“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.” — Aristotle

Now there’s a fine question to start you day with, isn’t it?  Take heart, this post just might let your inner-kid out to play and make your day more meaningful, in whatever you do.

One trap you can fall into is thinking you need a single amazing purpose to guide the rest of your life.  Another trap to fall into is thinking that there is only one way to express that purpose.

Purpose is a good thing.  It helps you make meaning and find fulfillment.  Flexibility is a good thing too.  It helps you adapt in an ever-changing world.  When you combine purpose and flexibility, you can find or create purpose as you need to, and you can express purpose in multiple ways.

Purpose is a powerful thing.  It gives meaning to your work and adds juice to your day.  If you’ve ever been “on a mission” you know what I mean.  The ability to express your purpose in multiple forms is a way to free you up and be your best in any situation.  One of the light-bulbs for me was when a friend mapped out my Golden Circle (a self-leadership tool for finding your purpose.)    Instead of lead you life with “what”, “how”, and “why”, you start with “why”, then “how”, then finally the “what”.   The ‘what” is simply a form of expression, meaning you can take your game wherever you go.  You think and act from the inside out, leading with your “why” and “how.”

Finding your purpose, making meaning, and expressing your purpose is a skill you started with as a child.

In the book, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading , Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky share ways to find meaning and purpose in whatever you do, and express your purpose in multiple ways.

• Know that your content in life matters more than the form.  Heifetz and Linsky write, “Just as measurement will distract you from truer appreciations of life, the form of your contribution is far less important than the content.”
• Don’t get caught up in the form of expression Heifetz and Linsky write, “If the essential ingredient of meaning in life is the experience of connection and contribution, then part of the magic of life in our organizations and communities lies in the human capacity to generate many forms for its expression.  Meaning derives from finding ways, rather than any one particular way, to love, to contribute to the worldly enterprise, to enhance the quality of life for people around you.”
• Use service to others as a way to create rich and deep experiences of meaning in life.  Heifetz and Linsky write, “Fundamentally, the form doesn’t matter.  Any form of service to others is an expression, essentially, of love.  And because the opportunities for service are always present, there are few, if any reasons that anyone should lack for rich and deep experiences of meaning in life.  The most common failing, perhaps, is Lear’s failing: We get caught up in the form, and lose sight of what’s essential and true.”
• Give yourself freedom to have multiple purposes and to express a purpose in multiple forms.  Heifetz and Linsky write, “Having purposes differs from having any particular purpose.  You get meaning in life from the purposes that you join.  But after working in a particular discipline, industry, or job for twenty or thirty or forty years, you begin to be wedded to that specific purpose, that particular form.”
• Ask, “What’s worth doing today?” Heifetz and Linsky write, “Children have generative power.  They create meaning as they busily connect with whatever is happening.  But grown-ups often forget that ability.  They tend to lose that playful, adventuresome, creative generativity by which they can ask themselves: What’s worth doing today?”
• Rekindle your ability to generate new forms of expression.  Heifetz and Linsky write, “The vehicles we find for meaning obviously take some tangible form, and certainly that form matters in significant ways.  Some jobs suit your interests, personality, skills, and temperament; others do not.  The point is not to diminish the importance of finding forms and taking roles that personally gratify you, but simply to rekindle that youthful capacity to imagine a host of possibilities.  Then, when you are forced to compromise, or when you suffer a deep setback, you can recover your natural ability to generate new forms of expression. “

This post was well over due.  One of my mentors had given me the book a while back, with the ask that I help make the book more actionable and I apply the nuggets at work.  I’m still making my way through the book, and this nugget has turned out to be one of my favorite insights on finding purpose, making meaning, and staying flexible in how you express it.   It helps combine the wisdom of experience with the play of a child to play at making meaning the rest of your life, one moment or one day at a time.

Photo by Drew Coffman.

“Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman

There are simple ways to spice up your day.  This is a simple, but powerful loop that you can practice everyday as part of what you already do.  It will add zest and light your fire while you make things happen as you go about your day.

This is actually a follow up to Change Your Why or Change Your How, but makes it more actionable and takes it a bit deeper.   I met with one of my mentees yesterday, a developer at Microsoft, and after taking her through a simple loop on how to add juice to her day, she suggested I share the approach more broadly with others.  It connects a lot of dots and puts positive psychology into action.

By using simple stories, connecting to values, and changing your language, you can turn an ordinary day into extraordinary results.

Your Thoughts Create Your Feelings
The first thing you need to know is that your thoughts create your feelings.  Note that it’s not a one-way trip though, your feelings can inspire your thoughts too. However, if you know that your thoughts change your feelings, then the empowering part is knowing that if you change your thoughts, you change how you feel.  Of course, then the trick becomes how do you change your thoughts?  To change your thoughts, you change your focus.  How do you change your focus?  … You change the question.  It’s as simple as asking yourself, “What’s the favorite part of my day?” or “What’s great about this?” or “What can I enjoy about this?”

Change Your Words to Change the Feelings
The next thing you need to know is that your words have “feelings.”  They mean something to you.  Some words “feel” differently than others.  If you change your language, you change how you feel.  For example, words like productivity or time management or mission might be boring, dry, or corporate speak for you.  On the other hand, words like effective or success or adventure might lift you up.  For me, results is a powerful word.  I prefer to do things that get results.  I’m a believer that results talk while B.S. walks.  You can’t argue with results.  Another word I like is adventure.  Adventure juices me for a key reason.  It’s one of my values.

Connect to Your Values
Connect to your values. Of course, first you need to find your values.  When you know what your top values are, you can find simple ways to connect to your values.  For example, I’m a fan of adventure, so at the start of one of my projects I asked the team to create a movie poster for the project to help envision the end in mind.  Who’s the villain? … who’s the hero? …  What will be a memorable scene?  It was a quick exercise, but it  inspired everybody to imagine an epic adventure before we even started the project.

You can connect to your values each day in a simple way.  For example, first identify your three outcomes for the day or your three key results.  For example, today my three key results are:

1. Have a draft of a key document in hand for an upcoming review.
2. Take away three insights from my training.
3. Share a distilled set of insights on being a PM at Microsoft with a colleague.

Those are really the key results I need to accomplish today.  They are a bit different today because I’m going to be in all day training, and then I meet with a colleague for a brain dump.

Turn Your Results into Simple Stories
Now it’s time for the juice part.  I need to connect these results to my values.  I can do so with one-liner stories:

1. Create the ultimate collection of baseline scenarios for customer success.
2. Take away three insights that change my game.
3. Empower my colleague with new insights to get her best results for work and life.

What I’ve done is connected my three outcomes to a few of my values (achievement, results, helpfulness) using very simple stories.  I’ll use these stories to drive my day.  If I find myself nodding off during training, I’ll challenge myself whether I have three new ways to change my game that I can apply to my work.
Conquer Your Day and Pave Your Way a Story at a Time
I love the fact that this approach puts you in control and you write the story of your life, a story at at time, a day at a time, using the words and metaphors that empower your for your best results.   A way to remember this is that one-liner stories can save your day.  It’s a simple way to go from victim to victory or from zombie to zest.

May you conquer whatever the day throws your way!

Photo by yellowblade67.

“Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching.” – Satchel Paige

Chances are you have tasks each day, that you just don’t want to do.  Talk about un motivation.

You can’t always change the “what” you have to do, but you can always change the “why” or “how.”  If you change your “why” or change your “how”, you can find your motivation, even for tasks you don’t normally want to do.  This approach for motivation works because instead of rely on external motivation, you make it intrinsic or internal.  You basically find your drive from the inside out, rather than wait for it, or react to external pressure.

By motivating yourself with skill, you can actually enjoy the things you already have to do or get them done faster and easier.  You can also use this approach to take on new things.

3 Ways to Change Your Why
Here are three ways to change your “why”:

1. Find a higher cause (e.g. “I’m doing this for the greater good vs. just for me.”)
2. Make new meaning (e.g. “I don’t want to take out the trash” becomes “taking out the trash helps do my part around the house.”)
3. Tell yourself a compelling story (e.g. “I write the code that brings good ideas to life” or “I write the songs that make the world a better place.”)

6 Ways to Change Your How
Here are six ways to change your “how”:

1. Use deliberate practice to master your craft (i.e. use a disciplined approach to improve a routine activity.)
2. Make it a game (against time, against yourself, …)
3. Pair up with somebody (somebody might enjoy sharing the load or teaching you their ways.)
4. Change when you do it — you’ll find you have different energy levels (i.e. you can get more done during your power hours or creative hours.)
5. Link it to good feelings (e.g. play your favorite songs.)
6. Set a limit (e.g. chunk it up or timebox it.)

While there’s a will there’s a way, but I find that finding my will is a skill that gets better with practice.

My Related Posts

• Find Your Drive – The Keys to Motivation
• Is Will a Skill?
• My Favorite Motivation Quotes

Photo by Capture Queen.

“You don’t overcome challenges by making them smaller but by making yourself bigger.” – John C. Maxwell

When it comes to getting results, it takes motivation and ability.  Motivation makes things happen.   Where there’s no will, there’s no way.

I dedicated a full chapter on motivation in my Getting Results book, but I want to give you an introduction here.  If you can master motivation, you can deal with life’s setbacks, as well as inspire yourself to always find a way forward, and create new experiences for yourself, and follow your growth.  In this post, I’ll demystify motivation and give you the tools that really work.

Tested Practices for Results
First let’s start with some context.  I didn’t learn motivation from theories and books, although I’ve tested many models and I’ve read a lot of books.  I’ve learned how to motivate myself and others by dealing with some of the worst motivation issues day in and day out, over years of practice.  As a Program Manager at Microsoft, I’ve lead distributed teams for more than 10 years.  Along the way,  I’ve experimented and tested the best ways to motivate and inspire out of necessity.  Turning my projects into thrilling epic adventures and helping people unleash their best is one of my most important success patterns.

15 Ways to Motivate Yourself and Others
Before explaining more about motivation, I want to give you some proven practices you can use for improving your motivation.  Here are some ways to find your drive and get results:

1. Connect to your values.  This is the ultimate secret.  If you can connect the work you do to your values, even in small ways, you can change your game.  One of my values is learning and growth.  I find ways to grow my skills in any situation.
2. Find your why.  Figure out a compelling purpose.   Turn this into a one-liner.  For example, when I fall off the horse, I remind myself I’m here to “make others great.”  This gets me back on track, sharing the best of what I know.
3. Change your why.  Sometimes you’re doing things for the wrong reason.  Are you doing that task to get it done, or to learn something new?  Just shifting your why can light your fire.
4. Change your how.  You can instantly find your tasks more enjoyable by shifting from getting them done, to doing them right.  I think of it as mastering your craft.  Make it artful.  Sometimes slower is better.  Other times, the key is to make it a game and actually speed it up.  You can set time limits and race against the clock.  Changing your how can get you out of ruts and find new ways to escape the mundane.
5. Remember the feeling.  Flipping through your head movies and scenes is one of the fastest ways to change how you feel.  Remember the feeling.  How did you feel during your first kiss?  What about laying on the grass on a sunny day?
6. Shift to past, present, or the future.   Sometimes you need to be here, now.  Sometimes, the right here, right now sucks.  The beauty of shifting tense is you can visualize a more compelling future, or remember a more enjoyable past.  At the same time, if you catch yourself dwelling on a painful past, get back to right here, right now, and find the joy in the moment.  You’ll improve your temporal skills with practice.
7. Find a meaningful metaphor.  Find a metaphor that fuels you.  Maybe you’re the “Little Engine that Could.”  Maybe you’re “in your element.”  The most powerful thing you can do is find a metaphor that connects to your values.  This is why I turn my projects into “epic adventures.”
8. Take action.  Here’s a secret that once you know it, can change your life.  Action often comes before motivation.  You simply start doing an activity and then your motivation kicks in.  Nike was right with “Just do it.”  For example, I don’t always look forward to my workout, but once I start, I find my flow.
9. Link it to good feelings. Find a way to link things to good feelings.  For example, play your favorite song when you’re doing something you don’t like to do.  It has to be a song that makes you feel so great that it overshadows the pain of the task.  It’s hard to tell yourself you don’t like something when it feels so good.  A similar approach is to find your theme song.
10. Impress yourself first.   This is how people like Peter Jackson or James Cameron or Stephenie Meyer inspire themselves.  They make the movies or write the books that impress themselves first.  They connect their passion to the work and they don’t depend on other people setting the bar.  Their internal bar becomes their drive.
11. “CHOOSE” to.  If you tell yourself you “HAVE” to do this or you “MUST” do that or you “SHOULD” do this, you can weaken your motivation.  The power of choice and simply reframing your language to “CHOOSE” to can be incredibly empowering and exactly the motivating language you need to hear.  Choose your words carefully and make them work for you.
12. Pair up.   This is one of my favorite ways to make something fun.  One person’s painful task, is another’s pleasure.  Pair up with somebody who compliments your skill or who can mentor you and get you over the humps.
13. Change your question.  Sometimes you need to change your focus.  To change your focus, change the question.  If you ask yourself what’s wrong with this situation, of course you’ll find things to complain about.  Ask yourself what’s right about the situation and you can quickly find the positives and get your groove on.
14. Fix time for eating, sleeping, and working out.   Sometimes your body or emotions are working against you because you’re not giving them a break or fueling them the right way.  One simple way to improve results here is to find a routine for eating, sleeping, and working out that supports you.
15. Play to your strengths.   Spending too much time in your weaknesses wears you down.  Spending more time in your strengths helps you renew your energy and find your flow.  It’s the place where you can grow your best.  Success begets success and this helps you build momentum.

Now that you have some methods for motivation under your belt, let’s take a step back and understand why these work.  By the time you finish this post, you’ll know how to tune and prune motivation techniques that work for you, as well as see right through reward systems that just don’t work.

Pain and Pleasure
We move towards pleasure.  We move away from pain.  It’s that simple.   We do more to avoid pain.  Keep that in mind when you find it tough to change a habit.  Change can often be temporary pain.

Masters of motivation skillfully associate pain and pleasure.  Whether it’s the words they use, the thoughts they think, the images they visualize, or the actions they take … they stack up pain deliberately to move away from behaviors or habits that they don’t want anymore, and they  stack up pleasure to help move them towards new behaviors that they do want, or to reinforce good habits.

Intellectual, Emotional, and Physical Levels
Just thinking about pain and pleasure is a good start, but there’s more to it.  This pain and pleasure can be physical, emotional, or intellectual.

• Physical – When you touch something hot, you move quickly to get away from the pain.  Physical pain and pleasure is quick, powerful, and obvious.
• Emotional – Some emotions are painful: sadness, shame, remorse, regret, guilt, anxiety, fear, horror.  Some emotions feel good: joy, eagerness, zest, enthusiasm, happiness, ecstasy, euphoria.
• Intellectual –  Thinking isn’t feeling, but your thinking influences how you feel.   This is where your thoughts –  your metaphors, experiences, and associations — can translate to pain or pleasure.  The same experience can mean different things to different people.  Are you full of fear or thrilled with fun as your roller coaster approaches the apex?

Your mind, body, and emotions play off each other.  Your thoughts create your feelings.  Similarly, your thoughts can react to how you feel.  If you’re feeling anxious do you tell yourself something bad is going to happen or do you remind yourself you get the jitters on your second cup of coffee?    When you recall a fond memory, you make your body feel good.  If your body feels good, then your thoughts might say, hey, this is a good thing.

This is why sometimes you can’t think your way into something.   For example, your mind wants one thing, but your body wants another.   You tell yourself working out is good for you, but your body just doesn’t want the pain.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
This is one of the most important keys to understanding motivation.  When you understand the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, you can inspire yourself with skill.  Here’s what you need to know:

• Intrinsic motivation – Intrinsic is inside you.  Your rewards are internalized.  For example, intrinsic motivation would be doing something for the sake of feeling good or a sense of personal satisfaction.  The reward might simply be a job well done.  Intrinsic motivation would also be doing something because it connects to your values, such as adventure, or truth, or learning.
• Extrinsic motivation – Extrinsic is external.   This is when your rewards are externalized, such as money or applause.  You depend on external things and feedback to justify your actions.

One of the ways people lose their motivation is they get rewarded for something they already enjoy.  They start to externalize their motivation.  The key here is to shift to more intrinsic motivation and cut your dependencies on extrinsic motivation.

Carrots and Sticks
One of my favorite lessons from Stephen Covey was about carrot and sticks, which Covey referred to as the Jackass Theory.   Covey asked us what kind of supervisor do you need when you have a job that you are passionate about and is using your talents and you feel you are appreciated.

Covey’s point was that people are volunteers.  You want them to contribute their greatest, unique contribution.  While carrots and sticks can work for simple things, inspiration is a better model.  Instead of extrinsic rewards, shift to internal drivers by connecting to your values and your purpose.

Work Happiness and Job Satisfaction
There’s actually a pretty simple frame for improving job satisfaction, but it’s not common knowledge.  The following factors dramatically impact work satisfaction:

• Skill variety
• Task identity
• Task significance
• Autonomy
• Feedback

What I like about this frame, aside from simplicity, is that I’ve found it to be true time and again.  Whenever somebody is not enjoying their job, it can almost always be traced to one or more of these factors.  You can find more on work happiness at Work Happy Now.com.

Where to Go From Here
We’ve covered a lot of ground.   I’ve compacted and distilled a lot of precious lessons and insights that will help you master motivation for you and for others in any situation.  While there are more details I could elaborate on, I want you to have a simple Cliffs Notes version that will serve you the rest of your life.

I do recommend supplementing yourself with the motivation chapter when you have time, as well as reading my related post on Discipline vs. Motivation.  Sometimes knowing is way more than half the battle and when it comes to motivation, I find this is especially true.

Photo by veganstraightedge.

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” — Anotole France

Now’s a great time to pick your dreams up, blow the dust off, and get ready to make them happen.  This month is all about getting results. Along the way, I’ll introduce you to methods from my book, Getting Results, that you can use to stack the deck in your favor and increase your chances of success.

Monthly Improvement Sprint
One of the first things I want to introduce you to is, Monthly Improvement Sprints.  Monthly Improvement Sprints are one of the 12 core practices of Agile Results.  The idea is pretty simple.  Simply pick a theme for the month, and use it to focus your time and energy.  With a full month, persistence and time are on your side.  It’s a big enough time box that you can try different techniques, while building proficiency.  You can use a monthly improvement sprint to

• Make progress on a dream (chip away at a big dream or dream a little dream and make it happen)
• Sharpen a skill
• Try your hand at something new
• Reshape your body
• Adopt a new habit

Why Monthly Improvement Sprints?
I originally called the approach 30 Day Improvement Sprints.  I borrowed the idea of sprints from SCRUM (a software management practice) and I thought it would be a good idea to apply it to personal development.   I used 30 days as my time box, but I found that keeping track of when to start and when to end, wasn’t worth it.  I then decided to use months as a time box.  This way, each month would be a fresh start, and I would know I was done when the month was over.  This made it even simpler to stay on track … I simply line up with the calendar.  This seemed to line up on so many levels that I stuck with it ever since.

The Power of Sustained Focus
Few problems withstand sustained focus.  Using a full month makes it easier to work through hurdles.  What I generally notice is that a lot of the hurdles I hit in my first week are gone by week 2.  Little improvements each day add up quickly.  Interestingly, before I used Monthly Improvement Sprints, I would try something out for a week, and then give up because I didn’t make progress.  I wasn’t giving myself a chance.  I just needed to get to week 2 to see my results.

12 Themes for the Year
It’s literally a portfolio of results.  You get to cycle through 12 themes for the year.  There’s a bit of captive genius in everyone that just needs to be uncorked.  A month of focused improvement seems to be a great way to pop the cork.  I find improvement sprints refreshing because it gives me a schedule for exploration throughout the year.  I can rotate through more interests.  Most importantly, rather than tackle everything all at once, I just wait for my next Monthly Improvement Sprint to focus on it.  It’s easier to put something aside for the moment, if I know I’ll have a chance to immerse myself in it in the future.  If I enjoyed something so much and I want to continue, I just do another Monthly Improvement Sprint.

I’ve used Monthly Improvement Sprints to  test out a living foods diet, improve rollerblading, burn through my backlog of books, … etc.  I’m using this Monthly Improvement Sprint to focus on helping the world get results.

Ways to Improve Your Monthly Improvement Sprint
Here’s a handful of techniques to help you make the most of your Monthly Improvement Sprints:

• Buddy up.  Seriously.  One guy’s hurdle, is another girl’s breeze.
• Don’t beat yourself up.  If at first you don’t succeed, tell yourself you just learned another way how NOT to do something.
• Count your improvements, not your blunders.  It’s a pick-you-up vs. put-you-down approach.
• Make each session count.  Keep your sessions short and sweet.   Slow and steady wins the race.
• Focus on your improvement process vs. the result itself.  Make the process your reward.  I enjoy learning again for learning’s sake.
• If you’re churning, change your approach.  Don’t mistake churn for awkwardness. Growth feels awkward and is a precursor to proficiency.
• Find experts you can model and learn from.  Success leaves clues.  If you can find somebody who does a great job at what you want to do, you have a head start.  I leverage lots of mentors.  I used to just see an amazing pool of people around me.  Now I see an amazing team of coaches.
• Journal your lessons learned.  Each day, reflect on distinctions you made.  What’s one little thing you learned you didn’t know the day before.  You’ll be surprised how simple notes can shine a spotlight on your gains.
• Repetition is your friend.  Remind yourself that repetition is the mother of skill.  World class experts master the fundamentals through repetition and refinement.
• Set your own bar vs. follow others.  Don’t compare yourself to others; compare yourself to you.  Be your personal best.  I remember a point John Wooden made some time ago.  He didn’t think his team should gloat over wins, or beat themselves up over losses.  His point was, if you won, but didn’t play your best, did you really deserve to win? …  If you lost, but you played your personal best, did you really lose?
• Focus on the thinking, feeling and doing.  Sometimes the inner dialogue is more important than what you see or hear.  While something might seem purely physical, sometimes, there’s a lot of self-talk an expert does that might not be obvious.  What do they think about when they perform the technique?  When they mess up, how do they get back in the zone?  What’s their decision tree?  For example, when I do a customer arch and design review, they see me put stuff on a whiteboard.  They hear me ask precise questions.  What they might not know is the matrix of questions and reference examples I draw from.
• Be your own best coach.  Use questions to shape your improvement.
  Ask for feedback.  Find those you trust to point out things you might otherwise miss

The minimum you should do is pick a theme for the month.  If you’re ready for more, then start to think of some little steps you can take to start living your dream.

Photo by evoo73.

“Kid, you’ll move mountains!  Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!” – Dr. Seuss

When I was a kid, Dr. Seuss was a constant source of inspiration for me.  His stories filled my head with endless possibilities.

Between Great Day for Up and The Cat in the Hat, I was pretty much prepared for making the most of any day.  I think his real masterpiece though was Oh! the Places You’ll Go!   This is the book that convinced me I could move mountains and that life is what you make of it.

21 Lessons Learned from Dr. Seuss
There are so many great lessons from Dr. Seuss.  Each of his book is such a treasure trove of ideas and actions for a better life.  What I did here is boil down a set of 21 lessons that highlight his key themes across his works and quotes:

1. Be a thinker of great things.  Dr. Seuss teaches us, “Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!”
2. Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.  Sometimes you just don’t know what you’ve got until after it’s gone.  In Bartholomew and the Ooblek, King Didd got what he wished for, but the sticky Ooblek goo was worse than the fog, snow, sunshine, and rain that it replaced.  The King quickly wanted his old weather back and he learned to appreciate it.
3. Be your best you.   In the words of Dr. Seuss, “There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”  Make the most of what you’ve got.   In Yertle the Turtle, we see “feather envy” and it’s a gentle reminder to be careful what you wish for and appreciate what you’ve got.
4. Bend your world in wonderful ways.  Nobody bends it like the Cat in the Hat.   From the metaphors you use, to the thinks that you think, you can shape your world that’s right in front of you.
5. Don’t put yourself in a box.  You’re only limited by your own imagination.   The Cat in the Hat teaches us how to let our imaginations run wild.
6. Don’t waste your time worrying who’s better than who.  In Yertle the Turtle, Dr. Seuss teaches us that “You have better things to do than argue who’s better than who.”
7. Dream it and do it.  You can move mountains when you put your mind to it.  Direct your life like a blockbuster and make things happen.
8. Edutainment wins over boring and ho-hum.  With whacky words, wondrous worlds, and fantastical characters, Dr. Seuss taught us the edutainment is how you change a child’s life.  Reading is only boring if you make it so.
9. Kindle your curiosity.  Keep your mind open and your eyes peeled.  Stay curious and follow your growth.
10. Life happens in moments at a time.  Don’t miss out on life by tuning out the little things along the way.
11. Own your fun.   There’s more to do than play in the rain.  When you’re bored, you’re boring.   The Cat in the Hat teaches us to be the maker of our own fun.  Make each day your own special blend of whatever it is that best floats your boat.
12. Play at your day.  You can play at your day, in every way.
13. Persistence pays off.  Be relentless in your pursuit of things.  In Green Eggs and Ham, it was through persistence that Sam-I-Am finally got the unnamed character to try the green eggs and ham.  In real life, Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before being published by Vanguard Press.
14. Treat people fairly and squarely.  In The Sneetches and Other Stories, Dr. Seuss shows us that we can’t judge people by their lot in life or whether they have a star on their belly.  In Yertle the Turtle, it’s a reminder not to climb over people on your way to the top, because they’re same people you’ll see on your way back down.
15. Try it … you just might like it.  In Green Eggs and Ham, when the unnamed character was surprised to find out that he actually likes green eggs and ham once he tried them.  You just never know until you try.
16. Saying you’re sorry can help make things right.   In Bartholomew and the Oobleck, when the king finally said the magic words, “I’m sorry,” and “it’s all my fault,” he helped make things right again.
17. See the bright side of things.  It’s a great day for up, when you can see the sunny side of things.  Sure sometimes you’ll have to work at it, but positivity is a skill.  Do it daily.
18. Setbacks happen.  Deal with them and move on.   Make trouble think twice about messing with you.
19. Some people are much more unlucky than you.  When you’re down in the dumps and things get real bad, remind yourself that somewhere, somehow, someway … somebody is much “more unlucky than you.”
20. Success is a journey and we all have our own paths.  Make your journey count.  Don’t let fear stop you.  Don’t let conventional wisdom stop you.  Lead the life you want to live, and when there’s no path, make one.
21. Your voice counts.  In Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss shows us how one little voice can tip the scale … after all, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

Top 10 Dr. Seuss Quotes
Dr. Seuss has so many quotable quotes, from enjoying your day to being more you.  He has such a way with words.  Even when he reminds us of something we already know, he has a way of saying it that makes an old song sound new.  Here is a sprinkling of some of my favorite quotes:

1. Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.
2. Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.
3. Only you can control your future.
4. So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.
5. The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
6. Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.
7. Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
8. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
9. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.
10. You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

It’s inspirational gold.  There is nobody youer than you, and the more that you learn the more places you’ll go.  Bravo.

Dr. Seuss Quotes
If you’re not familiar with Dr. Seuss’s quotes, then you’re in for a treat.  It’s easy to read his words, and he’s a master of saying a lot with so little.

A nice simple way to leverage his quotes is to pick one or two of your favorites.  Sometimes the right quote is just what we need to hear and it can be the perfect catalyst that we need in our life.  Enjoy!

Aloneness

• All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you’ll be quite a lot.
• I’m afraid sometimes you’ll play lonely games too, games you can’t win because you’ll play against you.
• You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.

Be Yourself

• If you’d never been born, then you might be an Isn’t! An Isn’t has no fun at all. No, he disn’t.
• You are you. Now, isn’t that pleasant?
• You’re in pretty good shape for the shape you are in.

Everybody Deserves a Shot

• A person’s a person, no matter how small.
• I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.

Fun

• Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.
• From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.
• I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.
• If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.
• It is fun to have fun, but you have to know how.
• We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.

General

• Be awesome! Be a book nut!
• Christmas doesn’t come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more …
• I do not like green eggs and ham I do not like them Sam I am.
• I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. Because an elephant’s faithful, 100 percent.
• I’m glad we had the times together just to laugh and sing a song, seems like we just got started and then before you know it, the times we had together were gone.
• Oh, the things you can find if you don’t stay behind!
• Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
• So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act.
• They say I’m old-fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast!
• Words and pictures are yin and yang. Married, they produce a progeny more interesting than either parent.

Life Happens

• I’m sorry to say so but, sadly it’s true that bang-ups and hang-ups can happen to you.
• Things may happen and often do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

Make Things Happen

• I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
• There’s no limit to how much you’ll know, depending how far beyond zebra you go.
• Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.
• Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

Positivity

• And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!
• If you keep your eyes open enough, oh the stuff you will learn. Oh the most wonderful stuff.
• It’s opener, out there, in the wide, open air.
• Just tell yourself, Duckie, you’re really quite lucky.
• You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.

Thinking

• Think and wonder, wonder and think.
• Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!

Dr. Seuss Books
One of the best ways to get to know Dr. Seuss is through his books.  Here is a round up of his books::

What has Dr. Seuss taught you about life?

“Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain

Motivation is your drive and it’s a skill you can build.  When it comes to your performance, motivation is one of the most important things you control. One of my favorite places to look for motivation practices is sports.  After all, athletes depend on motivation to perform their best.

In the article The Power of Prime, Jim Taylor, Ph.D. outlines the three D’s of what he calls prime motivation:

• Direction – Consider three potential directions: stop, continue your level, or become your best.
• Decision – Decide on your direction (stop, continue your level, or improve.)  This tells you how much time and effort to put in, based on how good you want to become.
• Dedication – Dedicate yourself to your direction and decision.  It’s your level of dedication that will limit or enable your results.

It’s a simple frame, but I like how it lays out your options and puts it in black and white.  It also helps you troubleshoot your thinking.  For example, if you want to become your best, but you’re not putting in your time and effort, then there’s a mismatch.  In an opposite example, you might not want to improve at something, in which case, you might trim down the time and energy you spend on it, so you can invest it somewhere else.

Photo by Iqbal Saggu.

"Life is a big canvas, throw all the paint on it you can." — Danny Kaye

The Web is a fountain of knowledge, especially if you know where to drink from.  This post is a quick tour of some of the main sites I use that make me think.

Here are 10 sites that make me think and inspire new ideas:

1. ChangeThis – ChangeThis is focused on spreading important ideas and changing minds. (  ChangeThis | RSS)
2. Charlie Rose – Charlie Rose engages America’s best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers in one-on-one interviews and roundtable discussions.  (Charlie Rose | RSS )
3. Cincom’s Expert Access – Expert Access partners with some truly brilliant and forward-thinking business leaders to participate in its “Ask the Expert” program, including Al Ries, Bo Burlingham, Steven Pressfield, Sam Horn, Skip Press, and Stephanie Palmer. (Cincom Expert Access | RSS)
4. Freakonomics – Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, authors of Freakonomics, keep the conversation going from their best-selling book that explore the hidden side of everything. Freakomoics applies economic theory to diverse subjects not usually covered by "traditional" economists. (Freaknomoics | RSS)
5. Gates Notes – Gates Notes is where Bill Gates shares his thoughts, his learning and his travels. (Gates Notes | RSS )
6. MIT Open Courseware – Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). (MIT Open Courseware | RSS )
7. NPR (Tell Me More) – The NPR talk show Tell Me More brings fresh voices and perspectives to public radio from the opinions of global newsmakers to listeners’ personal experiences of life-changing travel…the wisdom of renowned thinkers, activists and spiritual leaders…and intimate dispatches of daily life around the world from NPR News correspondents on the ground. ( NPR (Tell Me More) | RSS )
8. PBS (Idea Lab) – Idea Lab is a group weblog by innovators who are reinventing community news for the Digital Age. Each author won a grant in the Knight News Challenge to help fund a startup idea or to blog on a topic related to reshaping community news. The authors will use Idea Lab to explain their projects, share intelligence and interact with the new-media community online. ( PBS (Idea Lab) | RSS )
9. Psychology Today – Commentary, Research and News that cover all aspects of Human Behavior, from the workings of the brain, to relationships and the larger cultural forces that influence our decisions( Psychology Today | RSS http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.rss
10. Ted Talks – TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.  Their mission is spreading ideas.  They believe in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world, so they built a clearinghouse for free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. (Ted Talks | RSS )

Here is a quick sampling of some of the interesting talks and life changing ideas:

• Bill Gates on Mosquitoes, Malaria, and Education (Video) -  Bill Gates hopes to solve some of the world’s biggest problems using a new kind of philanthropy.
• Charlie Rose Brain Series Episode 1 (Video) – The Great Mysteries of the Human Brain: consciousness, free will, perception, cognition, emotion and memory with a roundtable of brain researchers.
• Dan Buettner: How to live to be 100+ (Video)  -  To find the path to long life and health, Dan Buettner and team study the world’s "Blue Zones," communities whose elders live with vim and vigor to record-setting age. At TEDxTC, he shares the 9 common diet and lifestyle habits that keep them spry past age 100.

What are your favorite sources of insight and inspiration on the Web?

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen … but do you know Davey Stone, George Bailey, Ralphie Parker or Emmet Otter?   They’re the stars of some of my favorite holiday classics.  Holiday classics are a great source of inspiration and insight.  As with any movies, holiday classics are stories with conflict and resolution.  Themes range from fitting in to standing out.  Some of the best stories are where the villain becomes the hero and defeats their inner demons.  Another common theme I see is find your version of happiness.

The beauty of the holiday classics is that they make you feel good.  From finding your inner child to unleashing your better self, there’s a common theme of making the most of what you’ve got, enjoy what’s right in front of you, and lead the life you want to live.  In this post, I share my key take aways from these holiday movies.

Lessons Learned from 25 Holiday Classics
Here are my lessons learned from 25 holiday classics.  If you already know the movie, then the take away might make sense for you.  If you don’t know the movie, I’ve included links to Amazon, Wikipedia, and IMDB so you can check it out.   Feel free to share your favorite holiday movies and lessons learned in the comments.  Enjoy!

1.		Eight Crazy Nights. Davey Stone had a few lessons to learn: Don’t let the past keep you from seeing what’s right in front of you, don’t push away the people that are there to help you, and don’t be your own worst enemy. I think the lesson we learn watching Davey is similar to Peaceful Warrior – “the people that are the hardest to love, often need it the most.” Eight Crazy Nights (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Amazon) Eight Crazy Nights (Wikipedia) Eight Crazy Nights (IMDB)
2.		A Charlie Brown Christmas. Don’t let the commercialism get in the way of meaning or significance for you. Just because you might be surrounded by it, doesn’t mean you can’t carve out a part for you. A Charlie Brown Christmas (Amazon) A Charlie Brown Christmas (Wikipedia) A Charlie Brown Christmas (IMDB)
3.		A Christmas Carol. Bob Marley teaches us that we wear the chains we forge in life.  Ebenezer Scrooge teaches us that you can change your life over-night and it’s never too late to change. He also teaches us to live the life you want to lead, and live each day how you want to be remembered. My favorite version was always Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, but now I’m seriously a fan of Disney’s A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey.  Other variations include The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Flintstones Christmas Carol, Scrooged, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, and of course, the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott. I also like the made for T.V. movies and when sitcoms do their version of a A Christmas Carol. Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol (Amazon) A Christmas Carol (Wikipedia) List of A Christmas Carol Adaptations (Wikipedia)
4.		A Christmas Story. Any time I mention this movie, somebody says, “you’ll shoot your eye out.” Poor Ralphie, but I don’t think that was the lesson. I think it’s more like — life happens. You never really know what you’re going to look back on as the best times of your life or the funniest. Some things that aren’t funny at the time, just might turn out funny later, either when you flash back or when you make a movie (apparently the movie is based on the author’s child hood.) A Christmas Story (Full-Screen Edition) (Amazon) A Christmas Story (Wikipedia) A Christmas Story (IMDB)
5.		Bad Santa. Believing in somebody can bring out their best. Kids can remind us what really matters and what the right thing to do is. Also, conmen are people too, and everybody makes mistakes. The real question is, how do you write your story forward? Bad Santa (Amazon) Bad Santa (Wikipedia) Bad Santa (IMDB)
6.		Elf. I think this is about unleashing your inner-elf. Elf (Infinifilm Edition) (Amazon) Elf (Wikipedia) Elf (IMDB)
7.		Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. You accomplish more together than apart. If you’ve seen it, you know that to make a washtub base you have to put a hole in the washtub. They bet everything they had to get each other Christmas presents — Emmet put a hole in his Mom’s wash tub and his Mom sold his tool chest. It turns out, all they really wanted was each other. In retrospect, what were they thinking? Some bets just aren’t worth it. Luckily this one worked out, but I’m glad we didn’t see the version where Emmett and his Mom can’t make a living anymore because they bet their wash tub and tools. Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (Amazon) Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (Wikipedia) Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (IMDB)
8.		Frosty the Snowman. When I was younger, I thought it was about believing in magic and how a snow man that comes to life would be cool to hang out with. Now that I’m older, I think it’s – remember the magic of when you were a kid, and how that brought things to life. Frosty teaches us that every day is a good day and forget anything bad. The first words out of Frosty’s mouth were “Happy Birthday” and he was all about having fun and celebrating life while he’s got it. Frosty the Snowman (Amazon) Frosty the Snowman (Wikipedia) Frosty the Snowman (IMDB)
9.		Home Alone. Don’t forget your kids when you go on vacation … bad stuff happens. Home Alone (Amazon) Home Alone (Wikipedia) Home Alone (IMDB.)
10.		How The Grinch Stole Christmas. You can’t really steal Christmas, since it’s not the toys and the food.  Everybody has a soft spot, even the Grinch. Sometimes it’s shutting people out that turns them sour, just like letting them in can bring out their best. Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Deluxe Edition) (Amazon) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Wikipedia) The Grinch, with Jim Carrey (Wikipedia.)
11.		It’s a Wonderful Life. Focus on what’s right in your life, over dwelling on what’s wrong. It’s a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition) (Amazon) It’s a Wonderful Life (Wikipedia) It’s a Wonderful Life (IMDB)
12.		Jingle All the Way. To your kids, you’re the most important hero. You don’t have to be perfect. Just know they look up to you. Jingle All the Way (Family Fun Edition) (Amazon) Jingle All the Way (Wikipedia) Jingle All the Way (IMDB)
13.		Lemon Drop Kid. Even con men can do right … and make people laugh along the way. The Lemon Drop Kid (Amazon) The Lemon Drop Kid (Wikipedia) The Lemon Drop Kid (IMDB)
14.		Little Drummer Boy. Step up to the plate and be your best, or in this case, “play” your best. The Little Drummer Boy (Amazon) The Little Drummer Boy (IMDB)
15.		March of the Wooden Soldiers. Team up. It’s a better together story where good triumphs over evil. March of the Wooden Soldiers (Colorized / Black & White) (Amazon) Babes in Toyland (Wikipedia) Babes in Toyland (IMDB)
16.		Miracle on 34th Street. Stay curious and believe in possibility. Miracles happen. Your beliefs can limit or enable what’s possible and what you perceive. Miracle on 34th Street (Amazon) Miracle on 34th Street (Wikipedia) Miracle on 34th Street (IMDB)
17.		National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Everybody has their own version of what a perfect holiday means. Don’t impose you’re your “perfect” on others. When things don’t go as planned, roll with the punches and make the most of it. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Special Edition) (Amazon) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Wikipedia) Christmas Vacation (IMDB)
18.		Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey. It’s the differences that can be your strengths. For Nestor, his ears became his strength when he could hear the angels sing, while everybody was blinded from the storm. The Year Without a Santa Claus / Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey / Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (Amazon) Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Story (Wikipedia) Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Story (IMDB.)
19.		The Polar Express. Stay young at heart. Sometimes the best experiences in life start with belief. My favorite line is, “At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.” The Polar Express (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition) (Amazon) The Polar Express (Wikipedia) The Polar Express (IMDB)
20.		Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Nobody wants a Charlie-in-the-box and if an elf really wants to be a dentist, just go ahead and let them be one. The real lesson in Rudolph is “do your thing” and play to your strengths. Be proud of who you are and whatever makes you stand out. More importantly, find your place for it. Rudolph found the place for his shiny nose was the front of the pack. The elf that wanted to be a dentist found he could be a dentist right there at the workshop. Bumble (the abominable snowman) found his special ability was placing the star at the top of the tree (“look at what he can do!.”) It’s also a reminder that nobody’s perfect, but everybody can find their place. Santa even found a home for all the misfit toys from the cowboy who rides an ostrich to the train with square wheels. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Red-Nosed Reindeer (Wikipedia) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (IMDB)
21.		Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town. You can melt cold hearts with acts of kindness. While Kris had limited luck melting Burgermeister’s heart, he had more luck with the Winter Warlock and turned him into an ally. Even though Santa visits only once a year, he really wants the holiday spirit to last throughout the year. The Original Santa Clause Is Comin’ to Town (Special Collector’s Edition) Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town (Wikipedia) Santa Clause is Comin’ To Town (IMDB)
22.		The Bishop’s Wife. Get your priorities straight. While you chase your dreams, never lose sight of what’s most important. The Bishop’s Wife The Bishop’s Wife (Wikipedia) The Bishop’s Wife (IMDB.)
23.		The Santa Clause. If you suddenly gain a lot of weight and suddenly grow a white beard that you just can’t seem to trim, consider a job as Santa for a while. There’s more though. Don’t put kids in the middle of things, especially during the holidays when it’s about being together. If you give yourself to a higher-cause, it can be your greatest source of fulfillment, whether that’s self-less service, doing the right thing, or living your purpose. The Santa Clause (Full Screen Special Edition) The Santa Clause (Wikipedia) The Santa Clause (IMDB.)
24.		The Year without a Santa Clause. This is the one with Heat Miser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_Miser) and Snow Miser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Miser ). (It’s a clay animation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_animation ), but I’ve actually seen people in real life that look like Heat Miser and Cold Miser.) Anyway, the lesson we learn here is, about how to deal with conflict and negotiate effectively. When Heat Miser and Snow Miser, wouldn’t cooperate, Mrs. Clause told their mom, Mother Nature who forced them to compromise. It’s also about letting people know how much they matter. Santa found his inspiration and got his groove on, when a little girl wrote how she would have a Blue Christmas without him. The Year Without a Santa Claus (Deluxe Edition) The Year without a Santa Clause (Wikipedia) The Year without a Santa Clause (IMDB)
25.		White Christmas. Don’t let miscommunications and mix-ups, mess up an otherwise good thing. Be careful about jumping to conclusions about people’s intentions. You may not like their behavior, or it may seem off, but it’s really tough to judge, especially if you’re not in their shoes. Be less quick to judge and quicker to forgive and forget and make room for happiness. White Christmas White Christmas (Wikipedia) White Christmas (IMDB)

Movies can be an amazing source of insight and inspiration.  They fill our  hearts and heads with heroes, stories, songs, and scenes we can draw from.

Maybe you think of the theme song to Rocky when you work out.  Maybe you think of “waxing the car” or “painting the fence” while you master your craft.  What’s important is that you choose the stories, scenes or heroes that  serve you.

Here is a sampling of 16 movies and what they can teach us about life and leadership:

1. 300 – Play to your strengths.
2. The Bad News Bears – The right coach can turnaround any team, from worst, to first.  It’s about the journey and the destination.
3. Kung Fu Panda – The right team can kick arse.  You’re the sum of your network (remember the Furious Five.)
4. Peaceful Warrior – Make every move about the move.  A warrior acts, only a fool reacts.  Don’t become a victim of your own limiting beliefs.  The people that are the hardest to love, probably need it the most.  Want more? … check out Lessons Learned from Peaceful Warrior.
5. Surf’s Up – Find a way, because that’s what winners do.  When there’s no wave to ride, make one.
6. The 13th Warrior – Your competition always has a weakness.
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Win the heart, the mind follows.  Find the best in everyone.
8. Star Wars – Keep your ego in check (and carry a big light saber.)  Your intuition can serve you well if you master it.
9. Raiders of the Lost Ark – Make every project an adventure.
10. The Lord of the Rings – The best heroes can come from the strangest places (who would have thought to check the shire?)
11. Rear Window – Use your emotions and intuition as input.  Check your facts.
12. The Wizard of Oz – You had it in you all along.  You just needed somebody else to bring it out.
13. Slumdog Millionaire – Smart and gets results can change your lot in life.
14. Bonnie and Clyde – Passion + smarts makes for a great team.
15. Rocky – You gotta have heart.  Sometimes it’s about going the distance.
16. It’s a Wonderful Life – Know your value and what you bring to the table.

What movies do you draw from?

Photo by cliff1066.