From Chaos to Consciousness

November 5, 2009 By admin 2 Comments

One of the characteristics of my Myers-Briggs type (ENFP) is that I thrive on possibilities. While this is exciting and often leads to glorious bursts of creativity, it also means that I frequently find myself awash with multiple interests and too many uncompleted projects. This is also characteristic of “Scanners,” as described in Barbara Sher’s book, Refuse to Choose.

In his post this morning, Jonathan Fields asked, “are you building a body of work or a cornucopia of chaos?” My natural tendency toward pondering the possible rather than concentrating on the concrete leads me toward the chaotic side of the equation. In explaining the difference between the two, Jonathan listed several dichotomies, here are a couple that hit home for me:

• One is about progressive, conscious building within a well defined area of interest, the other is about bouncing to wherever the next perceived opportunity lies without regard to growth and consistency.

• One is about being mindful, present and proactive, the other is about being disconnected, frenetic and reactive.

I often find myself “bouncing to perceived opportunities” and “being disconnected, frenetic and reactive.” These tendencies inhibit productive work and lead to greater confusion. Here’s my take on how to handle it:

1) Recognize what is happening. When we run around trying to keep too many balls in the air at once, we may think we are being productive when we are really just being way too busy. When you find yourself being forgetful, running late, or struggling to keep track of everything, you’re doing too much.

2) Stop, look, and listen. When you notice you are in the midst of frenetic activity, stop whatever you are doing, look at your surroundings, and listen to your breathing. You will naturally shift into a moment of mindfulness. From that place of centered awareness, you can regain your perspective and chose a less chaotic path going forward.

As Jonathan reminds us, “powerful legacies rarely if ever occur in the form of scattershot, piecemeal efforts…cornucopias of chaos… no matter how fun, windswept or purposeful they seem when we’re adrift with them.”

When you find yourself moving into chaos, what do you do to shift out of it?

Filed Under Self Development Tagged With creativity, self-actualization

Entrepreneurship: the Path to Ultimate Fulfillment

October 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

According to renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow, our unfulfilled needs make themselves known through feelings of restlessness: “the person feels on edge, tense, lacking something.” When we feel this way, we are motivated to act to fulfill those needs. This is what propels us to make changes in our lives and to seek greater fulfillment in the things we do.

Many of us have felt this kind of restlessness in relation to our jobs and the work we do. When you feel restless, tense, or on edge at work, it may be a sign that you’re not doing work that is fulfilling to you, that you are not self-actualized. Self-actualization is achieved when we are successfully fulfilling all of our needs.

Maslow created a hierarchy of needs “Hierarchy of Human Needs;” the basic needs like breathing, food, and water are on the bottom and self-actualization is at the top. In order to be completely fulfilled, one must achieve self-actualization. When this occurs, many positive characteristics emerge. People become more accepting of themselves, more spontaneous, self-reliant, and independent. They gain a stronger sense of integrity, as well as an increased zest for life and sense of humor. Creativity and curiosity increase, self-esteem improves, and people become more altruistic, humanitarian, socially responsible, and adaptable to change.

What I find most interesting about this list is that the majority of successful entrepreneurs I know embody these traits. By stepping out of the world of traditional employment, they became more self-actualized and, in turn, more able to handle the challenges of entrepreneurship.

“If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves” – Thomas Edison

Filed Under Self Development, Starting a Business Tagged With Entrepreneurship, fulfillment, self-actualization

Thinking like an Entrepreneur

September 14, 2009 By admin 4 Comments

For most people, the toughest part about leaving a job is the concern about a stable income.   We live in a culture that trains us from childhood to follow the rules, work hard, know the right answers and teachers will reward you with good grades. These lessons groom us for the employee mentality.  Be at work on time, work hard, maybe you can get a good “grade” resulting in the reward of a raise. By virtue of our jobs, we live around set schedules of when to sleep, eat, go to work, take a break, go home and take vacations.  It is a very structured life.  Step out of the job world and you are suddenly free of the schedules, the structure, the expectations of employers and co-workers.  The very ambiguity sends some would be entrepreneurs back to the perceived security of the J-O-B.  With the recent trend of downsizing, furloughing, and layoffs, there is no longer security in having a job. (Was there ever?)

Why not consider starting your own enterprise?  Use your skills and talents in a way that is not only personally satisfying but also fills a need in the marketplace.  One of the advantages is the ambiguity; when you don’t know what’s coming next, you are pushed to be creative, to stretch your imagination and to live outside your “comfort zone.”  If you try out an idea, a service, or product and you don’t get the results you want, you get to improvise, improve the design, or create something different.  It’s wonderfully empowering to use your own skills, talents and abilities to turn an idea into a product or service that serves others and brings you income.  Not ready to leave  your steady job?  That’s okay –  you can always start a business on the side and see where it grows!  Just remember to focus on thinking like an entrepreneur.

“You can do or be whatever you want in your own life.  Nothing can stop you, except your own fears.  Don’t blame anyone else…you have the power to make the decision.  Just do it.”            – Nola Diamantopoulos

“Victory always starts in the head.  It’s a state of mind.  It then spreads with such radiance and such affirmations that destiny can do nothing but obey.”  –Douchan Gersi

Filed Under Starting a Business Tagged With empowerment, Entrepreneurship, self-actualization

Dreaming or Doing?

March 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Inside all of us are dreams unrealized and wishes looking for ways to become reality.  How do we move our brilliant inspirations into action?  The first step is to imagine what our ideal work life could be; the second step is to move toward  that vision.  You can daydream forever but to reach your goal of a fulfilling work life, action must be taken.  Sometimes we know what we need to do to move forward in the direction of our dreams but we just can’t seem to take that first step.  Why?  Maybe we become overwhelmed by the possibilities or by the challenges of making changes.  Or maybe we just need more information to decide which direction to take.  Then there is the insidious often underlying obstacle:  fear.

You know that pesky inner critic that pipes in and says stuff like;  “you can’t do that because…” or “that’s a stupid idea” or “you don’t have what it takes”?  That is fear talking.  Inertia kicks in and we damp down our yearnings and convince ourselves that we are okay staying with the familiar, safe, and standard pattern of working.  (Not that it is any of those things given our current economic climate).  What if instead, we listened to the voice of our hearts, our brilliant ideas, our yearnings, and put real action into creating the career of our dreams doing work we are passionate about?

What is one thing you can do today to support your vision of an ideal work situation?  Is it starting your own business?  Working in a non-profit?  Being an independent consultant?  Working part time and writing a book? Owning a bed and breakfast?  Being a travel photographer?  The opportunities are endless.  Just taking action in the direction of your vision can kick you out of inertia, help you overcome your resistance, and silence your inner critic (for a while anyway).  It may be two steps forward, one step back for a time but once you get some momentum going, as Dr. Seuss said; “Oh the places you’ll go!”

Filed Under Finding Your Passion, Starting a Business Tagged With Entrepreneurship, Passions, self-actualization, Starting a Business