The final tip Daniel Pink offers in his book Drive is to Create Your Own Motivational Poster. I know, it sounds lame, but I played around with it and it’s incredibly fun.
Try these sites:
http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php
I made my Kismet poster using bighugelabs.com. It was very easy.
Try it!
Here is a smart and simple exercise for assessing whether you’re on the right road to autonomy, mastery and purpose in your life from Alan Webber, Fast Magazine cofounder.
Get a few index cards. On one card, write your response to this question:What gets you up in the morning? On the other side of that card, write “What keeps you up at night?”
Keep each answer to one sentence. Stop when each gives you a sense of “meaning and direction.” Now you have something to use as your personal compass. Check in to see if they remain true. If not, ask yourself what you’re going to do about it.
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Daniel Pink’s Drive shows that mastery requires “deliberate practice” which is not simply consistency of work, but “very purposeful, focused and…painful” work.
Five steps to mastery:
Tip #6 from Daniel Pink’s Drive cannot be overstated: Just say no. Pink informs us that management guru Tom Peters creates a “To Don’t” list. These items zap energy and time away from goals.
In today’s fast-paced, highly-distractable world, staying on point is an obstacle in and of itself.
“What you decide not to do is probably more important than what you decide to do.”
Make a list of what detracts from your goals and work. Web-surfing? Netflix? Cleaning? Responding to emails? Don’t do it!
Tip #4 from Daniel Pink (Drive) might strike you as ridiculous. It might seem impossible. I don’t know how I’d be able to do it. But check it out:
Take a sabbatical. Travel.
Experiment with new projects.
The idea is that you generate creativity and ideas that might fuel your work.
Try it, if you can.
After you ask the Big Question, you need to ask the small question:
“Was I better today than I was yesterday?”
Did you do more?
Did you do it well?
Monitoring day-by-day success ensures you will reach your goal long-term.
Source: Drive by Daniel Pink, pages 155-156
After identifying your “flow” activities and optimal times, Daniel Pink suggests strategy #2:
Ask a Big Question
Clare Boothe Luce (one of the first women to serve in Congress) advised John F. Kennedy to create his sentence. For example, Abe Lincoln: “He preserved the Union and freed slaves.”
One way to focus your life to serve a greater purpose is to create your sentence.
“He raised four kids who became happy and health adults,” is one example.
Or, “She taught two generations of children how to read.” (Drive, pg. 155).
What is your sentence?
I’m a newbie to self-publishing. I wrote about my children’s book a couple nights ago and I’m going to share my learning process with you in this blog. My hopes are two-fold:
Coincidentally, (and doesn’t the universe provide when you with what you need when you express your desires out loud?), I was reading Choose Yourself by James Altucher and he has a chapter on self-publishing! He recommends using CreateSpace.com. I know there are a kajillion other sites and ways to do this. I’m going to try this first. They have a step-by-step process built in for you and you can then sell through Amazon.com.
Tonight, I signed up. Each night, I will do something to get closer to publishing and share it here. But for now, I have to make lesson plans for the week. I spent most of today cleaning and taking my daughters to the mall. One had Girls Day Out (she had a fantastic time with three friends) and the other needed to pick out a Homecoming dress. Done!
I also made progress in re-typing a short story I wrote over 13 years ago (I lost the Word doc, but had a hard copy).
As long as I make consistent progress in these areas, I’m happy. As a wise woman once said:
You can have it all, just not at once.
Oprah Winfrey
Instead, hold her while she cries. Tell her it’s OK and that she can handle it. Because she can.
I know I’m preaching to the converted, because people who read food blogs care about food, where it comes from and how it’s used. They also make sure not to waste. But I see too many occasions where food is thrown out. If you don’t like cobbler, you can wash the peaches, cut them up and freeze them. Later, you can throw them in a blender with crushed ice and vanilla yogurt for a delicious peach smoothie. There are many ways to utilize “leftover” food. It’s healthier and less costly. Some people think being frugal is the new “f” word, but it’s resourceful, healthy and better for the environment.
It’s also delicious!
Kismet 