Project Exponential

Tag: adventure

  • 11 ways to “pick yourself”

    Seth Godin encourages us to stop waiting for that call, the publisher, that big chance, the label. We’re at a place in history where opportunities to put ourselves into the game abound. We simply must choose to play.

    But let’s get real. It isn’t always easy to find a straight line from Point A to Point B. The journey is often a winding one, filled with ups and downs, frustration and enthusiasm, celebrations of triumph and moments of despair. We see the Amanda Palmers and the Jerry Weintraubs and place them in a category separate from ourselves. They have more talent. I couldn’t do what she did. I have a family to support. He has all the right connections. She had nothing to lose. We come up with excuses upon excuses, ultimately scaring ourselves away from plausible outcomes. It’s easier to toe the mark, be complacent, play it safe.

    For those wanting to “pick yourself,” it can be challenging to know where to begin. Leaping from a set job description with specific duties to a blank slate in which you create your own career path seems daunting to even the most entrepreneurial among us. (Hint: running your own show rarely happens over night.)

    You may be clocking hours at a 9am-5pm and fantasizing of a life in which your product/service/offering/business/time/art/talent is all your own. Give your dreams a chance. Here are 11 simple ideas to help you move in the direction of picking yourself.

    1. Write. Set aside time to ask questions, dream, think big. Put your phone on silent and set an alarm twenty minutes out.
    2. Find a mentor. Schedule a fifteen minute phone call with someone you admire. Ask about their daily schedule, where they find inspiration, what keeps them motivated. Thank them for their time.
    3. Walk. I call them Creative Walks. Go outside for forty minutes. Do not bring your phone, but do bring paper and a pen. Let your mind wander. The best ideas rarely happen when you’re sitting at a desk.
    4. Become an impresario. Organize an after-work meetup or a social gathering. Invite speakers who can add value to your project and excite your team. Orchestrate a potluck and recruit guests to moderate discussion.
    5. Contribute. Challenge yourself to speak up in your next meeting. Pose a provocative question or make an unnoticed observation. Actively participate.
    6. Be an intrapreneur. Look for a project within your company. Has no one addressed company culture? Is there an unmet need? An open opportunity?
    7. Pitch yourself. That thing you’ve always wanted to start/produce/make? Sell yourself on it.
    8. Lunch and learn. Have lunch with a colleague you don’t know very well. Seek to understand their work and job functions. Find out which projects excite them.
    9. Surprise someone. A colleague, a partner, a parent. Call them out of the blue for no particular reason, leave a card for them to discover, gift them with something thoughtful. Add unexpected meaning to their day.
    10. Book a vacation. You don’t have to spend a fortune. Go away for the weekend. Plan a day trip. Take a tent to the mountains. Break from your day-to-day and surround yourself with something different.
    11. Write a letter to your hero. Compose a letter to your role model, the person whose life you most admire. You don’t have to send it; use it as an exercise to more clearly define your wants and desires. Or send it and see what happens.

  • 10 questions to the best version of yourself

    1. Are you surrounded by people who encourage you to step up your game?
    2. Does your work excite you?
    3. Do your daily priorities align with your grander visions and dreams?
    4. What do you gravitate towards during unscheduled time?
    5. Have you set subgoals that tee you up for greater success?
    6. Do you schedule time each day to recharge and create?
    7. Have you written your dream list?
    8. Do you actively step outside of your comfort zone and seek adventure?
    9. Do you scare yourself regularly?
    10. Are you proud of the story you tell? (Is it positive or discouraging?)

  • New and different

    Different experiences are necessary for growth. Without adventure, how can you see the world in a new way?

    You’re not expected to like everything. The important thing is that you do, acquire more information, and grow.

    Have you placed yourself in a new situation recently?

  • Are you in the right theater?

    This may sound hokey, but stay with me.

    If you were an outside observer watching the events of your life on a movie screen, would you enjoy what was playing?

    When we’re able to remove ourselves and consider our decisions objectively, we gain valuable information. Our emotions no longer dictate action. By stepping back, we can better identify the path we’re traveling on.

    Are you moving closer towards your goals and the person you hope to be? Are you creating something you’re proud of?

    Envision your life on film.

    People are watching.

  • Jumping is scary. Do it anyway.

    As a young woman, I hitchhiked alone and traveled across many countries. I went head-to-head with lawyers and counseled delinquents. I earned a masters from an ivy-league, received a state license, and wrangled my way into an entirely new industry. I directed and designed and produced successful events, facilitating valuable connections between people who otherwise might not have met. But it wasn’t enough.

    I needed more experience. I wanted more connections. I didn’t have enough knowledge. I wasn’t ready. And if I’m entirely honest, I didn’t think I was enough. (Turns out, I was wrong. I just needed to jump.)

    I know I’m not the only one. Everyday I talk to entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and artists who struggle to take the first leap into the unknown.

    …It’s not the right time…I don’t have the resources…I can’t find the time…I’m worried about money…

    We do this to ourselves. We sabotage our dreams. We’re afraid. Deep down, we know that if we put our mind to it, we have the capabilities to break our biggest goals into manageable, digestible chunks. But we over-chew. We convince ourselves the path we’ve been traveling on, the one we’ve been walking down for some time, is the safest and best option. We lower the height of our own sky and the limits to which we’re capable of flying. We lull ourselves into forgetting the sweet deliciousness of new experiences.

    Fortunately, it’s never too late. It is just a matter of making that decision. You must choose. Nothing will happen until you decide to venture away from the safe waters into territory where there is no rulebook, no play-by-play. While you can find leaders and teachers and people whose experiences might mimic your own (and it is imperative that you do), there is no “on the job training.” It’s up to you to figure it out.

    Sometimes the hardest thing is recognizing what you want. The next hardest is to begin. By recognizing there’s no prescribed way to land that dream job, dream family, dream life, we open ourselves to an entirely new world. A world that is uniquely ours to create.

    Dare yourself. Set goals and work backwards. Plan checkpoints along the way and reward yourself when you reach them. Gather information, collect the necessary experiences, and confidently step in the direction of your dreams.

    Don’t hold yourself back. If not for yourself, do it for the people around you. Show them what it looks like to lead a life that is uniquely yours, a life filled with magic and dreams and adventure. Jump.

  • A manual for daily adventure

    It’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Go to work, come home, throw together dinner, veg out on the couch.

    You’ll never live the life you secretly wish for if you become routine’s slave. You have to shake things up.

    When you enjoy your life, you’ll inspire people around you to test limits they’ve drawn for themselves. Passion and excitement are contagious. Improved relationships, enhanced creativity, boosted productivity, discovery of yourself and the world around you are just a few byproducts of a life with fire behind it.

    Sounds great, but how does this happen? Certainly not overnight.

    Here are 80 ways to get you started.

    We all have different thresholds for daring and adventure, so pick a few that feel brave to you and dive in. Let me know how it goes.

    1. Pack a lunch. For a friend.
    2. Go see a movie by yourself.
    3. Bring a slinky to the office.
    4. Rotate a stack of favorite photos in your wallet.
    5. Buy sidewalk chalk.
    6. Invite people you don’t know very well over for dinner.
    7. Dance.
    8. Call a friend unexpectedly, for no particular reason.
    9. Put Play-Doh on your desk.
    10. Write a love letter. To yourself.
    11. Stroll through a bookstore and notice which section pulls you in.
    12. Buy the Sunday paper and savor it with a treat.
    13. Do something to fail. Something you know you’re miserable at. And enjoy.
    14. Ride a bike. Rent if you don’t own one.
    15. Host a themed party.
    16. Take public transportation, even if you think it’s slower.
    17. Start a scrapbook with images you tear out of magazines, newspapers, funny office memos.
    18. Schedule a coffee date with someone you admire.
    19. Write a pageful of questions. Don’t worry about answers.
    20. Try a new restaurant.
    21. Mail a thank you note.
    22. Walk home from work a different way.
    23. Book a trip.
    24. Stare out the window.
    25. Set aside fifteen minutes to write. About anything.
    26. Make a themed playlist.
    27. Ask a friend for a book recommendation.
    28. List 100 things you’d like to do before you die.
    29. Sign up for a class.
    30. Teach a class.
    31. Move! Jump. Climb. Skip.
    32. Bake lasagna for the local firehouse.
    33. Compliment a stranger.
    34. Brush your teeth with opposite hand.
    35. Run an extra 5 (minutes, miles, blocks, laps).
    36. Concentrate on nothing except pouring yourself a cup of tea.
    37. Host a trivia night at your place.
    38. List 10 “self care” items. Aim to do 2-3 each day.
    39. Order in. Unplug and turn off everything. Eat by candlelight.
    40. Support a local business owner.
    41. Take your workout outside.
    42. Don’t send an email. Walk over to your colleague’s desk.
    43. Smile at a kid who isn’t yours.
    44. Find a recipe and cook.
    45. Look up. See the sky.
    46. List 4 things you are thankful for in this moment.
    47. Pick up your favorite book and head to the park.
    48. Watch a black and white movie.
    49. Make yourself feel uncomfortable.
    50. Consider the book you’d write.
    51. Bake something — a pie, cookies, bread. Wrap it in pretty paper and give it away.
    52. Set a new fitness goal.
    53. Initiate conversation at the coffee shop.
    54. Volunteer.
    55. Do 1 thing today that really excites you. Tell no one.
    56. Sing loudly in the shower/your car/your backyard.
    57. Doodle.
    58. Plant something.
    59. Allow yourself 5 minutes of nothing.
    60. Set out to scare yourself.
    61. Paint. Draw. Make something. It doesn’t have to be good.
    62. Visit a farmers market.
    63. Count your breaths, 6 seconds for each: Inhale. Pause. Exhale.
    64. Buy yourself flowers.
    65. Book a massage.
    66. Style your hair differently.
    67. Hide a note for your partner to find.
    68. Put your other shoe on first.
    69. Be a slob. Don’t make the bed. Leave it on the floor.
    70. Daydream.
    71. For one day, don’t make any plans.
    72. Write on a napkin.
    73. Eat with chopsticks.
    74. Act like a tourist.
    75. Clean. Throw out junk. Organize.
    76. Build a tent in your living room.
    77. Pretend you’re famous.
    78. Ask yourself: “If you could do anything, anywhere, what would it be?”
    79. Donate money to a cause you’re interested in.
    80. Write down what your life looks like this time next year. Five years from now. Next week.