figuring out my life work

You have unlimited learning potential

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In the “old days,” we attended K-12 classes. Then maybe you went to college, got a degree, got a job and progressed by working hard or making lateral moves to other companies to get ahead. Throughout your career, you learned from experienced people you worked with, and maybe you got a grad degree, but even with that, you mostly had to figure things out for yourself.

thank-you-for-being-lateIn Thomas Friedman’s new book, Thank You for Being Late, he explains why this learning pattern doesn’t work in a time of super-accelerated technological change. Today, most schools don’t even teach the latest technology because things are happening faster than teachers are being educated. So how are we expected to keep up? Continue reading →

What is the Universe trying to tell you?

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If you want to do really good work it helps to understand how you tick.

  • What do you love to do?
  • What attracts you?
  • What repels you?
  • What motivates you?
  • What do you like to think about?

If you want a snapshot of this that comes right from your gut, try making a soul collage.

You’ll need a few supplies: Continue reading →

Sharing a bubble of happiness

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Close your eyes and picture the last time you were really happy.

[pause to ponder – I’ll wait!]

What were you doing?

Who were you with? Chances are you were with somebody because at our core, we’re social animals and being around people and animals we trust and can laugh with is a big part of what makes us happy.

When you picture that happy time, do you feel an energy bubble in your gut? Continue reading →

“The future has an ancient heart”

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“The future has an ancient heart.”

I love this line from Italian writer Carlo Levi. The thought is that you are who you are from the moment you’re born, and the future reveals what’s always been there.

If you’re struggling with where you’re headed, look back at where you were when you were 5, 10, 15, 20… Continue reading →

Getting to the BIG stuff

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When you’re thinking of BIG things you’d like to do in this lifetime, block out some quiet time, do a little quiet breathing (in through your nose and out through your mouth helps you think more clearly!), and make a couple of lists.

  • List #1 is stuff you’re already working on that you want to do more of.
  • List #2 is stuff you’ve always thought of doing but have never dared start.
  • List #3 is an outrageous brainstorm list, weird stuff that is super compelling, that raises your energy just to think of it, and that you’ve never given much thought to – until maybe right now.

Set the lists aside and go about your day. These need to cook for a while. Continue reading →

The possibilities of tomorrow

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History is filled with facts which makes it really solid. When we look back, it seems like what happened was the only possibility, that what happened was inevitable.

But then there’s “today”. You look ahead. You wonder what will happen. And you know it’s not pre-ordained because there are so many potential threads. Tomorrow could take you south, or west, or north. It could be wild or calm. Big things could happen. Or nothing special could happen. Continue reading →

The importance of spending time alone

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An artist needs time to create. A writer needs time to work out a story. A musician needs time to play and to compose. A saint needs time to pray.

Alone-time lets you refill the pitcher of your life from all the little daily leaks and keeps your soul from running dry.

Such are the musing of Anne Morrow Lindbergh in Gift from the Sea. Anne was married to Charles Lindbergh and was a fellow aviator and accomplished author. She survived the abduction and murder of her first child, went on to have five more children, and outlived her famous husband by decades finally passing at the age of 94. Continue reading →

The plot thickens…

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In the secret world that only you know, what does your ideal life look like? This isn’t the world that other people see for you. Or a world that everyone else wants. This is your world.

  • If you were writing the novel of your life…
  • What’s the plot line? Is this a historic novel? A romance? A mystery? High adventure?
  • What century is it? Are you in revolutionary war France? The wild west? Ancient Rome? Current-day America?
  • Where do you live? Is it warm or cold? Mountain or shore? Continue reading →

Living your dream time

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When you have a million things to do, everything feels important, and whatever’s next on the list gets done. You may have an edgy feeling that you’re missing out, that there’s something you should be doing, but who has time to think about it, right? You’re getting stuff done, so go go go.

Then you wake up in the middle of the night. You glance at the clock. It’s 4:00 AM. It’s quiet and dark. You can’t go back to sleep and start to think about things that never intrude on your busy days.

  • What would it be like to take a year off to travel to all the national parks in the United States?
  • If you wrote a novel, what would it be about? Time travel? History? Mystery? You have ideas that are just at the corner of your thinking.
  • Continue reading →