Mondays Are For Goal Setting - Check Yourself

Please Be Weird

How does it feel to work with a $750+ million corporation with a CEO that encourages you to "be weird and love yourself for it"?

Awesome, that's how it feels. Check out Beachbody CEO Carl Daikeler's latest blog post where he encourages everyone to "be weird". CLICK HERE.

If you'd like to know more about what we do, why we do it, and how you can be weird with us and help make the world a better place, give me a shout or check out this link: http://opportunity.gettingfittogether.com/BrucetheCoach

Why It Helps to Know I Suck as a Manager and Administrator

It feels better and works better when I make the most of who I am, what I'm good at, and what I enjoy. When I try to do things I don't really dig and aren't really among my core strengths, I stumble, scrape my ego, and basically have a bad time. Even when I can actually do that "stuff that isn't really me", it doesn't come easily and it's not as effective or good for others as when I'm on my own "channel".


I recently posted the following thought:

"I soar with wings of passion when I inspire, motivate, and connect. When I try to manage others it's like breathing gravel." - Being Bruce


I was responding to some feelings, some intuitive-like sense that I needed a course correction, and even some thoughts. I was ably assisted by my wife Marge, who can "read me like a road sign".

The details don't matter a bit for this post , but the point was that I was drifting into some management and administrative tasks and found the road a little bumpy and un-fun. I was so involved that I didn't get outside myself to check myself out  (had I done so earlier, I might have realized it sooner), but Marge helped by pointing out that I just wasn't as happy as I normally am when I'm doing my thing, which is connecting with folks, sharing strong positive energy, and in some cases inspiring them to make positive change in their own lives.


For me, management and administrative tasks and roles are possible, but when I do them I'm running solely using my mind. And that causes me trouble as my mind second-guesses, seeks problems, mis-communicates, and basically performs in a substandard fashion.


When I'm connecting with people, focusing on their purpose and success, having fun by sharing enthusiasm and energy, that's when I'm most effective and when I help others (and myself) most. 


Many have said that it's important to use one's "emotional barometer" to stay on one's proper path. For me that's totally true. Roughly translated that means when something I'm doing feels bad, that means I probably shouldn't be doing it, because it's outside my true purpose. So the more quickly I recognize that and get back to feeling good about what I'm doing, the better it will be for me, and for others. 


So thanks Marge, and thanks to other valued friends and colleagues, for helping me see, once again, that managing and administering are not in my core purpose, not even close, so I can get back to what I love doing, and  live in alignment with my passions for connecting with and helping others become successful in their own lives. 

Notes on Mastermind Groups

I currently belong to two Mastermind Groups.

While there is no single definition of what a Mastermind Group is or how it should function, but all Mastermind Groups are based on the expectation that two or more people focusing on a common purpose will result in greater understanding, insight, or progress than the individuals can achieve separately or in smaller groups or pairs.

The two Mastermind Groups to which I belong have different purposes. One focuses on personal purpose and philosophy and each individual's state of "being". The second group was formed to assist its members in achieving specific life goals. So the former is highly subjective and the latter group is objective. There is overlap in the groups in the sense that the members of the first group know of the occupations, people, and activities of the others but focus on being true to oneself while the members of the second group have a sense of the various members' life purpose and philosophy but focus on getting things done. I personally find this a nice mix.

Here are a few other notes about the Mastermind Groups in which I'm proud to participate:

• Each group is comprised of members with common background or experience. For example, the members of my  first group went  through the full Klemmer & Associates (www.Klemmer.com) leadership and personal development training - each of us is a Compassionate Samurai, complete with ceremonial sword. This group has been going since 2006. The members of my second group, only a few months in duration, are all active members of Brian and Alexandra Johnson's en*theos Oasis for Goddesses and Philosophers (we.entheos.me). Because we have those experiences in common we can speak from shared ground and understanding (it saves a lot of time and tends to engender trust). 

• Trust is a huge factor in Mastermind Groups. When you're sharing your life purpose or your career plans with others it sure helps to know that they will 1. be on your side and 2. keep your information confidential. "What happens in Mastermind Groups stays in Mastermind Groups." Trite, but important in this context.

• Size matters. Three is too few, more than eight is too many. Four through six is the optimal group size. Too few and there's not enough shared energy - plus if people miss the meetings the dynamic change is significant. With more than eight people, individual focus is too diluted for significant benefit for all.  

Logistics (notes on when, where, how, etc.):

• The Mastermind Groups I'm in meet by phone on a conference line. That way members aren't restricted by location or transportation (as long as time zone issues are worked out for the calls). Both of my Mastermind Groups have members from different countries. I was for two years in a group that focused on Internet Marketing and that group, too, had international membership.
• One hour per week is optimal. It's regular enough to keep everyone on focus and up to date but isn't an immense time burden. If there's a mix of employees and self-employed people (meaning folks who may or may not have control of their time) the scheduling can work but be more difficult. 
• Leadership - it's best that once everyone understands how the group operates that the responsibilities shift on a regular basis, perhaps weekly. 
• Meeting Structure - it is imperative to have an agreed upon structure. With structure you can drift a bit but still be able to get back to insure that everyone gets her or his share of the time and that the group focus is kept. Without structure it's much too easy to get social or to have one  or a few people dominate the time and attention of  the group. 

I've not experienced a live Mastermind Group. Because my personal experience and benefit of telephony-based Mastermind Groups has been so positive and beneficial, I've not felt any loss.

Mastermind Groups are best when they serve to multiply the mind power, meaning the insights, knowledge, intuition, and creativity of the individual members by working in shared  purpose with like-minded people.

Where Am I Going?

Wow, what a ride Marge and I are having!

In the past 11 years we've made (for us) an unprecedented number of transitions and transformations. We have learned a lot. We tried many new ventures, some of which were moderate to great successes and others amazing learning opportunities. We have opened our minds and hearts to the world and the universe as we've grown, been tested, and grown some more. This process will hopefully continue.

It's fair and accurate to say that we are now happier, certainly healthier, and more sure of our individual and joined paths than ever before in our marriage (coming up soon on our 41st!), our respective passions and life purposes, our business directions, and our plans for the next decades.

I am extremely grateful for Marge, for all of our (growing) family, our rapidly growing number of friends (a greater wealth of which we've never had), and for the opportunities to help others and to develop ourselves we see before us.

I am making a new commitment to this blog, to use it as a very personal and open space to explore and share who I am being in the moment and in the process of becoming.

Gratefully,

Janis and Dolly - Same birthday - Same emphasis on Purpose!

I was pleased to discover this morning that Janis Joplin and Dolly Parton, icons of American music, each expressed strong thoughts on living a life of purpose.

"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got."
- Janis Joplin, born January 19, 1943

"Find out who you are and do it on purpose."
- Dolly Parton, born January 19, 1946

Happy birthday, ladies, and thanks for your music and for your words on purpose.

SHIFT!?! - Here's Your Magic Wand. What Big Shift Would You Make In Your Life?

I hear a lot of talk about various shifts in the world today:

• More eco-consciousness
• More right-brain influence in business
• A shift to the Divine Feminine
• More spirituality
• More emphasis on living to purpose
• Greater sense of one world-ness

Okay, that's all good, in my estimation, and I'm grateful for any positive change.

We know that any real change in the outer world starts with our inner world. (I think we all know that, right?)

Ghandi said, and many of us quote him, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

So what big change do YOU want to make? What big shift would you make in your life?

Let's just pretend for a moment there are no limitations. No limits imposed by others and (shudder) no limits imposed by ourselves. (We all do get that all limitations are self-limitations, right?)

So I'll ask again, with a magic wand firmly in hand, "What big shift would you make in your life?"

And to play fair, here's one at the top of my list:

I want to be more bold in helping others live the extraordinary lives I know they are capable of.

So how about you?

What's your big shift?