Intentional Tuesdays

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Does it matter?  It might.  Depending on your answer, it might be the most important question you should be asking right now.  Your overall sense of happiness and satisfaction is tightly correlated to your answer.  

Before we get too deep, let’s explore what we mean by Job, Career, and Calling.  

You have to do it.  It’s a matter of survival.  Your job is a means to an end.  You do the job to make money.  To make ends meet.  A job is mostly about you.  

Of course, as part of your job you provide service to someone else.  Every job is a service to someone.  But with a job you feel distanced from that service.  A job feels like “work" because there’s a disconnect between the what and the why.  

Chances are, you are pretty good at your job.  After all, that’s what allows you to keep it.  However, in this job, you are probably not hitting your sweet spot on a regular basis.  You probably sense that you’re being asked to do the wrong things.

When you have a ...

Are you a leader, manager, coach, or mentor? 

It’s really a trick question, because each of us probably has occasion to play all four of these roles from time to time.  However, we can only play one of them at a time and deciding which of the four is most appropriate for the situation can be challenging.  How do you know which is best for any given moment?

To answer this question, we must first examine the core elements of each function.

Leadership 

I like to say the primary function of leadership is to create motivation through uncertainty.  Leadership is about communicating a vision of the future.  A vision of a better way and a better place. 

Although this vision is inspiring, it also creates a degree of uncertainty, because we do not yet know how to achieve that vision.  We don’t know how to get there.  We have direction (via destination) but we do not have directions.  

In terms of results, leadership is primarily focused on long-term results and the results are our resul...

Complete this sentence ... my life would be better, if I had more ...

Did you say sex?  If so, I can't help you.  But if you said time, then stick around, because we're about to launch into a month-long series on managing time. 

This week we focus on getting clarity about what is most important.

I hope you enjoy it,

Prosperous Journey,

-zog.

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If you are interested in learning more about the Eisenhower Matrix, check out this short video.  It's a great place to start.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suGXZ1869qc

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Photocredit:  https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/

For the past three weeks, we’ve been exploring the concept of Creativity, with the following key premises…

1. Each of us is Creative
2. Creativity is something worth pursuing, regularly
3. We can cultivate creativity

In case you missed the three-part video series, I’ll provide links below.  This week will conclude our creativity series with a written recap.

Are You Creative?

What is the role of creativity in your life right now?  Not sure?  Take 30 seconds to complete this self-assessment and come back here when you’re finished.  Don’t worry, you won’t have to enter your email address or offer up your credit card info.  (Feel free to leave those in the comments 😉) 

How did you do?  

In my experience, most adults struggle a bit when it comes to creativity.  Either they don’t think they are creative, they don’t see the value in creativity, or a combination of the two.  This is really unfortunate, in my opinion and we’ll get into the reasons why later in this article.  

For now, le...

How much time do you spend thinking your signature? Ummm. None?

After all, it’s just our name, scribbled in our own hand. Not very exciting. Not very useful.

But if we look closely, we’ll see that our signature is much, much more. 

What’s the most famous signature you know?

Easy right? It’s so famous, the man’s name has become synonymous with the act of signing...

John Hancock.

There it is, right in the middle. Big and bold for the world to see. Declaring his independence.

Our signature is the definitive indication of our intention. When we sign our name to something, it means we endorse it. We own it. Our signature carries the weight of our commitment. Our integrity.

Don’t offer it lightly.

Signature also has a metaphorical meaning. Our signature implies our unique style. Our unique approach. Whatever we do, we do it uniquely. It’s easy to slip into default thinking and tell ourselves that we are no different than anyone else, but deep down, we know that’s not really true. De...

Do you have trouble taking credit for things, even though you, and the people around you, know that you deserve it? Do you have trouble with self-promotion because it feels cheesy or inauthentic? If you do, you’re not alone. It’s actually quite common.

But is it a problem?

One could argue that hesitation about taking credit or about self-promotion is probably grounded in a deep sense of humility or in selflessness. These are positive traits, right? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if more people were humble and selfless? No argument here.

The things become a problem only when the person sees them as a problem. In other words, does the humble and selfless person believe these traits are costing them opportunities for personal and professional growth? Does the person believe their overall happiness and satisfaction are suffering, either directly or indirectly, as a result? If so, then we have a problem.

Unfortunately, a lot of people experience this problem and they don’t do anyt...

Requests are one of the most fundamental building blocks in personal and professional relationships, yet many of us struggle with making and receiving requests. A huge part of the problem lies in the language that we choose. I’m talking about the difference between implicit and explicit language.

What’s the difference?

Implicit means that something in implied, or suggested, but NOT expressed directly. Explicit, of course, means that something is expressed clearly and directly. 

In other words, implicit means we don’t have to actually say what we mean but the other person will still get what we mean. Simple enough. Right?

Most of us use implicit language on a regular basis. In fact, we tend to think of implicit language as a good thing, because it allows us to get our point across without having to spell everything out in detail. Although there are occasions when implicit language creates efficiency, for the most part I think the opposite is true. Implicit language brings such a hig...

What can the craft of writing teach us about how to live? Lot’s actually. This week’s Intentional Tuesday is part of the WriteLife series, which explores the overlap between good writing and good living. You won’t want to miss it.

In his Masterclass, author Neil Gaiman explains a surefire technique for writing compelling drama. He encourages writers to constantly bring characters to a “fork in the road.” A point where they need to make a crucial decision. If the character feels the significance of the decision, the read will feel it too. Do this over and over again, and you’ll have a solid story worth reading. Pretty cool.

As an aspiring writer, I appreciate this technique. But what does it have to do with real life?

How many decisions do you make every day? Dozens? Hundreds? Some research indicates it’s in the multiple thousands of decisions every day. No wonder I’m so tired.

How many of those decisions are conscious? Intentional? Suddenly the numbers are pretty small. Five? Ten? ...

Are you an artist? What would change about your work if you thought of yourself as one? A few things, I suspect.

For one, that word, “work,” would take on an entirely different meaning. Most of us live with a distinct boundary between work and, well, life. Not so for the artist. There’s nothing to balance. It’s all one harmonious flow. It’s all life. 

Of course, you’ll hear artists talk about their “work,” but they are talking about something different. The artist isn’t talking about some “obligation” they have to fill for 40+ hours a week to put food on the table. To the artist, “work” refers to the moments when the artist is engaged in deeply intentional expression.

Can you feel the difference?

What else would change if you were an artist? The reason for work would be different. Work would still be necessary, but for very different reasons. Most of us have to work because someone has to pay the bills around here. The artist must work because not working would be intolerable. Some...