I know so many people that, like me, are approaching the middle of their lives wondering how they've gotten from their childhood dreams and aspirations to...well, here. Part of this has to do with the concepts of personal branding, about which I've written in this blog and there are umpteen resources on webwide. The way *I'm* approaching personal branding is: Figuring out who you REALLY are, who you are REALLY meant to be and getting back on that path. But what I'm thinking about right here and now also has to do with acknowledging our child-like minds and letting them have some time in the sun.
As I consider my work in helping both businesses and individuals (frequently, entrepreneurs) find their way forward, I've been pondering ideation. Not in our all too familiar stuffy corporate-speak, but pure and simple dreaming. Laying on your back in a sunny patch of park and letting reality, encumbrances, the economy, swine flu, the last thing that showed up on your review as a "challenge", the number in your 401k - all of it - just float away with the passing clouds. Getting all of those boundaries - both positive and negative - out of the way long enough to let the mind play a bit. Wonder what could be. Ruminate on who might be there and what it might look like.
I love a book called The E-Myth, now in it's ba-jillionth reprinting I believe, authored by Michael E. Gerber. I don't just appreciate this book because of his lessons and the way he brings you through them (although these are really quite good indeed), but because of the way he approaches the creation of the business. Or reinvention, if that's what's applicable to you at the moment. I'm purposely glossing over the bulk of his message but not because it's not important to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Of more broad-based appeal, however, is his first step in putting together that business development plan...or as I'm thinking of it, a kind-of personal development plan. Your Primary Aim. He asks:
- What do I wish my life to look like?
- How do I wish my life to be on a day-to-day basis?
- What would I like to be able to say I truly know in my life, about my life?
- How would I like to be with other people in my life - my family, my friends, my business associates, my customers, my employees, my community?
- How would I like people to think about me?
- What would I like to be doing two years from now? Ten years from now? Twenty years from now? When my life comes to a close?
- What specifically would I like to learn during my life - spiritually, physically, financially, technically, intellectually? About relationships?
- How much money will I need to do the things I wish to do? By when will I need it?
Whew. What great questions! And not just for entrepreneurs and business owners, right? What if we started our personal branding and development journey by sitting back and conceiving of the life that we most want, now? Answering a few of these types of questions? Does this mean we wave a magic wand and every thing we dream of is possible for us? Well, probably not. Unless that wand lands you a winning Powerball ticket, but not guaranteed even then. I think if we take the time to think positively about our dreams (none of this "oh I wish I would have", "I couldn't possibly" business) and commit to acting in small ways towards reaching a couple of goals, I believe the resulting boost in our self-esteem, self-appreciation, perspective, and attitude would be immeasurable. Think of how great you feel after spending time with positive, energized people. It's a heady flush of possibility! I know I feel lighter and more nimble. My inquisitive nature is piqued. I start seeing connections and alignment between ideas, people, dreams. And the more I move toward understanding those ideas and people and dreams, determining if there is a role for me between the, well I naturally move toward action.
Sometimes it's just dreaming. But sometimes it's the start of a whole new adventure.
(Note: items in bold, italics above are directly quoted from Michael E. Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited.)
I love this...
ReplyDelete"Sometimes it's just dreaming. But sometimes it's the start of a whole new adventure."
What an awesome post. I appreciate your lack of marketing and/or business "jargon" in this post, but your usage of real, honest, thought-provoking language. Terrific food for thought for me today and for many others I'm sure.
ReplyDeletePhyllis R. Neill, www.shementor.com
We had to do an exercise once - to write your own obituary. It sounds morbid if you focus on the "how you died" piece of it. But, once you get beyond that to the "what you'll be remembered for" piece of it, it's pretty illuminating.
ReplyDelete