2Weeks2aBreakthrough

Don't Worry, It's All Random

Two posts I like:

Hugh reminds us that all moments are random with this sparse drawing. Love it. Human systems are chaotic systems, meaning that we cannot predict what's going to happen and each moment is sensitive (affected by) to the preceding moments.

This is what makes life an exploration. To generate breakthroughs, we should embrace the randomness of life and put our chaotic systems to work for us by being focused and in action in a methodically relentless way. Flap our butterfly wings.

But many people stress over their inability to control the uncontrollable (you are not in control). We WORRY too much and often about the wrong stuff. This leads me to the second post I like a lot. Adrian, over at Slow Leadership, offers this post called, Stress-busters: How to worry less and live more.

Worry is a chosen behavior and we can choose not to worry in an instant. An instant. Worry rarely serves us well and often gets in the way of our progress (giving us more reason to worry!). Don't let the self-fulfilling prophecy work in the negative, put it to work in the positive.

When we worry we act different, talk different, decide different. Spiral down, down, down. And as Adrian points out, most of us don't have a thing to really worry about.

When I catch myself worrying, I remind myself that this particular belief and feeling is neither valid, helpful, nor fun and choose to take on a different perspective. It is that simple. One clarification: just because we stop worrying does not mean we do not seek to solve problems or care about an outcome.

Make this a week of embracing the chaotic, rejecting worry, and being courageous.

Seeking Other People's Lives

How many of our goals are focused on getting or achieving what we see others have or have done?

We want the job or title that someone else has.
We want the recognition or exposure that others enjoy.
We want the cool new car that a few lucky people drive.
We want to sell as many books as Jim Collins.
We want to make as much per speech as top tier folks like Tom Peters and Marcus Buckingham.
We want blog traffic like Scoble or Seth.
We want excitement like Richard Branson has.
We want to be the leader everyone looks to, like many great CEOs.
We want our start-ups to go viral.

And sometimes we even believe we deserve the success that alludes us. And we might be right, but that it not the point and dwelling in this place is not helpful.

Sometimes I struggle with myself. There are aspects of my life that I had envisioned differently. But I know going to this space in my head is not helpful and does not serve me well.

This realization comes to us every now and then when we meet someone who is living an extraordinary life and who is content, but who by Hollywood and Wall Street standards would not be considered a success. Sometimes it's the small town grocer, who just squeezes by financially, but whose store is the social center of the community. Sometimes it's the wanderer, someone who does odd jobs and travels in a beat up VW van or better yet, an old motorcycle packed with all his or her belongings. You might meet an assembly line worker who does her job with grace and peace and would not think of doing anything different. And then there's the teacher who knows the difference he makes and has to count every penny and spend vacations working side jobs.

Our definition of success and goals ought to be based on how we best fit in this world and make a difference in this world, not based on someone else's' life that we covet. It is hard to generate breakthroughs in arenas what are not a match. If you are struggling to make something happen, you might try examining whether your goals are based on what's right for you or on some definition of success that is based on what others have achieved.

Generate YOUR best life.

I think the best lives are home made and don't follow a recipe.

When the Jacket Doesn't Fit

One of the few regrets I have from the motorcycle tour is that I wore a jacket that had lots of black. It is yellow and black and I like the yellow because it makes me more visible. And even though is it made of mesh (with safety padding), the black color really attracts the heat. Anything over 85 degrees and it is uncomfortable. Here's what my jacket looks like.

You see? Lots of black. This one is perfect for cooler temps (and it has a warm liner that zips in for winter) but not so good in hot temps. Here in Seattle, this jacket is just fine 90% of the time.

I decided to order another another jacket because there is still a lot of summer riding left to do and Hazel is my primary source of transportation these days (I sold my Saab, as I said I would). Here's the jacket I ordered.

I love this jacket because it still has the yellow, but it has NO BLACK and will be much cooler. The jacket is made by the same company that made my other jacket (Firstgear) so I felt confident ordering the same size.

The jacket came today and I LOVE it. LOVE it. It is so much prettier and luminous - the yellow is a nice deep racing yellow that seems to glow - than I expected.

One problem - it does not fit. The jacket is too snug. I can zip it, but it is too snug.

I have two options. 1) Send it back and get the next larger size. 2) Fit the jacket.

I need to lose weight anyway, so why not now? I told Bill that I want the jacket to fit and asked him to go into training mode with me. We are starting right now. Big hike today, big hike tomorrow. Grilled salmon for dinner.

I can't wait for the jacket to fit, and it will. Why not use the jacket as a catalyst? I took Hazel into the shop for a post-trip major spa day including new tires and brakes. I won't get her back until the middle of next week. I wonder which jacket I will wear to pick her up.....I choose the new one!

As a weight challenged individual, I have sometimes felt sad or depressed when I ordered or tried on something and it did not fit. That response has not served me well. The jacket is the perfect size and offers a nice and realistic challenge (I am not trying to fit into a size 2 by next week).

What shall be your inspiration for kicking into high gear?

I will let you know how it goes.

An Exercise in Juxtaposition

Here's a fun exercise I like to do/encourage to discover new possibilities for how to live our best lives. It's the juxtaposition exercise and it goes like this:

1. On a piece of paper, write down all the things/hobbies/topics/ that are special  - the things about which you are passionate. Place the piece of paper in your day planner or next to your favorite thinking chair.

2. Each day, select two passions and ponder all the possible ways they could be explored together for 15 minutes. Think about juxtapositions for fun (hobbies) and also those that might lead to new work or a career change.

3. Select the most intriguing ideas to share with others and see what might come of it. Share in a meaningful way.

Here is an example. I received an email from someone who had been at one of my book talks. He has a day job and is the primary breadwinner in the family, but would like to combine his loves of classical guitar and the Jewish Faith. He is exploring ways he might be able to make money playing and/or recording sacred Jewish music. Very cool, huh? If anyone has any ideas for this man, send me an email and I will pass it along. To get to that next stage of thinking and manifestation, he needs to share his goal with people who have some connection to either music, Judaism, or both. He needs to be open to all kinds of possibilities.

I was playing with this exercise today while trying to keep cool (we don't have AC because you need it so infrequently in Seattle). The pairing that would NOT leave my thoughts was:

Motorcycles and Motorcycle Touring
Writing

Sure, I am writing Motorcycle Yoga, which is a manifestation of these two passions coming together. But I can't help but let my mind wander a bit farther..... If I want to get on the court, I could come up with a few ideas and pitch them to motorcycle publications, motorcycle manufacturers, or others as appropriate. I just might do that!

Here are a few interesting pairs (not mine, just examples) to get you started with how to explore juxtapositions:

Wine
Surfing

My neighborhood
Coffee

Wooden Boats
Geology

New Technology
Health

Cooking
Computers

Coaching
Politics

Conservation
Chemistry

If you could combine two of your passions, which two would you most enjoy exploring further? Select a pair of passions and ask 10 people this question:

• In what ways do you think I could combine my loves of __________ and ____________ (add "to make money" if that's important to you.

You never know, this little exercise might lead to a new hobby, project, or a whole new career.

Breakthrough Video/Song

I ran into someone today who did not know I did a song and video for the Year of the Breakthrough. Since there are a lot of new readers on this blog, here is another link to this cool piece (my brother wrote and performed the song and my friend Leigh put together the visuals).

Here is a web player version - just push the button! This hipcast version has a better resolution than You Tube (find the You Tube version here).

And if you would like to hear the interview I did with my brother about how he used the breakthrough process to write the song, you can find that here.

The 5/95 Rule

I think the notion of a book tour is interesting because ideally, I would like to tour BEFORE the book comes out because the people I meet give me so many great ideas and help me refine my thinking. That said, it's having the book done that helps me get into speak to groups, companies, and associations.

Chicken and the egg.....

About 2/3 of the way through the tour I started thinking about and using the term the 5/95 rule. And I really like it because it stresses the importance of those little actions that catalyze BIG things. The 5/95 rule goes something like this:

You have heard about the 80/20 rule right? It's the notion that there is generally 20% (of effort, sales, customers, you name it) that produces 80% of the results. The top 20% of your actions produce 80% of your results. I think we are too busy for the 80/20 rule and it does not have the power to generate BANG! moments.

The 5/95 rule holds that most of the new momentum you experience toward your goals will come from a few small actions completed each day. Not counting sleep, we are awake for about 16 hours per day. 5% of that time is 48 minutes. If you are focused and in action for 48 minutes or less each day, these actions will account for the vast majority of your progress.

For all you numbers people out there, this is not scientific (and yes, I know that if I were talking apples and apples I would say the 95/5 rule, but I like 5/95 better - I like 80/20 better too, but I did not name that rule). I have seen (and experienced) that it's the small actions done each day that make the big differences. The 5/95 rule is a nice way to create a vision or story for how we can generate breakthroughs.

So:

Eat 40 grams of fiber a day AND
Do the 5% that will generate 95% of the momentum you need to generate breakthroughs.