Life

The Meaning Of Life (Yes, Seriously)

June 14, 2016• Legacy, Life

grass-stars

Originally posted on Excellence Reporter

Almost 3 years ago, one of my best friends in the world died after a horrific battle with cancer. He was 34, quite possibly the most talented musician I’ve ever met (and I know a lot of these folks), and without question one of the finest human beings I’ll ever know.

An experience like this naturally brings the question of “What is the meaning of life?” to the vibrant, technicolor surface of one’s mind. After many months of wrestling, I concluded the answer has two parts:

  1. To make as many amazing memories as possible, and
  2. To leave something beautiful behind when you go.

Perhaps this seems overly simple, but for me it sums it up quite effectively. Let me explain.

First, making memories. 

Research has shown that our best memories actually improve the quality of our life as time goes by. They are, essentially, appreciating assets that live in our brains. This is why it’s far better to spend money on experiences and not things: pleasant, memorable events actually amplify in our brains over time, becoming additive in their benefit to our overall wellbeing. Acquiring “stuff” might be fun in the moment, but just like the shiny car you drive off the lot, those assets mentally depreciate from the moment we exchange our dollars for them. The amazing memories we can create with that stuff, though—now, that is something worthy of our time and attention.

So, in the service of this idea, it’s become my goal to intentionally create as many cool moments as I can in the hopes they will generate memories that will last. Of course, this is much simpler to say than it is to do; for me to get good at this, I have to practice it like an Olympic athlete practices their sport. I have to learn to be more mindful in general, to be more present in the moment I’m in, to be more intentional about how I spend my time, and to create WAY more space in the margins of my life so I’m not just constantly rushing from one thing to the next. (I’m not very good at these things yet, but I’m getting better.)

Second, leaving something beautiful behind.

Living one’s life ONLY in the service of acquiring memories, while great for the person living them, just seems to be a bit, well, short-sighted. There’s a great big world around us, and I’ve experienced (as you likely have) how one person can make a profound impact on the people around them. Then add to this the notion that everyone seems to be uniquely, meaningfully gifted with unique talents, strengths, and perspectives, and I would suggest it is quite literally a waste for us to not share these beautiful things with the other human travelers we collide with along the journey.

So, to bring life to this idea, I try to integrate and balance my desire for great experiences with working on things that make life a little better for the people around me. This isn’t some kind of saint-like general “volunteering” altruism, though—for me, this is a drive, an obsession, to begin with a hard look in the mirror to discover my own unique gifts/talents/strengths, and to then use those things to create something (or many things) that will be, in the most holistic sense of the word, beautiful… and also last long after I’m gone. It should be noted, too, that I find that being on a larger “mission” can also lead to situations filled with some of the most memorable experiences I’ve had, which is a pretty nice feedback loop!

So, there you have it: the meaning of life.

At least for me.

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“Everything Runs On Energy…” In The Huffington Post

January 28, 2016• Life

Alternative_Energies

Don’t miss my new article in The Huffington Post! Here’s a little teaser…

Take a look around you.

Yes, really. Right now.

What do you see?

You might see lamps that are on, providing light for your workspace. You might see heating/cooling vents, pumping air that keeps your office at a comfortable temperature. You might look out the window and see cars or trucks driving past. You might see audio speakers (hopefully playing some beautiful music). You might see LED indicators lit up on printers or other electronics, signifying they’re getting power from the wall, even if they’re not currently in use. And if you were able to look inside the walls, you’d see wires and pipes moving electricity and water throughout the building.

What makes everything get to where it’s going?

In a word, energy. Everything around you runs on energy.

But it’s NOT the energy you’re thinking about…

READ THE REST ON HUFFINGTON POST!

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2015: Year In Review

January 7, 2016• Life

I’ve posted a Year In Review every year for the last 5 years (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), and it’s become something I really look forward to doing. It helps me pause, remember, celebrate, and offer my gratitude for another really special year of life on this strange planet.

This year, it’s been an absurdly monumental challenge to just find the time to do my review, which, as I ponder it, seems a rather fitting statement about the crazy year I’m wrapping up.

Let’s jump in!

It’s probably worth noting up front that I didn’t achieve a single one of my goals for 2015. It might be argued that I achieved #4, but the rest… notsomuch. Here were my goals:

1) Maintain my take-home income from 2014, 2) Sell 1500 books, 3) Have at least one baby-free date with my wife every month, 4) Develop consulting methodology and clear product lines for the new brand, 5) Increase speaking revenues 4x over 2014, 6) Read at least 2 nonfiction and 2 fiction books, 7) Blog 1x/month here and 1x/month on the new company website, 8) Host Work Revolution Summit 2 and double the tribe size, 9) Create outline for Book 2

Yeah, I didn’t do any of that.

Here’s what happened: I drastically underestimated the amount of time and energy it would take to do four things:

  1. Merge my solo consulting practice with another firm, going from 1 employee (me) to 6 employees (including me), and becoming a CEO
  2. Purchase and build a house in another state
  3. Add another baby to our family
  4. Move said family across the country

At the beginning of 2015 when I outlined my goals, I knew #1 and #3 were going to happen but I did NOT know about #2 and #4. Had I known about those, perhaps I would have written different objectives…? Who knows.

In any case, despite my apparent goal failure, I don’t really see 2015 that way. In fact, I see it as quite the opposite — in my mind, I prioritized the exact right things and I enjoyed the hell out of my last year living in LA! A few notable accomplishments…

My wife and I made lots of time to be with dear friends, went to Disneyland a lot (9 times if you’re counting, including 2 with our newborn baby!), hosted our parents, and crossed all the big items off our “to-do before leaving LA” list. We even squeezed in a few kid-free date nights!

On the health front, I’m thrilled to report that I finally developed a moderately respectable yoga practice. (Something I’ve been wanting to do for far too many years.)

Right around the middle of the year, my new biz partner and I decided to split our one new company into two new companies — one focused on consulting services (beForte.com) and one on products (strengthscopeUS.com). This was a huge amount of work, but we’re already seeing the benefits. I’m also happy to report that the new businesses ended the year profitably, which feels to me like nothing to scoff at given everything else that was going on.

In 2015, I traveled to: San Francisco, San Diego, Kansas City, Seattle, Denver, Detroit, Iowa City, and Chicago.

And, oh yeah, did I mention we did the above 4 things?

All in all, I’d say it was a pretty thrilling year. So what shall we do next…?

new_year_2016-blog

 

Goals For 2016:

  1. Continue my yoga practice
  2. Get my salary back to pre-merger levels
  3. Grow Twitter followers 10x (right now I’m at ~2000)
  4. Official proposal/outline and agent for Biz Book #2
  5. Work Revolution Summit #2
  6. Build a thriving local network in Denver
  7. 50% unstructured time (no meetings in afternoons)

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