Fear

Pick Yourself (Seth Godin Live)

Garth Beyer
w/ Seth Godin

Give Yourself Authority

It’s been over a month and a half since I attended Seth Godin’s Pick Yourself event in Tribeca (NY). There’s a specific reason I waited so long to reflect on the event. I wanted to prove a point, not just about Seth Godin, but what any business must produce, whether in product or experience.

Simply put, it must be astonishingly remarkable, something so memorable it is still thought of and excites a person’s senses a month, five months or a year after the product is purchased or the service is used. Essentially, that is what Seth Godin’s Pick Yourself event manifested, so it is with easy honor that I will hit some points from it again along with my own curves and twists of ideas.

I had no inclination to write this so soon. I decided to after I created a new motto the other day, tweeted it and it got retweeted by a few people. It was just another tweet, another 140 characters that my mind spit out and that I needed to share.

My motto: Give yourself authority.

It was only after I expressed the motto on twitter that I was tapped by the memory of Seth Godin’s Pick Yourself event, which it’s theme was to not wait for someone to pick you, not wait for an authority to notice you, to get lucky; but to pick yourself, solve the problems yourself, find the opportunity yourself, to lead yourself and quite plainly, as my motto states, give yourself authority.

72 Steps To Starbucks Coffee

While in New York City every 72 steps, either if I turned left or right, I would be facing a Starbucks. In Manhattan alone, there are approximately 300 Starbucks stores. That means that out of all the registered Coffee Shops in New York, Starbucks consists of about 60% of them. In a city dominated by the outlier of the Coffee Industry, how can any other coffee shops even make it?

That’s a simple answer that you can come up with. The better question is how Starbucks was able to take a symbol from Moby Dick, use it as it’s logo, and create a brand – an understanding of when you see the symbol, you are going to smell the richest Coffee in town and get free Wi-Fi along with the absolute best customer service.

It’s A Revolution

The dictionary says that a revolution is a single turn of event. Our revolution, the one we don’t quite understand, the one we thought could be easily understood, the one that is making us question nearly everything, is not a single turn of event, it’s a million turns. This revolution is something that is a collective change in one sense, but deep down to it, it’s about the turn each one of us makes, a turn that may be different than the person next to us. While putting it in the most simple form, the revolution is about giving yourself authority, ridding yourself of the chains of tradition and following your passion to create art. Yet, to do each of these things is not something that we can do collectively, being collective is what got us in this grave. No. This must be done individually; each person must make the choice, must give themselves authority and use it. In its entirety, this revolution will turn Perfect into impossible

Instead Of Giving It Our All

Seth gave a long description about the industrial age and this new age of connection. The one take I want to share with you from the event is this.

“So one quick example, just to show you how deeply ingrained this is. If you don’t mind, raise your right hand just as high as you can. Okay, now raise it just a little higher.”

Instead of giving it our all the first time, we give enough and then a bit more when told to. Some people raised their hands 20% higher, others 5% higher when told to raise it a bit higher. In a room of about 200 people there was about 4,000% of potential not being used until told to. The way I see it, even if you gave 100% and raised your hand as high as possible the first time, you would still find a way to raise it higher.

I No Longer Market To You

I had no clue what real type of marketing I was doing on my website until I heard Seth Godin say this, “Because marketing has shifted from me marketing at you, to you marketing to each other.” So, when creating a product, running a business or writing a blog, you can provide all the strong content you would like, but unless you know what you want to do with your audience, your tribe, unless you know how to give them strategies to market to each other and other people that will join your tribe, you have nothing.

Juggling

Seth Godin also inspired me to write this post: The Juggler’s Perfection. On the note of Juggling, of doing what you love, of taking that risk…

“Is it worth getting arrested for?” – Seth Godin

Bluffs, Excuses and The Promise

You think you have a hundred reasons not do something, not to take  leap, not to go out on your own or start your business or take a risk to achieve what you really want. Actually, you probably only have 15 to 20 excuses, or rather, they are bluffs. When you sit down, write the list of the 15 to 20 bluffs, and work through it, you will find that either you don’t have anything holding you back, or you just need to work out a way to get around one or two excuses (a lot easier than working around 20). What it comes down to, what it really comes down to is that you want a promise it will work. You want the paper to say, after you have crossed all your bluffs out, that it will work indefinitely.

There will never be a promise that it’s going to work. Once you realize that, you realize there’s no point in making a list, not because there’s no point in achieving your goal anymore, but because you realize that you are going to have to take a risk and that there isn’t a promise, you will say “something is better than nothing” and get on with it, ship the product or start the business. As humans, if we are not promised lobster (perfection), we would rather have crawfish (anything) than nothing at all. Once you realize there is no promise of perfection, no lobster, it makes doing the thing you made a list of bluffs for, all the more easy. You may even find that you like crawfish more than lobster.

A couple of sayings to use/share

Money is a weight you can run much faster without

You will be wrong a lot, but you will be right a lot too

All you need to care about is being human

The Two Achievements I Made After The Event

Seth made a simple, yet such an extremely interesting point about entrepreneurship and freelance. A freelancer gets paid when she ships, delivers the product, finishes. The entrepreneur gets paid while she sleeps. I am happy to say that, while I still do freelance writing, I have crafted a segment of it into a businesses in which I have hired two employees already! I now sleep easier (because I know I’m getting paid for it) and I have more time to do $100 an hour work that makes a much larger impact on the world – which leads me to…

The second achievement is nearly ready to be shipped. My 30,000 word manifest on what school is for: a view from an 18-year-old graduate who received his associates degree and plans to go back for a master’s degree. Not for the diploma, but for the information and experience being within the system will produce, in order to write a 90,000 word sequel upon graduation. The eBook, Start Schooling Dreams will be released at the beginning of August, 2012, completely free. More background information to come soon.

 

Stay Positive & Take The Authority, Make A Badge Even

Garth E. Beyer

Think On These Things

Garth Beyer

Don’t you hate when questions are answered with questions? They are often confusing and even more aggravating unless it’s Krishnamurti asking the questions.

This was my second time picking up “Think On These Things” and reading it all the way through. I mentioned that I read it all the way through because it’s actually a hard book to read start to finish because you are constantly asked to do exactly what the title says, to think on the things that are talked about. I’m not sure about you, but thinking can get exhausting especially when what you are thinking about is breaking boundaries, challenges status-quo and punching tradition in the face.

The reason I tried reading it a second time is because the last time I read it, I was 16 years old and I wanted to see if 1. It is really worth reading a book twice and 2. If I had a different outlook on the philosophies that Krishnamurti spoke about 3.5 years later.

Before I write a short book regurgitation, let me riff on reading books over again. This isn’t my first time trying it, and I’m going to give it one more shot with another book that I am going to read again soon. During New Years I was reading dozens of posts about the best books to read and the fact that this year is supposed to be about reading the best books over again and applying the lessons to your life.

What I have come to learn is the little things which you would catch in reading a book over again, are rain dropped throughout a similar book by a different author. The books are similar, so these small repetitive lessons are also similar. You have already taken the most important pieces of the first book; there is no point in reading it again to catch the small points when you can just read another book with new big important pieces and the same small points.

The thing about the many books based on the same subject or field of interest is that they are all plagiarized. The author read nearly a hundred books on the subject, used the small points from them and created the larger, new, more important ones and the next author did the same. Because this is the way books are written, it seems ill-fitting to reread a book over again.

Book Regurgitation

“To find out what you love to do demands a great deal of intelligence; because, if you are afraid of not being able to earn a livelihood, or of not fitting into this rotten society, then you will never find out”

The real reason I picked Think On These Things up to read it again was because I wanted to revisit his concepts of the function of education which is the title of the first chapter. Throughout the entire book the way education is taught is challenged and ideas are given to improve it. Being straightforward, everything that is mentioned in the book is supposed to also be mentioned in school, to be thought on, to be philosophized on – something that will also appear in my first 30,000 word eBook that will be released at the beginning of August.

Freedom is the next subject that is focused on as most people are not free; they are dead or near death. “We all want to be famous people – and the moment we want to be something, we are no longer free.” (pg 10) At the same time of freedom, intelligence is thought on. Intelligence is to find out, but to find out is not to make a conclusion. Once a conclusion is made, the mind is bordered and dies much quicker. See, the whole concept of freedom is to free the mind, not in the sense of it being empty but in the sense of it being aware with love and experience.

Love is mentioned very few times throughout the book because love is simple.

“Have you noticed how few of us have deep feeling about anything? Do you ever rebel against your teachers, against your parents, not just because you don’t like something, but because you have a deep, ardent feeling that you don’t want to do certain things? If you feel deeply and ardently about something, you will find that this very feeling in a curious way brings a new order into your life” (pg 61)

Another quick note to make about the book is that aside from the opening of each chapter, the chapter is comprised of answers to questions. One particular question is “However much I may want to be an engineer, if my father is against it and won’t help me, how can I study engineering?”

Krishnamurti’s answer, “If you persist in wanting to be an engineer even though your father turns you out of the house, do you mean to say that you won’t find ways and means to study engineering? You will beg, go to friends. Sir, life is very strange. The moment you are very clear about what you want to do, things happen. Life comes to your aid – a friend, a relation, a teacher, a grandmother, somebody helps you… But you see, we don’t want to invite life, we want to play a safe game; and those who play a safe game die very safely is that not so?” (pg 126)

Other great questions which are issued and responded to:

To revolt, to learn, to love – are these three separate processes, or are they simultaneous?

How can we be free of dependence as long as we are living in society?

What is self-knowledge, and how can we get it?

Why do we want to be famous?

I am full of hate. Will you please teach me how to love?

What is happiness in life?

Why do we find pleasure in our games and not in our studies?

Why do we hate the poor?

Why do we like to be lazy?

How is one to become intelligent?

Why do birds fly away when I come near?

As always, I have to give the one chapter to read to see if you are interested in getting the book. “The energy to life” is the fourth to last chapter in the book and basically answers how to be full of energy all of the time rather than lethargic and lazy each day. All in all, was it worth the read a second time? No. Was it worth a read the first time? Yes.

Free Library

Krishnamurti is the far right one, had to be different and put the pages facing out

Since I moved to Madison, I have noticed something peculiar popping up as I ride my bike on the bike paths. Bird houses. Not just your typical bird house, but a huge bird house, with an actual door instead of a hole. Above the door the words “Little Free Library” are written. Inside this giant bird house are random books that people have put inside. I think it is an absolutely brilliant idea and as you can see, I have deposited my Krishnamurti book in one. At first I was worried that there are only bad, terrible books being tossed into the free library because people don’t want to hold on to them. Then I realized the books inside are probably the best books anyone can read because they are so valuable that people have to share them, have to let someone else experience them and have to feel that inspiring power of knowing that you contributed to someone’s experience in reading a fresh, positive, great book. To the person who will pick this book out, enjoy. To the readers who will check this  book out at a public library or view the recommended chapter at a book store, enjoy.

Stay Positive & You Get The Most Thoughts For Your 4 Bucks With This Book

Garth E. Beyer

Lessons From The Cat In The Box

Garth Beyer

Clover is my cat. Although, I feel it may be more accurate to call her a little kitty despite the fact she is nearly 4 years old and after being with me, has only 3 out of 9 of her lives left. She’s small, cute, has half a tail (rescue kitty), and if you don’t remember, she has a big impact on my writing:( A Writer’s Crashing “Train of Thought” and Why It’s Excellent )

I have a cat story for you.

If your a cat owner, you have put a cat in a box. If you’re not, you now share the same curiosity as those who have as to what will the cat do if put it in a box? Let’s make the box a tall box, and the cat Clover.

Clover got put into a tall box and wouldn’t jump out. Contrary to belief, cats do have fear and it is this fear of the unknown and inability to prepare for the landing that Clover wouldn’t jump out. Cat’s, being very smart, choose not to take the risk. Admiringly, nor do they choose to just stay in the box. They will, just as Clover, put their paws on the rim of the box to try and peer over it to calculate the jump out of the box. It just so happened, as Clover had her paws on the edge, the box began to tip and it is almost as if the box was trying to push her out. Clover chose to try and prepare for the jump, only to find in that preparation that everything fell into place. (Pardon the pun)

See, we can learn many things from life, from each other and even from animals if we only observe.

Lessons Learned:

  • It’s okay to fear, just don’t let it immobilize you.
  • The unknown is not something to jump into, but to fall forward into.
  • If you prepare to try, you gain a forward leaning posture that tips the box, coincidentally pushing you forward.
  • Nothing is impossible, it’s just the angle at which you look at things.
  • Determination is unstoppable.
  • Fear of remaining in the box is worse than the fear of what’s out of it.
  • Freedom of any kind is worth losing 1 of 9 lives for.

Stay Positive & Luck Will Always Be On Your Side, As Long As You Try

Garth E. Beyer

Other posts about preparation (non-cat related): Prep To Destroy, Preparation and Expectation Reversed, Safety First: The Art Of Preparation

The Limiting Step

Garth Beyer

It’s easy to jump one step, sometimes it’s essential. It’s called the Vanishing Step.

It’s not, however, as easy to jump two or possibly three steps. It’s even worse when you jump the vanishing step only to realize the second one you planned to land on isn’t there. It’s a risk. One that you don’t need to take.

That step that isn’t there, that unwelcome surprise, it’s called the Limiting Step. It’s the step that will trip you up no matter how perfectly timed your jump is.The Limiting Step prevents you from getting any higher on the stairway to success.

Unless…

You build the skill-set up that is holding you back. The Limiting Step symbolizes everything you lack that prevents you from reaching the top of the stairs: your goal. Those few books you haven’t touched, those couple of skills you have never sharpened and those few fears you have never faced all make up the Limiting Step.

To eliminate the Limiting Step, you have to ask yourself a few questions:

What is it you know the least about that is necessary for you to reach your goal?

What have you been consistently avoiding?

What is it you fear most?

Well? What is it you need to learn and practice before you make the jump?

 

Stay Positive & You Need More Leg Muscle To Make The Jump, So Work The Lower End (of your skills)

Garth E. Beyer

There Are Too Many Unasked Questions

Garth Beyer

It’s been nearly two months since I added the “Pose A Question” page to my website. Through this trial, I have also altered the name in hopes that it would stand out for viewers to ask a question. Zero questions have been asked. I’m not disappointed, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t disappointing. Disappointing because there are so many questions that need to be asked and are not being voiced. I was thinking about it and of course, when you mull things over for a long enough time, the answers begin to float to the surface.

The reason I was not asked any questions (questions that had absolutely no boundaries) was not that I am not a great source of information, it’s not that I don’t have the credentials, experience or willingness to find the answer because I do. If anyone has even glanced at my website, they know I’m in a full-scale warfare against the world and to find every secret to success possible, no matter the definition of success. It’s clear. I can give you an answer. One that solves a problem, one that get’s you to think, one that opens your mind, one that makes you question further, one that requires you to ponder, one that is funny to read, one that can change your life. Still no questions.

The real reason people have hundreds of questions related to their muse and never ask them is because knowing the answer calls them to take an action. Always questioning what is right, what you should do, what is the best/quickest/easiest path to take to get X is simple, it’s easy, it takes no energy and it produces no results. There is no action in an unanswered question. There is no next step. You can stay on the stone you’re on now for a lifetime and only when you ask and receive an answer is when you need to take the next step.

That step is scary. It’s dead frightening. It’s paralysis. It’s fear keeping you from seeking answers because fear likes to play a safe game and doing nothing is safe and as a result, you die very safely. See, fear of action is the dullest of fear. It is what a person who has never had a real experience feels. What happens then when you do ask a question and get an answer. You will have to conquer your fear of rejection, fear of success, fear of failure, fear of risks, and fear of life. If you do not wish to live a safe, dull, banal, mortal, boring life, then you need to ask questions. Questions you don’t want to know the answer to.

Trust me, you have a lot more to worry about once you get over your fear of knowing the answer. But hey, we will get there. I’m here for you for your first question, second question or 1,000th question, I’m here.

 

Stay Positive & Will You Take That Step?

Garth E. Beyer

A Conviction For Freedom

Garth Beyer

Forbidden love hovers over the City,
a pink cloud of cherry-kissed sunshine
warming faces who dare glance up
setting themselves free of doom, gloom
dictated lives
lived in dismal corners.

 The speaker of this poem clearly understands that dictated lives carried out in fear make people live in a very dark place, a place absent of happiness, love, sunshine and positivity.

I believe freedom is essential to our lives, it may even be the key to happiness, and is surely the shortcut to success for any individual willing to take the risk for freedom.  But what is freedom? Freedom is the ability to give your love to anything. The ability to see shapes in the clouds and notice the underside of leaves in the wind. The realization of your chance to not be anyone else but yourself. Freedom is the act of becoming more of your self. It is a flexible mind and a heart that never sleeps. Although, to our own demise, there are three things in life holding us back from entering a state of freedom: Traditions, fear, and love. All play large roles holding us back  in our individual paths to sovereignty.

Traditions: They dictate the majority of young people and encompass completely the lives of the elderly. Such as the live to work ethic, ones father worked to live, so he expects that to be passed down his generation. Families seem to force their children into taking their traditions and their lives instead of creating their own path. The other form of the live to work ethic is when ones parents force the life you should live based off the lessons they have learned. In reality, this action is only 5% beneficial because it is vital to take knowledge from those who have more experience but not when it revokes ones ability to choose. The third type of tradition that plays a harsh role in the containment of freedom is religious traditions. They create strict guidelines for the supposedly “proper way of living” which, ironically, are also passed down from parents. It seems that every form of so-called “togetherness” has been in place to force upon traditions that are destroying art, soul, peace and happiness.

Fear: We grow up fearing things, resenting them, avoiding opportunities, avoiding people, and social events. We lose sight of life and at times missing out on it completely. Although it is a long thought on subject, fear often shuts the brain down, turns your shoulder to the best in life and makes you forget why your heart is beating. Everything in life that you do, think, and say, can be narrowed down to either love or fear. Of course, you know which is more common – nearly everything you do is derived from fear. Think about it the next time you do anything in the middle of the day. Ask yourself why you are doing it and continue asking why until you either end up saying that you love it or that you fear something else. After doing this, you will then have a new goal and challenge in life – more love, less fear.

Love: There is a lack of love in everything we do and to who we hold dear. It’s clear by now that it is love that will give you freedom and with freedom, you will be brought happiness through every experience and interaction in life. However, it takes a special minded person to find love in their job and even a more special minded person to find a job they love. Unless you can overcome tradition and fear, you will never find your passion or your freedom. The other form of love that is lacking is the love we have for one another. For example, I was in Barnes & Noble one evening during the winter season. While searching for a book, I heard a mother tell a child to wear his jacket as they were about to leave. The young boy, probably the age of 5 or 6, said he did not want to wear it. “Put your jacket on!” the mother had screamed at him. After further yelling, she forced it on him. There are two options of love and care she could have taken rather than expressing all the negative emotion and resentment towards her son. First, she could have helped the kid into his jacket or could have told him to wear it just until they got to the car. She could have given him options to choose from and build his decision-making skills. The other option was to let a kid be a kid; young and free-spirited. If he doesn’t want to wear it then let him experience the cold. Once he is cold enough he will try to put it on and he will be successful. Of course, this way you will laugh at him because it is inside out and then help him. Isn’t that a greater experience then to just yell at him and chastise him for not doing it right? Pity. The world is deprived of unconditional love, in family, in work and in our selves.

Releasing oneself from tradition, letting go of fear, and creating a flow of unconditional love is the set course for true freedom, and takes us one step closer to world happiness.

 

Stay Positive & Ah Kuta Matata

Garth E. Beyer

To read the full poem of “Breaking Tradition”, click here

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Tribes: We Need YOU to Lead Us

Garth Beyer

Tribes, by Seth Godin. Bestselling author of Purple Cow and The Dip.

Here are some short snippets of his book that I wanted to share. Enjoy.

1. “We’re embracing a factory instead of a tribe. The irony is that all of this fear used to be useful. Fear of change is built into most organisms, because change is the first sign of risk. Fear of change in a huge factory is appropriate when efficiency is the order of the day. Today, though, the fear that used to protect us at work is now our enemy; it’s now the thing standing in the way.”

– Even knowing this, I still have fear throughout my work day. I fear bumping into other employees in an awkward moment, I fear discussing the idea of receiving a raise, I fear being turned down and frowned upon when I ask for more duties since I am getting my one task done too quickly. We are nothing without fear, but only if we use the fear. Imagining what you would do if you did not fear the result is the best first step. The next step is breaking it down so you do not overwhelm yourself. You are in control, find a way to use your fear. And let’s face it head on; you may lose out, you may get pushed back, you may get fired, but there will ALWAYS be another spot to be filled! Always. And the next spot you fill, might just be the perfect one. Remember, challenging fears involves other people, and other people have fears too. Persistence and Patience.

2. “‘How was your day?’ is a question that matters a lot more than it seems. It turns out that the people who like their jobs the most are also the ones who are doing the best work, making the greatest impact, and changing the most. Changing the way they see the world, sure, but also changing the world. By challenging the status quo, a cadre of heretics is discovering that one person, just one, can make a huge difference”

– This is why I want to open a College of Passions. (Will be explained in a later blog post)

3. “‘Good Enough’ stopped being good enough a long time ago. So why not be great?”

4. Life’s too short to fight the forces of change. Life’s too short to hate what you do all day. Life’s way too short to make mediocre stuff. And almost everything that’s standard is now viewed as mediocre.”

5. “What people are afraid of isn’t failure. It’s blame. Criticism. We choose not to be remarkable because we’re worried about criticism. We hesitate to create innovative movies, launch new human resource initiatives, design a menu that makes dinners take notice, or give an audacious sermon because we’re worried, deep down, that someone will hate it and call us on it”.

– I only have one thing I want to say; Just because you think no one else is acting does not mean you shouldn’t. The absolute best way to become a leader is to be the first to TRY SOMETHING. Because when it’s a success, you begin leading. You bring out the best in others and this is something our globe needs. People to toss away their fear and start acting on their ideas and passions. Be the ignition!

6. “A fundamentalist is a person who considers whether a fact is acceptable to his religion before he explores it. As opposed to a curious person who explores first then considers whether or not he wants to accept the ramifications. A curious person embraces the tension between his religion and something new, wrestles with it and through it, then decides whether to embrace the new idea or reject it. Curious is the key word. It has nothing to do with income, nothing to do with education, and certainly nothing to do with organized religion. It has to do with a desire to understand, a desire to try, a desire to push whatever envelope is interesting. Leaders are curious because they can’t wait to find out what the group is going to do next. The changes in the tribe are what are interesting, and curiosity drives them.”

– “If you don’t try, you fail.” is part of the tattoo I have on my back.. And it stands true for every “curious” person in the world. Can you recall a time that you tried something because you didn’t want to be the only one not trying it? (I don’t recommend falling your friends if they jump off a cliff) But, now all you need to do is take that same emotion and change the scenario where no one has tried it. Be the first, and be the best.

7. “Faith is critical to all innovation. Without faith, it’s suicidal to be a leader, to act like a heretic. Religion, on the other hand, represents a strict set of rules that our fellow humans have overlaid on top of our faith. Religion supports the status quo and encourages us to fit in, not to stand out.”

– What a new look at faith. LOVE it.

8. “A couple walks by, obviously on their way to bed, having pushed the idea of vacation a little too hard. The woman looks over to me , in a harsh whisper a little quieter than a yell, says to her friend, ‘Isn’t that sad? that guy comes here on vacation and he’s stuck checking his e-mail. He can’t even enjoy his two weeks off.’ I think the real question–the one they probably wouldn’t want to answer–was, ‘Isn’t it sad that we have a job where we spend two weeks avoiding the stuff we have to do fifty weeks a year?”

– What a remarkable view of the event. Overall, wonderful book. It is not something I would push to the top of your reading priorities, but it’s definitely near the top. I got my notes here so I will be sharing this book now with someone else. Exciting. Hope you enjoyed what I posted and check the book out. I’m always here to talk about it if you want.

Stay Positive and Embrace Fear

Garth E. Beyer