Passion Comes From Having a Purpose | Amy Rees Anderson's Blog. Today I want to talk to you about passion. I am not talking about passion in the romantic sense; I am talking about passion in the “I am so excited to get up this morning and conquer the world today” kind of passion. There are very few things more powerful than a person who is passionate about accomplishing something. They ignite a spark in the people they come in contact with. They carry such excitement with them that creates a magnetic force that attracts everyone to them. Have you ever talked to someone who is so excited and so enthusiastic that it was like a ray of sunshine coming right at you? As powerful a tool as passion can be, how can people that are not feeling passionate in their lives create that kind of passion? Passion is: So do you have passion in your life?
Have a TERRIFIC THURSDAY and HAVE PURPOSE AND PASSION! ~Amy. Why we love companies with a purpose | Keep the game, change the rules. A month ago, Laurence McCahill sent me this link to a conference called “Why we love companies with a purpose”. The conference is filled with people talking about being purpose-driven, happiness at work and so on. And guess what, they filmed it! I could write a long intro to all these talks, but I recommend you watch them if you want some good examples of purpose-driven entrepreneurship in action. Al videos can be watched from the site of purpose.dk.Have fun!
Like this: Like Loading... About leyssensjan WHY I DO WHAT I DO As a designer and entrepreneur, I want to develop systems that have a strong impact on short term and will guide society towards a more sustainable, social and economically different system in the long term. From value driven to purpose driven entrepreneurship | Keep the game, change the rules. With business becoming more and more aware of their social and ecological responsibilities, we’re breeding a new type of entrepreneur. Where most companies are struggling hard with this thing called value-driven entrepreneurship, more and more people are getting interested in what is called purpose-driven entrepreneurship. purpose-driven entrepreneurship What is purpose-driven entrepreneurship?
Basically it’s what I’ve been writing about on this blog. The most difficult thing about being purpose-driven is to define it. A true sense of purpose is deeply emotional, it serves as a compass to guide us to act in a way completely consistent with our values and beliefs. Even though it’s hard (or even impossible) to put numbers and measurements on your personal purpose (it’s even hard to define just what it is), it is possible to find a pattern in entrepreneurs who put their values and beliefs at the core of their existence.
Self Development Social and Ecological Sustainability Like this: There's nothing wrong with having a plan. 7 Steps to Tell Your Green Business Story in a Changing World. Image Credit: 360Energy Everybody loves a good story, but story telling isn’t just for bedtime and movies. Story telling is an essential skill for businesses of all colors, including the green ones. Our minds are wired to listen to stories, dating back probably to the early dawn of man when telling stories was how we shared important information with others. Whether in science, politics, or marketing, those who harness the power of stories do better at connecting with and influencing others than those who present dry facts and figures devoid of emotional content.
In a changing and confusing world, the stories we tell help us to understand who we are and where we are going. In the world of corporate communications and marketing, stories are used to sell without looking like we are selling. Green businesses are no different when it comes to marketing their business with stories, working their stories into their communications from social networking to ads to press releases to blogs. 1. 2.
Conference 2011: Key Insights on Idea Execution. Just over a week ago, 400 creative professionals from around the world packed the Times Center in New York City for the third annual 99U Conference, presented by GE. With tickets sold out over five months in advance, anticipation was high, and the audience arrived buzzing with energy – ready for a deep dive into the mechanics of making ideas happen. Lucky for us, with an expanded lineup of 14 speakers and 3 master classes, we had an incredible group on hand to deliver actionable insights. Making ideas happen is a unique process for everyone – and the speakers tackled the topic from a variety of fascinating angles.
Here’s a recap of the wisdom shared at the 2011 99U Conference. Aaron Dignan onstage at the 99U Conference. AARON DIGNAN /// Author, Game Frame Game Frame author Aaron Dignan is out to help apply “the power of play” and the excitement of games to other, less stimulating places – namely, school and work. Andrew Zuckerman onstage at the 99U Conference. Lead up. What you were trained to do: wait for a good, generous, munificent, tasteful, smart boss or client to tell you what to do.
If that doesn't happen, blame the system, blame the boss, blame the client. If the work is lousy, it's the client's fault. If the boss doesn't see or understand your insight, that's his fault. You are here to serve, and if they don't get it, well, that's too bad for all concerned. What you might consider: Lead up. (Thanks to Pat Tierney for the phrase). A great designer gets great clients because she deserves them.
A successful middle manager gets promoted when she takes the right amount of initiative, defers the right amount of credit and orchestrates success. In many ways, we get the bosses and clients we deserve. We have an astonishing amount of freedom at work. When you do this with intention, it gets easier and easier. Questions for a new entrepreneur. A few things came up over coffee the other day. His idea is good, his funding is solid, there are many choices. Some of the questions that don't usually get asked: Are you aware of your cash flow? The thing about a fish in the stream is that it doesn't care if the water is six inches deep or a foot deep. As long as it never (ever) goes to zero, it's fine. What's your zero point? What are you doing to ensure you get to keep swimming? Are you trying to build profit or equity?
What's your role? Are you trying to build a team? Which kind of risk is okay with you? And finally, and most important, why? Purpose Can Not Be Rationalized. I felt sick. I wanted to curl up in a ball and be alone. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I was ashamed. To most people, what I did would seem a trifle, but to me it was much deeper. I gave a talk to an organization that violates the very core of my beliefs. In my mind, I felt like a sellout. In my pre-engagement calls, I had a bad feeling about this group.
I sat backstage waiting for my time to speak, listening to the executives give their talks to the group. I believe in helping people and doing right by others. I made my choice. I told stories I had heard from my time with the military, stories of heroism and sacrifice. They clapped at the end, but I didn’t stick around. I joined the daily huddle call our little company has where we share what we’re up to for the day and ask for help if we need it. My team was amazing. I remember when I worked in the advertising industry and I asked one of the executives what societal good advertising does? P.S. What True Love Has To Do With Great Innovation. If there’s one thing we know about great innovations, it’s that they always break from the status quo.
The best creative thinking occurs outside of the usual systems at work. The problem is, most of us live and work inside the system. So you have to purposely jam the controls. Create blips in the patterns. Get out of your comfort zone. 1. The long days of summer offer two crucial things: time and freedom. 2. Who’s paying for this date? 3. You need to go make out. 4. When it comes down to it, when you’re in love, you feel like the best version of yourself. What Do You Think? Scott McDowell takes the risk out of hiring your management team.
Hans Vermaak:"Taaie vraagstukken vallen het snelst van de agenda" Heeft u deze week nog deelgenomen aan een stuurgroepvergadering? Kent u het fenomeen van vergaderingen die aanleiding geven tot andere vergaderingen die aanleiding geven tot andere vergaderingen… ad infinitum? Heeft u wel eens vastgesteld dat een moeilijk probleem wordt aangepakt met simplistische actie? Dan hebben we een steengoede tip voor u: neem de tijd om eens rustig te luisteren naar de lezing die Hans Vermaak, meester in de veranderingskunde, gaf tijdens de jongste netwerkdag van Plan C. Zonder twijfel, zal het ook u helpen om weer helder te zien in uw agenda van vergaderingen, stuurgroepen en andere comités. Het zal u ook stimuleren om complexe vraagstukken beter te onderscheiden van meer de formele, administratieve kwesties. Als opwarmer schotelen we u al wat van de meest sprekende citaten uit de lezing van Hans Vermaak. “Een taai vraagstuk is van iedereen en van niemand.” “Complexe vraagstukken pak je aan met finesse, met een al even complexe aanpak.
If your happiness is based on always getting a little more than you've got... Then you've handed control over your happiness to the gatekeepers, built a system that doesn't scale and prevented yourself from the brave work that leads to a quantum leap. The industrial system (and the marketing regime) adore the mindset of 'a little bit more, please', because it furthers their power. A slightly higher paycheck, a slightly more famous college, an incrementally better car--it's easy to be seduced by this safe, stepwise progress, and if marketers and bosses can make you feel dissatisfied at every step along the way, even better for them. Their rules, their increments, and you are always on a treadmill, unhappy today, imagining that the answer lies just over the next hill...
All the data shows us that the people on that hill are just as frustrated as the people on your hill. An alternative is to be happy wherever you are, with whatever you've got, but always hungry for the thrill of creating art, of being missed if you're gone and most of all, doing important work. Making big decisions about money. We're bad at it. And marketers know this. Consider: you're buying a $30,000 car and you have the option of upgrading the stereo to the 18 speaker, 100 watt version for just $500 more. Should you? Or perhaps you're considering two jobs, one that you love and one that pays $2,000 more. Which to choose? Or... You are lucky enough to be able to choose between two colleges. Which should you take? In a surprisingly large number of cases, we take the stereo, even though we'd never buy a nice stereo at home, or we choose to "go with our heart because college is so important" and pick the expensive college.
Here's one reason we mess up: Money is just a number. Comparing dreams of a great stereo (four years of driving long distances, listening to great music!) The college case is even more clear. $200,000 is a number that's big, sure, but it doesn't have much substance. Here's how to undo the self-marketing. Suddenly, you're not comparing "this is my dream," with a number that means very little. Michael Port: Book Yourself Solid…With the Right People. What would it take to book yourself solid…with people you LOVE to work with? That’s the question today’s guest answered in compelling fashion with his New York Times bestselling book, Book Yourself Solid and the newly released Book Yourself Solid Illustrated.
Michael Port has followed anything but a conventional path to business success. At a young age, he became obsessed with the question - How do you make any environment better because you’re there? That led him into the world of acting, where he landed roles on Sex In the City, Third Watch, All My Children, Law & Order and more.
Frustrated by the feast or famine nature of the business, though, he walked away and talked his way into a management position at a health club. There, his fascination with human nature and theater led him to begin deconstructing how people engage with those they seek to serve. And, in turn, how certain people build fast and powerful client-bases and brands, while others languish. With gratitude, Jonathan. Beyond Profit: The Ultimate Goal of Entrepreneurship. 10 Ideas Driving The Future Of Social Entrepreneurship. The 10th Annual Skoll World Forum, which brought together several hundred of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs to Oxford, has just wrapped for another year.
The Forum serves as a useful barometer for how the climate of social enterprise is changing. When it launched in 2004, it was all about celebrating the unknown social entrepreneurs, helping give them global recognition and credibility, and a platform to engage with policy leaders and large corporations. In that task, it has succeeded brilliantly--over the past decade, social enterprise has become mainstream. Jeff Skoll picks out the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus in 2006 as a watershed moment, followed equally significantly in the following year by the award to Al Gore.
So 10 years in, what’s the current thinking? 1: It’s about Changing the System, Stupid. Everyone at the Forum was in some way wrestling with that question. 2: Change is accelerating 3: To solve our problems, we need more problem-solvers.