Scott Perry's Blog, page 47

The Formula for Making a Difference

Here's my current working model for a formula for making a difference:

Creativity + Character = Change for the Better

Creativity - the act of bending, breaking, or otherwise bringing something new into the world.

Here's how I define it in the Creative on Purpose Handbook, "Creativity is the simple act of making change happen. Our creative impulse is what gets you from where we are to where you want to be."

Character - a combination of your virtue and values as you live them.

Here's how I define character in Character Loans, "Character is who you really are and reputation is who other people think you are. Character and reputation don't always align. However, if you consistently show up and act with the intention and integrity you talk about, your character can strongly influence your reputation." (See also, Character Is Fate)

Change for the Better - An iteration or transformation that improves the prospects and prosperity for all.

Change for the better is the point for every worthwhile endeavor. It's certainly at the heart of my work here at Creative on Purpose.

What's your endeavor? Not sure? Why not find out?

Scott - Difference Maker at Creative on Purpose

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How to Decide

What's your attitude and process toward decision-making?

Actually, making the case to be a decision-maker might be the place to start.

You don't have to decide, of course. But if you're going to make change happen or make progress in your endeavor, you must become a decision-maker.

And for many of us, embracing the mindset and posture of a decision-maker can be terrifying.

Why is that?

I think part of it is our default programming as human beings. We love knowing where we stand and what's expected of us. We're comforted by and feel safe with the status quo, aka the way things are and the way we are.

However, if you've already adopted the posture and mindset of a difference-maker, you're already at peace with the idea that the status quo, external and internal, is not enough.

Another dynamic that conspires against our desire to be decision-makers is that we get really hung up with the outcomes of making decisions.

But here's the thing, decisions have nothing to do with outcomes.

Outcomes are beyond your control. Sure you can, and should, put forth your best effort to achieve results. Those ends should be properly motivated and pursued with intention and integrity.

But in the end, the results are not up to us. Others and events beyond our control may conspire against our aims.

Good news, outcomes don't matter. Every result is simply another opportunity to frame what's now and choose what's next and then step into that possibility.

Every result is an invitation to make another decision.

So, for sure, set your aim. Please do so with intention and integrity. Every decision involves trade-offs. Be equally deliberate in choosing what you'll trade for the aim you're setting.

There are no perfect or best decisions, so no need to get hung up, over-analyze, or over invest in the result you seek. Make the best choice you can given the information available at the moment and then act on that decision.

Every decision leads to a new and exciting opportunity where you are afforded the opportunity and privilege to make the next decision and continue stepping into possibility.

What's the next decision for you to make in your endeavor? Have you made it yet? If not, what are you waiting for? 

Let's keep stepping into possibility together!

Scott

Lessons Learned at the Modern Elder Academy

My wife, Lisa, and I had the privilege of recently attending a session of The Making of a Modern Elder program at Chip Conley's Modern Elder Academy.

Lisa and I arrived full of curiosity and eager to level up in our quest to gain clarity and skill in creating and contributing as modern elders.

Toward this end, the session was expertly led by Jeff Hamaoui and Janis Nakano Spivack and augmented by the contributions of mindfulness and yoga facilitator Teddi Dean Bennett, resident shaman, Saul Kup, and the culinary wizardry of chef Tony Peralta.

But the real magic came from the being a part of our student cohort, AKA the Dancing Howlers. Wisdom, it turns out, is easier to come by and apply when it is pursued with and for fellow travelers.

Here are the top five lessons I learned during our week at the Modern Elder Academy.

Acknowledge

Taking stock of your current situation is a necessary and sometimes challenging requirement for stepping into possibility. Our week together began with some exploration of the stories we tell ourselves that are not serving us. 

Accept

Accepting "what's now" helped set the stage for framing "what's next." Recognizing that we are complicit in conspiring against our best interests was a revelation and a compelling call to become the hero of our own journey.

Aspire

Aiming the arrow of your aspiration for a better future with intention and integrity doesn't guarantee that you'll hit the bullseye. But it increases the odds that you'll land somewhere great.

Affiliate

Any journey is more fun and fulfilling when joined by fellow travelers. The journey of a modern elder is a one taken with and for others.

Action

Epictetus' maxim, "learning that does not lead to action is useless," is advice worth heeding. The work done with compadres at the Modern Elder Academy provides a compass for continuing to navigate the journey of a modern elder beyond Baja.

A Few Details

The campus and accommodations are spectacular as are the meals. The staff is exceptional.

The morning circle and coursework are intense and inviting. Shift definitely happens during this program!

Extra-curricular activities like bread baking and surfing are highlights of the week. There is also a nice balance with activities off campus.

If you're ready to lean in, level up, and continue to contribute in the second half of life, the Modern Elder Academy is a great place to get going!

Scott

Speed Vs. Velocity

I often catch myself confusing or conflating speed and velocity. I mistake my going fast for making progress toward an intended target.

Here's the deal.

Speed is the rate at which an object covers distance. It's the distance traveled over a specified amount of time. Speed is ignorant of direction.

On the other hand, velocity is a vector quantity. It's the speed of something moving toward a destination. Velocity is direction-aware.

How fast are you going? Do you have a specific destination in mind? Wouldn't it make sense if you did?

Let's keep flying higher together with intention!

Scott

Embracing Uncertainty

It seems as if the ‘right’ ideas, beliefs, or causes ‘win.’ Those in positions of authority or positioned as successful seem to earn that status through certainty and audacity.

But appearances are deceiving. They don't tell the whole story. And they don't have to define the culture.

What if we championed uncertainty and consideration instead?

The Situation

It's seductive to pretend we're rational agents applying ourselves intelligently and deliberately to endeavors when things work out as we intended. When things don't work out, it's tempting to tell ourselves that it's because events conspired against us or, worse, tell ourselves that we're unworthy, lazy, or stupid.

The truth is, neither  impression is correct. Most of the time, we're on autopilot. The subconscious is making decisions based on instinct and intuition informed by our habits and experience. Things happen as they happen, and the rest is all just storytelling after-the-fact.

And whichever story you're telling yourself, it's probably affirming the status quo. In other words, you're likely confirming and reinforcing the story you were already telling yourself. Is that story enhancing your prospects and wellbeing?

The Solution

What if we made the effort to shun value judgments and embrace consideration?

Embracing uncertainty cultivates self-compassion, encourages clearer thinking, and fuels better decision making. It also fosters insight and inspires growth.

Seek confusion. The unexpected is where learning happens, and potential is developed. Failure and confusion are not character flaws, they're indications of character strengths like curiosity, courage, and consideration.

Acknowledging what we can't know is the path to peace of mind. Uncertainty cultivates character and motivation and informs intelligence and resilience. 

Uncertainty also nurtures consideration. Consideration boosts compassion for ourselves and generosity for others. This encourages connection and common purpose. And all this leads to breaking and bending the status quo to make things better.

The Striving

What happens if the next time you're in a situation where there's no clear next step, instead of stating what you can't possibly know with certainty, you answered: "I can't be sure."

What if you followed that with an assertion? What step might lead to a better situation for everyone? What if you then took that step and encouraged the others to come along?

Keep flying higher.

Scott

Stillness in Motion

What do you do when you don't know what to do?

Discussing this question with friends led me to contemplate the virtues of both stillness and motion.

What do you do when you don't know what to do?

One perspective is that uncertainty about what to do next is an invitation to adopt a posture of stillness. Resting with the tension of uncertainty is, after all, an exercise in acceptance, acknowledgment, and presence. 

This approach can be effective for staving off the usual reactions to indecision, such as distraction and over-analysis. 

An opposing perspective is that indecisiveness is a call to action. A challenge to put yourself in motion. Doing something coupled with the trust that you'll be able to thrash your way to clarity is often my default attitude.

But I wonder if stillness and motion aren't mutually exclusive?

Some of the greatest moments in history exemplify the capacity to practice stillness in motion. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, during the Cuban Missile Crisis and Anne Frank during the Holocaust, come to mind. Both exemplify the ability to stayed calm while engaged in making sense of chaotic situations and seeking solutions in them.

Stillness in motion is a response that comes more easily when we know who we are and what we stand for. When we have alignment of values, talents, and mission, finding internal solace within the external swirl is possible.

Like any worthwhile habit, the posture of stillness in motion is cultivated through daily practice.

How are you practicing stillness in motion today?

Let's keep flying higher in endeavors that make a difference together!

Scott

Miners, Farmers, and Hunter Gatherers

Miners extract. They take and take until there's no more to take.

Farmers grow. They cultivate in pursuit of abundance and excess.

Hunter gatherers forage. They harvest what they need, taking care that what's taken will be replenished.

Historically, miners and farmers put in long days doing hard work that is often dangerous.

Hunter gatherers on the other hand work enough to sustain themselves and thrive while letting everything around them do the same.

How do you approach the time, effort, and energy you invest in your endeavor?

Let's keep flying higher together!

Scott

What I've Been Reading - Winter 2020

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"Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

Books 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 and help me enhances the lives of those who collide with it.

The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, by Jonathan Haidt

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt, shares how philosophical wisdom and its enduring maxims - like "do unto others as you would have others do unto you", or "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" - can enrich and even transform our lives.

Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts, by Annie Duke

Annie Duke, a former World Series of Poker champion turned business consultant, draws on examples from business, sports, politics, and (of course) poker to share tools anyone can use to embrace uncertainty and make better decisions.

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know, by Malcolm Gladwell

A powerful examination of our interactions with people we don't know. Because we don't know how to talk to strangers, Gladwell argues, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world. 

Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up, by Jerry Colonna

Colonna shares his unusual yet highly effective blend of Buddhism, Jungian therapy, and entrepreneurial straight talk to help leaders overcome their own psychological traumas.

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

What Pain Teaches

"I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become." - Carl Jung

Pain and suffering are real. Each is difficult to navigate. Either can break us temporarily or permanently.

But pain and suffering are not the same. Understanding the distinction can make all the difference.

Pain is different than suffering.

Physical, psychological, or spiritual pain is a human response to injury, loss, or absence. Suffering is attachment to pain, desire, or outcome.

Pain is an affliction. Suffering is a choice.

Experiences Vs. Identity

You are not defined by your pain or suffering unless you decide to be.

How you respond to pain is both a reflection of character and an opportunity to cultivate it.

Invitation

Refusing pain's invitation to suffer affords the opportunity to be taught by it; to not become broken but instead broken open. 

Meet pain with acceptance and you become more committed, connected, and compassionate with yourself and others. You become wiser and resilient. You can choose to serve and flourish.

“The world is nothing but change. Our life is only perception.” - Marcus Aurelius

Pain invites us into a journey of solitude and suffering or transcendence and transformation. Which are you on?

Let's keep flying higher together!

Scott

 

The Catastrophe of Self

The Catastrophe of Self

It happens over and over, again and again. I see it in the lives and work of those I serve and in my own endeavors. In our efforts to be and do better, what obstacle impedes our progress? What foe trips us up at the finish line? What force conspires against us?

"We have met the enemy, and he is us." - Walt Kelly, Pogo

Yes, we are the primary impediment to our own progress. Yet we continue to name it as if it exists outside of ourselves. Resistance, imposter syndrome, and all the other ways we personify fear, doubt, anxiety, and self-loathing.

Is there a way through, over, or around this self-sabotage? I've certainly tried. I've crafted all manner of maps and compasses to help myself and others learn how to change your mind and how to get out of your own way.

And yet, I continue to insert myself between the me I am and the me I want and need to be every day. I bet you do too. Why?

In part, that's the gig. Work that's worth it, any meaningful enterprise, is fraught on purpose. That's what makes it meaningful and worth it. The journey of self is a moral trek. It's an ethical building project. The path is a principled pursuit in which progress can only be made if we kill the very thing we are trying to save, ourselves.

Ego is the enemy. And this inconsiderate, selfish, and certain coward can't be destroyed or overcome. However, through the cultivation of character and will, our better angels can co-exist with it and reach a degree of tranquility and equanimity.

The Summons of Service

And how does one cultivate character and will? I have found that there is only one path, service to others.

Your primary concern, the search for self and meaning, can only come through work done with and for others.

"The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." - Charles Du Bos

Enhancing your life through endeavors that elevate others is a calling that you can heed anytime. Why not do so today?

Let's keep flying higher together.

Scott