CURIOUS REBEL

loyalcx: Build community to make the world a happier...

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:12:50 -0500

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..."

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:32:43 -0500

“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?

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:45:34 -0500

LA bound. Anyone want to meet up?

"Great companies are vibrant, they can hardly contain themselves. It’s because they’re made by..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 12:32:00 -0500

“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.

"Great companies are vibrant, they can hardly contain themselves. It’s because they’re made by..."

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:45:00 -0500

Breakfast turned into a brainstorming session. Reviewing my...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:27:32 -0500

Breakfast turned into a brainstorming session. Reviewing my Moleskine has never felt more cathartic.

stoweboyd: Janine Benyus: 9 Basic Principles of...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 12:19:33 -0500

stoweboyd:

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

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:36:56 -0500

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..."

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:56:42 -0500

“

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!

The ingredient you need to create a highly-engaged community

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:16:00 -0500

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!

This is how accountability works!

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:21:05 -0500

This is how accountability works!

We Create Our Own Boundaries

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:00:33 -0500

Frequently, “experts” dictate what can and can’t be done. But in our time of economic and social difficulties, we need to expand our horizons and create new possibilities.

Curiosity could be the most important quality missing from our daily consciousness.

Melissa Joy: You Are Confined Only By the Walls You Build Yourself.

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:17:10 -0500

Melissa Joy: You Are Confined Only By the Walls You Build Yourself.:

melissajoykong:

If you think or feel as though you’re not succeeding in some or multiple areas of your life right now, there’s a reason.

The reason? You’ve built a wall.

A wall that keeps you insulated from feeling life fully. A wall that keeps space between you and authentic relationships (romance,…

This was the topic I’d wanted to write about this week! I still will, but this post gave me a great perspective.

"Part of our job is to make the invisible visible, to clearly express what we see, feel and do. You..."

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:13:52 -0500

“Part of our job is to make the invisible visible, to clearly express what we see, feel and do. You can‘t expect to sell what you can’t explain.”

- From Swiss Miss (via Plus Projects)

This is why I’m drawn to design in the first place. It’s about being intentional, being authentic.

Startups, life, learning and happiness: Want to help your hometown? Pack up and leave

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:22:13 -0500

Startups, life, learning and happiness: Want to help your hometown? Pack up and leave:

joelgascoigne:

I’ve done a lot of traveling throughout my journey with Buffer. I started in the UK, and since then I’ve lived in Hong Kong and Tel Aviv as well as San Francisco where I’ve now settled for the longer term.

When I was in my hometown of Sheffield in the UK, I became quite involved in the…

“There is no way I would have been able to develop as much as a person if I had not jumped on a plane to a place where I knew nobody. I love my friends and I love my family, but the truth is that stepping away has helped me tremendously to become a better version of myself, and paradoxically to allow me to help them even more, too.”

This blog post literally convinced me that I DO need to move. And people who follow my blog — keep me accountable. My biggest fear is that I’m moving to a new city without really knowing anyone and having a place to stay — and making enough money to support myself.

As my friend Mike said, “I dare you to move.”

"The “true” story is not the one that exists in my mind; …The story itself, the true story, is the..."

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 21:54:55 -0500

“The “true” story is not the one that exists in my mind; …The story itself, the true story, is the one that the audience members create in their minds, guided and shaped by my text, but then transformed, elucidated, expanded, edited, and clarified by their own experience, their own desires, their own hopes and fears… think of it, not as something I created, but rather as something that we made together.”

- - Orson Scott Card, Introduction to Ender’s Game

What every story-based “marketer” is getting wrong, aka why I was such a bookworm as a kid.

The story is what we create together.

(via sarahjuddwelch)

This is a great thing to keep in mind when sharing your story — how do things show up in the other person’s mind?

"Tech firms, certainly, appear to be major consumers of ethnographic research. “Technology companies..."

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 12:10:51 -0600

“Tech firms, certainly, appear to be major consumers of ethnographic research. “Technology companies as a whole are in danger of being more disconnected from their customers than other companies,” says Ken Anderson, an ethnographer at Intel. Tech designers succumb to the illusion that their users are all engineers. “Our mind-set is that people are really just like us, and they’re really not,” Anderson says. Ethnography helps teach the techie types to understand those consumers who “aren’t living and breathing the technology” the way an Intel engineer might. (A curious exception to this cautious embrace of ethnographic methods is Apple, whose late co-founder, Steve Jobs, trusted his designers—and especially himself—more than he trusted consumers or researchers. “It isn’t the consumers’ job to know what they want,” he famously said.)”

- Anthropology Inc. - Graeme Wood - The Atlantic (via courtenaybird)

Otherwise known as applied anthropology, right? This is more of a case for studying humanities in college.

Nathaniel Whittemore: To Jody, Blackbirds, And Never Having To Go It Alone

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:07:26 -0600

Nathaniel Whittemore: To Jody, Blackbirds, And Never Having To Go It Alone:

nlwinsf:

When you start something new, it’s almost impossible to not feel a little crazy.

There is a voice - really, a full choir of voices - warning you of everything that’s going to be hard and everything that’s going to go wrong; reminding you of just how draining and painful and terrifying and…

“We all need people along the journey. No one can live their purpose - no one can live their passion - alone. “

Well said.

I didn’t know Jody Sherman, but I hope I could make even the kind of impact he had made on the entrepreneurial community.

Eric Stromberg: How to Choose the Right Startup to Join

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:42:38 -0600

Eric Stromberg: How to Choose the Right Startup to Join:

estromberg:

The idea of joining a startup is exciting. But the overwhelming desire to leave something old to join something new can become a double-edged sword. Just because you are eager to get your foot in the door does not mean you shouldn’t be picky. You are a valuable asset, and it’s important to…

Great insight here!

Derek Flanzraich: The Hacked-Together Productivity Tool I Can't Live Without: My Master Planner

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 14:50:08 -0600

Derek Flanzraich: The Hacked-Together Productivity Tool I Can't Live Without: My Master Planner:

derekflanzraich:

I’m obsessed with my Master Planner. It’s basically the bastard business child of a to-do list and a daily journal. And it’s one sexy bastard child at that. Around a year ago, the great Kenny Herman from Single Platform shared a template for his “Working Agenda” with me after a brief chat in…

This is an awesome productivity system! Though, I’ve been experimenting with Workflowy already, which has a nice UX.