Entrepreneurship

Exercising the flow muscle

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Have you found that you can hardly get through a long news article these days? Reading a multipage document or an op-ed probably means skimming through the highlights before you click on a link, switch tabs in the browser or context shifting to another app. Reading a legal document is even more challenging. We’ve started to browse and snack through information versus sitting with it and digesting the message. It’s like fast food vs. a home-cooked meal. The home cooked meal takes longer, is more work and washing up, but it’s better for you and you understand the ingredients. Fast food with a quick bite and probably followed by a sugar high.

Concentrating takes practice. It’s a muscle. Fight the urge to context shift. Notifications on your phone are probably the most significant culprits. How many times have you been deep into something and are yanked out of the flow by a text message or a phone call? Start using Airplane mode and the Do Not Disturb function on your phone.

The stronger the muscle tissue becomes, the longer you can concentrate. This means getting more out of activities you enjoy, but it also means you can spend more time on things that don’t interest you but are essential like a tedious legal contract, safety manuals, assembly instructions.

Carve out the time and get into the flow.

Scratch the itch

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Sometimes in life, you’ve got to scratch that itch. Maybe it’s buying an old camper van you’ve always wanted. Perhaps it’s trying a new career, starting a company, living in New York City, making a road trip across the country, writing a book. Scratching that itch may lead to a significant life change, but it’s also may help you lay the ghost and satisfy you. You might love the old camper van, or you might find it’s a real schlepp to maintain, or that a flat battery on a rainy Tuesday morning really sucks. You might see that there are some really long dull spots in a cross-country trip and next time you’d be better off fliying.

Scratch the itch, it’ll satisfy you no matter what the outcome.

Catching creativity

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Creativity sometimes comes in bursts. If I hit a blocker, and there’s nothing – the key is not to get frustrated and contrive creativity. Don’t manufacture something that’s not ready to come out.

Changing my routine, shaking up rituals or meeting with friends is a great way to unblock the flow. When it finally comes, I make the time to capture the creative flow. It’s like building a dam for the melting snowpack. Don’t let the precious water go to waste.

Successful generous people

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Most of the successful people I know have a common trait. They are generous with their time and money. Like attracts like. I think the generosity comes first and the success follows. Yes, there will always be hoarders and takers, but I think they are the exception and not the rule.

Watch for yourself – you’ll pick up a pattern. Lucky, generous people share their things and expertise, welcome new friends into their community, offer to help at the right moments and value loyalty. They have an abundance mindset. In their minds, there is always enough for everyone.

Energize your day

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Kick the coffee. Drink herbal tea.🍵 It’ll regulate your moods.

Drop the booze at night. You’ll sleep deeper and wake up rested

Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning.

Exercise for at least 25min every day. Get a balance of anaerobic and aerobic exercise.

Phone a friend and catch up. Don’t text or post something. Phone the person. Connect with them, don’t just communicate with them.

Get lunch outside of the office. It’ll get you walking, and you’ll probably eat with someone else.

Drink lots of water.

Avoid sugar, especially during the afternoon slump. Same with coffee.

Eat oats in the morning. You’ll also lose weight. Avoid toast for breakfast, especially with sweet jams, etc. are not ideal for breakfast. Toast is an efficient food delivery system, so be careful what the cargo is. If you must have toast, then have it with some butter.

Spend time with positive people.

Smile 😊

Be kind and shrug off grudges and slights. Grudges suck up a ton energy.

Be thankful for one thing every day.

Be social. We are pack animals. A community is a powerful thing.

Giving is energizing. Be a giver.

The courage to make principle-based decisions

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Practice making principle-based decisions. The practice will keep you consistent, reliable.

When you are asked a question – frame your response around your core principles and then answer the question within the framework of the principles.

Loyalty might be one of your principles. If you are asked to betray a friend, then your loyal principle will help you get to a principle-based answer.

Honesty might be one of your principles. If you are asked to lie about something, then your honesty principle will help you answer truthfully.

The principles that govern your behavior are just words if you aren’t courageous enough to stick to your principles when the pressure is on, or when you have something to lose. We are seeing this happen in the current political climate where politicians lack the courage to adhere to their principles. That’s why people applaud so much these days when we see a CEO or politician stands by her principles even when it’s not in her best interest. That takes courage. Without courage, you’ll end up compromising when it matters most.

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities… because it is the quality which guarantees all others.  – Winston Churchill

Proficiency and Joy

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Work hard every day. Turn up and go deep on stuff, but don’t ignore what brings you joy and what you are proficient in. Listen for feedback. Do people want to work with you again, is it satisfying, is it valued, are you proud of the product?

Double down where your proficiency and joy intersect. There’s no point working away at something in a mediocre way that makes you miserable.

Use what talents you possess, the woods will be very silent if no birds sang there except those who sang best – Henry Van Dyke

11 signs of bullshitters:

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They talk fast and don’t say anything.

There are lots of words and no action.

They are confident and wrong.

They have no close friends or long relationships.

They have short tenures.

There is a disconnect between digital persona and real life.

It’s never yes or no. There’s always a story.

It’s never their fault.

They saved the day.

The left when the going got rough.

They never say they just don’t know.

 

 

 

 

 

The space between the notes

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Music is the space between the notes. From Mozart to Adele, it comes down to the pauses and inhalations, which allows the music to flourish.

Breaks and a breath in life are the same thing. Whether it’s first thing in the morning or before a meeting. Stop, pause and breathe – then ACT. Let your music play.