We tend to think effort and graft are the most critical ingredients to doing our work well. They're not.
The fact is that there's one, far more important and foundational requirement for success, as I discuss in today's episode.
All in Creativity
From a young age, we're stuck on this idea that we have to get everything right, right from the start. Because you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Truth is, in so many aspects of our lives, especially our careers, that's just patently false. As I discuss in today's episode, you can indeed have second acts.
It's that time when we start planning our resolutions for the New Year. At the same time, there's also a sense of concern inherent in some of us - the sense that we're not really going to keep at it, given our past behaviors, so what's the point?
As I discuss in today's episode, we should do it anyway, because our false starts in the past provide the education and fuel for us to be successful in the future.
Those words from Bruce Springsteen's The River got me thinking about this idea of singular dreams and how they define who we are and what we do.
I dive into what this potentially means and what it, perhaps, should mean for us, in today's episode.
Sometimes, telling others - and ourselves - that we've arrived isn't a good thing.
In fact, as I discuss in today's episode, it can lead to a complacency that can derail everything that we've achieved so far. So that messaging, to others and to ourselves, is important.
It's tempting, when we've achieved some measure of success, to believe that we've arrived.
The Greek philosopher, Epictetus, counseled against this idea of "arrival" and believing we are important, as I discuss in today's episode.
Structure, rules and constructs can be useful mechanisms and when we're growing up, they're usually unavoidable.
At the same time, they can be both good and bad and, as we grow older, it's worth questioning many of them. Both in terms of what they mean for us but also, as importantly, what they mean for others we live and work with.
Getting older is something all of us have to deal with. And, especially in today's hyper-competitive, social media driven environment, it comes with its own challenges.
But, as I discuss in today's episode, the reality isn't quiet so black and white, which is heartening, because life is full of nuances. As are each of us.
Smartphones are everywhere and the natural temptation is to use it to record all of our important experiences for posterity.
However, as I discuss in today's episode, there's something to be said to, perhaps, put them away and to simply be in the moment.
In today's episode, I tackle my own personal prejudice with the drum machine, specifically via a song from the artist, The Weeknd.
It's a reminder that how we assess value isn't always objective but perhaps colored by years of conditioning, that often turns out to be wrong.
When we listen to songs, they come fully formed - perfect entities in and of themselves. But the fact is that the really great ones can evolve and change over time, because they're driven by something deeper, more meaningful.
That, as I discuss in today's episode, is not that different from us and our lives.
Creating something new is a challenging task - so much so that many of us don't actually take the step to create whatever is that's in our head.
The reason, as I discuss in today's episode, is that we get caught up in two specific issues that stop us from taking those essential steps forward.
Whenever I go to Karachi, I'm amazed by how the city functions and how people go about their daily lives, especially when so much we take for granted in the west, just doesn't exist in the same way over there.
But, as I discuss in today's episode, people get on with things. They live their lives. Because it isn't just about what's around us and the way things are, it's about our own will.
Brands today are quite different from the brands I grew up with. Many of them are quite explicit about what the stand for and believe in, even if that narrows their target market.
These brands, I'd argue, achieve far greater loyalty and commitment than those that don't. Because, as I discuss in today's episode, consumers are sick of fitting in. And they expect brands to reflect that.
Our past has a tremendous bearing on where we are today. That's a fact. But if we are to have ambition, if we're to move forward, we need to let it go.
And that begins, as I discuss in today's episode, with us. We need to adjust our mindset to be one of self-control and empowerment. It's begins with us.
It took me a while to understand that the idea of "learning" was not a one and done concept but an enduring, long lasting one.
There are a number of reasons for this as I discuss in today's episode and my key message or takeaway is that, while we've made progress over the years, the path is continuous - so long as we shift how we think about it.
We tend to think of successful people as alternate beings - people who come to their work with a mindset that is always on, always without doubt. In other words, not like the rest of us mortals.
The truth, in my view, is different. Successsful people are more like the rest of us than we think. There's just one intentional difference, as I discuss in today's episode.
Trevor Noah once referred to our culture as our operating system, one that we're rarely even aware of.
That's an apt explanation of the role and value of culture. It's something that can make us - but just as equally, it can break us.
I've found that when I focus on the idea of the work I'm doing - as opposed to the work itself - I don't quite deliver as well as I could.
I get too caught up in the external, on the trappings than on the content. The key, as I discuss in today's episode, is to let that go and focus instead on the content itself. That's what matters.
The idea of balance - and its importance - is discussed by all and sundry as being key to a healthy life. And it is - in the long term.
But in the short term? Balance doesn't move you forward, and it doesn't help you achieve greatness, as I discuss in today's podcast.