Then there's also the final word of the existing phrase to contend with: "Disruption." I'm sure the word came to me because I was literally experiencing a massive disruption to my routine: I was away from home and work for 14 days with only my thoughts to keep me company. It was a huge jolt to my systems—to the way I had been kind of autopiloting through life: Get up, go to spin, get ready for work, go to work, come home, make dinner, attend an arts event, come home, read, go to bed. Repeat.
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The disciplined pursuit of less but better
What I realized in writing this email was that while I love Personal Systems Disruption work and feel like it's a true calling, at this point in time, it's not serving my larger purpose. It's not leading to invited speaking gigs or the opportunity to write more content. Then I remembered Essentialism. McKeown paraphrases Jim Collins' famous idea: "Success becomes a catalyst for failure because it leads to...the undisciplined pursuit of more. The antidote is the disciplined pursuit of less but better." He says you must explore, eliminate and build a platform for execution.
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What do you do when the Universe gives you an answer?
How often do we beg, plead, ask the Universe, God, our ancestors, the spirits to provide answers to our greatest needs or desires?
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My big takeaway from these last 365 days of disruption (and it’s got nothing to do with COVID)
But I didn't know, until I went back to read these old blog posts this morning, that I had started using the same words weeks before I left. I don't remember writing that phrase or even thinking that. And if I hadn't written it down in a place that I could go back to, it would just be lost to me. Maybe I wouldn't have been heard or understood the clear voice by the side of the field. Maybe the revelation wouldn't have even happened.
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Springtime despair
In many ways, I regret the surge of frantic energy around work, as if we have to make up for the past 15 months right now. RIGHT NOW! There is no making up for it. It was both a lost and a blessed period of time. I want to hold on to the gentle, quiet pace. My safe little bubble, where I joyfully lived for these past many months, is being forced open. I'm watching my hopes and dreams, routines and patterns dissipate out the open doors and windows, and try as I might, I'm afraid I'll never catch them and bring them back close to me again.
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Life Lessons from afternoon tea
You will find yourself reflecting often on that three-tiered platter of exquisitely designed sandwiches, scones and desserts. Engage in small shifts in thinking, intention and action and you will find the same thing: these are experiences that change you, in small ways at first but, taken as a whole, in ways that stay with you long after you've moved on.
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Look at that, your Champagne’s gone flat
I have fabulous content in place, and I am trying out some new elements with this current cohort that I'm really excited about. Now I'm starting to drill down on who I'm generally for. I need to define that and be ok with leaving others out, at least for now. This week, I've been kicking around the idea of inviting executive women to be part of a small cohort and do this work together, very early in the morning (think once a week for six weeks, 6-7:30am since that seems to be the only time open for many women I know). That's generally pre-getting kids and self ready for work,…
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6 months, 182 days, 4,380 hours ago…
So the Hamlet analogy can only go so far since the ending is not something to aspire to, but the point of hesitancy is something very real to consider. How do other people make bold moves with so little certainty of the outcome? And what is it about the potential of success or failure that I'm afraid of?
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I know my calling: Reflecting on the book Limitless
Think about the name of Ms GO's book. Limitless. Without limits. Too often, we put limits even on our free writing, brainstorming and dreaming, as if what we articulate will be seen and judged by others, seen and judged by ourselves. You are allowed to dream as big and wild as you want. In fact, I not only encourage it, I demand (in as much as I can demand you, the unknown reader) you to go all out. The only thing you will "waste" is some ink and paper.
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Cross pollinating my recognized expertise
TThen & Now When I started as Executive Director of The Arts Partnership in 2010, I was pretty much an absolute nobody. I didn’t come from a family name that mattered in my community, I hadn’t done anything that identified me as a powerhouse and I wasn’t married to someone whose name, title or reputation held any particular significance. In short, I had to build my credibility from the ground up. So I did. I made one phone call after the other, read one leadership book on top of another, drank one seemingly never-ending cup of coffee (eventually moving entirely to tea), introduced myself to one person and the next…
