Seriously? A sports gene?

I friend of mine sent me this article from the New York Times called "Born to Run? Little Ones Get Tested for Sports Gene" (the "skip the ad" button is on the upper right corner). The subject of the article is a new test that was developed here in Boulder (who says we're weird?) that can indicate whether a child is genetically predisposed to athletics - even the sort of sports at which the child would be most likely to excel.

I am strongly tempted to stop writing right now and let you form your own opinions about the relevance of such testing, and I am not going to write anything about the testing itself, or the people who opt to have their children tested.

I do, however, feel like there is something to be gleaned from the attititudes that such testing exemplify. "Johnny is not going to be good at this, so why try?" The question is this: what have YOU learned from trying new and different things. Things at which you DIDN'T excel.

I am not particularly athletic. I enjoy some quazi-athletic endeavors like recreational downhill skiing, and golf - but I certainly don't excel at either. You know something? That's OK. I don't have to be the best at something in order to enjoy it. Certainly I want to do some things at which I excel. For me, it is music and theater - but I have gotten a lot from trying things at which I don't excel.

I guess to me it smacks of the out-dated and sexist assumptions that "boys are better at math" it is just so limiting. I know that I will never be Lance Armstrong on the bike (I'm guessing HE has the gene) but that does not mean that I should not enjoy the pursuit - and the challenge of improving.

The world at large strives to limit us. Why opt to do it to ourselves?

I Can't...

Attitude is contagious. You've been there right? You are having a pretty good day. You are up and enthusiastic - and then someone comes into your space and sucks all of the life, energy and joy out of you. We've all had it happen to us, and we have probably all done it someone else. We have been both thief and victim.

Pay attention to the energy that you are putting out.

I am amazed at how fast the attitude of "I can't" can pervade an organization. A lot of people are accustomed to justifying why they can't do something - indeed why it cannot be done at all. Be careful. You'll be surprised at how fast you will be pulled in if you aren't careful.

Watch your own language and attitudes. Pause before leaping to the default "I can't". Give yourself just 5 or 6 seconds to process how you COULD do what is being asked rather than immediately leaping to why you can't.

This isn't just about work life. I find that the level of transference of attitude is pretty high. You may be "good" at compartmentalizing; at leaving work at work, but if you are, I think that you are the exception, not the rule. That 5 or 6 second pause can be a real benefit - regardless of the circumstances.

Give it a shot - just 5 seconds to focus on "I can".

Conversations for Possibility

Conversation. Dialog. Exchange of ideas.

I believe that this is where everything starts. Every movement. Every innovation. Every step forward - no matter how small. An idea, not shared, does not inspire action. Things start to HAPPEN when more people become aware of the idea. They get involved, they may even get jazzed up about it - THAT'S when the ball starts to roll.

An issue for me historically is opening myself up enough to share. I don't want to look like a fool. Don't want to hear "that's dumb." I have had some pretty good ideas that I have been afraid to share, only to see them on the market some time later. I have a feeling that it has happened to you too. Try to get over it. The risks of not doing it are too great. The risk of not trying, of not working toward something that you would truly love or have fun with. Dare to talk about it.

That's not to say that you might not have to work a bit to find your audience. There have been times when I have finally garnered the courage to mention an idea to a friend who I thought would be enthusiastic - only to hear "why do you thing YOU can do it? Don't you think other people have tried to do that?" It is discouraging; even a little painful. That does not mean that I shouldn't try again. Those friends just couldn't quite bridge the gap between where we are and the vision of the possible. That's ok. It just means that I need to expand the conversation. The list of things that we have accomplished that were "impossible" is staggering. I'm not saying not to take constructive critism - I'm just saying take it with a grain of salt.

The five most exciting words that anyone can approach me with are "Hey, I have an idea." That is where possiblity starts. "Wouldn't it be cool if..." are pretty good too. They indicate someone is excited about a new possibility. It is the people who embrace the possiblities in life that make the world go 'round.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you and yours a truly Happy Thanksgiving.

In these times of economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever to stop and acknowledge what we DO have. Whether you be thanking a Creator, or your spouse, or your parents, we all owe parts of who we are to others.

So much of this day now gets lost in the shuffle of Black Friday, but I think that it is more important than ever for each and every one of us to stop and show appreciation for where we are and what we have. For one day, forget that it isn't perfect and acknowledge what we have.

It is important to stop for a moment. Pause. Say "thank you" and REALLY mean it.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Cradle to Cradle

Did you know that Shaw carpet mills have developed a carpeting that is totally recyclable? Here's the kicker...do you know what they make out of the old carpeting? New Carpeting. How cool is THAT. This is a true cradle-to-cradle cycle. It is actually making waste obsolete. What if, as we look to the future of innovation, we see cradle to cradle. Companies that take full responsibility for not only the creation of their products, but of the product at the end of its useful life. One of the arguments that I have heard (yes, even here in Boulder) against hybrid vehicle technology is "what do we do with the batteries when they cease to function." Reduce, reuse, recycle on the consumer level is great - but as current and future entrepreneurs, we need to consider the impact of that which we create.

Take a lesson from Shaw.

The next right thing

Yesterday, I wrote a bit about why we stay in jobs that don't fill us up. One critical element is the identification of what it is that you would enjoy doing. That is the tough part for a lot of people - it has been for me. But now let's jump ahead a second and make the assumption that you have figured out the "what". Now all you have to do is figure out the "how".

The how is different for different people, indeed in some cases it may be as simple as re-defining a job search. For many people though, the how is the truly daunting part.

A very good friend and mentor of mine - the late Bill Sauer - used to talk about change. Personal change, organizational change - it doesn't matter. Step one is to identify the direction of the change. Have some picture in your mind of where you want to go. The excercise in yesterday's blog can help you out with that part, or there are about a million books written every year about finding your bliss - use whatever tools work best for you. Step two: Identify the next right thing to do. That's it. you don't have to have the entire trip plotted out - just figure out what to do NEXT. Take stock of where you are. Have a picture of where you want to be, and then take a step to fill in the gap.

When I used to ask Bill about the 3rd 4th or 12th step to get from where I was to where I wanted to be, he would often say "I don't know. My headlights don't shine that far ahead. Just focus on the next right thing, and the path will clear." The path may only clear one step at a time, but it will clear.

Acknowledge where you are - without judgement. Without blame. Without identifying it as "good" or "bad" but just as "is". "This is where I am right now. What is my next step."

My wife, my uncle, my dad and I climbed Mount Princeton last summer. Mount Princeton is one of Colorado's 14ers (a peak over 14,000 feet in elevation). The interesting thing about Princeton, is that most of the climb is rock-hopping. There is no clear trail, only small piles of rock called cairns to mark the trail. You know where you are...standing on this rock at this point on the Mountain. You can see the top...you KNOW where you want to get to eventually. The ONLY way to get there is to worry about your NEXT step. Is that rock safe? Will it shift under my wieght? Is there an easier route? You examine where you are, take stock - without seeing it as bad - and then take a step. Then you do the whole thing again.

What are you waiting for? Time to take a step.

Why do we stay?

I was reading Seth Godin's blog today "Just Doing My Job" and it got me to thinking. Why DO people stay at jobs or companies that they do not enjoy? I mean think about it. On average, we are awake about 5,824 hours a year (because we all know that 8 hours a night is the optimal amount of sleep, right?). Of that, we spend (again on average) of 2,000 hours at work - assuming 40 hours per week and 2 weeks vacation. So that means that over 1/3 of our waking hours are spent actually AT work. If you include commuting to work and thinking about work, it goes up by probably another 400 or 500 hours.

The sad thing is that a LOT of us, don't really enjoy what we do or who we are doing it for. We are just going through the motions. Why? Safety. Security. Fear. Comfort. I suppose all of those things combined exert enough force on us to keep us securely mired.

The old saying "if it were supposed to be fun, it wouldn't be called work" is really pretty bogus. In fact I know of a stonger word that starts with the same letter. There are a lot of people out there who work tirelessly doing meaningful work that they LOVE. So what is different about them? They aren't more driven. They aren't smarter. They aren't even luckier. The only difference is that they had the courage to identify what it is that they love to do, and then figure out a way to do it.

A lot of the people that I know who don't like their jobs all that much, don't really have a good idea of what they DO want to do. They are stuck because they really don't have a better idea - or else they just can't see how to get there from here. I'll talk about that tomorrow - but for today, let's focus on identification.

If you aren't happy doing what you are doing, take a few minutes. Grab a piece of paper and a pen - (do yourself a favor and do this by hand - it does make a difference). Write out a list down the left edge of the things that you don't like about what you are doing. Make it complete. If your boss is a jerk, write it down. If you are bored, write it down. Whatever it is put it on the list. That's step one. Step Two is to create a corrected list. If you don't like your boss, list the traits you don't like, and then right across from it on the right side of the page, make a list of the traits that you WOULD like in a boss. If you are bored, what might be more fun. If there is a specific industry you'd love to work in, write it down. If not, just list the traits of the perfect job.

Get a good picture in your mind about what you would like to do, and then just start talking to people about it. You'll be amazed at how many people really want to help. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't happen overnight, because it might take a while, but keep refining the list and keep talking to people. Surf. Apply for jobs. Go for it. If you can't find it, give some thought to how you might be able to create it.

Your possibilities are limitless.

Let's have a drink

I don't know about you, but I would love to work somewhere that is committed to helping people enjoy and protect the wild places on the planet. So I’ve got an idea. Let’s build the team that will solve one minor little problem. 30 or so years ago, you could drink the water straight from the streams in America’s wild places. You can’t do that today – you’ll get bugs living in your guts that you don’t want living in your guts. So what say we fix it?


How do we do it? No idea. But isn’t that part of what would make it fun?

Branch out

Challenge: Do one thing every week that you would not normally do. That's it. Just branch out with one thing - you'll be amazed at how your view of what is and isn't possible will change. Get just a little bit uncomfortable on purpose and see how it goes.

If that seems a bit much, try this. If you are a liberal, watch Fox News. If you are a conservative, listen to NPR. Now here's the challenge: Don't just get irritated at the stupidity of the other side. Listen to them. Try to understand their point of view. Read something that you KNOW you disagree with and really read it. Get into the author's perspective. Really try to find ONE thing that you have in common. One thing that you can legitimately agree with. If you can't find it, well you tried; and that is a heck of a lot more than what normally happens.

We are normally so quick to dismiss anything that we don't agree with - especially if it is something about which we are emotional - that it can be very broadening to find commonality with opposing points of view. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying "jump ship" and convert, all I'm saying is that there is value in opposition. You may think of something that you hadn't before and THAT is cool.

Change

Change. Interesting topic. Interesting enough to get a black man elected to the Presidency of the United States. Regardless of how - or if - you voted it is to be marveled at.

Now here is the kicker...how do we go incite the changes that President Obama will invite? He and his administration will likely shake up Washington a bit - our imperative is to shake up the country - perhaps the world. We cannot sit idly by and watch "them" do the work. The changes that must be made in our collective psyche need to be broad and sweeping. It is time that we work as a nation to move beyond the place where we have been mired. Preachy? A little maybe - and I am really going to try to not be preachy in this - but I think that we are in a position that we have never been in before and we are poised to make real and significant changes - and I'm not talking about a new tax break or a slight tweak to the partisanship that has ripped through Washington and the country.

We need to take a look at the world around us and examine what we are doing, and what we can do differently.

So here's the real deal. What are YOU passionate about? Who do you know that shares your ideals and your dreams. One person. Then two. Then four. It builds - and it builds fast. So in the words of Nike: Just do it. I am - this blog is the beginning of it. I have no idea where this is going to end up, but I know that I need to move. The best way that I know to make a difference is by convincing people that they can make a difference.

So there it is. DO SOMETHING. I have to quit now, or this is going to become 30 pages long...and maybe someday, but not yet.

See you tomorrow.

Start of some not so random musings...

So how do we go about eliciting the changes within our society and our world to move toward clean, dependable and independent power, and reverse the trend of increasing apathy and isolationism – not in terms of our politics – but in terms of our lives? How do we accomplish true success globally?

We cannot wait for the politicians – the political system makes real change almost impossible at the rate that change is currently necessary. We cannot wait for society as a whole – society is made up of individuals, many of whom feel powerless against the status quo. We must learn and lead by example. It is our responsibility – each and every one of us - to DO it, not wait for it. In the doing we will illicit the change in society. Individuals change society – not the other way around. If left to its own devices, “society” will strive only to maintain the current state of being. It is more comfortable. It is easier. It is less scary.

Collaboration is the key to success – how do you create a template for success that best utilizes all of the resources that the world has to offer. Just building a successful company is not enough. Thomas Freidman has many examples of companies, both in the US and abroad that have successfully integrated culturally and professionally. We have to do more than that. We have to do it in such a way, with such a vehicle so as to inspire. To show what is necessary to keep America at the top of the game…not because we deserve it, but because we earned it.

The complexity is enormous and the challenge is beyond the level of anything I’ve ever even contemplated, but it could be argued that it is our imperative, our patriotic duty to determine the direction. I know that I am neither smart enough nor experienced enough to do it on my own. So where does one begin? It must be a convergence of forces – of minds and skills that far outstrip any individual. But again, where does one start – is it with the idea or is it with the team? I would put forth that you begin with a group of people and a goal…not a product or a service, but with an idea of what you wish to attain and use the minds and wills of the right team to build it. It begins with the dream of proving that it is possible, not only to succeed, but foremost to inspire. It looks too big. It looks like it would never be possible for one person – or even a small group of people – to reverse the trend – to get America thinking, learning and working again. We need to help people understand the necessity of creative thought. The necessity of turning off the TV and the X-Box and expanding ourselves beyond ourselves. It is science, it is math, but it is also the arts, and humanities because without art and humanities, we loose our ability to relate to one another, and that is every bit as critical – if not more so.

It (whatever “it” is) must be a combination of education and commerce. We have to explain the dots before we can start to connect them. The biggest single challenge that I believe we face is the sense of entitlement that we have as a society. We don’t want to have to work for success, because we have come to simply expect it. That expectation will be the death of us because someone forgot to tell the rest of the world that we just “get” to stay on top. Military might and fear-mongering are antithetical to the goal of global success. I have to learn how to adapt quickly. I say “I” only because it is the only thing over which I have any real control. I have no say in what “we” do or what “they” do, but I can, with my actions, influence the “we” and the “they” and so it is my moral responsibility to do so.

Thomas Friedman talks about energy as being one of the prime possibilities for inspiring the nation to take a step forward. I agree that if we could generate excitement in and among society to reach a technological goal it would have huge long range ramifications. JFK had one, rather large, advantage when he announced that we were going to the moon…he was the President of the United States. So how does one person (because that is where it starts) build enough momentum and make enough noise to be heard by a nation when he or she does not have the resources of the Presidency at their disposal? Perhaps they don’t have to. Perhaps it is enough to start working toward a goal with the outcomes in mind – and with that sweep more people into the flow. Perhaps it starts with one, then it becomes two, then 10 then 100 then you gain enough momentum to pull more people along. Build excitement, build success, and then you will start getting people’s attention.