8 Signs You've Found Your Life's Work

A great article by Amber Ray, published in Fast Company on October 16, 2012 

Wondering if the job you have now is "the one"--or just another stop on the way to something more fulfilling? Check out this list to know whether it's time to settle in or keep moving.

This month marks the nine-month anniversary of the most natural and obvious, most joyful and energizing decision of my life: to fully commit 100% to my life's work.

I've spent every day falling more madly in love with how I live my life and spend my time, the contributions I'm making to society, and the discomfort and growth that I feel each day.

My journey getting here was both arduous and enthralling. It was not at all straightforward. I had numerous experiences that collectively brought me here, teaching me what I'm capable of and showing me what does and does not resonate.

Though I've known for many years that my purpose is to unlock human potential, it took me some time to fully embrace my intuition, to figure out how to actualize this vision, and to build the courage to lean into my fears. (And it's still, and always will be, an ongoing learning process.)

I've made the mistake of plunging headfirst into a business commitment that wasn't fulfilling, spending more time trying to make it work than actually getting stuff done. I've felt red flags early on in a startup but waited nine months to listen to my intution. I've put off my own ideas to help others actualize their visions because it was less scary. Though I would relive my mistakes all over again in a second (and I believe making more mistakes helps you grow and gain confidence), I'd love to save you some time and energy along your journey.

Inspired by an article by MeiMei Fox about finding "the one" in love, and based on my own experiences and conversations with friends who are in love with how they work, live, and play, here are 8 signs you've found your life's work:

1. It doesn't feel like work.Your life's work is not a "job"--it's a way of living. Your work enables you to create the lifestyle you want for yourself and your lifestyle includes your work. You frequently stop and think to yourself, "Wait, am I seriously working right now?" You can hardly distinguish between work, play, and life--as they are all intertwined. In everything you do, you are constantly pursuing your vision of optimal living.

2. You are aligned with your core values. Your life's work is an extension of your beliefs and worldview. You live in integrity because what you do is in accordance with who you are. This alignment will inspire you to move a small mountain if that's what you have to do to realize your vision. Every day you work to manifest and actualize the world you imagine because by making it so, you'll make the world more alive, beautiful and well.

3. You are willing to suffer.Passion comes from the latin word 'pati,' which means 'to suffer.' Your life's work is less about following a passion and more about your willingness to suffer along the way. The journey will be immensly challenging at times. You'll be exposed to unexpected challenges and setbacks and you may endure hardship, rejection, and sacrifice. These roadblocks will motivate you. In fact, you see the short-term pain and discomfort as tremendous opportunities for learning, growth and depth; they're critical to appreciating the beautiful and joyous moments.

4. You experience frequent flow.You naturally and often fall "in flow," deeply immersed by your work and the present moment. At 1:13 p.m. you realize five hours have gone by since you looked at the clock last. Or, you look up and realize it's 12:21 a.m. and your instinct is to keep creating. Flow isn't something you have to force; it just happens.

5. You make room for living.Your work provides you the ability to live fully and enjoy life. Though you feel captivated and enthralled by your work, you make room for healthy routines like fitness, connection, spontaniety, and play. These activities re-energize and enable you to live a holistically fulfilling life.

6. Commitment is an honor.When you discover your life's work, the question of commitment is easy. There is no hestitation or analyzation as to whether or not the work is right for you. Your heart says yes. Your mind says yes. Your body says yes. Commitment to your work feels like breahting. You cannot imagine spending your time dedicated to any other purpose.

7. The people who matter notice."You look vibrant!" and "I've never seen you so healthy and happy!" and "This is without question what you're meant to be doing!" are among the comments you may hear from the people closest to you when you're on the right path. It's important to note that these people who care for you deeply may also be the first to question and worry in the early stages. But, once you are thriving, they'll notice and lovingly support your efforts.

8. You fall asleep exhausted, fulfilled, and ready for tomorrow.You go to sleep each night grateful for the day. You know you're on the right path, you gave the day your all, and you can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow. This is your life and you cannot imagine living it any other way.

Amber Rae is Founder & CEO of The Bold Academy, a life accelerator designed to help you lead the life you were meant to lead. Applications for Bold Academy San Francisco are now open. For more on Amber, check out her blog or follow her on Twitter.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3002168/8-signs-youve-found-your-lifes-work?

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Branding Talk Isn’t Helping Your Company. Here’s What Should Replace It

Written by Brian Miller, published at www.fastcodesign.com on June 18th, 2012

BRANDING IS A ONCE USEFUL CONCEPT THAT’S NOW IRRELEVANT, ARGUES BRIAN MILLAR. SO TRY THIS: TRY TO STOP TALKING ABOUT YOUR BRAND FOR A MONTH.

Brands: the last flat earth theory
Last week, WPP brought out its league table of the world’s most valuable brands. It values Apple at $183 billion and McDonald’s at $95 billion. Meanwhile, over at Omnicom’s Interbrand, they reckon that the Apple badge is worth a mere $33 billion, whereas McDonald’s is worth $35 billion. So who’s right? Neither of them. I don’t think that you can value brands, because they’re just a convenient fiction. Once they were a useful way of looking at the world. Now that such a massive industry has developed around them, they’re actually distorting the way companies do business. Is it time to stop talking about brands and branding altogether? I think we should all have a try.

“Essentially all models are wrong,” said George Pelham-Box, one of the most influential statisticians of the 20th century, “but some of them are useful.” Let’s remember that branding is only a model of the way that consumers think about products and services, so by definition, it’s wrong. But that doesn’t mean it’s not useful--so long as we don’t get carried away by imagining it’s the truth.

Was the Think Different campaign really a branding coup? Or just the outcome of deeper changes?

Think of maps: A simple map pretends that the Earth is flat, and that’s fine for getting you across town. But if you try to navigate a plane across the Atlantic on that principle, you’re going to get a big surprise when you come in to land. (That’s why the route your long-haul flight takes looks like a curve on the seatback map.) All these “brand valuation” metrics are doing something similar: treating a flat earth theory as if it’s the truth. And they’re landing in the wrong place.

I used to work with Orange Telecom, a late-starter in the cellular market that became one of the biggest consumer brands in Europe. Hans Snook, its eccentric founder, would happily talk all day in his office about science fiction, colonic irrigation, or feng shui. Only one topic was taboo: the Orange brand. Brands were, he maintained, a by-product of having great products and communicating them well to people. Power stations that generate a lot of electricity probably have a lot of steam coming out of the chimneys. That doesn’t mean to say that the engineers stand around working out how to make more steam.

In his recent book, (excerpted recently on Co.Design), my old colleague Ken Segall describes Apple’s “Think Different” advertising campaign. But ask yourself: When was the last time Apple did a pure brand ad? Fifteen years ago? Apple went from a challenger to a leader when it stopped focusing on its brand and made its products the heroes of its communications. (“I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” were product ads. Trolls who beg to differ, please scroll down. I will be with you shortly.)

If you promise something clearly, deliver on that promise, and repeat the process, you build strong emotional links to your company with certain consumers. But that’s where the value resides: in my head and your head, and your mother’s head. And the stuff inside my head is my property.

If brands exist at all, they exist in the minds of consumers. I can switch my brand of search engine at a moment’s notice. Bank accounts and makes of automobile are a bit more hassle to discard, but I can still change my mind about them. But that’s not how brand valuation models see them. They act as if our thoughts are a company’s property, like a factory, or a warehouse full of boxes. The brand model, once a wrong but useful way of looking at the world, has become the product. A by Interbrand and JP Morgan concluded that brands account for about a third of the average public company’s valuation.

After so many years focusing on pure branding, Coca-Cola has embraced design thinking. Guess what? The brand is improving

Some smart people have begun a backlash against companies that seem to exist to build brands as an end in itself. Management guru Gary Hamel has repeatedly criticized Coca-Cola, accusing it of concentrating on shoring up the Coke brand at the expense of exploring new markets and keeping up with changing consumer tastes. As a result, Coke had to play expensive catch-up games as its market was squeezed by bottled water, new-age herbal drinks, smoothies, energy drinks, and iced tea. But when you’re Coca-Cola, and you’re told that your most valuable property is your brand, then you’re going to concentrate enormous energy into building it--even if that means that you ignore what customers actually want to drink.

In his excellent Obliquity, John Kay explains how the richest people are not those who set out to make money first and foremost, the most profitable companies don’t think too hard about their profits, and great discoveries are often made by people who are looking for something else altogether. Many of the world’s most valuable brands are created by people who don’t ever talk about branding.

So I’d like to propose an exercise where your company bans the word “brand” and the idea of brand building from your meetings for a month. Who knows what you might achieve in that time instead. You might even start to build a great brand.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670044/branding-talk-isnt-helping-your-company-heres-what-should-replace-it?partner=homepage_newsletter

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