by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 37 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Kodawari
— From Awakening Your Ikigai: How the Japanese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day by Ken Mogi
I recently learned about the Japanese term kodawari (pronunciation) in Ken Mogi’s book Awakening Your Ikigai. Ikigai is loosely translated as your reason to live or the reason why you wake up every day, and kodawari is a concept that focuses on starting small and never losing sight of the details.
Kodawari per se is hard to translate into English, as it is a word that embodies attention to detail, commitment, insistence, excellence, and persistence.
Yet none of those ideas either alone or together make justice to the term. “Kodawari is a personal standard, to which the individual adheres in a steadfast manner. It is often, though not always, used in reference to a level of quality or professionalism to which the individual holds. It is an attitude, often maintained throughout one’s life, constituting a central element of [one’s reason to live or ikigai].”
“Kodawari is personal in nature, and it is a manifestation of a pride in what one does. [It] is an approach whereby you take extraordinary care of very small details […] without necessarily justifying the effort for any grandiose schemes.”
Kodawari is being the best you can be and doing the best you can do. It’s demanding a standard of excellence of yourself and others, and being committed to it passionately.
We can see examples of it all over Japan, such as in the “almost flawless operations of Shinkansen (‘bullet’) trains to the meticulously efficient and quick delivery of beef dishes in the fast-food chains.” The book tells of many more kodawari instances that range from the beautifully produced Japanese fruit, to the perfecting of ramen noodles, to the meticulous crafting of beautiful pottery for the tea ceremony. Each one has a story of incredible attention to detail behind its making.
While there are indeed hiccups, kodawari is a mindset that will fix the hiccup, learn from it and come up with a new and improved service or product. The author says that “Steve Jobs had this kind of kodawari too, although he didn’t express his ethos in so many words, when he tried to perfect the features of the iPhone, for example. In fact, one may say that kodawari was Steve Jobs’ defining characteristic.”
Kodawari goes hand in hand with curiosity and passion for what you want to do or develop. How do you apply kodawari in your life?
ACTION
TODAY: What is something that you love or are passionate about? Are you truly focusing on giving it your best or could you apply more kodawari to it? Only you know the answer, but making kodawari a part of your mindset will help you get there.
FUTURE: Make kodawari a part of your life, just as the Japanese have made a habit out of it. Your projects will be better, your work and your life will be better, your relationships will be better… everything that you apply kodawari to will end up transformed into the best it can be and will be a source of satisfaction for you!
Please share the concept of kodawari with someone today, you can do so via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 32 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: How to build self-discipline
— From Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell
I’ve been on a roll lately reading the books from the 101 Series by leadership guru John C. Maxwell, it’s a great bunch of short books, and each one can be read in one sitting. Highly recommended! Once I’m done with all, I’ll be putting together a series for you. Stay tuned!
I was particularly struck when I read in the Leadership 101 book that each of us influences at least ten thousand other people during our lifetime. (!) “So the question is not whether you will influence someone, but how you will use your influence.”
When John C. Maxwell teaches leadership at conferences and is asked whether leaders are born, he answers, “Yes, of course they are… I’ve yet to meet one who came into the world any other way!” (LOL) After laughing, he explains that leadership is a set of skills that anyone can learn and improve.
But before we can lead anyone, we need to lead ourselves. “The first person you lead is you,” says Maxwell. And that we do by cultivating self-discipline.
“No matter how gifted a leader is, his gifts will never reach their maximum potential without the application of self-discipline.” – John C. Maxwell
Maxwell shares three action points to build self-discipline and have it work as an asset in our favor:
1. Challenge your excuses. “Challenge and eliminate any tendency to make excuses. As French writer François [de] La Rochefoucauld said, ‘Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we think up to hide them.’ If you have several reasons why you can’t be self-disciplined, realize that they are really just a bunch of excuses—all of which need to be challenged if you want to go to the next level as a leader.”
2. Remove rewards until the job is done. “If you lack self-discipline, you may be in the habit of having dessert before eating your vegetables.” Set up a system that will help you get the job done. Maxwell tells the story of a family arriving at a campground. A couple and three kids got off the car. “One child hurriedly unloaded ice chests, backpacks, and other items while the other two quickly put up tents. The site was ready in 15 minutes.” An older couple that was watching all this from the neighboring campsite said to the father, “You folks sure do work great together.” To which the father replied, “ You just need a system. Nobody goes to the bathroom until camp’s set up.”
3. Stay focused on results. “Anytime you concentrate on the difficulty of the work instead of its results or rewards, you’re likely to become discouraged. Dwell on it too long, and you’ll develop self-pity instead of self-discipline. The next time you’re facing a must-do task and you’re thinking of doing what’s most convenient instead of paying the price [of doing it], change your focus. Count the benefits of doing what’s right and then dive in.”
Lastly, I’ll leave you a quote by author H. Jackson Brown: “Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” To which Maxwell remarks, “If you know you have talent, and you’ve seen a lot of motion—but little concrete results—you may lack self discipline.”
Apply these three action points and you’ll be on your way to leading yourself first and then leading and influencing the many thousands your life will touch.
ACTION
TODAY: What’s on your schedule? Do you have any regularly scheduled activities that require self-discipline? Say, exercising, eating healthy, making time for yourself, for your family, for fun, saving money for retirement… all of those things are easy to forego when we have too much on our plate, but they are important and require self-discipline. Check your calendar and focus on the benefits of these activities and habits.
FUTURE: As you plan your calendar daily, weekly, monthly, etc., include self-discipline activities to help you reach your goals. Don’t give up on them! Make them a habit. Be consistent. Remember to lead yourself first and don’t let yourself off the hook.
Know someone who needs to build self-discipline? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 52 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Ethics: The Golden Rule
— From Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs To Know (101 Series) by John C. Maxwell
When leadership and business guru John C. Maxwell was approached to write a book on business ethics, he said, “There’s no such thing as business ethics—there’s only ethics. People try to use one set of ethics for their professional life, another for their spiritual life, and still another one at home with their family. That gets them into trouble. Ethics is ethics. If you desire to be ethical, you live it by one standard across the board.”
And what may that one standard be?
For Maxwell, it’s simple: the Golden Rule. This is the principle of treating others as you would want to be treated. (Wikipedia). “Asking the question ‘How would I like to be treated in this situation?’ is an integrity guideline for any situation.”
Given that there is an equivalent of the Golden Rule in every culture, language and religion, this is “the closest thing to a universal guideline for ethics a person can find.” And these are the four criteria as to why Maxwell believes so:
1. The Golden Rule is accepted by most people. If having an equivalent everywhere is not enough, “a case can also be made for the Golden Rule based on common sense. […] It is not unreasonable for any person to desire good treatment for others. Nor is it asking too much to expect others to treat people well. […] The Golden Rule can be used to create common ground with any reasonable person.”
2. The Golden Rule is easy to understand. “One of the wonderful things about the Golden Rule is that it makes the intangible tangible. You don’t need to know the law. You don’t need to explore nuances of philosophy. You simply imagine yourself in the place of another person. Even a small child can get a handle on that. There are no complicated rules and no loopholes.”
3. The Golden Rule is a win-win philosophy. “Have you met people who believe that in order for them to be winners, other people must be made to lose? […] When you live by the Golden Rule, everybody wins. If I treat you as well as I desire to be treated, you win. If you treat me likewise, I win. Where is the loser in that?”
4. The Golden Rule is a compass when you need direction. “Television commentator Ted Koppel says, ‘There’s harmony and inner peace to be found in in following a moral compass that points in the same direction regardless of fashion or trend.’ In a world with much uncertainty, I think many people are seeking direction. The Golden Rule can provide that. It never changes, even as circumstances do. It gives solid, predictable direction every time it’s used. And best of all, it actually works.”
ACTION
TODAY: Keep the Golden Rule in mind as you go about your day: How can you apply it better in every situation? Note that the Golden Rule is not a soft approach to business—you should expect and apply excellence and high quality, and not tolerate undesirable or rude behavior.
FUTURE: Make it a habit of applying the Golden Rule in all you do. All aspects of your life, and the people who surround you, will be better for it and will respond in the same way.
If you like this post, please share it with someone who will like it too! You can do so via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Opportunity, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 3 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Leap and leap again
— From The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin
Happy summer solstice!
In the wonderful book The Icarus Deception, Seth Godin recalls his summer camp adventures when he was a boy. He says, “I spent summers confronting what it meant to do what you wanted to do. That was a loaded obligation, because it meant you had to commit and then execute, without being able to blame the predicament of your choice on anyone else.”
The highlight of the lake, as Godin recalls, was the 24-foot-high diving board. “The deal was simple: If you climbed up, you had to jump off. It was too tricky (physically and emotionally) to climb down. Day after day, new initiates to the cult of the big leap would bravely climb up the tower. Then they’d get to the top and stop. They’d freeze in place, unable to move. Sometimes for hours. One kid once sat there for fourteen hours.”
So, what happened?
Godin then goes on to analyze what happened “between the time a kid started climbing the ladder and the internal system failure that occurred at the top of the board.” There was no new information presented. Why was then the child thrilled and excited at the bottom and frozen at the top?
“What changed was the volume of the argument in the leaper’s head.” At the bottom, part of the brain insists on going up because it will be “fun/brave/heroic/daring/wonderful, the adventure-seeking frontal lobe [of the brain] says.” Once you reach the top, the lizard brain kicks in and the internal dialogue changes completely. “Now the other part of the brain, the one that’s often more powerful, speaks up and insists (demands) that this nonsense stop. It’s high. This is dangerous. This is insane.”
So, what happens?
What happens next is an analogy for a lot of the things we do in life. “Amazingly, after the first jump, the deflowered leapers always do the same thing. They get out of the water, run to the steps, climb right back up, and do it again. Safety zone adjusted, comfort zone aligned. For now. And the opportunity is to make it a habit.”
We’ve all been through something like this: scared to death, we take the proverbial (or literal) leap, and when we do it, we want to leap again, and again.
What are you dreading to do now that you’d love to do again (or at least not be afraid to do) after you leap?
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Mary Schmich
ACTION
TODAY: Think of one thing that you’ve been postponing to do because you are afraid of it (could be something as simple as a conversation or as complex as a life changing event). What is the dialogue going on in your head? Is there something other than your fear preventing you from doing it? Put a deadline on your fear and decide to leap.
FUTURE: If, after doing something scary, as Godin says, our safety zone is adjusted and our comfort zone realigned, what would happen if we could envision that adjustment and realignment happening even before we leap? That would certainly make thing easier, wouldn’t it? How can we accelerate that mental process, or at least imagine it, before we leap so that when we do, we are fully convinced (or, at a minimum, not as scared that it takes us 14 hours to leap)? Think about this when you are dreading the next scary thing you need/want to do. It won’t be that scary on the other side. Leap.
Please take a leap and share this blog with someone who also needs to leap! You can share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Planning, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The power of positive rituals
— From The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.
In The Power of Full Engagement, authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz state that only 5 percent of our behavior is consciously done in the moment. Instead, they point out, we truly are creatures of habit: “As much as 95 percent of what we do occurs automatically or in reaction to a demand or an anxiety.”
If that is the case, how can we harness the power of habits or rituals? In this post we learned from Peter Shankman the importance of creating rituals. Rituals work because they become ingrained habits that lead us to the successful outcome we want.
But what is so special about rituals?
The power of rituals is that they “conserve energy,” that is, they are so deeply instilled that we don’t think about them. Every morning, among your ritual activities you brush your teeth. Do you think how to do it? Likely you don’t. You do it on autopilot. And it’s such a set ritual that you would never go a day without doing it!
Contrast rituals to will and discipline: “[the latter] imply pushing ourselves to action, [whereas] a well-defined ritual pulls us. We feel somehow worse if we don’t do it.”
Positive rituals are, “precise, conscious, acquired behaviors that become automatic in our lives, fueled by a deep sense of purpose.” The key is to keep our purpose and our goals in mind, and build positive rituals around them in all dimensions of life—physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. And when we create the environments and the routines for the rituals to take place, the payoff is clear because every ritual reinforces each other; and all together they push us to the top.
“Positive energy rituals are powerful on three levels,” the authors state. “[First,] they help us to insure that we effectively manage energy in the service of whatever mission we are on. [Second,] they reduce the need to rely on our limited conscious will and discipline to take action. Finally, rituals are a powerful means by which to translate our values and priorities into action—to embody what matters most to us in our everyday behaviors.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think of your established rituals. What additional ritual could you build and peg to one of them so that it can help you reach your goals faster?
FUTURE: Don’t try to set up a bunch of new rituals all at once. Give yourself time to turn them into habits according to your values and priorities. Create one new ritual and do it for 3 months. Once you feel that you are missing something if you don’t do it, then you know it’s become a habit. That is when you know it’s established and you can then go on to build the next one.
Please create a ritual of sharing the daily posts with someone so that more people can benefit from the EntreGurus daily ideas. 😀 You can do so via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 59 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: What are you giving up to go up?
— From Thinking for a Change: 11 Ways Highly Successful People Approach Life and Work by John C. Maxwell
Leadership guru John C. Maxwell reminisces about his father who used to say, “Find the one thing you do well and don’t do anything else.” Following that guidance has taken Maxwell to the realization that, to do a few things well, he has had to give up many others.
“No one can go to the highest level and remain a generalist,” says Maxwell. And this is so true, especially nowadays, where we are pulled in a myriad directions, spread too thin, multitasking and living with FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), and expected to know and give an educated opinion on everything from the Syrian refugee crisis, to the new coach of the Real Madrid soccer team, to the latest environmental policy in California.
And while “giving up” sounds like a heavy sacrifice that we must reluctantly make, the truth is that it is not when we reframe it and simply see it as a choice. We already make choices, willingly and happily, anything from Mexican vs. Chinese food to vacationing in one place vs. another.
The same should apply here. Make willing choices and you’ll be able to focus on the one or few things that you do best and that will take you to the top (whatever the definition of top is for you).
Here are some of those choices Maxwell has made. They make a lot of sense and I think they aptly apply to us all.
You can’t know everyone.
Maxwell is outgoing and loves people, so it’s hard for him not to spend time with lots of people. Yet even if you are an introvert, you may be pulled in the direction of getting to know people in your field and attend events. To deal with this, Maxwell has done two things: “First, [he’s] chosen a strong inner circle of people. They not only provide professional help, but they also make life’s journey much more pleasant. Second, [he asks] certain friends to catch [him] up on what’s happening on the lives of other friends.”
You can’t do everything.
“There are only a few exceptional opportunities in any person’s lifetime. That’s why [Maxwell strives] for excellence in a few things rather than a good performance in many.” For instance, he’s an avid reader, yet he doesn’t read novels or any kind of fiction, instead, he’s chosen to dedicate his reading time to nonfiction as those books are the ones that propel the personal and professional growth he desires.
Maxwell also outsources everything he’s not good at, specifically, technical matters, mechanic or electronic. He can’t do it and does not have the knowledge, so he let’s someone who does have it do the job. Easier and faster.
He also works with his team on what he calls the 10-80-10 principle. Even though there are projects that Maxwell would love to do, he delegates them and only becomes involved as follows: he helps “with the first 10 percent by casting vision, laying down parameters, providing resources and giving encouragement.” Then his team work on the middle 80% and he comes in at the end again to “help them take whatever it is the rest of the way” (if he can). He considers this last effort putting the cherry on top.
You can’t go everywhere.
The traveling demands of a conference speaker and author are high, so Maxwell has chosen not to travel as much as he did before.
You can’t be well-rounded.
Being truly focused impedes being ‘”well-rounded.” Maxwell tells people: “ Ninety-nine percent of everything in life I don’t need to know about.” He focuses on the one percent that gives him the highest return. Of the other 99%, his wife and team keep him aware whenever he needs to know, and that’s how he balances his life.
This reminds me of lifestyle design guru, Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek who doesn’t read or listen to the news. He says: “Most information is time-consuming, negative, irrelevant to your goals, and outside of your influence. I challenge you to look at whatever you read or watched today and tell me that it wasn’t at least two of the four.” Ferriss is another one who has made some choices to be a pioneer in his field.
So, what choices are you making to get to where you want to go?
ACTION
TODAY: Determine what choices you will make today that will take you in the direction of your goals.
FUTURE: Take some time to think about your life and the choices you’ve made so far. What other choices can you make to be focused on reaching your goals?
Know someone who needs to give up a few things to go up? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
