I thought I would share these simple steps, I use this formula when creating in general and projects, camps, workshops, life, art, etc.
Amazingly simple step are both brilliant and effective. They have staying power and make sense across the board. For me, simple is powerful.
I was honored to be given a similar soulful guide like this many years ago and yes, it altered my entire life. There was such an awakening of what I truly wanted to accomplish in my life and a huge wave of passion and adventure began. My sense of life direction like the tides turned, I so love the ride and am so very grateful.
So, ask yourself: “What Will YOU Create that Will Make the World Awesome?” Lovely steps below..
The link to the full article where these steps originated is below, mahalo Greg McKeown. Though I brazenly did a bit of my own edits….everything brilliant is Greg’s.
Step 1: Sketch Your Career. It is so easy to get consumed by activities in our lives and careers. We get so caught up in living our lives that we don’t stop to think sufficiently about our lives. We are reacting instead of being strategic. When I find this happening, I use this simple tool to get a broader perspective. You start on the left at the beginning of your career and end on the right hand side (today). You draw a single line up if you were enjoying the experience and down if it was unfulfilling for you. Write down where you were working, what you were working on, and any other factors that shaped your experience. It also works if you paint, or make a collage, or write a song, or a poem!!!
Step 2: Connect the Dots. Use the sketch from Step 1 as a launch pad into being an anthropologist of your own life. Go somewhere quiet. You might think of it like a strategic offsite for your own life and career.
Ask: When was I truly happy and why? What activity or theme do I keep coming back to? What is my gravitational pull? When was life and work effortless for me? What isn’t working for me? When do I seem most like myself? When was it meaningless and why? When was work meaningful and why? Don’t rush the process. Pause long enough to really listen. Write the answers down as they come so you can reflect on them later. I am visual so I started a simple collage to represent these happy things and ended up doing THREE monstrous collages that blew my mind. It not needed it!!!!
Step 3: Ask, “What Will I Create that Will Make the World Awesome?” This is WONDERFULLY wild question ( I LOVE IT!) but an essential element of strategy is, to state the obvious, thinking about what we want to create in the future.
Ask: What would I do if I could do anything? What would I do if all jobs paid the same? If I could only achieve one thing in my career, what would it be? What do I really want? Again, these are big questions. But my experience is that people spend far more time worried about their job than in creating a vision for their career and how they can uniquely contribute to the world.
(If you are looking for a pep talk, this three minute video from “Kid President” does a brilliant job challenging us to figure out what we can do to make the world awesome). Brilliant!!!!
From Greg: Many years ago I followed a process not at all unlike this one and, without exaggeration, it changed the course of my life. The insight I gained led me to quit law school, leave England and move to America to start down the path as a teacher and author. You’re reading this because of that choice. It remains the single most important — and strategic — career decision of my life.
It’s a simple process. But it can help us to break down some complex questions. Like the poet Mary Oliver’s beautifully haunting question: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
BIG Mahalo to Odina Surf for the donation of the amazing sustainable bathing suits for Ocean Girl Project!!
Odina is a clothing company that focuses on making fashionable and functional swimsuits that are also friendly to the environment. The Odina lifestyle is at one with the earth, the ocean and the future. Our company strives to be 100% eco-conscious in all of our decisions yet we place equal value in performance and fashion. Odina means divine creative inspiration and our inspiration lies in creating fashionable, functional and high quality swimwear from recycled plastic fabrics and reclaimed fabrics.
The idea began a few years ago when a designer of swimwear for many years, came together with a young eco-enthusiast. Their mission was to make swimsuits that not only complimented a woman’s figure but also her passions. They worked with surfers, not models, to get feed back on fit and function; with women that are exploring the world, surfing jaw-dropping waves and helping the planet that they love, to test their product. Through the process the Odina team tested a number of sustainable fabrics and a variety of recycled fibers before finding one that met their demands. The various styles underwent the same testing, with many success stories. The result was a suit that not only looked great, but rose to any challenge and Odina was born.
Typical of the blend of function and style is the In the Curl bottom. The Brazilian style bottom with banded sides and T-strap top is a favorite with the surfers for its great Island style and exceptionally good fit, whether In the Curl or on the land.
Setting the standard in eco-swimwear, Odina has put thought into every aspect of production. From the thread to the tags, every step involves rethinking the standard practices of the garment business. All suits are manufactured in the U.S.A..
An Odina girl lives her life to the fullest but respects the earth and all its inhabitants. An Odina girl loves adventure but also loves her home. Above all, an Odina girl just loves living life and looking great doing it!
Hang Tags:
Printed on recycled paper from FCS certified sources.
Banners and other Marketing Materials:
We have done prints ranging from Wood to recycled Polyester made from water bottles. Are efforts are to be environmentally conscious with every footprint.
This is step by step instructable that will take you through the whole process of making these solar mason jars with a bead “Chandelier” inside. They look great during the day but really shine at night. You’re garden Faries will love them!
Pictured: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 21, defending Nike US Open of Surfing Champion, will return to Huntington Beach, California to defend her title.
Credit: ASP/ROWLAND
Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) International
Nike US Open of Surfing
Stop No. 7 of 7 on the ASP Women’s WCT
July 31 – August 5, 2012
Huntington Beach , CA, USA
HUNTINGTON BEACH, California/USA (Sunday, July 29, 2012) - The world’s best female surfers have converged on Southern California’s iconic Huntington Beach for the final stop on the 2012 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour, the Nike US Open of Surfing, from July 30 through August 5, 2012.
With Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 24, clinching her fifth ASP Women’s World Title at the previous event in France, the focus of the Nike US Open of Surfing turns to high-performance surfing and the ever-important requalification race.
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 21, defending Nike US Open winner and current ASP Women’s World No. 2, is disappointed she was unable to send the 2012 ASP Women’s World Title Race to Huntington Beach, but the progressive natural-footer remains positive that she’ll be able to finish strong at the US Open.
“The last event didn’t go as well as I would have hoped,” Fitzgibbons said. “I really thought that we were a lot closer in the rankings than we actually were, but Steph (Gilmore) had to do a lot of take the title there and it was a pretty special thing for her to do it in front of so many people. Right now, I’m just focusing on the positives and I’ve had a pretty good year so I’m already thinking of next year. The goal is the world title and will be next year. Huntington Beach provides another opportunity for me to hone my skills.”
A noticeable change in the young Australian’s approach this season has been the use of unconventional equipment while battling the world’s best female surfers. Fitzgibbons has utilized epoxy technologies on more than one occasion as well as beefing up the volume in her small-wave crafts.
“I’m in between shapers at the moment so I’ve been taking advantage of this time to experiment with different kinds of boards for different kinds of waves,” Fitzgibbons said. “I’ve been having a lot fun with it and am now confident that I have boards that can perform in a number of conditions. We’ll see what the surf brings us this week.”
Fitzgibbons will take on Paige Hareb (NZL), 22, and Jacqueline Silva (BRA), 33, in her opening round bout at the Nike US Open of Surfing.
Lakey Peterson (USA), 17, 2012 ASP Dream Tour rookie and current ASP Women’s World No. 9, is confident that she’ll be amongst the world’s elite in 2013 and, after finishing Runner-Up at the Nike US Open of Surfing in 2011, the young Californian is looking to improve at this year’s installment.
“I feel like I’m in a pretty good position right now on the rankings and my focus for the US Open is not requalifying but to win the event,” Peterson said. “While I don’t specifically live in Huntington Beach, it’s still California and feels like home. I’ve had a lot of experience at the spot and I’m really looking forward to this week.”
Peterson will face Tyler Wright (AUS), 18, and compatriot Sage Erickson (USA), 21, in Round 1 of competition.
In addition to the final installment of the 2012 ASP Women’s WCT, the Nike US Open of Surfing, owned and operated by IMG, a global leader in sports and entertainment, is part of a major action sports festival that includes skateboarding, music, art and more.
The final event of the 2012 ASP Women’s World Championship Tour, the Nike US Open of Surfing, will be webcast LIVE via www.usopenofsurfing.com
