Scott Perry's Blog, page 39

Becoming

When I look back on my life's journey, my knee jerk response is that I reinvented myself many times over the years. The once juvenile delinquent turned into a jock, then turned into an honors student, then turned into a scholarship recipient, then turned into a teacher, then turned into a husband, then turned into a father, then turned into a musician, then turned into a music store owner, then turned into a guitar studio owner, then turned into a coach, then turned into a...

But I've decided that what I thought was reinvention is really a continuing journey in becoming. The pursuit of fulfilling my potential and promise as a human being. An extended coddiwomple including collisions, connections, and collaborations with other human beings engaged in a similar pursuit.

Becoming feels more accurate than reinvention. Reinvention sounds far more intentional and planned than what was really going on as I unconsciously bumped around in the dark from relationship to relationship and experience to experience.

The through-line of this adventure is only visible in retrospect.

Reinvention also sounds more rigorous and complicated than what I remember of the day-to-day experience of becoming. Becoming has been incremental, organic, and full of wonder and fun.

If I'm honest, my journey in becoming has taken on some elements of reinvention as I've also become more "seasoned." My current approach is far more deliberate, determined, and disciplined than in my youth.

And as I've become explicit about who I am and what I do, I've become equally more precise about where I'm going and more aligned with whom I'm becoming.

And yet...

...there is still plenty of wonder and fun ahead.

After all, growing older is required. Growing up is a choice.

Is who you are aligned with whom you seek to become? Are you having any fun along the way?

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

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Are you ready to get real?

What is the work you're meant to do now?

Not the work you were born to do. None of us are born for a single purpose.

All of us are born with a social nature, a capacity for reason, and a creative instinct. Why not employ these impulses in the human work of making things better?

That's the real work. The work you're meant to do now in any given moment.

But where to start?

Start with who. Who are you? What are you good at? Where you belong?

What are your values and guiding principles? What are your talents and skills? Who do you know who shares your values and needs your skills to enhance their lives?

The intersection of your values, talents, and tribe is where you can discover the work you're meant to do now - an endeavor where you make a difference while you develop your potential and deliver on your promise.

Is that work important? Yes, that's what makes it fulfilling. Is that work challenging? Of course, that's what makes it worth it.

The difference only you can make isn't the work you have to do. It's work you get to do.

Are you ready to get real? Ready to discover, develop, and deliver the work you're meant to do now?

Let's go. Start leaning into the work right in front of you right now. Do it with and for those you find yourself with in this moment. Let's endeavor together to make things better.

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

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Abundant Uncertainty

How often do you answer the questions, "What do you think's going to happen next?" or "What should we do next?" with "I have no idea. Isn't that great?!"

If you're like me, probably not very often.

Human beings are fascinating. We love to push ourselves beyond the edges of our understanding and abilities, and we crave certainty and confidence. We want to better ourselves and our situation, and we like to know where we stand and what's expected. 

How do you reconcile this gap?

Years ago, I began embracing an idea I call "abundant uncertainty."

Like most, I've been programmed to believe that the unknown and unexpected are to be avoided and feared. Yet, I also know that possibility and potential are always found outside of my comfort zone and certitude.

That uncertainty can bring either, more often both, obstacles and opportunity, helps me lean into the discomfort with a bit less hesitation, doubt, and apprehension and a bit more curiosity, consideration, and courage.

And when I strategically lean into unpredictable situations or endeavors with integrity and intention and do that with and for others, the results are rarely catastrophic. In fact, even when I entirely fail, I learn important lessons while cultivating the virtues of patience, humility, and resilience.

How might embracing abundant uncertainty help you fly higher in the difference only you can make today?

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

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What I've Been Reading - Winter 2021

This article contains affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase, Creative On Purpose receives a commission. Thank you!

Books are efficient and cost effective learning tools. They are my go-to source for inspiration and information in my endeavors. Here are four books that currently inform my journey in developing Creative On Purpose.

The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made humans Exceptional, by Augustin Fuentes

Fuentes makes a compelling case for the importance and uniqueness of human creativity, how it encourages collaboration, and why both matter now more than ever.

How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices, by Annie Duke

An engaging blend of science, anecdotes, and exercises about overcoming your biases and making better decisions in your day-to-day.

The Practice: Shipping Creative Work, by Seth Godin

Equal parts insight and inspiration encouraging readers to develop and deliver upon their creative potential and promise.

Debt: The First 5000 Years, by David Graeber

A counterintuitive and convincing account about how before money, there was debt. Graeber shares why that it is and why it matters.

These four books, more than any other of the dozens I've recently read, have had the biggest impact on my journey in building the Creative On Purpose brand and developing and delivering on its promise to help others fly higher in endeavors that make a difference. You can find them and other helpful resources in the Creative On Purpose Bookstore.

Let's keep flying higher together!

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

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Routines and Relationships

I know of no more powerful levers for encouraging either stuckness or progress in your endeavor.

Unhelpful, unnecessary, or unhealthy habits lead to stagnation and impede your efforts to elevate your craft.

Thoughtless, unsupportive, or negative people trip you up and hold you back.
It's seductive to blame our situation or others for conspiring against our initiatives in leveling up in the difference we want to make. But almost always, it is ourselves who are to blame.

You get to choose how you spend your time and who you spend it with far more often than not. Owning those decisions is a habit worth cultivating in and of itself.

Are your routines and relationships acting as a rut or rocket fuel in your pursuit of flying higher and making things better through work that matters?

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

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Creative on Purpose's Circles of Connection

Where do you collide with difference-makers like those found at Creative on Purpose?

If you look for insight and inspiration out in the howling wilderness of social media, Creative on Purpose delivers doses every day on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Insight is delivered through shared blog post links and inspiration via quote images. You can also catch our live broadcast, Creative on Purpose Live, every Thursday at noon ET on LinkedIn and Facebook.

When you join our email list by joining the Difference-Maker 3-Day Challenge or by taking the Difference-Maker Assessment, you enter a more focussed space with concentric circles of concern and connection. 

Deeper insight and inspiration are delivered by email every Monday and Friday. You also gain access to the Creative on Purpose Community product which includes a copy of The Creative on Purpose Handbook and an invite to monthly, members-only events.

The next circle in is a bolder space for Difference-Maker Coaching clients and Difference-Maker Community subscribers. The Difference-Maker Community accesses a library of online courses and additional handbooks. Members area also invited to weekly members-only calls, and events.

Finally, the inner-circle is made up of the most disciplined members who join the Do the Work group sprints. These six-person cohorts experience four weekly 1:1 and group coaching calls in addition to all the benefits above.

Where are you in the Creative on Purpose concentric circles of connection? Wherever you are, we appreciate the time and attention you lend us and the difference you make!

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

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Living into Your Dream

Creativity is a basic human impulse we all employ whenever we want to make a difference or make change happen.

 

Creativity is always a collaborative act. Even when you engage in creative enterprise alone, you employ knowledge and resources that come from others.

 

Creativity begins to elevate to art when it is work done out loud and in public.

 

When you enter into creative work with integrity and intention and execute that work with and for others, you have initiated a cause.

 

Creativity, coupled with community and a cause, is and always has been how we make things better.

 

In the United States today, we celebrate a leader, Martin Luther King Jr, who dedicated himself to a cause we still strive to realize.

Below are insights from Martin that inspire the difference I pursue every day. I hope they encourage your efforts to be creative on purpose too.

 

"Almost always, the creative, dedicated minority has made the world better." (from the sermon A Knock at Midnight)

 

"You don't have to see the top of the staircase to take the first step." (source unknown)

 "Everybody can be great because everybody can serve." (from the speech The Drum Major Instinct)

 

What's your cause? Who's it for? How can you leverage your values, skills, talents, community, and creativity to live into the difference you seek to make?

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

Click here if you're curious about our creative community of difference-makers.

 

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Worthiness

Are you a generous, thoughtful, and empathetic human being?

 

Of course you are.

 

You acknowledge the dignity of others and believe they are deserving of your respect and kindness.

 

And, of course, you extend this sense of value and worthiness toward yourself, right?

 

Embracing our own inherent value is a struggle for many of us. Why is that?

 

Even more important, what can you do about it?

 

It might help to adopt a short daily practice of embodying your own goodness and consequence.

 

Science says that visualization and affirmations can help. But I'd assert action is a more powerful lever for adjusting your mindset.

 

To feel worthy, act worthy.

 

Set small goals and take small steps into them daily. Be intentional about who you spend time with and what you say. Hold space and grace for yourself when your inner critic starts chattering or imposter syndrome comes to call.

 

Smile more often and stay positive. Practice patience, acceptance, and humility from the inside out.

 

Trust yourself.

 

You are not  insufficient or broken. You're a work in progress.

 

You can't serve others fully if you can't first fully serve yourself.

 

Lean into your potential daily and you will soon find yourself developing and delivering on your promise.

 

How can you cultivate and activate your own worthiness right now?

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

Curious about how we might be able to work together to help you get unstuck and going with the difference only you can make? Learn more here.

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What does it mean to live your legacy?

When things work out how you planned, it’s easy to assume it’s due to your genius and good planning. When things don’t, it’s easy to blame others or fate for conspiring against you.

The truth is, there are never guaranteed outcomes.

This is especially true for creative approaches to embracing uncertainty and navigating adversity in meaningful work. There’s simply too much beyond your control.

Significance and purpose are found through worthwhile efforts, not in their outcomes.

Do your work on purpose, with intention, and for a reason.

You begin to live your legacy by letting go of old stories about yourself that no longer serve you. This opens the door for better effort and fulfillment.

To live your legacy is to accept what is and set aspirations for what’s next. Acceptance of what’s now isn’t passive resignation. Life doesn’t happen to you. Life happens through you.

Your only responsibility is to put forth your best effort.

Legacy isn’t the money and monuments you leave behind. Legacy is living fully and well, no matter what fate delivers.

Legacy is the difference you make now. It’s who you are and what you do to make things better today.

That’s what it means to live your legacy. This is on offer if you lean in and level up in the endeavor you’re meant for now.

Are you ready to get going with the difference only you can make and start living your legacy? Let’s go.

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

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"Why was I not informed?"

When was the last time you had a revelation? What was it? Why was it so astounding?

When you zoom out from an epiphany, often the only thing that's a surprise is the fact that it's come as a such a shock.

Most of the time, a revelation is something we've seen, heard, or experienced many times before.

It becomes a revelation when we finally have the wisdom and humility to pay attention, listen, and learn.

How can you invite revelation to visit you today?

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

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