Originally published January 9, 2013 on Harvard Business Review by Doug Sundheim “We need more innovation around here. We need people to think more creatively and be more entrepreneurial. I’ve been saying this for the last couple years, and yet very little seems to be changing. It’s very frustrating.” This was a recent lament from…
A few weeks ago I went to a Ray LaMontagne concert at The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York. His soulful, authentic folk/rock style always moves me. This night was no different. At one point I found a tear running down my cheek. I couldn’t even tell you why. Something just struck a chord in me. Interestingly, on this night the most moving part of the show wasn’t LaMontagne’s music. It was something he said between songs…
“To dare is to momentarily lose one’s footing. But not to dare is to lose one’s self.” –Soren Kierkegaard What do you want to say when you look back on your life? I followed my gut or I followed the masses? I gave it my all or I gave up too easy? I played to…
There are few feelings in this world as fulfilling as a sense of mastery. It’s the feeling of putting your heart and soul into something. Failing and learning. Then trying again with a more nuanced understanding of the forces at play. Failing and learning again. Then finally and eventually—sometimes weeks, months, or even years later—“getting…
Over the past 2 years, I’ve taken a big risk. I’ve spent close to 3000 hours researching and writing a book about risk taking. Thankfully, the writing part is over and my book, Taking Smart Risks, is launching in January. I say it was a risk because at many points in the process I wished…
Whenever you feel a loss of power and effectiveness in your life – a.k.a. stuck – there’s a good chance it’s because you’re not being honest with yourself. Meaning there’s a good chance you’re not acknowledging your true feelings – your fears, struggles, confusion, hopes & dreams. Now you’re probably not doing it for a lot of good reasons. That sort of honesty can be uncomfortable…
You’ve got wonderful thoughts in your head – big thoughts, passionate thoughts, thoughts that make you come alive when you think about them. We all do. These are our lifeblood – where we find meaning and purpose. One of the challenges we all face is bringing these thoughts to the light of day. Letting them leave the womb of our mind to face a world that can demand clarity that we don’t yet have. This threat of exposure can give us pause.
Your personal truth. It’s a feeling. Before you can even put it into words, it’s there. It’s a knowing about who you need to be – and what you need to be doing. Sometimes it’s unclear. And when it is, the great chewing complacency of the world will try to rip it from your grasp. It will offer you mediocrity in return. Don’t take it. Trust the feeling – however faint. It will grow stronger. It will get clearer.
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