Build community to make the world a happier place!
Love the poster and the message! Keep it coming :)
“If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve. Do what you love, and don’t stop until you get what you love. Work as hard as you can, imagine immensities, don’t compromise, and don’t waste time. Start now. Not 20 years from now, not two weeks from now. Now.” —
Debbie Millman’s advice on living with uncertainty, embracing the unfamiliar, allowing for not knowing. Via Brain Pickings.
Don’t let naysayers get you down or prevent you from believing in your vision. Get started or get someone to start with you.
LA bound. Anyone want to meet up?
“Great companies are vibrant, they can hardly contain themselves. It’s because they’re made by believers who want to find other believers and convert the rest.” —
An email from Scott Kraft. (via zachklein) - YES. (via fyietc)
I’ve always had the inkling that the liberation of media and information is leading people to create communities and niches, forming new cultures and value systems. This seems like another version of “religion” — where the mechanics of its distribution is similar to how many of our major religions today developed and spread thousands of years ago.
(via fyietc)
“Great companies are vibrant, they can hardly contain themselves. It’s because they’re made by believers who want to find other believers and convert the rest.” —
An email from Scott Kraft. (via zachklein) - YES. (via fyietc)
And they infuse you with great energy and purpose.
(via plusprojects)
Breakfast turned into a brainstorming session. Reviewing my Moleskine has never felt more cathartic.
Janine Benyus: 9 Basic Principles of Biomimicry
- Nature runs on sunlight.
- Nature uses only the energy it needs.
- Nature fits form to function.
- Nature recycles everything.
- Nature rewards cooperation.
- Nature banks on diversity.
- Nature demands local expertise.
- Nature curbs excesses from within.
- Nature taps the power of limits.
(via fuckyeahpermaculture)
Love this. Biology + Design.
Yay! Got @hellomrmag today. Thanks @ryanfitzgibbon!! #hellomr
“
When someone is talking to them, they listen to their last word, then pause a full one or two Mis-sis-sippi, then begin speaking.
It signals that they have listened.
” —-Shane Reiser
From: The One-Second Trick (or why great leaders and good people never seem to be in a hurry)
This is a great follow up to my last post on deep listening. How do you actually go about signaling to others that you’ve heard and acknowledged their words?
Read the full post!
Some, if not most of my best thoughts come to me when I’m running. I’m not sure why. But it seems like the repeated mechanical actions of putting one foot in front of the other are enabling me to separate the control of movement from my conscious brain — which lets me reach into my subconscious.
While running in the “Minnesota-warm” weather today, I reflected on what Abbey and I discussed today at a coffee shop. Our conversation revolved around the community we want to build for our “Sunday Work Sesh,” a co-working group that meets every Sunday afternoon to help each other do our best work. We both attended Bold Academy — Abbey in the inaugural class, and me in the most recent class in SF — and we wanted to create something similar with other like-minded people in the city.
We attempted to define what this group meant and how we wanted people to think and act. We felt that the values we wanted to manifest and the culture we wanted to nurture were important during the early stages of forming this yet-unnamed group. Some of the things we listed: collaboration, authenticity, productivity, mentoring. We want to create the space for others to interact meaningfully and intentionally. A remarkable space for people to become the best version of themselves.
But what drove my reflection today wasn’t the “what” but the “why”: Why would someone want to be part of this group? Why would they invest time in it (and into its members)? Why would they make it their priority to attend?
As I dug deeper, I realized that remarkable communities are built upon trust and commitment. And that the foundation is comprised of a collection of interactions between two members. So it all starts with making sure that each member has a positive — no, amazing — interaction with another person in the group.
But that’s old news. Very cliche. I dug deeper.
What makes an interaction REMARKABLE? What is missing in most of today’s exchanges? What is this defining ingredient that elevates “blah” exchanges of words into something more meaningful, passionate, and…awesome?!
I believe that missing ingredient is: Deep listening.
Be fully present and focus all your attention on the other person. It’s easier said than done, even for me.
At least that’s my own deduction. Feel free to offer other perspectives on it! It’s probably so stupidly obvious that you’re thinking, “Duh! That’s not really ground-breaking.” But then, count the number of times you felt like you were really heard and understood. When was the last time you’ve had a really genuine, passionate conversation?
Ask: How did it make you feel when the other person was hanging on your every word? How did it feel after you’ve just finished a highly-engaging conversation where you two were in flow? Like you got to know him/her better than anyone you’ve ever met even though you guys talked for only a couple of hours.
If you’re not sure what this feels like, create this intention at the start and see what happens! Experiment with blocking out all the distractions surrounding you, including your own thoughts. What is the outcome? See for yourself the difference being fully present makes in the interaction.
Here’s another dimension to the above: Why aren’t people fully present? What are the barriers that prevent others from directing the full attention on the person they’re listening to?
Besides the obvious distractions we face everyday, like text messages and easily accessible social media platforms, I think there’s something else at work.
I hate speaking in generalities or making blanket statements, but speaking from my own personal experience, the people whom I’ve had the best interactions with generally viewed life as a journey rather than some distant destination. They were less focused on getting somewhere and more focused on taking actions to live more intentionally every day. When you focus only on hurrying up to the mountain top, you tend to lose perspective on what’s really important — usually until it’s too late. I’m guilty of this.
On the flip side, I recognize that not all conversation needs to be remarkable. Sometimes, small talk is necessary for a smoother social interaction. And the reality is, you’re not going to connect deeply with every person. There are some people who you won’t jive well with. And to further poke holes into my own hypothesis, some people have ADD-like tendencies that makes it hard for them to concentrate. I’m one of these people. Sometimes, I’m just hyper-sensitive to my surroundings.
But imagine if you could have soul-tickling, heart-warming conversations more often? What if you were more proactive in seeking out these kinds of experiences?
This is the kind of group I want to create. (I can’t speak for Abbey, but I’m pretty sure she would be supportive of this, too!)
If you want to talk about any of this more in depth, feel free to tweet at me or send me a message!