Scott Perry's Blog, page 10

Dwayne Moffatt - "Just go for it."

Insight and inspiration for flying higher in the difference only you can make from guests who have appeared on Creative on Purpose Live.

This week’s wisdom comes from a conversation with Web3 builder, Dwayne Moffatt.

Tune into the entire conversation here.

[DWAYNE] "Well, go for it, first of all. Start being curious."

"The one thing I'll say is, 'Don't have a timeline.' You said six or seven years. I said six or seven months. Who knows?"

"But being open and receptive to what you want does take time. It doesn't come overnight. I wanted it to, let me tell you. I wanted it to. But it really was just being open to how things played out. How you're feeling. Really diving in and figuring that out."

"It takes some time, and it takes some hard moments, mayand be some tears, a little bit of journaling. It was a journey."

"But just go for it. It's worth it."

"I can say I'm the happiest I've ever been and feeling like I'm moving faster to my closer—faster to my solvable problem than I ever have just because of the clarity and awareness that I've gained. And it's not over."

"Just be curious. Get curious and start poking at it to see what happens."

[SCOTT] "I love that. One of our fundamental ideas here at Creative on Purposes is get curious and then get courageous and get creative. So, I love that and it also reminds me of that saying "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."

[DWAYNE] Yes."

Dwayne just delivered a powerful reminder that every moment is an opportunity to start something magical. How will you begin and begin again today?

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!

The Antidote to Anxiety

The second half of life can be a time of high anxiety due to uncertainty and fear about what the future holds.

And...

It can be a time of reflection, introspection, and a renewed sense of purpose.

But how do you reconcile these competing dynamics and create asymmetry to the upside of a second half of life that's more fulfilling and joyful?

Turns out that the antidote to anxiety is simply, well, less anxiety.

A significant contributor to anxiety is a brain chemical called norepinephrine.

When you're under stress, this chemical triggers the amygdala, the home of our fight or flight response, resulting in fear-based behavior.

Here's something interesting, in lower doses, norepinephrine triggers a very different response from our prehistoric brain—curiosity.

Curiosity makes us more excited and arouses our instinct to explore.

But how do we move from anxiety to curiosity?

When I feel anxiety coming on, I practice a 3-second exercise of asking, "Isn't that interesting...?" 

Asking this question creates a pause in my anxiety doom loop and allows me to zoom out, get curious, explore the legitimacy of my fear, and treat the uncertainty of what's next as a playful experiment.

What about you? How do you notice, name, and navigate the second half of life's inevitable anxieties?

What are some ways that you cultivate your curiosity?

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!

Gemi Hartojo - "Remember that there is only one of you in this world."

Insight and inspiration for flying higher in the difference only you can make from guests who have appeared on Creative on Purpose Live.

This week’s wisdom comes from a conversation with business coach to Muslim women entrepreneurs, Gemi Hartojo.

Tune into the entire conversation here.

[GEMI] "Remember that there is only one of you in this world."

"You are unique."

"You do not need to compete with anybody, anyone, anything."

Gemi just delivered a powerful reminder that we are limitless when we step into our uniqueness. How are you showing up as the one and only you today?

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!

Dan Nicholson - "Everybody is creative."

Insight and inspiration for flying higher in the difference only you can make from guests who have appeared on Creative on Purpose Live.

This week’s wisdom comes from a conversation with Dan Nicholson, author of Rigging the Game.

Tune into the entire conversation here.

[DAN] "I strongly believe in this quote, 'Every system is perfectly designed for the current outcomes that it's generating.' That's a quote from Edward Deming. I didn't come up with that."

"This show is called 'Creative on Purpose.' I believe that everybody is creative."

"We maybe grew up in a system that told us that we weren't and that math is not creative. Accounting is not creative. Engineering is not creative. You're not a creative person because you're an engineer. You're only a creative person if you're an artist."

"My first actual full-time job after college (don't judge me for this), was a fellowship at the board that writes all the accounting stands in the US."

"Like I said, my career went on a totally different entrepreneurship journey than I originally expected. But I look back on it and I think that was the most creative place that I worked at outside of being a full-time entrepreneur."

"The board that writes all the accounting standards is the most creative place I've worked at and why?"

"Because we were creating something from nothing."

You may not like what we created. Actually, I know a lot of people who do not like what I worked on. But we had to create it from nothing."

"We started with a blank page and a framework and some ideas and iterated through until we got the final outcome that, based off of a bunch of feedback."

"So I hope that people stop thinking about themselves as being creative or uncreative and that they start being more intentional on purpose—designing systems where they can be they can be creative in their life.

Dan just delivered a powerful reminder that everyone is a creative. How are you embracing, engaging, and activating your creativity today?

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!

7 Steps to Closing the Gap to What You (Really) Want

The game of life is played in two halves. 

The first half of life is spent in a relentless and undisciplined pursuit of more.

More money. More status. More stuff. More, more, more…

Whether due to a crisis or an epiphany, some of us wake up to the false promise of the “pursuit of happiness” and realize it hasn’t actually made us very happy.

The second half of life is an opportunity to stop playing the game of life you were schooled for and occupied by in the first half of life, chasing external validation.

Instead, you can choose to seek meaning, significance, and legacy.

You can decide it’s time to play your game.

But where do you begin?

By reconnecting with who you really are, what you’re really good at, and where you really belong so you can dial in the difference only you can make.

Bringing forth what is within you allows you to define what winning means for you and play your game.

But how do you clarify the difference only you can make and what you want from the second half of life?

It requires a combination of introspection, exploration, and experimentation. 

Here are seven steps you can take to help you gain clarity:

Identify your values: What are your core values? What are the principles that you won’t compromise?
Explore your talents: Reflect on your unique talents and abilities. What are you good at? What comes naturally to you?
Consider where you belong: Who are the people that share your values and need your talents to enhance their lives?
Reflect on your past: Take some time to think about your childhood and teen years. What ideas and activities really lit you up and provided flow? 
Visualize your ideal future: What would your life look like? What do you aspire to achieve? What kind of relationships do you want? What kind of impact do you want to make?
Experiment and try things: Action is the best way to gain clarity. Take small steps. Make small bets. Explore new interests and activities. Try on new ways of being and doing.
Seek support: Consider working with a therapist or coach to help you navigate. Getting guidance and support as you work to gain clarity about your future catalyzes confidence and progress.

Clarifying what you want from the second half of life is a process. It takes time and effort, but the process is the shortcut (and is rewarding in and of itself). 

When you engage in the second half of life with intention and integrity, you can create a fulfilling and meaningful life that aligns with your values and talents, so you can live your legacy serving others from the inside out.
Ready to begin? Click here to join a FREE community of fellow travelers getting clear about and closer to what they really want from the second half of life.

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!

Sandra Tjoa - "Unlock your knees."

Insight and inspiration for flying higher in the difference only you can make from guests who have appeared on Creative on Purpose Live.

This week’s wisdom comes from a conversation with Sandra Tjoa, founder of Qi Tai Chi.

Tune into the entire conversation here.

[SANDRA] "Unlock your knees."

"Physically in the body, if we unlock at the knees, we're opening up to strengthening and improving our grounding."

"It can also open you up at the hips and the lower back (if you have problems in the lower back area) and in the neck and the shoulders where the head is resting."

"If we set up our foundation to help us carry the rest of our body by using less energy and using the ground more, then we've opened a whole other road to better health and not wasting energy unnecessarily."

"And it starts with unlocking the knees."

"When we translate that into our attitude about life, it opens up that flexibility."

"It opens up not being so rigid in how we think, how we move through our day, and on and on. I could keep going on and on."

"So, unlock your knees."

"If you notice... Whenever you're standing, ask yourself 'Am I a knee locker?'"

"And if you find that you're locking at the knees, see if you can take it one step further and actually unlock."

[SCOTT] "I love that. Unlock your knees."

Sandra just delivered a powerful reminder that often shift happens by taking notice, naming, and navigating what's happening now. Are your knees unlocked?

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!

Cultivating Community

Community matters. It matters a lot.

Why?

Because community is where we find belonging and build identity.

How?

Here are three elements.

Communication - members connect through common language, slogans, and slang
Commune - members create intimacy through shared ideas, beliefs, and attitudes
Communion - members cultivate fellowship through mutual participation in rituals and practices

However, not all communities are created equal.

Hierarchical communities are centralized and employ compliance, conformity, and competition to control members. This makes for a dysfunctional and fragile social system.

Vibrant communities foster curiosity, consideration, collaboration, and creativity, allowing members and the community as a whole to grow, evolve and thrive.

How?

By cultivating community within community.

Any flourishing entity benefits from strong leadership. 

In a robust community, members are also encouraged and empowered to connect one-on-one and in small groups inside and outside the greater community. 

Why?

Decentralization.

What’s that?

I think of this as “unified independence.”

Unified independence fosters iteration, evangelizing, and resilience. All promoting the health, vitality, and growth of the whole and the parts.

Community matters. It matters A LOT.

Join and build with integrity and intention and remember to have fun (I think it’s supposed to be fun)!

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!

Stoics vs. Epicureans

Author’s note: When referring to terms as philosophies, they are capitalized. When referring to modern day common usage they are not.

Epicureanism and Stoicism are enduring ancient Greek philosophies and remain relevant. 

Why?

Like other philosophies of the time, Stoics and Epicureans are concerned with defining “the good life” and developing operating systems to get closer to it.

Both continue to resonate with (and confuse) those who draw upon their principles and practices to get clear about and closer to what they want in the second half of life.

 

What Is the Meaning of Life?

Stoics and Epicureans both wrestle with “What makes life meaningful?”

For Stoics, virtue is the ultimate aim, and its pursuit is essential for living a good life. 

Epicureans, on the other hand, believe the purpose of life is pleasure.

 

How Do I Live “The Good Life?”

The Stoics pursue becoming a good person through four cardinal virtues: the courage to practice moderation and justice, which results in wisdom.

The Epicureans maximize pleasure as life’s goal and seek to achieve it by eliminating pain and fear.

 

Contact With Reality

This is a defining difference between the two philosophies.

The Epicureans believe the best way to eliminate pain and fear is to disengage from society. Social, political, and economic pursuits are to be avoided.

The Stoics, however, advocate full engagement with social, political, and economic pursuits not for fame and fortune but for the common good.

 

Modern Usage

Another way to better appreciate a Stoic vs. Epicurean approach to life is to distinguish how each philosophy’s practice differs from how we define and use the terms today.

In common usage, a stoic is someone who grimly endures life’s challenges and crises. Life happens to stoic people, but they “keep calm and carry on.”

As a philosophical practice, Stoicism advocates that sustainable joy is possible, even in tough times, through self-awareness, management of negative emotions, and engaging with life’s duties and other people with intention and integrity. 

A student of Stoic philosophy is an agent of their destiny. Life happens through them.

Today, an epicurean is someone who pursues selfish pleasure in excess.

The philosophical Epicurean cultivates happiness through simple pleasures like close friendships, intellectual pursuits, and time spent in nature while avoiding the risk of strife inherent in social, political, and economic endeavors.

 

Another Modern-Day Distortion

Beyond the confusion caused by the common usage of stoic and epicurean meanings being the opposite of what each philosophy teaches, some amplify this noise-to-signal ratio by acting epicurean while waving a Stoic banner.

Seneca, an ancient Roman writer and statesman is most often held up to legitimize the pursuit of fame and fortune while claiming Stoic pedigree.

Seneca was one of the most well-known and wealthy of his time.

It’s also true that Stoics do not believe fame and fortune are necessarily vices.

The Stoics are indifferent to fame and fortune. It is not necessary to live a good life, yet it is what the Stoics call a “preferred indifferent.”

All things being equal, fame and fortune are okay as long as they do not interfere with the pursuit of what really matters, virtue (moral character and ethical behavior).

And this is where the “Seneca argument” gets a little shaky.

Seneca acquired most of his fame and fortune during his eight years as an advisor to Nero, one of Rome’s most tyrannical, indulgent, and debauched emperors ever.

While it can be argued that Seneca tried to use his influence to mitigate Nero’s sociopathic tendencies, the historical record doesn’t show it had any impact.

Seneca eventually tried to exit Nero’s court (and did when Nero ordered him executed by his own hand).

But why did he not do so sooner? Fear? The reputation and rewards offset the downside? 

Maybe, but neither justification is very Stoic. 

In fact, acquiring fame and fortune just because it’s convenient and pleasant is very epicurean.

 

Onward

Stoicism or Epicureanism, which is the operating system that can help you live a fulfilling and meaningful second half of life?

It depends.

It’s not an either-or, neither, or even a both-and proposition. It depends on your temperament and tolerance, not to mention what you want to achieve and how you want to live your legacy.

However you pursue living the good life with the time you have lft, you’d do well to avoid a stoic or epicurean approach.

h/t This article is inspired by a conversation between Dan Nicholson and Nic Peterson on (Un)Exploitable.

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!

Charles Wilson - "Just Start."

Insight and inspiration for flying higher in the difference only you can make from guests who have appeared on Creative on Purpose Live.

This week’s wisdom comes from a conversation with neo-classical pianist BLKBOK (born Charles Wilson).

Tune into the entire conversation here.

[CHARLES] “My advice would be to start.”

“It's never too late.”

“Today is a perfect day. Get started.”

“Try something.”

“Do something you've never done before.”

“If you have something you've been doing for a long time, try a different way or a different approach to what you're doing.”

“I think that creativity is one of the greatest gifts we have, and it's one of the greatest gifts we can give.”

“I think art and creativity are the cornerstones of who we are as humans.”

“So, I would just say, start. Whatever it is you're doing, just start.”

Charles just delivered a powerful reminder that today is a perfect in every way day to start. What will you begin and begin again today?

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!

Who Let the Dogs Out?

What are you certain about?

Are you absolutely sure about that?

I mean, really, really, absolutely certain.

It’s said that in this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.

But even those absolutes appear to be challenged these days.

So, if there is nothing, or almost nothing, about which we can be absolutely sure, why do we see so much certainty in the world?

And why are those with the most outrageous certainties rewarded with fame and fortune?

Turns out that we are hardwired by biology and evolution to believe what we believe.

Beliefs are the building blocks of identity.

And to protect and promote our identity, we seek out others who share our beliefs.

Because belonging not only fuels are need for significance, but makes us feel safe.

This creates an unhealthy echo chamber and identity trap where we all believe what we believe simply because we believe it.

False certainties fully “confirmed,” we throw rocks (metaphorical and actual) at anyone who doesn’t believe what we believe.

This is also known as dogmatism.

Sure, we’re just doing what humans do. 

But we’re also encouraging and emboldening a dynamic of dogmatism that not only undermines our thriving and happiness but threatens our very existence.

What to do?

The antidotes to the hubris of our dogmatic thinking are curiosity and consideration.

It’s time we reigned the dogs back in and asked ourselves some hard questions.

What are the unconscious and subconscious beliefs you cling to for the sake of identity and belonging?

Are those beliefs true?

Are they absolutely true?

Are they really, really, absolutely true (based on actual, verifiable facts held up for scrutiny and testing)?

Is it possible that multiple realities could be equally valid?

If my belief opposes yours, does that have to mean that one or the other is wrong?

Isn’t it possible that both are incorrect (or in need of correction)?

What if, just for today, you and I held our assumptions a bit more loosely and instead held them up as assertions to be tested?

Might we arrive at beliefs that are a little less unhealthy and fragile and a bit more robust and resilient?

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

If this resonates, please share it with a friend!