.

Ultimately, certainty doesn't come from waiting - it comes from doing. You don't have to take giant-leap steps like Erden and Tim...but you do have to take steps.

What step can you take this week - big or small - to move you toward your dreams? How about next week?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM