Category Archives: Becoming Heroik
7 Things You Should Hear From Ze Frank
Ze Frank is an Internet Culture Comedian and has been featured on TED and many other fine and funny places. He created this piece “An Invocation for Beginnings” and it shows a more serious side to his wit that is inspirational. Here are 7 take aways from that video.
My past failures at follow-through are no indication of my future performance. They’re just healthy little fires that are going to warm-up my ass.
Let me think about the people who I care about the most, and how when they fail or disappoint me… I still love them, I still give them chances, and I still see the best in them. Let me extend that generosity to myself.
Let me not be so vain to think that I am the sole author of my victories and a victim of my defeats.
Perfectionism may look good in his shiny shoes but he’s a bit of an asshole and no one invites him to their pool parties.
Let me not think of my work only as a stepping stone to something else. And if it is, let me become fascinated with the shape of the stone.
Let me take the idea that has gotten me this far and put it to bed. What I am about to do will not be that but it will be something.
There’s no need to sharpen my pencils anymore. My pencils are sharp enough. Even the dull ones will make a mark. Warts and all, let’s start this shit up.
Bonus: Let me remember that my Courage is a wild dog. It won’t just come when I call it. I have to chase it down and hold on as tight as I can
Must Be Present to Win
In order to get somewhere, you have to be somewhere first. Instead of obsessing over getting somewhere fast, focus on being somewhere completely. Being who you are right where you are will allow you to practice more authentically, generate more opportunities, and increase your performance and enjoyment, personally and professionally. In essence, in order to reap all the benefits that life in the moment has to offer, you must be present to win.
If you’re more mentally aware of your circumstances, you can be more honest about your actual experience and avoid the self-deceptions and false guarantees. If you’re intelligently available to clients, customers and demands of your job, you will perform better than those that don’t. If you develop a trust for your natural talents, you’ll be able to work candidly and play to your strengths. The adaptive mindset, authentic present, both require an acute attention and awareness to the here and the now.
The Challenge: No time for the Now. Only Time for the Future.
The challenges to being present revolve around the common and frantic obsession with the future. Will I get that promotion? Will it launch successfully? What will happen next? Will my deal go through? These are but a few questions and worrying habits of the future that create anxiety and stress and hinder performance in the now. With our attention on the future neglect the opportunities of our work now.
Stress Anxiety from Unrealistic Expectations
While stuck on the future, we set unrealistic expectations by ignoring or not defining the present. We set goals for ourselves while completely ignoring our present circumstances. By ignoring or not defining the starting point, it becomes quite easy to set unrealistic demands on our workloads and personal lives. If your goal is to run a marathon but you’ve never ran a 5k, your making failure far more likely than success. If your goal is to make a million when you’re having trouble making a hundred, you’re likely creating trouble. These examples may sound obvious but the addiction to speed and consumption confuse the senses.
Stop Counting and Start Measuring- Quality Control
We often confuse the quantifiable measurements of speed and consumption with the qualitative net gain,and holistic virtue of our efforts. For example, the number of books you’ve read may be impressive, but the number of books you remember, or better still the number of books that changed your life and business may appear less impressive but are far more meaningful to your bottom line. This is a problem of linear thinking; when focused on measuring only one outcome (volume or quantity) and not the many varying results (qaulities and virtues) or net effect. Though they may be harder to define, the qualitative effects may be more important to measure.
Linear Check-List Mentality of Strict Accounting
Our self-sabotaging doesn’t stop there. Consider the check-list mentality. Do you have a business plan? Uh-huh. a website? Yes. A business card? A website? Duh. The most neglected aspects of our practice are often areas where we apply a checklist (yes/no) mentality. This attitude of binary strict accounting when it comes to measuring progress and achievement hinders the quality of our work and creates more anxiety. Without acknowledging the qualitative values that we wish to demonstrate in our work, frustration builds when we can’t check off our progress. This ends up causing us to ignore our actual forward momentum, and tricks us into believing that despite our efforts we got nothing done.
So how do you escape all the entanglements and anxiety of future obsession? How do you become present to win?
The solution: Be Somewhere First.
Be who you are right where you are. Know yourself. Choose to cultivate an authentic practice. Know who and what you’re not (e.g. you are not a 5th degree black belt productivity guru, or Google or Steve Jobs). Let go of the urge to compare yourself to the myths and legend of your time and industry. Be comfortable with what you’ve got and build something with it.
Increase your opportunities right now by deciding to be attentively aware right now. In order to act upon these new opportunities, you’ll need an adaptive mindset. Making use of an adaptive mindset requires an understanding of your situation, so consider your environment, network and capabilities.
Be who you are right where you are. Relax.
Recognize that you will never be able to completely control every aspect of your work. Let go of the expectation. Commit to what you can do on a time frame you can actually deliver on. Integrity goes hand in hand with authenticity. Be consistent in your word and deed, for your own personal practice and to build respect in your work.
Let go of the focus on the future so you can be fully available to work in the present. Try and have one mind for that one task or project, right now, today.
Pencil in at least 10 minutes per day to practice being aware. Schedule the time on your calendar. Write it down. Focus on everything and nothing. If your attention wanders, bring it back to the moment and just sit and be open. If you treat this as seriously as the rest of your business efforts, it will outperform many of them. The fruits of being mentally available in the now will come to those who choose to do it. You must be present to win.
Posted: Nicholas McGill
Categories: Becoming Heroik, Blog, Chronicles, Heroik MBA, Productivity, Required Courses, Simplicity
Visual Thinking And Creativity
Do you remember visual thinking? Have you heard of it? It’s essentially visualization, a lost art these days. Ask yourself when the last time you staired at a blank wall or a fresh blank page of paper? These days our writing space has been replaced with watching space in many cases. The computers,televisions, and screens do the thinking for us. And yet, many basic problems and challenges persist. In a brief ode to Jim Henson, check out the two videos below about Visual Thinking. Then challenge yourself to unplug and try it. (more…)
The $10 Startup- A BootStrappers Quick Reference to The Art of Hustle.
While I don’t completely write off the various investment/funding business models, I do have a larger respect for the art of hustle and the adaptive mindset of the true entrepreneur. I’m a big fan of bootstrapping business models and their success stories of small wins that lead to big victories. Looking at the small things, or the ability to make more of something from next to nothing, is a great exercise to use to help you hone in on the important things. That said, the big challenge is this: if you only had $10 to start a business, what would you do? What would you focus on? How would you go about it?
Read on to see some of our recommendations on how to start a business with little more than lunch money. Be sure to chime in and comment with your own ideas as well. (more…)
Posted: Nicholas McGill
Categories: Becoming Heroik, Blog, Chronicles, featured, Heroik Life Hacks, Heroik MBA, Leadership, Simplicity, TEE Savers
Why are we here?
- Shifting where we apply our TEE (Time, Effort & Energy)- from cyclic, toxic habits, to Heroik endeavors.
- Take some time this week to Uncover who you are, where you came from, (your origin story) Where we desire to go and the challenges and limiting thoughts that keep us from becoming the heroes we desire to be. (more…)
Life After The Starting Line
Kynan Matz is arguably the world’s most supportive husband. What kind of guy opts to train for a marathon with his wife without any prior race experience? A Heroik one for certain. I’ve been lucky enough to know him and his wife Laura for years. We’ve shared many good times; camping and racing together (and by that I mean racing with them way, way ahead of me). We’ve shared some emergent moments as well. Witnessing how this Super Powered couple uses life’s curve balls and challenges as mere catalysts and opportunities to slingshot into new, epic endeavors is inspiring. How you get from scary days at the hospital to planning out and then running ultramarathons amazes me. The event and challenge that started it all that would have been an epic story to itself was but a thin, faint starting line. The real Heroik story eclipses the starting point. Together, over the past 2 years Kynan and Laura have logged over 3,000 miles running where ever their feet will carry them. (more…)
Bring Your Own Bravery
The first step to become Heroik is to cultivate bravery.
Recklessness is bravery to excess. Cowardice is a lack thereof. Much of the world prefers cowards. We believe it’s better to edge a bit towards the reckless side of the bravery continuum as often times, the worst case scenarios aren’t nearly as perilous as the world would have you believe.They’re easier to manage and will work for less. At Heroik, we have a mantra that allows us to Get Heroik each and every day. We remind ourselves to bring our own bravery; to own and control our efforts and outcomes in life. Every challenge we undertake, every project and adventure, the least we can do is to be responsible and courageous enough not to look to others when it is time to get things done, have a good time, share epic experiences and lend a hand. We bring our own bravery, lead by example; get in there and get dirty. (more…)
