Scott Perry's Blog, page 30

Colleen Redman on Life's Essence

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 Coleen Redman, author of Packing for the Afterlife. Tune into the entire conversation here.

[COLLEEN] But it's bringing life down to an essence, as poetry can do, like dreams, you know it's a shorthand of language. And really the questions behind it were things like "How do you bring your life down to an essence?" "What do you want to bring with you and what can you let go of?"

In just a few lines Colleen delivered two profound questions that can help you boil you and your endeavor down to their essence. What are you bringing with you and letting go of today?

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

(BTW, you can watch this and every other entire interview in the Creative on Purpose Broadcast Archive. To learn more and access for free, click here.)

If what you just read resonated, please share it with a friend.

When do you stop being you?

Are you familiar with the ship of Theseus?

It's an old thought experiment about identity first shared by one of my favorite pre-socratic philosophers, Heraclitus, whose enigmatic utterances and cryptic wordplay earned him the nickname, "The Obscure."

Have I lost you yet? Please stick around. It'll be worth it!

The paradox of the Ship of Theseus goes like this. Theseus, the mythical founder of Athens, possessed a great ship. After a great battle, the ship was maintained in a harbor as a museum piece and monument to Athens' victory.

As years passed, some of the wooden parts began to rot and were replaced by new ones. After a century, every plank and piece had been replaced.

This begs the question, is the fully restored ship the same as the original?

Philosophers have argued this since the days of Plato, and the puzzle continued to be unpacked by Thomas Hobbes and more recently by Noam Chomsky.

Several years ago, I collided with an urban legend that made me consider the ship of Theseus riddle from a slightly different and more personal perspective.

The myth goes like this, the human body replaces itself with an essentially new set of cells every seven years to ten years. Fascinating, right?

Except it's not entirely accurate.

While it's true that most cells regenerate over a decade, the rate at which cells do so over various parts of the body varies widely. In fact, some critical areas of the body, like the lenses of our eyes and neurons in our cerebral cortex, contain cells that remain with us for life.

Still, the spirit of the idea remains. Physically, you and I are all essentially reconfigured and reconstructed by cell replacement every decade or so.

Which, again, begs the question, are you the same person today as you were a decade ago? What about the person, fate permitting, you'll be ten years from now?

I guess it all depends on how you define your identity? Are you primarily the sum of all the atoms of matter that make up your physical being? Or is who you are the story your consciousness tells yourself about yourself?

Or maybe it's a "both-and" proposition?

What if who you are and who you're becoming are works in progress constantly in flux? Which pieces would you replace today? Which would try to hold on to?

Scott Perry, Difference-Maker Coach at Creative on Purpose. 

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Power Struggle

Do you struggle to understand what power is and where it resides? I know I do.

Part of the struggle is understanding that power is often associated with assumptions that are not absolutes.

Power doesn't have to be coercion, corrupting, or confined to people with certain personalities, positions, or levels of prosperity.

Power can be used to influence, inspire, and is available to anyone with the courage to see, step into, stay in, and share their power asset. An asset built of your unique abilities, attitude, and approach to making a difference.

You can refuse your power or give it away, but no one can take your power away from you without your permission.

Too often, people like us treat our own power as a finite resource. If you spend it and give your power away in activities and relationships that aren't reciprocal or are frivolous, you become drained and exhausted.

How might investing your power with intention and integrity help you make it a renewable resource?

You and I are more powerful than either of us can imagine. What happens if you embrace and engage your power in worthwhile activities done with and for the right people?

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

If what you just read resonated, please share it with a friend.

Don't settle for the status quo.

 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 between myself and Aga and Łukasz Szóstek, hosts of the Catch the Next Wave podcast. Tune into the entire conversation here.

[SCOTT] What we need now, instead of certainty, and confidence, and the status quo, is more people like you and your husband and all of our friends in the altMBA.

People that are, instead of chasing the status quo, mastering the status quo, and seeking certainty and confidence in things as they are are, instead are willing to approach interesting problems with greater curiosity and courage.

People who are willing to take chances. People that are willing to be deliberate, and intentional, and with integrity try to make change happen and help us step forward into a better way.

I just shared a call to action to not settle for the status quo. Where can you develop your potential and step into possibility in your life and work today?

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

(BTW, you can watch this and every other entire interview in the Creative on Purpose Broadcast Archive. To learn more and access for free, click here.)

If what you just read resonated, please share it with a friend.

What we need now, instead of certainty, and confidence, and the status quo, is more people like you and your husband and all of our friends in the altMBA. People that are, instead of chasing the status quo, mastering the status quo, and seeking certainty and confidence in things as they are are, instead are willing to approach interesting problems with greater curiosity and courage. People who are willing to take chances. People that are willing to be deliberate, and intentional, and with integrity try to make change happen and help us step forward into a better way.

Sticky (Not Stuck)

Have you defined the difference only you can make? Have you identified the audience that needs you to show up for them? Do they resonate with the promise you share with them?

It took me years to answer those questions. And even when I had clarity about the change I seek to make, who it's for, and what transformation was on offer, my endeavor didn't take off.

It's not enough to know who you are, what you do, and why you do it. If you want your ideas and offers to resonate in a way that makes the right people respond, your messaging, positioning, and signals have to stick.

Why?

To get others to enroll and invest in the journey you want to walk with them, you have to earn fellow travelers' awareness, attention, trust, and permission.

To do this, you must compete with the dissonance in their head caused by negotiations with their imposter, resistance, anxieties, and fears. 

On top of that, there's all the external noise, challenges, misfortune, and choices. Most of us find it all overwhelming.

None of us have the bandwidth necessary to understand or connect with what's on offer the first time we collide with it (or the second, or the third, or the fourth...).

How do you create messages and send signals that stick? Here are a few ideas that I learned the hard way.

Less is more - fewer words are more likely to be read and leave space that encourages others to lean in and learn more.
Delight - use language that is compelling, surprising, evocative, and inspiring.
Be transparent - no obfuscating; make it clear, direct, and respectful.
Be believable - make promises you can keep and then overdeliver on them.
Appeal to fundamental concerns - no one buys based on features and benefits; we connect through how you make us feel.
Tell us a story - we make sense of ourselves, our situation, and each other through narrative.
Make it shareable - what will the right people tell the others? 
Make a vow to commitment and consistency - we won't likely see, hear, understand, or trust you right away; show up daily and deliberately.

Oh, yeah, and one more thing. In your pursuit of cultivating stickiness, don't get stuck...

If your brilliant idea about how you frame and talk about the difference you make is persistently not connecting, you must let it go. When you're stuck in a messaging rut, the worst thing you can do is to keep broadcasting it.

Are you stuck in a cycle of communicating in a way that isn't sticking? Commit to measuring your messaging up against the markers above. How can you tweak or turn what you're saying into a story that's more lean, delightful, clear, believable, and shareable?

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

If what you just read resonated, please share it with a friend.

Fraught and Fulfilling

Does the idea of living your legacy resonate with you, but you're not sure what that could look like?

Or perhaps you're already doing meaningful work but feel a little lost or stuck?

The Situation

Making a difference is fraught. That's one reason why it's so fulfilling.

We build identity and forge meaning through the difference we make with and for others.

Too often, people like us develop our craft, practice our skills, and do the work on our own. This can be challenging and even painful.

It doesn't have to be so hard, and you don't need to do it by yourself.

There are trusted guides and supportive fellow travelers you can find and connect with. The journey can be more effortless and rewarding.

An Invitation

If you need help defining the difference only you can make, connecting with those you seek to serve, and crafting the transformation you can offer...

or...

Need a hand leveling up in the difference you're already making…

The Creative on Purpose Handbook shares processes for dialing in, developing, and delivering your endeavor that are easy to understand and weave into the life you're already living.

Ready to take a bolder step into your potential in the difference only you can make?

It'd be a privilege to jump on a 15-minute curiosity call to learn more about you and your endeavor. I'd love to help you clarify your next best steps. Email me with CURIOUS in the message heading and I'll send you my scheduling link.

We need you and the unique experiences, skills, talents, perspectives, and connections only you can bring to the challenges we face.

Thanks for the difference you make.

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

If what you just read resonated, please share it with a friend.

David Bourne and Scott Perry on Artistry

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 between myself and David Bourne, founder of the Stay Creative Project. Tune into the entire conversation here.

[DAVID] It's a delicate balance because you know you're constantly tweaking your art to help people yet you've got to stay true to what it really is. So ultimately, it's got to work for you the artists.

And you know it's kind of a razor's edge. It's a fine edge to walk but it's pretty exciting to walk on a razor's edge.

[SCOTT] Absolutely. I think sometimes - of artistry as being the posture of a professional creative.

I mean, yes, that's not necessarily a professional in the sense that it's your occupation or that it's your source of income but that you are taking your craft seriously and you are doing it with intent. And you were doing it with and for other people who will benefit—whose lives will be enhanced by colliding with whatever you whatever craft or whatever art you are practicing.

David and I just shared a valuable perspective about what artistry is and why it matters. How can you develop artistry in your endeavor today?

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

(BTW, you can watch this and every other entire interview in the Creative on Purpose Broadcast Archive. To learn more and access for free, click here.)

If what you just read resonated, please share it with a friend.

Learning By Doing

There are, of course, other ways to learn rather than by doing.

For instance, you can read a book, take a class, or watch an instructional video.

And, yet...

The danger in learning something by passively reading, listening, or watching is that it's easy to confuse knowing of or about the thing with being able to employ or do the thing.

I know I spent a lot of my life conflating learning with ability. What about you?

If you want to build a new skill, at some point, you have to put learning into practice. And if you're going to gain confidence in that skill, you'll need to practice it in community.

Learning that does not lead to action is useless. You must do the work with and for others. You must embrace the discipline that you'll endeavor poorly before you gain the competence to do it well.

Yes, I know, that can feel scary. And yet, the most challenging things you've ever learned to do have been achieved this way. Learning by doing is how you learned to walk, talk, read, write, and every other skill and ability you engage in without thinking about it.

And, really, what are you afraid of? That you'll look unconfident and incompetent when you start? Did that hold you back when you developed the skills listed above?

Of course not.

Embracing naivete and wonder and leaning in with playfulness and rigor were decisions you made then that you can still make now.

Did you have help? Of course. While you learned to walk and talk, you were surrounded by friends and family who supported and encouraged your adventures in developing those skills. While you learned to read and write, you were surrounded by fellow travelers on the same journey.

You can cultivate these same kinds of relationships now. You can join or create a community of practice dedicated to leaning in and leveling up in the difference only each of you can make.

What are you learning? Are you learning by doing? If not, what are you really waiting for?

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

If what you just read resonated, please share it with a friend.

Embracing Naivete

What possibility would you step into today if you didn't know it was impossible?

Is anything really impossible?

Human locomotion and flight were impossible until they weren't. So were the lightbulb and the internet. So were thousands of other ideas and inventions.

Think of the complexity of walking and talking. These endeavors require coordination and conceptual thinking that are impossible to completely and fully articulate or understand. And yet, you began both walk and talk before or soon after your first birthday.

How does the impossible become possible? By embracing naivete and acting as if you can be or do the impossible.

I'm not suggesting you cultivate willful ignorance or recklessness. That would be unhealthy and dangerous. But what if you reclaimed your childlike sense of wonder, imagination, focus, and boldness whenever you confront a challenge or impossibility?

What if you suspended your value judgments, status anxieties, and fear of failure when presented with a chance to step into possibility, develop your potential, or deliver on your promise? What if you stopped insisting on certainty and assurance?

You've done this before. Not only did you learn to walk and talk without a manual or guarantee, you also learned to read and write and do hundreds of other things that were impossible until they weren't.

What if you baked a little unsophistication, ingenuousness, and credulity into your approach to the difference only you can make?* What if you began looking at the task at hand with the intention and integrity of beginner's mind? What impossibility might become a little bit less so and a little bit more possible?

* Need to look up ingenuous and credulity? I know I did! Click here to broaden your vocabulary.

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

If what you just read resonated, please share it with a friend.

Chip Conley on Integrity

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 Chip Conley, founder of the Modern Elder Academy. Tune into the entire conversation here.

[CHIP] Let's let's look at the word integrity for a moment.

Integrity is is a root of the idea to integrate or integral or it's almost the idea of everything is connected. So integrity speaks to the idea that, you know, your words and your actions are in line with each other.

So a lot of times people think about integrity is almost like having to be Mother Teresa and be perfect. It isn't about being perfect and it's not about necessarily being saintly or or doing things that allow, you know, make you look like you're walking on water.

Now more than anything, to me integrity is just having consistency in actions and words and speaking to the idea that everything seems to actually have an integrated component to it.

And so it's not as high of a standard as some people think, nor is it as something that's all about ethics. And the ethics are different than integrity.

I think ethics are exceptionally important too - but to me and integrity speaks to the idea of being integral and ethics are a different thing. Because I think ethics are sort of circumstantial and cultural in terms of like, you know, it depends on what are the ethics in this culture versus that culture.

It varies. But integrity actually sort of like saying "Hey, you know, are you at one with yourself as a person or as an organization regardless of the ethics or cultural overlay that are where you're located.

Chip just shared a valuable perspective about what integrity is and why it matters. How can you live into your integrity through endeavors that make a difference today?

Scott Perry, Chief Difference-Maker at Creative on Purpose.

(BTW, you can watch this and every other entire interview in the Creative on Purpose Broadcast Archive. To learn more and access for free, click here.)

If what you just read resonated, please share it with a friend.