Tag Archives: uncertainty
One of my favorite movies of all time features a trampoline, a creepy arcade carnival mechanical soothsayer and one of the most romantic songs ever recorded, Moonlight Serenade. The movie’s protagonist, Josh Baskin, trapped within his prepubescent prison, yearns to be Big. Isn’t that a common yearning for us all when we launch our businesses, projects and organizations? Don’t we all wish that we had unlimited budgets, plush offices in some groovy building and an ability to dominate the market?…..
One thing about resilience — and where I’m going with my next book is — owning your choices and actions allows you to change them. It’s a foundational ballast of resilience and happiness. Both occur at this intersection. You can’t bounce back without a firm floor. If you’re not honest about how you failed or you’re not honest about how you arrived at that loss, you’re not going to be able to create a firm foundation upon which to build……
Many people have to wait a long time for something to happen. Tom Petty was right: The waiting is the hardest part. It’s easy to become impatient, especially when you cannot see any signs that anything is happening. It’s similar to the seed germinating within the earth. Although there may be millions of chemical reactions going on beneath the surface of the soil, from topside, the dirt you can see resembles a mute brown plane, keeping its own counsel. The…..
At the turn of the year, I ask you to take stock of everything that is going WELL in your life right now. If you’re having a difficult time thinking of anything, here’s one thing to consider: if you can read this, you have access to the internet and the ability to read. This isn’t my attempt to “doom shame” you, and it isn’t meant to minimize the extreme suffering experienced by millions of people this year. However, it is…..
If you’ve been staying in and self-isolating during the pandemic, first of all: thank you. When we are asked to do something to help, most of us look to the grand or sweeping gestures, the BIG sacrifices to make a difference. During this extremely stressful time, we are asked to be still. Being still is difficult for me. My grandmother used to call me the Dutch Cleanser Girl (it’s an advertising reference to a powdered cleanser that had a similar…..
You’ve probably heard of the phrase, ‘the calm before the storm,’ but there’s a calm after the storm, too. There’s a lull in energy—a drop from the frenzy of the storm—followed by the slow, methodical sifting through the wreckage it caused. Going through the pieces that were broken and altered by the storm takes time. Deciding what to keep and what needs to be thrown away is an exercise in discernment. Once you’ve taken an inventory of what’s worth saving,…..
One of the founders stories I share within my book, Circuit Train Your Brain, is how I faced eviction not once, but twice within the first five years of my moving to Chicago in pursuit of scaling the nonprofit I had established. Part of my next book is unpacking how those experiences happened. Under-earning was one reason; my lack of focus was another. There are many other reasons, and I’m still sifting them out. During a particularly perilous time in…..
If you’re an entrepreneur, or have an entrepreneurial spirit, you are probably driven by your vision. Even if it’s not fully formed, this vision is your focus, inspiration and fuel. But how do you transition from the imagination to the real? “First you jump off the cliff and you build wings on the way down.” —Ray Bradbury This sounds crazy, right? Conventional wisdom says that you should look before you leap, but if you have an iota of entrepreneurial essence…..
I have news for you perfectionists out there: You’re going to fail. You’re going to disappoint someone. You’re going to get something all wrong. …And you’re going to learn and move on. At these “failure junctions” in your life, you will lose friends. Your network will change. It is supposed to. Through the learning of your lesson, your polarity will change, and you will fall out of alignment with some of your friends (maybe even family). This changing polarity will…..
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: Your ability to let go determines your level of success. Whether positioned as an ability to deal with flux or operate within the theoretical, the essential element that successful, independent people share is an ability to suspend their need to control situations or outcomes and to trust in the process. Almost every time I think of the phrase “let go,” I am reminded of the whale scene from the Pixar…..