The Occupational Adventure (tm)

Networking the random acts of kindness way

I love the whole idea of doing well by doing good. Hunter Arnold at Make More of Your Job has a great post on how practicing random acts of kindness can actually be in our own best interests, as well as beneficial to the recipients of that kindness.

He tells the story of having a hotel room mix-up and being given a key to a room that was already occupied. While he was waiting for someone to bring up a key to a new room, the couple invited him in for a cocktail (rather than having him stand in the hall and wait). It turned out that they were both from his hometown.

...How strange that such a chance encounter would introduce me to not one, but two interesting people who I had so many things in common with.  Though we didn’t speak for long, I left the room with 2 more connections than I had when I’d checked in.  That’s the point of here: performing random acts of kindness can provide you with amazing chances to network and build your professional and social circle.

He points out that often we're so focused and heads down with our lives that we don't look around and notice the amazing people around us. Random acts of kindness give us an opportunity to connect with them.

He sums it up with this...

So the next time you’re in the office (or anywhere else) and you see someone who looks lost, confused or even overburdened, don’t ignore them.  Engage them, even ask if there’s any way you might be able to help.  If you make this a practice in life, you’ll be amazed how many people you meet and what you might have in common.  The more opportunities you give yourself to socialize, the more opportunities you’ll have to make the most of your career, and even your life.  By practicing random acts of kindness you’ll be keeping yourself engaged in the most important act of any successful career: networking. Remember: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Change your world, and the world changes

 

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Over on the Motto blog, Kevin Salwen points to some golden words that Will Marre (who helped Stephen Covey build his leadership program) shares on the American Dream Project, a site aimed at "helping people create change in their lives and live their dreams." They were so good, I couldn't help but share them here.

On the site, Marre talks about pondering their core message. Here's what he came up with...

Change Your World, and The World Changes. We are not powerless. There are answers on the sea of uncertainty we find ourselves adrift upon. Our research partner, DYG, reports that since 9/11 our societies’ psychological self-confidence has continued to decline and that our individual response is to face the truth that in the end we are responsible. Responsible for our own lives, our own future, the quality of our relationships, and the moral culture of our circle of influence. This is not the time to throw up our hands, nor to exhaust ourselves over-defining our problems. It is time to choose our lives. In so doing, we’ll have a rippling impact that will make all the difference.

Consider this:

-- If we are sick of foreign wars, make peace with our personal enemies.

-- If we are concerned with our nation’s debt, save our own money.

-- If we are sickened by materialism, buy only what we really value.

-- If we are concerned with global warming, conserve, walk, telecommute.

-- If we are worried about the environment, recycle, plant trees, grow something.

-- If we are angry with our leaders, propose and post real solutions.

-- If we are worried about health care costs, eat right, exercise, and sleep.

-- If we are worried about crime, drugs, and violence, participate in a neighborhood watch.

-- If we are sad about the decline of marriage, make ours the best example of commitment and fulfillment we can.

-- If we are worried about terrorists, put some boundaries between ourselves and those who use or abuse us.

I hope you can see what I’m trying to get at. These suggestions are simply metaphors for thinking about our lives. They are not meant to be absolute or literal statements. These are simply reminders that for every big overwhelming problem in the world, there is a version of it in our lives. If we focus on what we can control, our own lives will bloom and our influence will spread. So right now, what big-huge world problem is most disturbing to you? How does a version of that show up in your life? How’s the ecology of your relationships, the sustainability of your lifestyle, the humanity of your judgments? More than ever I believe that when we change our world, the world changes. I am sure there is something we could each change for the better right now. I know there is for me.

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Study: Careers helping others are among the happiest

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Want to up your happiness and satisfaction with your career, and life in general? How about a career focused on helping people? According to a new study out of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, "workers who spend their days improving the lives of others are among the most satisfied in the country."

The new report links people’s jobs to how satisfied they are in their careers as well as to their general happiness. “Work…is one’s main source of social standing, helps to define who a person is, and affects one’s health both physically and mentally,” wrote Tom W. Smith, director of the General Social Survey (GSS) at the University-affiliated National Opinion Research Center, in the report.

“We found that occupations that involved a high degree of prestige, particularly those involving caring for others…were the highest in job satisfaction,” Smith said in a telephone interview. Clergy ranked the highest, with 87.2 percent saying they were “very satisfied” in their careers. Firefighters (80.1 percent) and physical therapists (78.1 percent) were close runners-up. Rounding out the top 10 were education administrators, painters and sculptors, teachers, authors, psychologists, special education instructors, and operating engineers.

The results are drawn from over 27,000 face to face interviews with people across the US done between 1988 to 2006.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

What is your tree?

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In December of 1997, Julia Butterfly Hill climbed up into a 600 year old California redwood and stayed there for two years to prevent it from being cut down by a timber company. For her, it was an act of passion, love, and commitment. It was fueled by a drive to have a positive impact on her world in a way that inspires her.

I came across a short video clip of Julia (via Michael Herman's blog) where she asks the question, "What is your tree?" Pretty inspiring, huh? Well, it is if you understand what she means. In her words...

What is it in your life that calls you to be bigger than what you think is possible, for yourself and for your world? What is it that calls you to stretch beyond what is comfortable into places that are uncomfortable, and to realize that you are more powerful and more magical than your mind could have believed?

I think we absolutely fall prey to thinking too small about who we can be, and the difference we can make in the world. I love Julia's question, because for all its simplicity, it has the seeds for something profound in the life of each of us.

How about you? What is your tree?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Music through the dark

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I love people's stories. It's at the individual, human level that the world inspires me most.

Researching my upcoming trip to Cambodia, I recently came across a book called Music Through the Dark about a Cambodian man by the name of Daran Kravanh who survived the horrors of the Khmer Rouge in the 70's. 

It was one of those books I read almost in a single sitting. It was a true story set in genocidal events so horrific I can't even vaguely fathom their reality. Yet at the same time there was a note of beauty and hope woven through.

At the end of the book, I realized that Daran now lives in Tacoma, about 30 miles south of Seattle. The short version of the story is that I ended up visiting Daran and his family two weekends ago.

As I sat there in his living room, I marveled that this man who had experienced so much horror in his life exuded so much love, compassion, and kindness. He said something that stuck with me. He said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "I almost died so many times. But I'm here. I want to be positive with the time I was given, not negative. Why would anyone want to be negative?" Not those exact words, but you get the jist.

The message I took away was as powerful as it was simple. We all have a finite number of days left to live. We can either choose to focus on having a positive impact on the world around us, or a negative one. And when we really think about it, why would we spend those limited days we have making a negative impact?

That can be on a small scale or a large scale. It could be as small and simple as how we treat the random people we encounter as we go about our lives, or as large as how we choose to make a living.

In addition to my focus on passion, over the last year or so I have increasingly focused on the idea of how we can make a positive impact on the world with our work. My conversation with Daran reminded me why I feel so strongly about it.

How about you? How are you spending the days you have left?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

On a microcredit mission

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I had an amazing conversation this afternoon. You know the kind, the ones where you meet someone for the first time and you're pretty sure if you don't say, "OK, we need to stop talking now," it would be tomorrow before you ran out of things to say.

It was with Amy Thomas at WorldChangingBusiness, a company that is on a mission to raise $1 million for microcredit (an interesting coincidence considering this morning's new that Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank received the Nobel Peace Prize for their pioneering microcredit work).

I love the amazingly cool things people and organizations are doing with an eye toward changing the world for the better. The more I see it, the more excited I get.

WorldChangingBusiness is one of those organizations. They're launching their efforts toward raising that $1 million with the WorldChangingBusiness Tele-summit, a multi-day tele-event with a stellar line-up of experts who have made giving a part of their business model (check the site out for a full list). The focus of the tele-summit is how to grow your business AND make a positive contribution to the world.

20% of all ticket sales and 90% of contributions from corporate sponsors are going toward the $1 million for micro-development.

It's exactly the kind of thing that leaves me feeling fired up. I couldn't resist posting about it so you would know about it too.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

What's really important?

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On Friday a man forced his way into the Jewish Federation office here in Seattle and opened fire with a gun. One person died. Five were injured (three seriously). Saturday morning I discovered that one of the women who was seriously injured was a colleague from my marketing days whom I like and respect a great deal.

I was deeply shaken.

Tragedy has a strange way of stripping away the shallow clutter and focusing your attention. That morning none of my comparatively petty worries or desires mattered. For a moment they all fell away and left one question - "What's really important?"

In my journal that morning, I wrote, "...it occurs to me how much more strongly we gravitate to what's really important in times of crisis and tragedy - and how what's really important is inevitably about something bigger than ourselves."

Tragedy silences the noise. It silences the ego and the short-term, near sighted desires. It silences the messages about who and how we're supposed to be. And it leaves that one question standing there...

What's really important?

It's so easy to get lost in our egos and desires and expectations. I'm as guilty of that as anyone. I sometimes get lost in developing the whole idea of Curt the Passion Guy and lose track of what it's really all about. That morning yanked my attention to what's really important. For me, even beyond helping people find passion, it's about being a catalyst for other people who want to make a positive impact in the world. That's my bigger-than-me focus.

When I start getting wrapped up in my ego and expectations, things start getting out of wack. I'm inherently on shaky ground. It creates a need for constant external validation. "What do they think of me? Do they like what I have to say? Do they buy into my ideas? Do they think I'm a complete twit?"

Remembering that it's really about the difference I want to make in the world immediately shifts the focus and stabilizes my footing.  Not only that, it inspires me and motivates me.  Plus it just plain feels good.

I'll leave you with some questions to ponder: What's really important to you? What do you hear when you quiet the noise? What difference do you want to make in the world? Are you doing it? If not, why not? What can you do to get started?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Happiness and making a difference

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Are making a difference and happiness linked? Adam Grant, a researcher at the University of Michigan who has done numerous studies on the connection between the two, thinks they are (I posted about some of his work before here). Here, he is quoted in a USA Today article.

"You need to know your work is making a difference, and for whom," says Adam Grant of the University of Michigan. Firefighters who say they're motivated to work by economic need or excitement are much less satisfied than those who say they're driven by making a difference in people's lives, Grant says.

And apparently a personal connection with the difference you're making makes a difference as well.

Personal contact with beneficiaries seems to make people happier and boost performance. Cafeteria line workers are significantly happier than those who do "back kitchen" tasks, Grant's studies show. Line workers like to see the happy customers, who are missed by those in the back.

Not only are people happier when they have that personal contact, they seem to be more motivated to help as well. For example...

In another study, he invited a scholarship student to spend 10 minutes telling university fundraising solicitors about his life. Another group only saw a letter from the student. And a third just kept making phone calls as usual. In the next month, those who met the student raised about twice as much money as the other two groups.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Put your favorite quote to work

I posted this on the Worthwhile blog, and liked it so much I decided I needed to post it here too.

I love quotes. I'm constantly running across quotes I want to remember. The trouble with quotes though, is that they rarely amount to more than meaningless soundbites. They go in one ear, we nod vigorously in agreement, and then they go out the other.

The quote that got me thinking of this is one I love: "Be the change you wish to see in the world…" - Gandhi

It's a great quote. And a great idea. But I'd wager for most people its power gets lost at a big picture philosophical level. The real power of that quote comes when we ask ourselves, "OK, what does that mean to me? More specifically, what does that mean to me today? Right here, right now? What decisions do I need to make day in, day out to actually put the meaning of that quote into action?"

Change of any kind seldom comes as a made-for-Hollywood revolution. It comes from the cumulative impact of our every day choices.

Take a look at that Gandhi quote and ask yourself, "How do I apply that today? How do I apply that tomorrow?"

Try that with your other pet quotes. How do they actually apply to how you live your life on a daily basis? Look past the quick fix soundbite and start to apply the real meaning in a conscious, rubber-meets-the-road kind of way.

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst (sm)

Time for a career change? Launch it with...
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Make a positive impact with a voice of belief

Every once in a while I get an idea stuck in my head for no apparent reason. Right now, that idea is providing encouragement and positive feedback - believing in the dreams of others, and telling them so.

It's amazing how much of an impact that positive reinforcement can make. Simply hearing, "I believe you can," or, "That's a great idea," can build mountains of motivation and confidence.

When I think about this idea, my mind always goes back to a time shortly before I discovered my Passion Catalyst work when I was casting about for what my next career step would be. I knew marketing wasn't it. Among other things, I was exploring travel photography, travel writing, and being a rug merchant.

A short-lived e-commerce attempt with Zapotec weavings turned into an up-market, custom order concept. I could work with customers here locally on design, colors, etc. and then my Zapotec weaver friends in Oaxaca would weave it specifically for them. There could be a personal connection with pictures of the weaving in process, the story of the weavers, etc.

One evening I was showing a friend some of my weavings and telling him about my custom weaving idea. "Oh man!" he exclaimed. "That's so great. I know so many people who would jump on that. You could totally do that!"

I had thought it was a good idea before talking to him, but after talking to him I was flying high with motivation to make it happen. Nothing about the reality of the idea had changed, but his enthusiasm and encouragement added huge amounts of fuel to the fire.

I never took the idea anywhere - shortly after that I discovered my Passion Catalyst work - but the experience left a strong impression on me.

I suspect that most every day each of us has the opportunity to add fuel to somebody's fire. Sometimes just a little bit of kindling, and sometimes fuel for a roaring blaze. Look around you. Who could you tell, "I believe in you?" Where are the opportunities to say, "That's an amazing idea - I'm really excited for you?"

I'm sure my friend doesn't even remember the conversation about the weavings. It was just his natural response in a conversation that meandered all over the place over the course of the evening, but it made a significant impact on me. And with this post maybe, just maybe, the ripples from the splash he made will have that effect on others.

Believe in your dreams - and believe in the dreams of others. That's how we change the world.

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst (sm)

Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams