“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.

“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.

“The best mirror is an old friend.” – George Herbert

The more you know about yourself, the more you can skillfully motivate yourself, play to your strengths, limit your liabilities, and make the most of any situation. Socrates taught us to “Know thyself” … but how? What are some of the more effective ways we can learn about our patterns for thinking, feeling, and doing.

Here’s a simple model I’ve been using lately to help some friends think about the infamous passion vs profit question. I actually like to think of it as a passion AND profit … and value question. It really is a simple model, but it helps highlight a couple of key points. For one thing, the saying do what you love, and the money will follow, is misleading.

Unleash a version of your best self — quickly find your purpose, values, and personal success patterns.

It’s hard to live your values if you don’t know what they are. My dictionary defines a value as “something (as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable or desirable.” That sounds about right. Clarifying your values is one of the first steps towards knowing yourself. You would think you know yourself after all these years, but a lot of things get in the way. For example, maybe you never took the time to write down your top five values. Or maybe, you got caught up in what you think you “should” value or what other people scripted for you. Either way, now’s the time to figure out your values.

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” –  Carl Gustav Jung
In Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), meta-programs are the keys to the way you process information. They’re basically how you form your internal representations and direct your behavior. In Unlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal Achievement, Tony Robbins writes about meta-programs that people use to sort and make sense of the world.
Key Take Aways Here are my key take aways:

Use meta-programs to understand yourself and others. Meta-programs helps …

Your mission, vision and values are the foundation for your company’s success. It’s how you communicate your unique value, set goals and priorities, and create a compelling future. It’s ultimately your gauge for success (are you accomplishing your mission and moving towards your vision?)  In A Simple Statement: A Guide to Nonprofit Arts Management and Leadership, Jamie Grady writes about vision, mission, and values.
Creating Your Mission and Vision
The key steps to creating your mission and vision are:

Identify the values of the organization. You find these by observing how employees spend …

Organizational values guide your organization’s thinking and actions.  You can think of your organizational values in terms of dimensions: prosocial, market, financial, achievement, and artistic.  Your values are your corporate culture.  When it comes to culture and values, actions speak louder than words.  To figure out your organizational values, see what people spend their time on and what they talk about.
In A Simple Statement: A Guide to Nonprofit Arts Management and Leadership, Jamie Grady writes about organizational values:
Key Take Aways
Here are my key take aways:

Define what matters.  I think the …