only one way to grow dreams

yesterday i wrote a post on the importance of dreaming big.  today i am following it up with the only way i know to grow dreams…exposure.  it’s hard to know what you want if you don’t know what is possible and exposure is simply the best way to discover the impossible.  

can you dream of owning an island if you don’t know people who are doing it?  can you dream of running your own business if you don’t know any entrepreneurs?  what about running a marathon if you don’t know that people run 10+ miles everyday?  can you dream of being a multimillionaire if you don’t know anyone making over $60K/year?  can you dream of developing a technology that permeates 100 million households if you don’t know anyone who has done it (re: bill gates of microsoft had a dream to place a computer on every desk and in every home)?  

i believe in the idea of exposure so greatly that i have based my life around it.  i am constantly trying to surround myself with people who dream bigger than i so i can see the impossible and pick and choose what part of the impossible i want to attain.  how are you growing your dreams?  who is helping you grow them?  

today i leave you with this thought , which has inspired me for years:

“exposure to the next level breeds an intolerance for your current situation.”

get away from the people and things around you.  determine today to make a change.  get intolerant…expose yourself.  

Filed under: inspiration, lifemark, personal branding, quotes, dreams

it doesn’t matter which way you go

Alice in Wonderland: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Chesire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to
Alice: I don’t much care where.
The Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.

many of us don’t pay attention to where we are going.  like a ship without a sail we go in whichever direction the wind blows us, often ending up nowhere.  on our quest for purpose, success, career, and freedom we stop and ask everybody else for help along the way.  but it’s essential that you take the time to first search yourself and ask questions like:

in life…

1. what do i want to be best in the world @?
2. what makes me different and unique?
3. what makes me cry when i see it (perhaps it’s a problem you should solve)?
4. if i could make a million dollars a year doing anything i want, what would i do?
5. what do i find myself doing in my spare time? 

in business/marketing…

1. what do we want to the best in the world @?
2. what makes us different and unique?
3. what are we going to stand for?
4. what is the purpose of this organization?
5. what capabilities do we have that will enable us to win?  which ones are we missing?

the moral of the story is simple: 

if you haven’t asked yourself these questions (or other ones like them) then i have the answer to your question about which way you ought to go before you ask me…

“it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

(for those who are searching jullien’s got a lot more questions if you need it, click here) or check out his class here)

Filed under: inspiration, lifemark, personal branding, quotes, 8Ps, freedom, insights, inspiration, jullien gordon, personal development, purpose, search

obama: build or destroy

“your people will judge you on what you build, not what you destroy”  

— Barack Obama, President, ’09 Presidential Inauguration

we are so used to destruction.  the reality of it is, destroying is easier.  it’s easier to tear down your employee or coworker rather than lift him up, or to criticize google rather than build your own, or to tell someone they can’t instead of telling them that they can.  as a marketer, it’s easier to develop ideas that destroy value by adding clutter to the system rather than developing breakthrough creative and ideas that add value to our consumers’ lives.  my biggest criticism of business school and the case study method was that so often we learned how to rip apart a company and critique what they were doing wrong; much less often did we learn how to really do it right.  too often we go the easy route.  

we should determine that every day we will build customer value into the system rather than destroy it, and that we will build upon the hopes and dreams of one another, and that we will build and leave a legacy in both our business and professional lives that we can be proud of.  building takes work; but the reward is much greater.  after all, according to barack, that’s how you’ll be judged.

Filed under: inspiration, lifemark, personal branding, quotes, 2009 inauguration, advertising, attention, barack obama, business school, clutter, dreams, legacy, marketing, obama, value add

obama’s circle just got larger

“A good man draws a circle around himself and cares for those within – his woman, his children.  Other men draw a larger circle and bring within their brothers and sisters.  But some men have a great destiny.  They must draw around themselves a circle that includes many, many more.  Your father was one of those men.  You must decide for yourself whether you are as well.”

 

it is not about the size of the circle that matters.  instead, it is about:

1. understanding the composition of your circle (who is in and who isn’t)
2. unconditionally accepting responsibility for all of those within your circle  

today at noon, obama’s circle will multiply as he draws chalk around the united states of america and its sphere of influence.  and while the world watches as he steps on stage into his destiny, he could not appear more confident that he is in the right place at the right time with the right people.  he understands and accepts his circle as well as the responsibility that comes along with it.  

the question i have for you is have you accepted yours?

Filed under: lifemark, quotes, destiny, leadership, obama, purpose, quote, responsibility