personal purpose | The Fourth Revolution Blog

How do you recognize if you are on the way to create magic?

I love this image. And I wonder where I am right now. How much am I stretching myself outside my comfort zone? Is it enough to get to “where the magic happens”? Am I leaning in the right direction?

outside your comfort zone — Gosh! Do I really need to go beyond my comfort zone?

Tough questions, precisely because I am out of my comfort zone, not quite at ease. I literally dream sometimes to get back in the comfort zone (having a simple, cosy job as an employee in a large corporation, no more worries about marketing and end-of-the-month cash?).

In that general context of uneasiness how can I know whether I am moving in the right direction to encounter magic? How will I recognize magic? That’s a tough question!

Actually, magic is easy to recognize: it is when what you do resonates with people, when you get conversations started because people are interested, when people ask to meet you to discuss what you are doing.

Once you meet the magic, the energy you get from these encounters and these conversations makes you lean even more outside your comfort zone, and necessarily in the right direction.

So, do people resonate with what you do? If not, continue to seek by experimenting. If yes, then lean further in that direction.

Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans

This ultra-famous quote from John Lennon resonates daily with me.

life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans — What happens to you while you had made other plans!

I am particularly future-oriented and I like to have plans. And I don’t like things that have not been planned. And guess what – my long term plans are often defeated by the reality of life. On a daily basis.

Is the solution not making plans at all? I don’t think so, because only plans allow to move forward toward what we have chosen at that time to be our goal. Only through planning can we have follow-through. Still, flexibility is necessary to accommodate what really happens. Does that change our goal, our purpose? Not necessarily, it just makes the way to get there more uncertain.

Lennon - life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans — John Lennon

Those moments where the plans we had made and cherished for weeks or months find themselves completely torn apart by the reality of our life are fundamental moments that define our destiny. When we realize that reality does not fit any more with our plans is when we take the true bold decisions that will determine the direction of our life. These are the decisions to life with a partner, to have children, to change fundamentally one’s career…

The key is to be able to see that the discrepancy between your plans and reality increases to a point where a fundamental reframing has to take place. It should not happen too often, it should not happen too rarely. But when it happens… let it be!

Obstacles on your road are there for a reason. Are you ready for them?

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal”

This quote is by Henry Ford. And I find it quite deep and powerful when considered carefully.

Henry Ford was a determined person. He spent years battling against the patent for “automobiles” that was held by a ‘patent troll’ – as we would say today – who tried to maintain scarcity. He wanted to be able to provide affordable cars to more people; and he eventually won after years of legal procedures.

He does not deny that obstacles can look frightening and difficult. He just states that if we have a strong goal, we’ll always find a way.

An other thinker, Randy Pausch, in his famous “last lecture“, did a statement that is for me fundamental:

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”

So, obstacles are not just here to test your commitment, they are also here to make the different with those that are not passionate enough to persevere.

So, remember next time you moan or you’re scared because of some obstacle: did you take your eyes off your goal? Is your goal clear and compelling enough?

Will you work to overcome that obstacle, which will make the difference between you and the other wannabes?

When is failure an option?

I visited Houston Space Center the other day as I was stranded a week-end in town during a business trip. There you can visit one of the famous space control rooms, view a Saturn rocket, many spaceships and a bunch of memorabilia about the space conquest (exciting for the child in you!). And you can’t escape this famous quote attributed to Gene Kranz, the flight director on Apollo 13: “Failure is not an option“, written on everything – books, mugs and T-shirts included.

Failure is not an option - book by Gene Kranz — When is failure an option?

Quite a tough guy, this Gene Kranz, and undoubtedly his determination helped much bring the astronauts back on earth that time.

But then today we know that we should fail often to progress, at least limited failures. So, when is failure an option? And when is it not an option?

When should one persevere, against all odds, and when should one not?

One of the few references on this topic is a little book by Seth Godin called “the Dip“. It discusses how all ventures always go through a dip between the initial excitement and the possible future development. How can we recognize whether that’s a temporary dip or a slide toward failure? How can we recognize whether we need to persevere? How can we recognize that in that case, failure is not an option?

When Apollo 13 encountered its issues, the purpose of the team was clear: bringing the people back to Earth. They did not know how but the purpose was set, compelling, tangible, emotional, generous. They would do whatever it took to reach it. And they did.

Failure is not an option when the purpose is so compelling that it will move you to do anything to reach it. Don’t get stuck on the way you thought you would take, though; you’ll need to find the way, and it won’t be obvious. And you will find the way, because you will have small failures along the journey, overcoming and learning from them to get closer to your goal.

Failure is not an option for your life purpose. It is certainly an option for helping you find the way to reach it. This is quite a vital distinction.

Test what you identified as your life purpose: is failure is an option?

Building stone by stone an enduring monument

Following a previous blog post about the patience conundrum here are some nice quotes about patience I want to share with you – and how I modified one to create a personal motto.

“Have patience with all things. But, first of all with yourself” – Saint Francis de Sales

“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all” – Michelangelo

“Seek patience and passion in equal amounts. Patience alone will not build the temple. Passion alone will destroy its walls“- Maya Angelou

“The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones” – Chinese Proverb

Segovia Aqueduct, one of the most elegant stone structures

I’d like to modify the last one. Watching inspiring structures that have been built and are there for us all to enjoy, like the incredibly elegant aqueduct of Segovia built by the Romans two millennia ago, which still inspires awe and admiration, I have created my motto regarding patience:

“The man who build an enduring monument for all to enjoy begins by carrying small stones”

What do you think?

Do you have a work or a job?

While searching for images on internet I stumbled upon that one:

If you have a work instead of a job, everyday is holiday (Paulo Coelho) — So, do you have a work or a job?

This of course caught my attention by the implied, controversial meaning (and because it looks cool to have a work as it is implied!).

So what’s the difference between a work and a job? After some thoughts I’ll try a definition.

At the first level of course, what makes the difference between a work and a job is the level of passion and of personal implication.

A job is some activity in a large organization that implies that you’re being told what to do and that you limit your implication to a given framework of obligations (including in particular, specific times and situations).

A work is a dedication to a purpose, to create a body of work in the sense that it has for an artist. It can’t be stopped by external rules such as limited times for work or for rest; its implication are broader than just an organization. It creates dedication through passion.

So, do you have a work or a job? Think about it for a while. If you have just a job, it might be time to change!

How to overcome the patience conundrum

One of the most difficult emotional issues I am encountering as a new entrepreneur is the issue of patience. It is also at the heart of a deep contradiction everyday: we need to act today with urgency to plant the seed for tomorrow; yet, we need to be patient to reap the harvest when it will come.

It is necessary to be patient when it comes to building the company’s infrastructure and products, as it will take time; when one waits for prospects to respond to proposals. It is important not to look overly hurried and in need when it comes to negotiating contracts.

Yet it is also important to be pushy and in a hurry when it comes to produce the company’s infrastructure, develop products and tools that will be the basis of the company’s future success, or when it comes to respond to inquiries from potential future clients.

patience fortune cookie — How patient are you?

There is a significant contradiction here, that we need to be managed on a daily basis. Ultimately, success will not happen by itself. It is important to be moved by a feeling of urgency, do things, try things, fail, and start again. And, at the same time, we need to be patient so as to let the world time to adapt to the change we are introducing.

How long do we have to wait? How long is too long, and we need to move on? With how much urgency do we need to act today for a possible, uncertain future result? These are all questions that we encounter on a daily basis. These are questions that are even more present when we start a large project, like a company.

There is only one solution. Passion. Because only passion will give us the energy to devote large amounts of time today on things that might or not give rise to results tomorrow. Because we know that whatever happens we will have enjoyed ourselves on the way, and what we will have learnt will be useful some day.

What prevents you from spending more time on what you enjoy doing?

Can we really fail?

“What would you do if you knew you cannot fail?”

This sentence is from Anthony Robbins. Sounds similar, but actually quite different from the other usual challenge: “what would you do if you were not afraid?“.

Of course, the fear of failure is part of it. Fear of failure as a social fear (that other see that we fail) and a personal one (an ego wrangling risk).

Still, this sentence also adds the idea of purpose, of our final goal. If we believe, if we know we can’t fail to reach our purpose or whatever it is we wish in our lives then maybe we won’t be afraid of the obstacles between us and our purpose. Even if these obstacles seem daunting at first.

And it leads naturally us to that fundamental question: can we really fail? What does failure really mean? Many successful people have gone through moments and situations of utter failure from a social or personal point of view and still managed somehow to overcome them and become successful.

Is it possible to have a no-failure mindset? That whatever experience happens, however difficult and cruel, can be seen positively?

I believe that it is possible. That we can always chose to decide to respond in a constructive manner. And move on.

Live through experiences, but never fail.

What do you think?

A guide to world domination: how to move toward the Fourth Revolution

OK, the title is a bit over the top. That’s the marketing part.

But that is quite a good, short manifesto to get you moving in the world of the Fourth Revolution.

Read “a brief guide to world domination: how to live a remarkable life in a conventional world” by Chris Guillebeau

Here is a quote from the book introduction

“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to
experience the world in the way they have been told to” – Alan Keightley

Tell me about what you’re going to do to get your way in the world.

A world that, thanks to the Fourth Revolution, is opening so many opportunities for us all!

Change your mind first to change your life

“Progress is impossible without change and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything” – George B. Shaw. The more I speak about the Fourth Revolution, the more I consult in the field of organizational change, the more I find this quote incredibly deep and powerful.

Most changes need to start with a mindset change. Many failures are caused by the failure to change one’s mindset. Of course you can change your environment, your processes, your organization. But if you don’t change your mindset, or rather more precisely, your mind perspective, change will not be successful. You will fail, and slowly become sour, frustrated and angry.

Only by changing your mind first, by changing your identity, your view of the world, will you be able to really change your life, and to change the world.

So, how do we change our mind perspective? It requires both openness and deep introspection.

Openness so as to apprehend the reality of what surrounds us without all the filters that we usually impose to our perception
Deep introspection to find the right way to change – our own way, the way that excites us deeply and fits with our inner self

It is an intensely personal quest, and it can be made difficult by how our environment might tend to push us back into our previous mind perspective. It requires solitude and mindfulness. Yet going through this exercise is a necessary preliminary. All the rest of the change is just a consequence of the mindset change: see the world differently, you will act differently.

It is amazing how this is applicable both for individuals but also for organizations: organization’s culture and mindset needs first to change for the organization to really change. Change programs that do not consider this as a preliminary will fail.

So, when do you start stopping for while, open your mind and seek your passion?

Projects that are too easy, are not worthwhile

Any worthwhile project will encounter resistance. Because it tries to change the status-quo. Because if it is worthwhile, it changes its environment significantly.

Here are some contrarian thoughts about this effect:

your project does not encounter any resistance? Reevaluate if it is worthwhile!
your project does not go through hard and difficult times? Reevaluate if it is worthwhile!

Now obviously there needs to be a measure of resistance in the process. It must not be so hard as to be impossible to overcome. Still it must be hard enough so that not so many people do overcome it.

Reevaluate your current personal and professional projects. Are they difficult enough? Are they too difficult?

Most importantly, drop those that are too easy. They are probably not worthwhile.

I am not what has happened to me. I am what I choose to become

This quote from Carl Jung is powerful. And so true.

creating your own way image — Create your own way!

Our personal responsibility is immense to decide on what we focus on, what we do, what we choose. Most of us choose to let ourselves being carried away by the events of life.

We are not our past. We have to choose our future and this is not determined by our past.

It is our personal responsibility to become what we want and we should not shy away from it.

This personal responsibility is scary. It is challenging. Yet it is what makes us human beings.

With the Fourth Revolution, more people than ever before have more choices. Yet we are not educated, supported in making these choices: in the Industrial Age, somebody else was doing these choices for you.

The Fourth Revolution is the time and the opportunity for you to make a choice. To choose what you want to become. Not how you would like the world to see you: what you really want to be for yourself.

It is not anymore a lonely quest. Connect with the world and become what you choose to be. It is pressing. Start today. Because if you don’t make that choice, you will let the world pass on and disappear in insignificance.

Do it. For yourself. For the world.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30