Category: Growth

Growth Perspective

The gap

 

There is an awkward phase in the growth process that can feel disorienting, complicated and confusing – Let’s refer to it as the gap. It’s the space between who we are today and the person we are striving to be.

Because change does not happen all at once, our actions and thoughts go through a period of adjusting to the new reality we are trying to live in. During this period, we may be aware of a habit we want to change, but our actions may reflect a different reality.

For example, we may want to make healthier choices everyday or spend more time on creative endeavors. But, when we are in the gap phase of growth, we may make unhealthy choices or waste time because our new habits are not yet fully aligned to the point where they can consistently overcome old habits.

The gap just means that there is a part of us that still needs to catch up to our new reality. Some people may give up during this phase, thinking that the change they want is impossible. The reality is, we must go through the perceived struggle that the gap phase produces to realize the change we want in our lives.

Growth Perspective

Slowing down

As an entrepreneur and creatively inspired being, slowing down feels like a threat to action – the one thing I’ve grown to depend on. Which is why it has been difficult for me to reconcile that slowing down is the vehicle that moves me towards the things I want in life at the most accelerated rate.

Slowing down has allowed me to be more intentional with my actions, creating a focus that is direct and on purpose. It has allowed me to take a step back to see the bigger picture, and helps me identify and remove things that are not beneficial for my life.

If you feel overwhelmed, uninspired, unmotivated, or want to move towards an unknown “more” in your life, ironically enough, slowing down may be the vehicle that helps get you there at the most accelerated rate.

Growth

How does it end?

Knowing how things end takes all the excitement out of the experience. It’s the journey, the steps, the unexpected twist and turns that makes life interesting.

Some people plan so they can be in control, as much as humanly possible, of how it ends.

My plans give me a good starting point so that I can let go, have options, be surprised, and enjoy the ending that is impossible to plan or know for sure.

Are you planning for the illusion of control or to establish a good starting place that allows you to enjoy the ending?

Growth Perspective

How to become a visionary

Visionary is defined as:

vi·sion·ar·y
(especially of a person) thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom.

I put the search term “How do I become a visionary” in Google and discovered….

visionary-screenshot

People most often search, how do I become a visionary:

– Leader
– Thinker
– Person
– Artist

The top-five search results were:

1. 5 Steps for Becoming a Visionary Leader | Inc.com

2. How to become a visionary in five easy steps | Psychology Today

3. How To Become A Visionary Leader (Without Really Trying…) | Forbes

4. Become a Visionary Leader | Wharton Executive Education

5. You Can Learn To Be The Next Steve Jobs | Business Insider

Being a visionary is not an easy road. When you imagine the world differently, you do so through individual experience that has shaped each unique thought and then informs something that has not yet been given an expression in the world.

Through a new expression of thought, visionaries challenge the status quo, widely accepted perspectives and strongly held beliefs. Many are meet with adversity along the way, often misunderstood, and they do not always reap the rewards of their contribution during their lifetime.

I am not certain that visionaries like Martin Luther King Jr., Walt Disney and Tesla would find value in taking a course like “Become a Visionary Leader?” I am not even confident they could teach that course. Because, if a visionary is someone who plans and moves into action through their imagination or wisdom, how can we learn to be a visionary through steps, plans, wisdom or the imagination of someone else?

If you want to be a visionary leader, thinker, person or artist, it has to be developed, nurtured and expressed through you.

Brand Strategy Growth

Celebrate yourself

If you’re working towards something, chances are you’ll have some successes along the way. A challenging thing to do during this forward momentum is to pause and celebrate the micro accomplishments that are the result of all the steps you’ve taken.

I find myself reminding clients (and myself) that its okay to pause and celebrate. At first, it may feel unproductive or premature, but that’s only because it rubs against the frantic, bulldozer approach associated with most goals.

Our goals are meant to provide nourishment through their accomplishment. And celebrating can help battle fatigue and sustain momentum by reigniting our connection to the desired outcome. If we can’t celebrate along the way, is it really a worthy ambition in the first place? Take the time to celebrate yourself, when you reach the end, you’ll be thankful that you did.

Growth

Teach them who you are

It’s not hard to fall in the “proving” trap. That is when we feel we must overwork or overcompensate to prove that we are worthy of belonging in some capacity. The problem is that overcompensation is never a reflection of who we really are, it’s only a product of what we feel others want or expect us to be.

Proving is not a sustainable or effective strategy. Instead of teaching people that you can be what they want you to be, teach them who you are.

Growth

Taking inventory

What establishes a brands worth in the perspective of potential and current clients? I often witness brands and people who offer an exceptional service or experience, that do not get the same return on their efforts as comparable ones who offer an inferior service.

What factors contribute to the superior service being marginalized, while the inferior service receives a higher return? If I had to choose the single biggest reason this happens, I would conclude that the superior service has not stepped back to take inventory of itself and realize that it is exceptional.

In order to get what we’re worth, we must pause and take inventory of who we really are, and realize what are offer truly is.

Growth Perspective

Fresh start

What would you do if you were given the opportunity for a fresh start? How would you do things differently this time around? What things would you keep, revise or do away with?

It can be difficult to move when we feel weighed down, that’s the appeal of a fresh start. It gives us an opportunity to look at things with a clear vision and can reinvigorate hope.

A fresh start begins with us. We don’t have to wait for our environment to change or the situation to be just right. We get to lead the ship, so what are we waiting for?

Growth

One thing every day

For a while, my most cherished quote was:

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

It served as a constant reminder that a little effort each day adds up. Anytime the road ahead seems impossible, it’s good to remember that things rarely happen all it once. It’s the little things we do every day that have the greatest impact on our lives.

Growth Perspective

Routine

I have a daily routine that I operate within each morning. My routine is a sequence of events that I have crafted together after much trial, error and conscious effort. It’s a pattern of action that best helps me prepare for the day.

I used to have a great deal of resistance to a routine. I felt it would make my days seem too predictable and take the spontaneity and creativity away from life. In practice, my morning routine is the foundation that I build the rest of my day from. It allows me to be intentional about my creative efforts and offers me space so that I can visualize alternative possibilities.

A routine can seem like a dull existence, in reality, it’s the very thing that helps support productive creativity.