Magic. Minneapolis. Impact

Reading for Perspective

This week I read Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (yes, that Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat. Pray. Love). I love this book and plan to read it again – this time in paperback so I can mark it up.

There are so many FrameUps in the book, but here are two that I hope you’ll think about for next week.

“You can measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures.”

It’s easy to read that line, give it the good bumper sticker treatment and keep going. But please, read it again. What if you made this happen in your life? How much room would it open up for others if we judged ourselves not by win, loss, success and failure (all binary ways of thinking) and more on how committed we are to a goal or practice?

I write every day, but I have *never* introduced or described myself as a writer – even after I published a book – because I have measured myself by successes and failures. This insight inspires us to start something (anything) - even if we can’t win, be the best or monetize it.

So, next week, is there a project that you can measure the worth of in terms of how committed you are to it on a value level? If there isn’t a project like that, can you fold in something that you are dedicated to in your personal life into your work life? How much more successful would you feel?

And this brings me to the next FrameUp….

“It ain’t what they call you; it’s what you answer to.” -- W.C. Fields

To me, this is about controlling the narrative - making your view of yourself the dominant one. And, when your view of yourself is the primary narrative, you have an opportunity to create (rather than protect) self-esteem for yourself and others.

Next week, when you get ready to do your 1,000th Zoom introduction, tell them what you answer to - what you respond positively to – rather than what they should call you.

For example:

Hi everyone, I’m Allison Netzer. Very excited to spend time with you all today to talk about XYZ. I am feeling accomplished today because I woke up early to get a walk in. I am also a very curious person, ask a lot of questions and try to bring humor into banking as much as I can. Bill, why don’t you go next?

I know this may seem a little awkward, but if they care about your title, they can find it on LinkedIn. Why not go into the conversation feeling good about yourself and what you can offer instead of throwing yourself into a pecking order, then finding reasons why you may not be the smartest/most experienced/whatever in the room and then spending the entire meeting proving that you are, indeed, the smartest/most experienced/whatever.

Looking for Inspiration

This week, I spent some time in Minneapolis with some of my team and it was rejuvenating – the face-to-face time, the weather, the food (so much food!).

What inspired me the most though was a conversation with a colleague – she is restoring an old property in her hometown and while researching the history of the place, discovered a long line of artists and creators had called it home. 

And, even better, these folks had left behind proof of their passions – including some darkroom equipment and old art supplies.

This got me thinking, how many times have we taken over something – a role, a project, a problem that belonged to someone else and then threw everything out to “make it our own?”

And, in "making it our own" how much do we miss? How many clues on what something could or could not be slip our notice in favor of a “fresh start?”

In the case of my friend, these “old” finds inspired her to tap into her love of letterpress and get a table set up in the house for her to pursue her passion – it’s the permission slip that Brene Brown talks about.

Do you have a situation coming up where you are taking over from someone or tasked with fixing an old problem? If so, could you explore whatever they left behind with the lens of latitude - seeing the space that they opened as permission to dig deeper instead of a blank slate? I bet it will unlock more creativity than you might think!

Answering a Question

Q. What’s the best way to get comfortable with measuring work by how much impact it made vs. quantity (how much you completed)?

A. That’s a tough one – I try not think of them separately…you have to do a lot of stuff to make an impact, no getting around that. So, if you are a to-do list type of person, I don’t think you need to move away from that – it’s your model and you don’t need to apologize for it. What I would challenge you to do is mix these two things up (activity and impact) – could you keep the satisfaction of checking off your list BUT change the items on the list to be ones YOU feel are impactful? This may seem a bit risk, but even if you pick “incorrectly” and the items don’t make a difference, you’ll still have the win of completing the list :)