Tag: change

Are You An Entrepreneur Yet?

One of my coaching clients sent me this article on entrepreneurism. Specifically, the coming change in our workplace landscape. Many would say we're under way and I agree. The article includes a telling infographic as well.

So what are you doing about the shift? No drastic measures needed (maybe), just some hard looking and processing. One of the best ways to do this is written planning. Brainstorm the thing and ask lots of questions. By the way, throw the glamour, riches and elation around your employer out the window. This is about your work (the unique talents, gifts and passions forged into one), not your career, not your 401K.

I've written about this topic for some time. It was nice to have a client forward on an article of this magnitude. It encouraged me and it made me realize the work still to be done.

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What’s Wrong with the Status Quo?

One of our greatest enemies, from a 2012 post.

So what's wrong with the status quo? A lot, when it comes to problems that continue to get worse.

For the purposes of getting to the heart of things, here's the definition of "status quo" from the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary:

The existing state of affairs (seeks to preserve the status quo)

I'll use my own experience to set some context and you can apply my example to anything you like.

About 25 years ago I persecuted my dad in-person and alone. I was angry for what was done and for what was missing. I waged this case on what seemed like a daily basis. I protested, I lied, I ignored, and I was silently cruel.

At a point, a few years into my marriage, my wife asked me if I realized how distant and cruel I became when I was around my father. I denied it, I defended myself and I felt exposed. How could she know my secret, my wound, my war? I decided to prosecute on.

The existing state of affairs (seeks to preserve the status quo)

You might wonder why I wouldn't make the choice to change, to turn it around, to forgive. I'm sure there are multiple reasons why, but certainly I felt more comfortable in the prosecution's case. I fooled myself into believing that my existing state would deliver an outcome I thought was right. Little did I know how wrong I was.

Many years on, my case rested and the charges were dismissed. I forgave and got a few years of peace and freedom before he passed. I actually found a man I liked and certainly loved. I do, at times, wish I would have come to my senses or figured out that it Really is better to forgive.

Are you tracking with me? Can you see the danger in sticking with the status quo?

Think about this:

  1. The status quo fools you into believing that all is well, regardless of the problems looking right at you.
  2. The status quo demands you lie and defend.
  3. The status quo assures you saftey and a future you won't have to deal with.
  4. The status quo accuses (loudly) reformers of betrayal and madness.
  5. The status quo uses fear to keep you in place.


The Unraveling

Looking around you and your own life, do you see the unraveling?

We are like these garments that over time begin the process of unraveling. As years unfurl this is inevitable. It's not all bad because we can always do something about it. See a thread here, see a patch there, and all you have to do is start the repair.

I wonder how many people realize the unraveling is happening.

Unraveling rarely appears as a sudden tear. It's a slow process. Very slow…

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The Week That Was

This past week was definitely the week that was. It started with a call from my mom needing to be taken to a emergency care facility. It turned out to be nothing major, but I'll confess I saw ghosts. Ghosts from four years ago, when my deceased father was making seemingly "no big deal" visits to the ER.

As I'm sitting the waiting area for my mom, my wife calls and tells me company has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy and the entire company shutdown. To add measure to this, no severance, ho healthcare (the company disbanded the group health plan prior to entering the bankruptcy), no job.

Ok, I was a little disappointed!

The irony is on two fronts for me:

  1. I went though a similar experience in mid-December of last year. One of my entrepreneur pursuits was negatively impacted when a contract was terminated without warning. Again, game over! I have since regained footing with a local tech startup. You're probably thinking; "why take on more risk?" Part of my DNA.
  2. I have experienced sudden change/loss in such a way that when I got my wife's news, it didn't cause me to drive off the road. I think the magical formula set in after my second goodbye encounter with corporate America. I am thankful for this and it has made me a better man, husband and dad.

Just so you know, we're (my family and I) are taking a hit from this situation. Don't want you thinking I'm Superman. There are things we've got to figure out and adjust to. Here's a few of the issues we're working through:

  • Thankfully, my wife got 2 job offers (in writing) in a matter of 48 hours. She'll be starting a new venture in the next week or so. The drawback is around healthcare. I've got to go without insurance for approx. 90 days, until the benefits kick-in again. As someone with Type I diabetes, I'm not thrilled, but I was able to secure coverage for my wife and kids during this interim period.
  • Change. Enough said.
  • Getting back money owed from a poster child organization for why sociopaths should only live in North Korea.

Stay tuned.

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An Early Morning in June

Celebrating the best of the Epic Living Blog, 2012. Enjoy!

IPhone Photos 018
I was 14 in June, 1980. Life was a series of things to get over and get past in those days for me. My grandmother had passed the summer before, my parents had been threatening each other with divorce and my brother was on a path that would surely lead to deep destruction.

It was an early morning in June. Like any morning would be for those who slept the night before.

Things can change.

I awoke on that June morning (don't remember the date) to find our house full of people. I didn't know at the time that those people were police detectives and forensic scientists. It was surreal as I walked down the hall to find my mom and dad. I found my mom sitting in a chair in the living room with eyes that had certainly been crying. I asked in a slow, muted tone, about all the people and what was going on. She proceeded to tell me that my brother was suspected of murdering his girlfriend. 

What?

Everything was different now and the months and years ahead would be shaped by something irreversible and tragic. After the police, and even TV news crews, had departed, I saw my dad standing at our front door, just staring motionless.

I felt alone.

In the time sense much has changed and much is still the same. For me, as I look back now, I have discovered why I feel things so deeply, why I have such an urgency about living and why I am an entrepreneur (risk-taker). It has nothing to do with a resume or a career. It has everything to do with getting on with what you've been shaped and called to do. I realized early that the table do turn and even if prepration fails you, you must find a way to recover. I guess on that early morning in June, I realized that safety as advertised was an illusion.

There is no doubt that these traits have gotten me into troube, but I have always seen how God took the good and the bad and shaped them into something I can only describe as art-beautiful art. And even though I've matured and learned about appropriate risk, I also know that strength comes from good things and bad. I wouldn't have it any other way.

An early moring in June is still a part of my destiny. It broke me, grew me and sets a course that my DNA is written all over. My hope is it plays to a backdrop of change.

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Need and Demand

It took me some time (probably more than I care to admit) to realize that to move things you must have need and demand, in-order to create a successful venture that changes the world. I would add scarcity too.

I know n America there is no shortage of life coaches, leadership gurus, management consultants, and the like. The question remains; has the needle moved? Is there evidence of strong ROI? The measurements and data tell a story. This article is one vivid example.

We'd be wiser to put our money somewhere else or change the machine. I write all of this knowing I am a part of the many. The many who have a sign on the door saying "open for business." My reform has begun.

The problem is we've come to this very dangerous place where many individuals and organizations say they need help/direction, but don't have the will to have the demand that produces change. Our government's treatment of our debt crisis is an appropriate portrait. Most politicians would say we have a debt problem, but haven't moved to a place of demand to fix it. Sadly, I fear we've come to the point of no return. I hope I'm wrong.

The reality is the same for those in business to help people move to breakthrough. An entrepreneur may have a thriving practice with many clients, but if the clients are circling the airport, it doesn't mean you have value. It just means your getting paid and they're circling the airport. And getting paid is sometimes the problem. Money often likes things to say just as they are. I tell every client that if we don't see change, they need to fire me.

Sticking yourself inside of the arena of change is dangerous, and most do not like danger. That's one reason the status quo is so appealing. Are you willing to ask yourself if the needle is moving, if change is occurring? Not change where you just move the furniture around, but where you go deep and examine everything to the foundation.

And you thought the big part was building a career.

Calling All 21st Centruy Pioneers

A post I wrote last year. Very important in our current climate today.

Pioneer 
To say we live in an age of rapid change would be an understatement, so I'm calling all 21st century pioneers to step-in. For obvious reasons.

All of us have experienced some level of fundamental change in the last 10 years.  That change may have left you hurt, vulnerable or invigorated…depending on your outlook and circumstances. I know many people who are waiting for things to "get better" or "return to normal."  The rapid pace of life and the aforementioned change has left them looking back to a day that seemed better.  They long for some place in the past that may have only been great in their heads.  Regardless, it seemed to be better than the world that currently faces.  I understand this and have had moments when I have longed as well.

So after some time of being at war with yourself and the world, perspective comes knocking.  Do you answer?

I am convinced that we are living in the age of the pioneer.  A time not unlike the 19th century America.  A time where much was wild, unknown and adventurous.  I'm sure many in those days were filled with mixed emotions and thoughts.  There had to be the nay-sayers, critics and saboteurs.  There certainly were men and women of courage.

The following are the reasons why we need pioneers-in work and life:

  • Untamed places need men and women of courage.  These men and women have vision, energy and faith in what can be.
  • Pioneers are forever facing criticism and doubt.  This comes from seeing what others often can't or won't.
  • Status quo people/organizations are a threat to breakthroughs.  They will always exist, but should never rule the day.
  • Not everyone is called/meant to be a pioneer.  That said, everyone should hitch there wagon to leaders who are.
  • The right type of pioneer is always into you and not what they can get from you.  This is rare and vital.
  • Technology and the applicable disruptions.
  • The future is shaped by those who experiment and take risks, not those who bury theirs heads and pretend the storm will just pass over.
  • The wrong type of pioneers want in on the future too. Beware.

Calling All 21st Century Pioneers.

 

 

The Hard Choice

Daily, we all face a multitude of choices. Human nature drives us to the easy ones. Defining moments are found in the hard choice. You know, the one you'd rather not do or would rather ignore.

The problem is really on the front-side pain. The initial struggle and dislike associated. Many lose out on their dreams by giving into their fear and avoidance.

It would be great if there were a voice telling us "it's ok, the pain is worth it." The truth is we do-in one form or another.

The listening and doing part is the crux. 

Scarcity

Convinced more and more that our search needs to be toward scarcity. In such a way that our abilities, talents, strengths, etc. are called upon to remedy the need for what is scarce. Economics reveals this too, but we can apply across platforms. Your ability to change the world for the better is linked here.

This assumes, like me, that you want to shake things up where you're at.

Changing People

I've never been able to change one person in my entire life.

I've been told by men and women greater than me, that trying to change people is a road to futility. You might be able to create conditions where someone might want to change. Life could make an impromptu appearance and crush someone to a point where they see no other way but to change. In the end change resides inside each and every one of us. Inside is the keyword here.

So what's with organizations trying to change people?

Organizations can become enamored with their own marketing and brand appearance, not to mention their profit engine. Just like someone who is told repeatedly how great they are. Here that often enough and some will think greatness is theirs. The next-door neighbor to arrogance is power and both work to will over people. It's really a facade, but these types of groups force and intimidate. Like walking a dog that doesn't want to go, they just pull them anyway and can't see the folly of dragging.

So are you in the business of changing people?

Maybe we'd get more if we just started looking at our people as they truly are and then realign, remove, restructure so that the band is playing together and in-tune. This is a courage-based endeavor that few leaders have a stomach for.

Find the courage.