The Occupational Adventure (tm)

Let the ocean tell you where to go

As I have watched my friend Erden Eruc plan for and execute on his dream of human-powered circumnavigation of the world (with summit attempts on the highest peak on six continents thrown in), I have often thought how many parallels there are between what he is doing and creating the life of your dreams.

Take planning and control, for example. So often, we obsess about where life is going to take us. We feel the need for the security of certainty. But the reality is, often the best we can do is to carefully plan, ride where things take us, and adapt along the way.

In today's dispatch from the Pacific, Erden elaborates on his watermaker and its various backups. Then he makes a point that could easily apply to our efforts in life. 

Redundancy and alternate game plans require some advance planning, and where it all fails, creativity, improvization and survival skills help. Trusting that all will be fine is a comforting thought.

It's not about getting everything nailed down beyond a shadow of a doubt. That's probably not going to happen. But you can take a look at how you can prepare to maximize your chances for success, and then - rather than wail and moan when things go awry - tap into creativity and improvization to take you where you want to go.

Finally, he says...

I am about 150nm south of San Diego, and 500nm west of Bahia San Quintin. I can kick back and write a long dispatch as the boat tracks nicely due SW in favorable conditions, exactly where I want to go. I am feeling pretty good about my chances to carry on toward the dateline. I worry unnecessarily about my approach path to Australia, the last third of this crossing; the ocean will inevitably tell me where to go eventually.

I love that last sentence. "...the ocean will inevitably tell me where to go eventually." And so it is with life. So often we obsess with locking down the details every step of the way, when in reality what we need to do is pay attention, direct our progress as much as we can, pay attention to where life is telling us to go, and use that knowledge to go with the current rather than against it.

Take a look at your life right now. If you listen with an attitude of possibility, where is life telling you to go?

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

The Year of the Breakthrough Tour has begun

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Lisa Haneberg has begun her 10,000 mile Year of the Breakthrough motorcycle tour. Tied in with her new book, Two Weeks to a Breakthrough (see my post about it), Lisa will be speaking doing a circular tour of the US, stopping to speak along the way.

I absolutely love what she's doing. I've dreamed of doing something similar myself for a long time. It's very cool to see her actually doing it. I have two words for her...

Wheeee

Haaaaaaww!

Lisa is a great writer with great ideas. Keep watching her blog, as I'm sure her journey is going to be jam packed with insights and ideas.

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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

Arguing with reality

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Dick Richards has a great post over on Syntax & Soul about arguing with reality. It was inspired by his experience with a delayed plane in the Nashville airport. As he watched people's less-than-cool ways of responding to the situation, he says...

A phrase from Byron Katie’s book, A Thousand Names For Joy, came to mind: arguing with reality. That is what all of the agitation in the gate area was about. The plane was late. That was reality.

Passenger: I’m supposed to be in Vegas tonight.
Reality: The plane is late.

Passenger: Why do things like this always happen to me?
Reality: The plane is late.

Passenger: Damned incompetent airlines!
Reality: The plane is late.

Passenger: We should have taken an earlier flight.
Reality: The plane is late.

And then comes the zinger. The paragraph that went - for me anyway - straight to the heart of it:

When you argue with reality, you just can’t win. Never. The attempt carries with it some measure of utterly avoidable unhappiness and stress.

How often do you find yourself arguing with reality? How much energy have you wasted railing against what is?

I know my own answers to those questions are, "Too often," and, "Too much."

As Dick points out, reality will always have the upper hand. You can't win an argument with it, and the energy you waste with frustration and anger could be put to infinitely better use.

When I accept reality, I can start putting the time and energy into asking, "OK, given this situation, what can I do? What steps can I take? Where can I go? How can I use my time?"

In short, it takes me out of victim mode and lets me put my energy into moving forward.

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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

Making lemon margaritas

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Yesterday I got a good news / bad news e-mail from a former client of mine, Susan Metters. The good news was that she had just taken a great step towards building a writing career. The bad news was what she had to go through to get there.

Last May, at 39, Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer. She e-mailed me yesterday to tell me about her new blog on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer web site, Lemon Margaritas, which is based on her experience. As she says in the blog's description, "...when life hands you the proverbial lemon don’t settle for lemonade. Grab yourself some tequila, salt and a blender – then savor your lemon margarita with a smile on your face."

I'm inspired by Susan's perspective, and her message is one we all need to hear. Here's a nutshell version of it, from her bio:

In May of 2006 I was diagnosed with breast cancer – less than two months before my 40th birthday. While still reeling from the shock of my diagnosis I decided I didn’t want to experience cancer the way so many other people do. I didn’t want to be depressed, or sad, or defeated. I was going to turn cancer into a positive experience and have fun with it. Did I just say that? Fun? I’m kidding, right? I couldn’t be more serious. I was going to have a blast with cancer if it was the last thing I did. And since this is cancer we’re talking about it literally could have been the last thing I did. This was my life and I wasn’t going to waste any more time. The time for living was now. And so my adventure began.

This isn’t a blog just for cancer survivors. While it’s inspired by my personal experience with cancer this blog is about living, not dying. It’s about thriving not just surviving. It’s about choosing to change your life for the better no matter what crappy thing life may throw at you. And really, everyone can benefit from that. You don’t have to be diagnosed with cancer to need a kick in the butt to get out there and live your life.

I'm psyched that Susan has chosen to share her story and her unique outlook. It has the potential to make a positive impact on a lot of people.

Along those lines, I'd like to encourage you to make this more than a feelgood human interest story. Stop for a minute and ask yourself, "How does this apply to me?" Are you thriving, or are you surviving? Is there any place where your life could use a change for the better? Do you need a kick in the butt to get out there and really live your life? What would you change?

Regardless of where you are in your life, the time for making lemon margaritas is now.

 

Thanks Susan!

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Beliefs that hold you back

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Are you being held back in your career by limiting beliefs? If the answer is yes, you're in good company. Most of us are, to some degree. This article on beliefs that hold us back lists some of the most common. Do any of these feel familiar?

When it comes to our careers, here are the most common limiting beliefs.

   1. I am not skilled enough.
   2. Hard work is noble.
   3. Fulfilling work is for others, not me.
   4. Fulfillment comes from my personal life, not my work life.
   5. I'm too old to make a major life change.
   6. My family and friends will think I'm crazy.
   7. I'm a fraud – my success is a result of the corporate structure, or my tenure.
   8. The unknown isn't safe.
   9. I'm not sure that I can trust my decisions or choices.
  10. I'm afraid of failing in a new role.

Much to our chagrin, altering those (or other limiting beliefs) isn't typically just a simple matter of changing our minds. They seem to have an all-too-sticky staying  power. Why? 

Beliefs stay with us for three primary reasons:

First, we label them. ("I'm no good at math. My Mom (or Dad) wasn't either.") Labeling beliefs and focusing on where they come from helps us rationalize and make them okay.

Then we engage in selective data gathering. We seek out evidence to support our beliefs and ignore evidence that would support the opposite belief.

Finally, we disguise them – sugar-coat them – to make them more palatable. They become an ego advantage. For example, "I'm not as smart as…" can become "I work harder" – an empowering belief which could aid your career. (Just think of what could happen when you let go of the limiting belief – it makes positive even stronger: you are smart AND you work hard!).

The article goes on to suggest five steps for changing those limiting beliefs for good.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Motto magazine article - Thriving in the Discomfort Zone

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

OK, so I'm a little bit slow with this, considering the current issue of Motto has been out on the newsstands since March 1st, but here is a pdf of my most recent Motto article, Thriving in the Discomfort Zone. You may remember that the topic was persistently on my mind towards the end of last year, and it ended up becoming an article.

If you're new to this blog and you're not familiar with Motto, you should check them out. It's a national magazine, founded by a couple Wall Street Journal veterans, focused on work with "purpose, passion & profit." You can find it at Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods, etc. (or better yet, you can subscribe and have it delivered straight to you).

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Inspiration to reach for your potential

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I wrote a post this morning over on my HappyRant blog, and it just begged to be posted here as well. So here it is...

Sometimes what I run across as I'm out looking for something positive isn't breaking news, it's just a story about someone I want to know more about. Like this one about 40 year old Greg Smith.

40-year-old Greg Smith doesn't sugar coat it. His life has been far from easy. Born with muscular dystrophy, he wasn't expected to live past the age of 10. Now the father of three lives to inspire others.

"Not just people with disabilities, but everyone, because I feel like in my life, I've been through tough times, and I've come out victorious," said Smith. "And there is a story that anybody can be inspired by."

I started poking around to find out more about Smith. He's a national speaker, a radio show host, the subject of a documentary, and an author.

There is no fairy tale ending to Smith's story. The challenges in his life continue. Hurricane Katrina flooded their house in Mississippi with four feet of water just as he was dealing with congestive heart failure. He had to live in a nursing home for three months while their house was being rebuilt. And now...

Back home and recovered now, his body continues to grow weaker from M.D. He can no longer dress himself and needs help getting in and out of bed.

"I can't turn over in bed very easily, especially if I'm under a heavy blanket," said Smith. "I feel straight-jacketed at night. I have to condition my mind to just go back to sleep."

But he can still speak, and he continues to travel the country providing insights and motivation through the lessons he's learned along the way.

For me, the inspiration of stories like Smith's isn't just about seeing somebody overcome enormous obstacles. It's about how their story relates to me and my potential. As Smith put it as he was talking about the public's perception of the disabled... 

"We don't feel sorry for ourselves, so you shouldn't either," he said. "In fact, I view the lessons I've learned from my disability as an opportunity to teach other people what they can do, and what's inside their spirits as human beings."

Each of us has amazing potential. Most of us, truthfully, don't come anywhere close to embracing it. Stories like Smith's serve to shake us out of our little world of perceived barriers and restrictions, and remind us to reach for something bigger.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

22 tips to support your self-esteem

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A healthy self-esteem plays an invaluable role in creating the life you want. It can help you decide to take risks, recover from mistakes and failures, and look at the world through a positive lens.

Here's a great set of 22 tips to help support your self-esteem. Take a look at them. What suggestions can you build on? What can you do (or not do) to foster that self-esteem?

Regardless of your level of self-esteem right now - high or low - I'd wager you'll find ways in this article to enhance it.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

The voice of the skeptator

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A few days ago I had an interesting conversation with John Herman, who wrote the recently published book, The Innkeeper Tales. As we talked about how other people's opinions can get in the way of our dreams, he mentioned a word he coined that I absolutely love. Skeptator. As he describes it:

Every day that you get up you have a skeptator that's telling you, 'You can't do that. That won't work. Why are you trying that?' And you have to be able to shed that skin of listening to the skeptators exclusively. You have to hear everybody around you, but the inner voice is the one you have to listen to when it comes down to trying.

The skeptator isn't necessarily the enemy, Herman says.

I think the term skeptator is a realistic term. It's not a negative term. It simply says, there's going to be a check system in place, and you can choose to just let that in - which will kill your confidence and give you almost no chance of succeeding - or you can let that filter in.

And as you let it filter in, you ask, "Is this right? Is this valid? Is there information I need here?" Because sometimes the voice of the skeptator is exactly the insight or reminder you need.

Maybe because a skeptator said something to you, it jogs your mind and you say, 'That's right. I forgot to do some research about quantity, or quality, or price. Or, I may need to rethink something about how I want to format this book, or rewrite this song. So we learn from what the skeptators are telling us. We just aren't ruled by the skeptators.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

What's your story? Is it really?

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

I've been doing a short (5 - 10 minutes) standing medition / Qi Gong practice for the last couple weeks (inspired by my tai chi instructor at Embrace the Moon). Every time I settle in to begin, I discover this story about myself that my mind seems really attached to. "I don't have the patience for this."

It always takes a couple minutes for my mind to settle enough that it's not a constant chorus of, "Let's just stop. You can do this later." Of course, I don't listen, and eventually it fades. I'm always glad I stuck with it, because just the little bit of practice I do ends up feeling really good.

Watching that happen yet again this morning, it occurred to me how often we are attached to stories about ourselves that we are convinced are true, even when they're clearly not. "I can't ______. I don't have enough _______ for that. I'm just _______. I'm not the kind of person who _______."

Looking at the meditation practice, clearly I do have enough patience for it. I've done it before, and at one point in my life meditated for 30 - 45 minutes daily. So what seems like such a compelling fact (I don't have the patience for this), is really just my mind trying to wriggle it's way out of something.

I'd like to say that's the only place in my life that I do that, but it's not. And every place I do it, I'm throwing up barriers to change, growth, and the creation of the life that I really want.

I'm not alone on that. We all do it, to varying degrees. Take a look at your own life. What stories are you telling about yourself? What are you convinced is true that is limiting your possibilities and positive growth? Is it really true?

Or is it just your mind chatter digging in it's heels to stay put?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM