The Occupational Adventure (tm)

Two Weeks to a Breakthrough

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Lisa Haneberg has declared 2007 the Year of the Breakthrough. I've long been a fan of her 2Weeks2aBreakthrough blog. Now she has a book by the same name - Two Weeks to a Breakthrough: How to Zoom Toward Your Goal in 14 Days or Less.

I'm typically not a fan of the fast food genre of success literature. "Achieve (fill in the blank) in three easy steps!" But Lisa's book isn't the run of the mill fast food recipe. It's more of a program you can incorporate to inject some momentum into your journey.

The program has several different components:

The daily practice: "...a combination of sharing your goal, taking action, and making requests"

Focusing practices: "...perform tasks that improve your focus"

Action practices: "...perform tasks that increase the velocity of action in support of your goal"

Obliterating resistance: "...examine various sources of resistance and employ techniques that reduce or remove barriers to success"

For me, what's golden about what Lisa lays out here isn't that it's a magic potion for automatic breakthroughs in two weeks (I'm a bit too cynical to believe there is such a thing). It's that she's created a framework to work with, coming at it from multiple perspectives. It's not just a "power of positive thinking" book. It's a power of positive action book. And positive dreaming. And positive support. And positive planning. And positive...well, you get the idea.

Whether your breakthrough takes two weeks or two months (or more), Lisa's book gives you a great set of tools to increase the likelihood that it will actually happen.

Lisa outlines a different focus for each of fourteen days...

Day One. Launch: Wearing Your Goal and Defining Success

Day Two. Conversations for Change

Day Three. Discovery

Day Four. Connecting - The Share Blitz

Day Five. Fresh Eyes

Day Six. What If?

Day Seven. Analysis

Day Eight. Wild Ideas

Day Nine. Requests Blitz

Day Ten. Playing and Planning

Day Eleven. Action Blitz

Day Twelve. Giving Back

Day Thirteen. Being It Today

Day Fourteen. Thanks and Reflection

If you're in the US, you might have an opportunity to catch Lisa in action. She is headed out soon for a 10,000 mile Year of the Breakthrough tour motorcycle journey, where she will be stopping in cities around the US to spread the breakthrough gospel.

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst (sm)

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The genius of mistakes - a real world picture

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

A year ago I wrote about creating a mistake genius journal, a journal you keep with the intent of gaining insights from the mistakes you make that you can then use as you move ahead. 

When Matt Cornell at Matt's Idea Blog read that post, he took the idea to heart, and for the last year he has been journaling his mistakes and the knowledge they have to offer. Check out his excellent snapshot of what he's gotten out of that process.

Here's a nutshell of what he got out of it:

The result? As of today I have over 120 entries, which means on average I noticed something useful every three days (!) I have to admit, looking at mistakes as learning opportunities, and tracking them, has changed the dynamic for me, in many cases taking the emotional "oomph" out of them (I used to be pretty hard on myself about them).

Might a mistake genius journal be on your horizon for 2007?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Emotional mentors

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

When I say, "mentor," what comes to mind? Usually it's someone with more experience who has done what you want to do, or who has insights on specific elements of what you need to succeed in your journey. Someone who knows more than you do who can share that knowledge and offer guidance.

In a post about finding good mentors by developing relationships, Penelope Trunk - one of my favorite bloggers - points out a different kind of mentor that can be just as important...

“There are two kinds of mentors. The instrumental mentors give practical help, and the socio-emotional mentors look to build your confidence and let you know they believe in you...

As one who has suffered more confidence meltdowns along the way than I care to remember, I can't stress enough how important this can be. It's a strange truth that often others have a much more accurate picture of our potential and ability than we do ourselves. Getting that outside perspective from time to time can have a hugely positive impact.

Penelope goes on to talk about cultivating those mentor relationships...

You can build a great network of contacts, but when you have a crisis in confidence you need someone who is emotionally invested in you. To cultivate that emotional investment, keep in touch; a mentor follows your career over a long period of time. Send updates about what you’re doing, offer congratulations on the mentor’s big moves and be on the lookout for quick little ways to build a long, meaningful relationship.

Who are your emotional mentors? Where do you turn when you need a boost to your confidence and a reminder that you have what it takes?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM