by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 13 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: We learn by copying
— From: Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
From a very young age we are told not to copy, but the truth is that “nobody is born with a style or a voice… In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes. We learn by copying.”
“You learn to write by copying down the alphabet. Musicians learn to play by practicing scales. Painters learn to paint by reproducing masterpieces.”
Yet it’s important to make a distinction between copying and plagiarism. “Plagiarism is trying to pass someone else’s work as your own. Copying is about reverse-engineering. It’s like a mechanic taking apart a car to see how it works.”
“The writer Wilson Mizner said if you copy from one author, it’s plagiarism, but if you copy from many, it’s research.”
The people whom we copy are usually our heroes, those that we admire the most, whose work we love and are inspired by. The trick is not just to copy the style but “the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes.” The goal is to see the world the same way they do, to “get a glimpse into their minds. If you just mimic the surface […] without understanding where they are coming from, your work will never be anything more than a knockoff.”
Then something remarkable happens: from imitating all our heroes and seeing the world through their eyes, we find the confidence to create our own style. We take from all of our heroes, mix it up, and out comes our own voice. This is what makes us different from one another and how we can best contribute.
ACTION
TODAY: Who has done what you want to do? Set a time today to make a list of your heroes. Then find out who are your heroes’ heroes. Make a list too, you’ll want to copy and learn from them as well. Remember you are part of a creative lineage.
FUTURE: Set up some time in your calendar to “do research” according to Mizner. Where you start, how and who you copy is up to you, but dive deep into the style and thought. Copy, copy, copy from all of your heroes and their heroes, reverse engineer the heck out of each, understand, improve, and then copy some more. Eventually you’ll start seeing your own style emerge. Don’t forget to share it with the world. Give credit to your heroes, as they served as teachers and mentors, but don’t forget to give yourself credit too!
Know someone who is trying to find his/her own style? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Resources, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 8 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The power of perception
− From The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday
Whenever we hear stories of tremendous heartache and hardship turned into triumph, we wonder how they did it and, also, whether we have what it takes. Ryan Holiday, in his excellent book The Obstacle is the Way, says, “through our perception of events, we are complicit in the creation—as well as the destruction—of every one of our obstacles.”
“There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.”
That, right there, is the power of perception: obstacles become obstacles in our minds; and it’s in there too that otherwise obstacles can turn into lessons, opportunities, advantages, and even miracles. It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters, said Epictetus, the eminent Greek stoic philosopher who was born in slavery.
“Just because your mind tells you that something is awful or evil or unplanned or otherwise negative doesn’t mean you have to agree. Just because other people say that something is hopeless or crazy or broken to pieces doesn’t mean it is. We decide what story to tell ourselves. Or whether we will tell one at all.”
Stories abound of shifts in perception; such as the boss who didn’t fire an employee for a costly mistake but instead turned it into a training opportunity. And there are countless other stories of blessings in disguise such as the one that Susan Kramer shares in her short and moving TED Talk.
ACTION
TODAY: Take a moment to think about a story you’ve been telling yourself about something that happened to you. What part is frustrating, challenging or simply bugs you? Why? What happens if you turn the story on its head, find a better story, or simply drop the story? Ask yourself the same question as Amy Purdy in her TED Talk: “If my life were a book and I were the author, how would I want the story to go?”
FUTURE: When faced with challenges or adversity, find a way to change the story. A shift in perception will get you unstuck and will change the feelings of resignation and helplessness into action and a new vision for the outcome. Remember that there is always a silver lining if we choose to look for it.
Know someone who needs to shift perceptions? Help them do so by sharing this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, please!
by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Leadership, Mindset, Networking, Planning, Productivity, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 25 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Memorable networking in just 3 minutes
— From The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want by Dave Kerpen
When we meet someone new we tend to use small talk “because it’s far more socially acceptable than asking pointed questions. But the truth is that by asking better, smarter questions, we can understand the people we meet more quickly and determine rapidly whether they’re friend or foe, a potential business partner or a mate, a future employee or casual acquaintance. Life is short. The less time we waste on the weather, the better.”
And so begins an exercise to help our networking that Dave Kerpen shares with us in his book The Art of People. The exercise is geared to getting to know the person you are meeting “better than you know many of your friends, in just three minutes with just three questions.”
Kerpen mentions he was a skeptic at first, yet once he tried it at a conference, he was convinced immediately of the effectiveness of it. Further, two years after having the conversation with a total stranger, he could still recall the details easily. That is memorable networking!
The three questions are:
- “What is the most exciting thing you are working on right now?” (1 min)
- “If you had enough money to retire and then some, what would you be doing?” (1 min)
- “What is your favorite charity organization and why?” (1 min)
As you can see, these questions bring out our passions, our dreams, and our deep emotions when we answer them. They get to the heart of what makes people tick. Thus, they are guaranteed to break the ice and get to know the other person via the stories that he/she tells. And stories are memorable and relatable.
However, there are many other questions that will produce a similar effect. Craft the ones that suit you in order to bring out the best in the people that you meet, for example, “If you weren’t doing what you do today, what would you be doing and why?” “Who’s been the most important influence on you?” “If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be and why?”
ACTION
TODAY: Try out these questions on someone that you meet (preferably), or someone with whom you are barely acquainted. Pay attention as to how you know each other and how the relationship changes, for the better, in less than 3 minutes. It’s a powerful exercise.
FUTURE: Keep this exercise in mind for the next time you meet new people. If you think it’s awkward to ask them these questions, blame it on us! Simply say, “ I just read this crazy [blog] that talked about asking better questions when you first meet someone. Mind if we try out a couple of these questions and each answer them?”
Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, if you know someone who could benefit memorable networking!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Resources, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 20 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The Law of Navigation
— From The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell
John C. Maxwell, an authority in the field of Leadership, explains the Law of Navigation as follows: “Anyone Can Steer the Ship, but It Takes a Leader to Chart the Course.”
What he means by this is simple, albeit not easy. “[Leaders] see the whole trip in their minds before they leave the dock. They have vision for getting to their destination, they understand what it will take to get there, they know who they’ll need on the team to be successful, and they recognize the obstacles long before they appear in the horizon.”
Whether the trip or project is big or small, complex or simple, leaders learn what it will entail and plan accordingly from experience and/or by getting help from experts in the field. They are intentional and purposeful and they go through a planning process to maximize the opportunities to succeed.
When making a thorough assessment, it’s important to look both inward (to draw on experience), and outward (to examine conditions and get ideas and knowledge from other trustworthy sources). Leaders “examine not only measurable factors such as finances, resources and talent, but also intangibles such as timing, morale, momentum, culture, and so on. […] The secret to the Law of Navigation is preparation.”
Maxwell offers the acrostic PLAN AHEAD as a way for us to keep a handy reminder of the strategy to use when charting a course for navigation:
Predetermine a course of action.
Lay out your goals.
Adjust your priorities.
Notify key personnel.
Allow time for acceptance.
Head into action.
Expect problems.
Always point to the successes.
Daily review your plan.
“In the end, it’s no the size of the project that determines its acceptance, support and success. It’s the size of the leader.”
ACTION
TODAY: What trip (project/task/other) do you have ahead of you (or are you in already) where you have to lead people? Think of it and run it by the PLAN AHEAD steps that apply (depending on the stage that you are at). Where and how can you plan for a better outcome? Make a list of the people who can lend a hand or advice to steer you towards a successful outcome, call them if you can to get their advice, or plan to meet with them in a near future.
FUTURE: Practice reflecting on your experiences, both positive and negative, so that you can discover the valuable lessons in them. Do your homework ahead of time before embarking on any journey: find people who have been down that road and talk to them about their experience and get their insights. Also, find out which way you naturally lean towards: are you a can-do-anything optimist or a down-to-earth realist? Then find someone who is your opposite and include that person on your team so that you can have more balance.
Please share your project with me! I’d love to know what you’re working on. Where will you use the PLAN AHEAD steps? Anything I can help with? I’m happy to lend a hand if I can serve as a resource. Let me know and please don’t forget to share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, if you know someone who can benefit from The Law of Navigation. Thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Tools
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 39 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Spring cleaning
— From Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Happy Spring! And Happy Fall to our gurupies in the Southern Hemisphere! (Gurupie = blend of guru and groupie = how I fondly refer to the EntreGurus’ community, because we all follow the ideas of the gurus.)
This is a time for cleaning, not just our homes, but also our schedules and our minds. Let’s get rid of all those commitments and thoughts that no longer fit us, and substitute them for those that inspire, enlighten and empower us to reach our goals.
In Essentialism, Greg McKeown says, “Think about what happens to your [closet] when you never organize it… it becomes cluttered and stuffed with clothes you rarely wear. Every so often it gets so out of control you try and purge [it]. But unless you have a disciplined system you’ll either end up with as many clothes as you started with because you can’t decide which to give away; end up with regrets because you accidentally gave away clothes you do wear and did want to keep; or end up with a pile of clothes you don’t want to keep but never actually get rid of because you are not quite sure where to take them or what to do with them.”
“In the same way […] so do our lives get cluttered as well-intended commitments and activities we’ve said yes to pile up. Most of these efforts didn’t come with an expiry date. Unless we have a system for purging them, once adopted, they live on in perpetuity.”
The best approach for our personal and professional closet, as well as our physical one too (why not?), is as follows:
- Explore and evaluate. “Instead of asking, ‘Is there a chance that I will wear this someday in the future?’ you ask more disciplined, tough questions: ‘Do I love this?’ and ‘Do I look great in it?’ and ‘Do I wear this often?’ If the answer is no, then you know it’s a candidate for elimination.” In your life, be it professional or personal, the equivalent is asking, “Will this activity or effort make the highest possible contribution towards my goal?”
- Eliminate. “Let’s say you have your clothes divided into piles of ‘must keep’ and ‘probably should get rid of’.” Are you really ready to get rid of them? We usually start hesitating… “If you’re not quite there, ask the killer question: ‘If I didn’t already own this, how much would I spend to buy it?’ This usually does the trick.” In life, the killer question is: “If I didn’t have this opportunity, what would I be willing to do to acquire it?” And if you want to take it up a notch once you have explored your options, the next question is, “What will I say no to?” Of course, it is much harder to say no to opportunities (and sometimes very good ones) than to give your clothes away to charity, but then again, keep going back to the question in Number 1.
- Execute. “If you want your [closet] to stay tidy, you need a regular routine for organizing it.” In business an in life, “once you’ve figured out which activities and efforts to keep—the ones that make your highest level of contribution—you need a system to make executing your intentions as effortless as possible.” Among the many ideas that McKeown suggests for executing the discipline of keeping our personal and professional closets neat and tidy is asking the following questions with each project you are about to undertake: “How will we know when we are done?” “What are all the obstacles standing between me and getting this done?” and “What is keeping me from completing this?” Also, replace the idea of “this has to be perfect or else” with “done is better than perfect.” In the case of an “obstacle” being a person, say a colleague, who is swamped and has not given you what you need, the author says that being kind and helpful is always the best bet. Ask, “What obstacles or bottlenecks are holding you back from achieving X, and how can I help remove these? Instead of pestering him, offer sincerely to support him.”
ACTION
TODAY: Make a list of the commitments that are in your personal and professional life’s closet. Then go through the questions in No. 1 and No. 2 above to determine whether it’s best to keep them or not.
FUTURE: Just as you would give your gently worn clothes to a charity for someone to get a second life out of them, those projects that you undertook at some point deserve to be given a new life under someone else’s attention, work and enthusiasm. I think of those projects as puppies: you love them dearly and they are adorable, but it’s impossible to keep them all; so you make sure that they go to a loving home where they will live a happy life and lack nothing. Same here. Don’t drop all your unwanted projects abruptly (unless you want and there are no consequences). Instead, find a loving home for them. Your conscience will be at peace and the people involved in the project will be grateful. A loving home could be a colleague to chair the committee, a fellow in your industry to take care of a client you can no longer serve, another parent to take your place at your child’s school bake sale, another member of your charity’s board to coordinate this year’s gala, etc.
Know someone who needs to do a bit of Spring cleaning? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
