Wanted: open-hearted troublemakers

July 27, 2011July 26, 2011 ~ Sasha ~ Leave a comment

Katya posted here and here about a call for co-conspirators in creating Generosity Day 2012. For newer readers, we launched Generosity Day 2011 as a reboot of Valentine’s Day, a chance to create a day about genuine love, openness and connection with everyone. Katya’s post has the full scoop.

The first time we did it, it was a flash-mob of an idea created and executed in 72 hours over a weekend. With no budget or plan, we created a mini-phenomenon, validating our hunch that there’s a hunger out there for permission to act differently.

Let’s make it bigger, bolder, better in 2012.

Here’s the sign-up form for any role you want to play, big or small (enthusiastic support from the sidelines; committing to spread the word; being part of the core planning team; etc.)

The day only happens if you’re part of it. Sign up here. (No downside, no spam, we promise). You can even click just to tell us you like the idea.

Work really hard

May 19, 2011May 18, 2011 ~ Sasha ~ 8 Comments

All the most incredible people I know work hard. Really hard. Crazily hard.

My first job out of college was as a management consultant. The deal in those jobs is that you sign away your life for a few years in exchange for a professional experience that gives you a lot more exposure and learning than you really deserve, given what you know.

That was my experience. In the first two months on the job I worked 7 days a week, 12-14 hours a day. It was pretty miserable. And that was a close approximation of the next four years. Of course, I also learned a lot.

I also figured that working that hard had to be temporary. It had to be, I figured, since the distinction between “work” and “my life” was a bright line. Work wasn’t terrible, but it was definitely work = something I had to do. Not working = fun. Over time, the more I worked the less I felt I was living. For me, that was exhausting.

That’s why I think passion and loving what you do win every time – because you want to be there. Your mind is always churning with the next idea, not because your boss tells you to but because you’re doing your life’s work.

Of course you’re not going to love every job every day starting today for the rest of your life. It takes some time to get there, since it’s a combination of self-discovery, trial-and-error, and chance.

If you’re not working at your dream job today, what do you do?

The easier, but ultimately limiting, option is to slog away at the job you don’t love, and steal every last minute you can for “free time.”

The other option is to make finding and living your passion a big part of what you do, starting today. You don’t do this by quitting your job (assuming that’s not an option) but by taking the time you have when not at “work” to keep on working, not on your day job but at discovering and learning your craft and your passion.

Jump into your dreams today. Find the 15 most influential/inspirational people doing/writing about the work you hope to do, and read them religiously. Add in a few people who are going to give you a daily dose of kick-in-the-pants inspiration. Get involved in conversations that will lead to opportunities for real-life interaction and opportunity. Learn the skills that will serve you in your life’s work – by setting aside the time today, rolling up your sleeves, and doing the work.

Stephen King famously said that step 1 in writing is “Put butt in chair.” That chair isn’t placed in front of a TV or a computer that’s browsing Facebook, it’s not a barstool and when you sit in it you’re not reading a trashy novel.

It’s placed squarely in front of the tools of your trade, the ones you hope, someday, to master.

Frankly my dear…

November 23, 2010November 22, 2010 ~ Sasha ~ Leave a comment

I saw a woman today ringing her bell for Salvation Army holiday collections – mostly what I noticed was her big yawn and the fact that she was texting while ringing her bell.

She’s just doing a job. But you’re not.

If you’re not fully invested, we aren’t invested at all.

Rocky roads are…rocky

August 10, 2010August 9, 2010 ~ Sasha ~ Leave a comment

Say you need to make a big change.

If that’s the case (and it isn’t always the case, but sometimes it is) then what? Once you know you need to make a major change, once you decide that what you’ve been doing isn’t enough to get you where you need to go, do you assume that the road to get there is going to be as smooth as the one you’ve been on?

It’s somewhere you haven’t gone before, right? That makes it unexplored territory.

Rocky roads are bumpy, uncomfortable to ride on, and they have no road signs. So things might be a little unpleasant along the way. You’ll crash into each other some. And all of a sudden it’s up to you, not the road, to figure out after the first few miles if you’re going in the right direction or if, in fact, you’ve veered off the path and are headed in the wrong direction.

But turning around because the road is rocky – because the new behaviors and tactics feel uncomfortable or awkward; because it doesn’t work right the first time; because it’s not the way you’re used to doing things – that’s a non-starter. Because that will get you back on the path you were on, and you’ve already seen where that leads – it’s not the right destination, right?

It’s not always better to veer off course, but when you decide to do it, be prepared for the bumpy right, tell people what to expect going in, and commit to staying on the path (even if you change tactics along the way) for long enough to figure out if you are in fact heading in the right direction.

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Perseverance

December 22, 2009December 21, 2009 ~ Sasha ~ Leave a comment

You don’t need it when people are cheering you on, when sales are piling up, when the press is pounding down your door, when you’re getting praise and are in the limelight.

You do if you ever want to get there.