Note: this article was sent to Weekly Pulse subscribers on 07/25/16. To be among the first to read articles (and get exclusive content that never makes it here), subscribe to the newsletter. Recently, I’ve been working to refine my “heroes” – based on my paring down processes this year as well as for an article I am writing to send you all. In doing so, I’ve also started to distill my top five favorite lessons or tips from each leader I admire. It seemed prudent that I share these insights as I go. Why five? Remember, the art is in the limit. I could easily write 50 or more, but would I really remember that many? Especially if I wrote 50+ for every person? How many would be the same lessons, just rewritten? I am going for impact on my mindset, business and life, not an impressive list of “stuff I’ve read.” That said, I feel there are a handful of truly important lessons from each person on my list that I should keep in mind as much as possible. Here’s the list from Seth Godin – with my own notes on each lesson. 1. Fear is a Good Thing “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” Our fear of failure comes from a place of survival. Back in the days of hunting for our food, there were dangers at every turn, and our little lizard brains used fear to kick in our fight or flight reflexes when they were needed to survive. Today, that fear comes up when you’re about to give that huge presentation or launch a product. It’s not about survival anymore, but it does tell you that what you’re doing is big and important to you. If you’re not afraid of what you’re working on, then you’re probably working on the wrong things. 2. Ultimate Goal: Create a Life You Love “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” Yearning to “get away from it all” is a clear sign that you’ve created a life you are not happy with. It hard to swallow, but I say “you’ve created” very deliberately. In the end, the life we have is a result of what we have chosen (or not chosen) and done (or not done.) Not acting and not making choices affect your life just as much as making choices and taking action. But, there is good news: it’s never too late to recognize that you are unhappy and change it! 3. Be Truly Remarkable “Remarkable means someone thinks it’s worth making a remark about.” Being remarkable doesn’t mean getting noticed. Anyone can jump up and down and get noticed from time to time, but to be truly remarkable is something entirely different. Remarkable people are those you remember long after they are out of the spotlight. Remarkable deeds change have long-lasting effects on the world. To be remarkable, you don’t need to loud, kooky, pushy, or anything else. You need to work on what truly matters to you – with love and continued focus. Work to change even just your tiny portion of the world, and others will begin to remark on it…this is being truly remarkable. Note: Remarks could be positive or negative. What others say about you doesn’t matter – it’s that they are saying anything at all. 4. Work for What Gets You Out of Bed “You cannot create a piece of art merely for money. Doing it as part of commerce so denudes art of wonder that it ceases to be art.” It’s easy to get caught up in paying the bills. It’s easy to fall into thinking you gotta grind to get ahead. It’s hard to take a real look at yourself and ask, “Is this what I want?” A good place to start is what gets you how of bed in the morning – and how you feel as you’re doing it. Is it a blaring alarm (or three) that wakes you up before you want to, forcing you to stumble and grumble your way to the coffee pot? Or is it an idea for your latest project that you just have to try? Maybe it’s the excitement that today is the day you start your new business, finish that big commission project, brainstorm that new book… The only life compass you really need is knowing how you feel when you go to bed and when you wake up. 5. Share What You Know “Sharing an idea you care about is a generous way to change your world for the better.” Clearly, Seth practices what he preaches, by sharing what he knows through his daily blog posts, countless interviews and speaking engagements and dozen or so books. But, as much as I love him, Seth is not the single, bottomless source of all of the knowledge and inspiration he shares. He reads, listens, and pays attention in ways a mere mortal might find dizzying. More than anything, I think of all thought leaders as simple magnifying glasses – taking all of the information they receive and placing focus on what they consider worth sharing. All too often, we think to start our big “thing” (blog, book, whatever), we need to first be experts. I believe this is backwards. Instead, we need to share what we know, and then share what we learn along the way. It might even be said that all of these lessons can be boiled down into one: focus on passion.
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