vision and mission

Climb Your Mountain: How to Develop Your Own Vision and Mission

I’ve been having a lot of meaningful conversations with new members of the Junto. And it seems like a lot of us who ARE mission driven are because at some point in our working career we asked “Is this all there is to life? Working in the same cubical each day? The same factory? Same ol’ town?”

The truth is that it doesn’t have to be this way.

 This post (originally posted on July 20th, 2012) answers this specific question. I felt it needed a good polish!


So guys, I saw this post submitted by svrtngr on reddit

“Long story short, I got a full time job through a temp agency. The contract is for six months with the option to be kept on beyond that. At first I was really happy to have a job, but now I feel weird. Odd.

Is this it? Work full-time in a cubicle for long hours and get home too tired to do anything else for fifty/sixty years until you can “retire”?Because I’m not sure if I can handle it. Where does the fun and excitement come from? What else is there?”

Your Mission is Everything

Originally, this post made me upset. The one thing about reddit is that it’s completely anonymous. The advice that he was getting was generalized stuff we’ve all heard before. “You need to get out more and find out what makes you come alive and do that.”

That’s… helpful. But it’s pretty vague.

I personally thought he needed more help. Specifically he needed to work on finding his vision by working on his clarity.

Your Vision leads to Your Mission

I remember when I was in grad school, I realized that not everyone wants to be on top of the same mountain that I wanted to be on top of. At that same time, I realized that not everyone has the desire to climb their own mountain in the first place.

This realization blew me away.

From early on in life, I always knew that I wanted to do something that made an impact for other people through technology.

I just wasn’t sure how I was going to do that. That’s what I hoping to learn in college.

What I learned there, however, is what I didn’t want to do! I wasn’t going to make it as a typical 9 to 5’er. My internal clock doesn’t work that way and I always found my mind wandering anytime I was in a job.

Likewise, svrtngr needed to start from the beginning too.

His first step should be figuring out what he likes to do and learn about. After which, he can build his life and work around the life he sees for himself.

In short, he needs to assess what his Passions and Purpose are. From there, he can devise a Plan and Process.

Our vision is derived from our passion (interests) and purpose (where we fit in the world). We can determine our vision once we figure these other two things out.

From there, you devise a some early goals and and take dumb action. During this initial action sequence, it’s your job to find out what works and what doesn’t.

After repetitive attempts,  that’s where you can start to systematize and define your process!

Don’t Forget About Generational Patterns and the First Agreement

In previous writings, I wrote about the millennial generation being called the “lost generation”. If you believe in the Strauss-Howe Generational Theory, then you’d believe that this generation is the next Hero Generation.

Here’s a bit of an explanation of this theory:

Kind of a disconnect there between those two names, right? One name sounds pretty passive while the other one is getting to work and does what needs to be done.

The reason that many people become part of this particular lost generation is that they’ve been told what they need to do with their lives from day 1. They have allowed the world to program them. They’ve never programmed themselves.

A good part of one of my all time favorite books, The Four Agreements, talks about being yourself. Actually it says, Be Impeccable With Your Word. Essentially, what it’s saying is we need to learn how to be ourselves.

Any actions we are doing is because of who we are. Not because of what the world programs us to be.

What does this mean in real talk?

It means that if we are constantly playing any sort of victim card – from “Oh, I live in a small town so I can’t do big business” to “I’m a certain color of skin, the world is against me.” then you’re probably right.

With that mentality, David Anderson says while it make us feel good in the moment, it will never allow us to amount to much. This mentality will keep us down as long as we continue to let it to.

So let it out and let it go.


Action Steps

So, guys. In essence, how can you get started on your way of doing what you’re supposed to be doing?

First thing – give yourself permission to be great. Cause if you can’t do that, you won’t be. Next, figure out what you like to do in this world. Figure out how you can use it to add value to others.

Next, plan on how you’re going to do that. For me, I really love pulling people out of the Matrix and helping them become better at helping others. How are you going to help people with your skills and interests? (If you think your skills and interests aren’t monetizable – they are. Remember that some of the biggest YouTubers are video game players!)

And then from there, just fine tune what you offer to what the market wants. Not what you’re about – but if there’s a pain, solve the pain for people if you can.

If you guys need additional help with any of this process, I’m going to be releasing an upcoming resource in the Junto: Finding Your Personal Mission: A Quick Guide to Inner Fulfillment. At least right now that’s the running title. In it, I’ll have 27 questions to help you find your passions, purpose, and a potential process – 9 questions for each.

When it’s done, I’ll have it in there as a resource.

Also, as you might know I’m a John Maxwell fan. He wrote a book called Put Your Dream to the Test: 10 Questions to Help You See It and Seize It. I can’t recommend this book enough. I always suggest this to all my past students and clients struggling with connecting their dreams and businesses.

Anyhow, I hope this helps! You got this guys!

Millennial Leader

The Millennial Leader: How the US Will Prevail Beyond the 2016 Election

Today is Election Day 2016. If you’re yet to vote today, vote your conscience.

“But what if I really vehemently despise one candidate and feel that I have to vote for the other major party to help make sure they don’t get in office?”

Well, that’s totally your decision. If you don’t like either major party’s nomination like I did, then it’s ok to vote 3rd party.

Either way, this is quite possibly the last election that the Boomers are going to have candidates in. And that means that a lot of us non-Boomers are going to have to step it up.

That means Gen X’ers just as much as it means Millennials.

So, for this week’s post, I thought it’d be important to look to the future and discuss how Millennials can set themselves up to be leaders in the years to come.

Who are Millennials, Really?

Over this past weekend, I found myself going to the 40th wedding anniversary of my neighbors from my hometown.

40 years – wow. For any marriage to make it that long anymore seems to be almost unusual.

Which is unfortunate.

Personally, I think it’s awesome that they’ve stuck together. So often, anymore, you hear that when the kids leave, the parents end up going their separate ways because they realize that they’re both different people than who they were when they were married.

Especially if they were married in their 20’s. In today’s world, many people aren’t considered real adults until after the age of 25. (I mean, there’s got to be a reason why the Obama administration decided that it would be ok for kids to be able to use their parents’ insurance until the age of 26, right?)

In this couple’s case, despite the fact that he’s a good 20 years older than her, I think a good reason that they have stuck together is that the husband was about as young as you could be in being part of the Greatest Generation. The generation that grew up during World War 2.

Also, I know that the wife’s parents had stuck it out over the years as well. In fact, they were so close that when one passed away, it wasn’t much longer that the other followed.

I had a great aunt and uncle that were the same way. They passed within a year or two of each other.

It’s hard to tell if that affection has rubbed off on younger generations. But one thing is certain, that generation rarely divorced.

Why?

millennials-dont-like-socialism

While Millennials don’t understand what the word Socialism means, they reject the idea of it.

Well, maybe because they were in tune with themselves enough to know what they were looking for when they picked a spouse. Or maybe they had principles that didn’t allow them to divorce.

Millennials are Actually Pretty Conservative

Whatever the reason is, most members of the Greatest Generation were pretty conservative in their beliefs compared to their kids and their kids’ kids.

Interestingly enough, us Millennials might behave more like the Greatest Generation than many think. They fought socialism in World War 2 and studies are starting to show that while many Millennials don’t really understand what it is, we don’t like the idea of what it really means either.

In fact, we’re trending more conservative than our parents.

I mean, it makes sense. So many of us are embracing simpler lifestyles. Having companies like Apple, Uber, Google, and Tesla around have given us that ability. Can you imagine those companies being run by the government? Ha!

We’re Trained About Participation More than Winning:

When other generations talk about millennials, we’re often referred to those head in the air, good-for-nothings that think they are entitled to things without working for them. They continue to say that we don’t take responsibility for our actions in what we do or do not do.

Many times they’re right.

But here’s the truth – they, our parents and educators, made us this way. They taught us what it meant to be unique and shoot for the stars. That anything was achievable.

But they also rewarded us for putting in very little work. For many of us school was fairly easy – just show up and you’ll get a C. Do the least amount of work you can do and get good at taking tests and you’ll get a higher grade.

For many, sports were even easier. In the past, people got rewarded for winning. We were the first generation where you started hearing about participation trophies. Whether or not you trained hard to actually win or did very little didn’t matter. We got rewarded for just showing up.

Some of Us Learned the Hard Way

College (or the military) was the first real learning curve for many of us. It was the first time that many of us had to learn how to really work hard to move up. But even that has gotten worse as I found out as a graduate instructor (and Maria has found out as a higher ranking soldier).

Whether we were doing something to win it or just to feel good about ourselves, Millennials have learned that participation counts. Limiting our growth potential in the world after graduation has made many buck the system. The difference is how we’ve responded.

Those Millennials that continue to spin their wheels looking for the easy reward are part of the Lost Generation. One book that they might need to read is “Who Moved My Cheese?“.

Those of us who are trying to figure out how to win are part of the next Hero Generation.

The Hero Generation

The Hero Generation is one of four generations that come and go throughout time. The other three being the Artist, Prophet, and Nomad generations. They are responses due to 4 types of events that happen in every cycle called Turnings. I first learned of these turnings when I saw a documentary a year or so ago called Generation Zero, which was released in 2010.

If you want to find out more about the four turnings or their associated archetypes, you can do so in Wikipedia here. If you want to go deeper, the two books that the authors Neil Howe and William Strauss are most well known for are here:

The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy (1997)

Millennials Rising (2000)

If you want a Crib Notes version, here’s a video for that:

Signs of Heroism

Now, if we really are this Hero Generation, would there not be signs that we’re trying to save this world that is falling apart around us?

I think there is. I think it’s this growing boom of creatives that are starting businesses and sustainable social enterprises.

As I said, Millennials don’t know how to wait to be successful. Those who have played the game to win are going to keep winning.

They are replacing the old employee and non-profit mentality. Both of these mentalities were popular but never sustainable. A company could fire an employee at any time. A non-profit could eventually lose their funding.

In fact, I remember a episode of Home Improvement where they made a joke about Tim’s brother who called himself an entrepreneur.

Most small businesses and social enterprises are designed to be self reliant. This means that no one person can control the livelihood of another.

And it’s also what the AoL Podcast is all about. Finding and talking with those individuals who have made the switch to lead their own career and finding out how they made the leap.

One such Millennial that displays our form of Heroism is Dane Maxwell, who my co-host Daniel and I got to interview in session 56.

Leadership is Learnable

Many of those who have taken this leap are considered experts in their field.

Whether it’s deserved or not, experts are looked at as leaders. This makes sense, though, right? Experts can lead others to the answers they’re looking for. So many times we call them thought leaders.

And what really is leadership?

As defined by John Maxwell, leadership is Influence.

Because of this, he has always said that leadership can be taught. So if you find yourself having problems influencing others, then perhaps it’s time to start learning about influence and leadership. John’s work would be a great place to start.

What Type of Leader are You?

Being an expert or Thought Leader, like John, isn’t the only way to lead people. Maybe you’re not interested in becoming the next guru in a particular field of study. There’s still something that you can lead in.

There’s three other types of leaders:

  • Courageous Leaders
  • Inspirational Leaders
  • Servant Leaders

Courageous Leaders

These are people who set an example by pursuing a vision in the face of considerable opposition and risk. Typically, they’re known to have strong convictions about their mission (purpose), vision (long-term goals), and values (right and wrong). They usually set the example by speaking up for their core beliefs and fight for their values, even when their stand is unpopular.

Some popular examples of this type of leader might be Rosa Parks and Abraham Lincoln were definitely example of this. Yet, some would even say that Edward Snowden is an example.

Inspirational Leaders

Many people compare Donald Trump to an anti-Ronald Reagan. While Reagan’s actions usually brought people together towards a common goal, many folks believe that during his campaign, Donald did the exact opposite.

Ronald was an example of an inspirational leader. He promoted change by being able to look forward to the future and help others commit to ideas and ideals.

Yet another example is MLK, Jr.. Like Reagan, he was able to envision a future and unify others behind him for that future.

Servant Leaders

This is the example of leadership that so many of us know and hear about. Usually these are the types of individuals who are discussed on the evening news for going out of their way to do something.

Typically, these folks become leaders by asking “How can I help?” and then following through.

There here have been some really big names over the years that might give you a visual.

Mother Teresa, Oprah with Harpo Inc., and Eleanor Roosevelt’s work in human rights.

Generally these people ask for very little if nothing in return – but, as you can tell, get plenty of publicity.

Who Are You Going to Lead?

Now with all of these examples of leaders, you might be wondering how you can set forth on your own journey of becoming a leader.

It’s actually fairly simple. Ask yourself which of those 4 types truly fit you the most.

For me, as an example, I’ve always seen myself as a teacher. So I’m a natural fit for being a thought leader.

But at the same time, I’ve always thought that I might get into politics somehow, and now that I’m 35 – I feel that I might just have enough experience to start looking at that a bit more seriously.

It’s ok to be more than one of these 4 types – in fact, most leaders are. But you can always tell if someone is better at one than the next.

Action Steps:

Now that we’ve looked at why Millennials are perfect to be leaders, you might be wondering how exactly you’re supposed to figure out what type of leadership role you want to be a part of.

If you have no idea, just go be around extracurricular groups of people that discuss things you have some sort of interest in.

Maybe you’re in a good sized town. If that’s the case, there should be some meetup groups near you that you can attend. If you’re in a small town, then perhaps you can join the local Rotary Club or perhaps get involved with the Masonic Lodge. Many leaders have been involved with both of these during our country’s history.

Once you find something that you think you enjoy being a part of, start applying for leadership roles within that organization. Start low and work your way up – unless you think you’re qualified to start at a higher level.

Other than that, all I have to say is get out there and meet people. If you think you might want to run for political office one day, start small and work your way up there too.

Here’s a neat little wiki that can get you started on a plan.

moral constitution

AoL 015: The Legal Basis for a Moral Constitution with Jenna Ellis

Today’s guest, Jenna Ellis. A new author who got her first book, The Legal Basis for A Moral Constitution (Amazon), into Barnes and Noble.

Have you ever been so passionate about something that it compelled you take action in a way that you’ve never done before? Perhaps it was something that you thought was unfair. Or perhaps you had a sudden interest in a particular subject and you just thought it was time to take that certain action.

That describes the reason started writing her book.

You might remember back in June of 2015 that gay couples were given the ability to legally marry. At face value, that might not seem like a bad thing. But the way that it was legalized, many, including Jenna (who’s a constitutional lawyer), believe was very questionable.

Furthermore, in recent years, we’ve seen an uptick in judgements that many would deem morally questionable.

Jenna’s book “offers insight into the legal reasons our nation must be compelled to return to universally objective moral judgments from a higher source than the collective government. Morality is not the subjective, changing whim of the majority, or more specifically, the majority of nine Supreme Court Justices.”

In other words, she explores our Founding Documents and their true initial intent and discusses why we can’t rely on simple interpretation of those laws.

As creators, this is important information to know. We need to know what the real law is and if our backs are being covered by those who are in power. Because, as it currently stands, we could find ourselves, one day, in a situation where discussing a certain topic or doing a certain act might be more than just taboo – it might be labeled illegal simply based on 5 Justice’s interpretation of a law. 

So, if you’re curious as to what got Jenna started on her path of creativity and how you might be able to get a publisher to get your first book to the masses, then this is a great discussion. While we don’t spend much time talking about the book itself, I think you’ll be able to see just how passionate she is about her work. In this regard, I believe that we all can learn something from her.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

  • How Jenna knew she was always going to be a lawyer.
  • What she got out of her years in journalism school that helped her write her book.
  • When she knew it was time to write a book.
  • How she made her book accessible to people who don’t speak or read legalese.
  • What she believes is the future of Conservatism and the use of Natural Law.
  • How she was able to get her first book into Barnes and Noble.
  • Why she’s not afraid of traditional public speaking.
  • Why she believes it’s important to teach Millennials and future generations what really matters in life and why it’s important to care.
  • …and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

In this episode’s show note extras, I thought I’d add some items that I’ve found useful when it comes to some of the topics that Jenna and I discussed.

First, we have Mechanic to Millionaire. Dave MacArthur is the founder of this site and community. While he’s a Isagenix distributor, a lot of what he talks about transfers to other businesses quite well. Why? Because they teach about Natural Laws. I was really thrilled to hear his conversation with Solopreneur Hour’s Host, Michael O’Neal.

Next up, we have a video that explains why the American Dream has collapsed. Again, this has nothing directly related with what Jenna talks about in her book. However, I think it’s important to understand why so many of us are feeling a need to be creators at this time in history.

The real political fight isn’t about Democrats vs Republicans. They both work for lobbyists. Big government means big regulation and an unfair playing field for us, the people. If you’re a creator serious about making a difference, you should be interested in those in government who care about us as individuals. Not those who are pandering to the masses and never returning on their promises. Otherwise we can only make a difference that they’ll allow us to make.

I think this video does a great job explaining what has made America great and what Freedom is all about:

Overview of America

If you found that interesting, you might also like this:
Overview of America, Part 2:

And, finally, I ran across this video, not too long ago. I think it puts in perspective how much the price was and can be if we let extremist groups like the Nazis ever get in power again. This is why it’s important to be able to recognize when a person or a group of people is being manipulated to believe a certain way OR when a group of people are being alienated by the rest of society.

The Nazi’s got away with it until finally the rest of the world had enough.

The Fallen of World War II from Neil Halloran on Vimeo.

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

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A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

A Look at Today’s “Lost Generation” – Are We Repeating History?

Last week, I completed the 10 part series of why Millennials should strongly consider being entrepreneurs sometime during their career. I strongly believe those who lead this movement are going to be the leaders of not only their own businesses, but the next generation as a whole.

In part 6 of the series, I touched briefly on how many believe that Millennials are the today’s Lost Generation. However, I didn’t spend much time actually defining what the means.

We’ve seen the problem we have today before. In fact, the last generation which was actually referred to the Lost Generation was the generation that came of age during World War 1. In a story involving Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein, a garage owner referring to a young mechanic called those who had been through the war as une génération perdue – translating as “a lost generation”. Furthermore he added, “That is what you are. That’s what you all are… all of you young people who served in the war. You are a lost generation.”

Looking back we can understand why he might have said this. The events surrounding the war led to young people realizing that life was going to be rough for them. This belief was backed by many promising young lives being lost as casualties in the war itself. So, of course those who survived are going to be potentially depressed and not care as much about their career and place in life. Obviously, there was probably a lot of undiagnosed PTSD going around.

Furthermore, the world that they learned about from their parents didn’t exist anymore. So naturally they questioned the principles of their parents’ generation. Combine this all together and you get a lack of certainty, direction, and purpose. This led many to search for deeper meanings and truths. Finally leading many American artists and writers to Europe as “wanderers of culture”. Hemingway and Stein were a part of this group.

It sounds to me that the phrase “Lost Generation” was more of truthful description back then. While the comment the shop owner said was probably meant to be an insult, it actually had a lot of truthfulness to it.

The Past Can Help Predict the Future:

In Strauss and Howe’s Generational Theory, there is a noticeable cycle of eras spanning roughly 20 years called turnings. These turnings are caused by generational events which define the turning’s mood.

According to many out there (especially this subreddit on reddit.com), there are a lot of similarities of the Millennials to the Lost Generation. We’ve both had a war to fight which wasn’t really ours to fight. (Both, many would say, were started for questionable reasons as well.) We’ve both also had to come to terms with a world we weren’t programmed since birth for. The list goes on. To many out there, it’s not a great time to live in.

Young adults everywhere are questioning the whole “Get good grades, go to college, and get a good job to support a happy family” plan. And it makes perfect sense in why they’re doing that. For one, the jobs aren’t there which you need a degree for. And frankly, the end result didn’t really happen for our parents half the time. So why follow their plan if we see it not working?

So yeah, Millennials could be seen as the New Lost Generation. Sure. There’s definitely a case for that.

However, if you really look at the Generational Theory, you’d see that Strauss and Howe believe that Generation X was the most recent Nomad Generation (which is what the Lost Generation was) – not the Millennials. In that same vein of the thought, the GI Generation (aka the Greatest Generation) were those that came after the Lost Generation and took the world by the horns.  This group is who they compare Millennials to. People remember them. Generally we don’t remember the Lost Generation.

Interesting, huh?

Going from Good to Great

So, the summary is this. We are kind of a mixed generation. There are those of us who are caught up in the “I’m a victim of the times I live in” mentality. Those that are Lost. And then there’s those of us who want to be Great. We realize the world could be better, yes, and we’re driven to make it that way again.

So the question is… which one are you? If you consider yourself part of the Great, what are you going to do to make this world better then how you found it? Below let’s talk about what you’re doing and how you’re paying it forward.