2Weeks2aBreakthrough

Courage and Aversion

Here are a couple posts that resonate with me and impact my ability to create breakthroughs.

First, this cool post from Kathy at Creating Passionate Users called, Death by Risk Aversion. Very interesting and true. How often do our potential creations get muted by our fears? A lot, I think. Here's just a wee piece of the post, but go read the whole thing:

"Practice LETTING GO

Here's where the Buddhists have an edge. Too many of us hold on to practices or ideas (including sacred cows) long past their sell-by date. If it doesn't serve us any longer, it's time to give it up no matter how well it served us in the past.

Of course, "letting go" means temporarily experiencing that painful, awkward, "I suck" stage again. But pro athletes do it if they want to break through plateaus. Go players do it to move up in ranks. Musicians let go of habits and styles. Programmers do it (waterfall anyone?). Writers do it. Anyone who has switched from skiing to snowboarding (or switched from regular to "goofy foot") has learned to let go."

From the Achieve-IT blog come this tease and link to a short snippet of the test for Mensa. I took the 30 question quiz and it said I had a good chance of passing the full blown Mensa test (I got a score of 23). At first I was excited, but then the fears rush in because 23 out of 30 does not seem all that great to me. If I took it and did not pass, how would I feel? Why is this even intriguing to me? What do I have this meaning in my life? I have to admit that getting into Mensa would be cool and that I would be seriously bummed if I took the test and failed. If you take it, drop a comment and let me know how you do!

Opening the Door to Change

I love Evelyn's post called, Letting Yourself Be Changed. Please go read it now - it is very thought provoking and interesting. She is still in Thailand and she is experiencing many breakthroughs. Here is one of my shots from my trip to Thailand in November.

From the post: "What I do remember is that the reviewer said that the difference between a tourist and a traveller was the luxury of time."

How many places do we wiz through and miss entirely? Seems like this is a very American habit. I want to be well travelled, because of how it will enrich me, not so that I can say I have been somewhere. Next time I travel, I am going to take every effort to stay a while....Perhaps this is why I am so connected to New Mexico.

Evelyn's story about the motorcycle lane is priceless. Check it out.

Courage - If you got it, use it!

And if you don't, get it!

Here is a great post from Skip about the benefits of managerial courage. Courage feeds our potential for breakthroughs. When I see someone stretch beyond their coomfort zone or to take the initiative, I watch carefully and with interest because know that something great might happen.

Kawasaki on Innovation and Evangelism

Here are two posts from Guy Kawasaki that will help anyone seeking breakthroughs. The first is called The Art of Innovation. He offers nine suggestions to fuel forward movement of innovation. Notice I did not just say - innovation. What I like about some of these suggestions is that it reminds us that it is not enough to have a great idea, we need to be able to move it forward and OUT. I particularly love (this one's for you JJD):

Don't worry, be crappy. An innovator doesn't worry about shipping an innovative product with elements of crappiness if it's truly innovative. The first permutation of a innovation is seldom perfect--Macintosh, for example, didn't have software (thanks to me), a hard disk (it wouldn't matter with no software anyway), slots, and color. If a company waits--for example, the engineers convince management to add more features--until everything is perfect, it will never ship, and the market will pass it by.

(I hope my new publisher does not read this part) The last book I turned in, Focus Like a Laser Beam, was light years from perfect or being my best work. I was under a self imposed time crunch AND I was suffering from general malaise of business books (not good when you are writing one). So I decided just to have fun, pump up the creativity and worry less about convention or making it perfect. Guess what? It turned out better than if I had more time and discipline. I turned in a highly imperfect work that I really love. They liked it too! My only regret is that I did not get permission to reprint one of Tom Peter's highly imperfect and amazingly emotional blog posts.

Guy's second post is called The Art of Evangelism. The secret to producing breakthroughs is getting out there. Enrolling people in your work and goals. Being and creating evangelists.  This is a great list of suggestions for how to enroll people such that they take on the cause/product for themselves - perhaps in a very deep and personal way. I love the way he ends the post:

Live long and kick butt.

Guy is one of the most goal oriented people I have met, he wants to leverage for maximum input. Even so, he is conscious of doing this in ways that do not bite him or his family in the butt later.

Creating breakthroughs is easier when you get outside your head into the world - even if you aren't the picture of grace and polish.

Do you really hear what you take in?

If we want to make BIG things happen, we need to listen well. The catalyst for most breakthroughs comes from OUT THERE, so we don’t want to miss a thing!

Active listening is a way of listening and responding that improves mutual understanding. Many people are poor listeners. They get distracted, talk too much, and think about what they are going to say next when they should be listening. They assume that they know what the other person is going to say and tune them out. It can be difficult to take the time and energy to listen actively, but the rewards are worth the effort.

You are listening actively when you:

• Demonstrate a sincere desire to pay attention to the other person (instead of mentally practicing what you are going to say next).
• Are committed to being coachable and open with the information being received from the other person.
• Are interested in relating to the other person’s perspective and empathizing with their point of view.
• Are non-critical or judgmental, but seek to understand the other person.
• Are attentive and not distracted by other things in the environment.
• Feedback, confirm, restate, or paraphrase information to ensure you have interpreted it as intended.
• Reflect on what the other person is saying.
• Synthesize the information, emotion, and feelings to improve understanding.
• Clarify the information by asking questions and probing down into additional layers of information as needed.
• Validate perceptions and assumptions.
• Let the other person talk.

How does this apply to email or written communication? We often get distracted when reading email, just like when someone is talking to us (looking around, thinking about what you need to get done, singing along with the radio, etc). For example, how many of you can honestly say you are focusing on the message in this post right now? If you are not really reading and considering the ideas, either choose to listen better as you read or come back later when you can fully take in the information.

What about the emails you have received in the last couple days - have you really considered the information that might be there waiting to make a difference for you?

I am challenged with this too, and have to remind myself to reflect and consider the gifts` people are offering me (feedback, coaching, and input is a gift).

As you share your goals and seek input, take the time to absorb and consider what people offer you. Don't just go through the motions of asking for ideas without listening to them.

Discovery - Adventure + Learning

The 2 Weeks to a Breakthrough Program is going great and the group is really engaged in their journeys. Discovery is an important part of success and breakthroughs. Here are a few inspiring quotes about discovery:

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
Andre Gide (French writer, humanist and moralist, 1947 Nobel prize for literature)

“When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.” William Arthur Ward (American scholar, author, editor, pastor and teacher)

“After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.” Sophia Loren (Italian film actress)

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust (French author)

I love that last one...having new eyes. This is something I have applied (and need to continue to reapply) with regards to my health. My new eyes? Creating health and longevity as a value and passion. I have some fixing and correcting to do before I am the poster girl for health, but my mind is fighting me less than it has in the past.

New eyes.....

Great Dialogue = Great Results

My regular readers know that I am bullish on techniques that improve dialogue. As you share your goals with others, seek to engage them in great conversation. Ask questions. Share your thoughts, wild ass ideas, and fears.

And really listen. When someone listens to you, your participation and input improves. The same goes for others. If you show you care about what they are saying and appreciate it, you will get amazing ideas and support.

The Breakthrough Mantra:

Share your goal.
Make requests that move your goal forward or remove barriers.
Stay in focused action.

The Program Begins - You Can't Massage Your Own Scalp!

I am excited to get the latest group of folks going on the 2 Weeks to a Breakthrough Program! Monday is Day 1.

I thought I would start with a review of my Daily Practice. But first, here's a quick bit:

You can’t give yourself a great scalp massage!

When you get your hair cut, have you noticed how great it feels when the shampooer gives your scalp a massage? It feels electric and stimulating. You tingle all over.

Have you also noticed that it is impossible for you to do this for yourself and feel the same way?  Keep your mind out of the gutter and stick with me. I am not a biochemist, but it seems to me that when we massage our own scalp, a few things are missing:

1.    No element of surprise.
2.    We use our own energy - completing the electrical circuit. No new energy.
3.    Who wouldn’t want a scalp massage from someone else!

When the shampooer massages your scalp, he or she is adding new energy, surprise, and stimulation.

What’s the point? The daily practice is designed to promote external massage and stimulation related to your goal. You can’t possible create the same effect or feeling yourself.

Your partner rubs your tired shoulders – feels GREAT!
You rub your tired shoulders – does not feel great. We can’t do it alone.

There’s something stimulating and exceptional that happens when you invite others into your goal and conversation.

Moral: Do the daily practice every day and stick with it. Get your brain massaged every day!

For those of you who are new to this blog or would like a refresher, here is an explanation of the Daily Practice - the corner stone of the program.

The Daily Practice:

The Daily Practice is likely to be the most dreaded part of this program - and the most important. It may seem intimidating, but once you get into it, it will be rather easy. Here’s a portion of what the participants received about the Daily Practice:

You are to complete your daily practice EVERY DAY of the program. The daily practice is easy but can yield big results.

The Daily Practice – Each day:
- Tell two people about your goal.
- Take two actions that support your goal.
- Make two requests that support your goal.

The Daily Practice can be done live, via email, phone, blog, or other communication means. But each day should involve different people. For example, if you tell readers about your goal on your blog one day, it would not qualify if you communicate it again 3 days later. Same thing with requests: posting two requests on your blog will not fulfill the intention of the daily practice.

You can, however, combine things. For example, you can tell someone about your goal and then make a request of him or her too.

One more clarification, although telling someone about your goal and making a request are technically actions, my intent is that you engage in two OTHER actions each day. These can be very small, like signing up for a relevant newsletter, registering a business license, or asking 3 people for ideas at lunch. Or they can be major actions like creating a business plan.

If you want to experience breakthroughs, do the Daily Practice every day. As Yoda would say - don't try - do.

Modifications:

Depending on your goal, you might want to pump up or down the number of shares, requests, and actions you take. My recommendation is to pump it up if you can. For example, if you are working on a project that is internal to the organization, you might be able to drop the shares down to one every other day after a couple days of getting the word out.

No PhDs required: This is not rocket science, but it works miracles.

What's your goal?

To make the most of your efforts, select a goal that is inspiring and important to you. Here are several characteristics of a good goal:

• Goals should be meaningful and inspiring! This is not the time to wimp out or get conservative. Achieving a goal takes work, so it should be something that you can get excited about and which will make a big difference in your life.
• Your goal should apply to YOU.  For example, a parent might adopt a goal for her son to improve his grades in school. This is not a desirable goal because it is not clear who should be taking action. A better way to express this goal would be this: I want to provide the coaching, support, and ideas that will help my son improve his grades. 
• Your goal should be something you want to achieve even if the work will be hard, uncomfortable, or require life changes. More money or promotions are rarely compelling enough on their own. We all want achievement and we want money. What drives you to be at your best? Tie that into your desire for fortune and fame.
• Your goal should be challenging, but achievable. Going from GED to PhD in a year is unrealistic. Going from no business to comfortable retirement in one year is also unrealistic (unless Oprah features your product!). Your goal should define what a home run would look like. For the program, I would like you to think about what a home run would look like with regard to the two-week time frame.
• The best goals will provide your life with greater meaning while allowing you to contribute to others more fully.
• You should be able to explain your goal in a sentence or two.
• Your goal needs to be measurable. You should be able to define success.

What’s your goal? Describe it to a few friends or family members. Is your goal clear and compelling? Do your friends and family understand what you are trying to accomplish? If you are having a hard time explaining your goal, you likely do not have it adequately defined. Start by describing what success looks like. Be specific Ask yourself how will you know when you have achieved your goal.

The next 2 Weeks to a Breakthough Program begins next Monday. Why not polish off your goals and follow along?