Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice. -- Wayne Dyer

This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.

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Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us. -- John N. Mitchell

I recently attended a broadcasting conference where all the national players were invited, except one, who happened to be not only the number one in the market, but also the only business entity run by a non national mother company.

I thought that was odd.

After all the slapping on our own shoulder speeches were finished and the floor was opened to questions, one person did ask why that player wasn't there.

And the answer from one of the market players was going on about what had happened in the past and how that had brought about the current situation and how it was all about reciprocity.

So what he said basically came down to: you didn't invite me, so I'm not gonna invite you.

I admit I was troubled by that.

I also admit I have been reading Seth Godin's book "Linchpin" and that that might be one of the reasons why I was troubled.

In his book, Seth defines art as “the intentional act of using your humanity to create a change in another person” (p. 99) and acknowledges that when we give to others, the law of reciprocity kicks in and they will feel indebted to return our favor.

But he goes on to say that when we give to others and don't expect anything in return, that attitude of unconditional generosity changes us. It creates abundance in our lives and in the lives of those we connect with at work and in our communities.

The ideal situation of course, is that a returned favor is about equivalent to the favor you performed. This is indirect reciprocity because there is time and a lack of obligation between the favors.

Most people define reciprocity like this: “I did this for you, now I expect you to do this for me” or the other way around. It is not put directly in words, but the common understanding is that a favor is to be returned.

Direct reciprocity is more transactional and usually comes with an obligation. You do a favor and then ask the other person to return that favor. Reciprocity becomes conditional. The motivation is clear: you want something from me and you are only willing to do something nice for me if I do you this favor. Which is almost like directly paying for the service, isn't it?

And such a 'payment' transaction is definite and final, it does not create a bond of any sort. It might even create a negative feeling because I will probably not ask you for a favor again since I know it comes with a price tag - which cancels out the 'favor' part.

What Godin advocates is that great generosity with people will be recognized and, when it is needed, reciprocity will be on a voluntary basis and plentiful.

Anything less – favors with an obligation – is part of a disconnected transactional context that is best left to bullies, cartels and gangs - which is precisely why I felt troubled by the speaker's attitude at the conference.

So why is it that we feel obliged to bring flowers and a bottle of wine when we are invited for dinner? Why do we think it strange when people, whom we have invited for dinner don't reciprocate the 'favor'? Was the invitation for dinner not a gift?

I have decided to test run this. I will try to give from now on. Gifts, favors, advice, help etc. Without any expectation in return.

And let's see what abundance that brings me :-)

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Seth Godin on why we should all be artists

Yesterday I went to a speech by author, entrepreneur, agent of change, inventor of words Seth Godin in Antwerp (Belgium).

I have read a few of his books and follow his pondering via his blog and I like his train of thought.

Yesterday he said that there is no scarcity of choice, that we have over-branded ourselves (read my earlier blog post on Choices are luxuries, or are they?).


Today it is much harder to stand out because there are already so many other products/services out there to choose from.

His mantra is: ideas that spread, win. That if you want to be successful, you need not just create a product or service, you need to create a culture, a tribe.

You need to take people some place they want to go. People don't follow boring.

How do I do that, you may ask. It's actually pretty simple. It begins with taking a first small step in that direction: Make a difference by choosing to make a difference.

You are the expert; everyone's an expert, at something.

You have to become a GENIUS.

And that doesn't mean you have to be someone with lots or no hair.














You're a genius when you are solving a problem in a way no one has ever done before.

Find the work that matters, do Great Work.

Because people are interchangeable, we live in a world of overproduction and everyone has a degree. Competence is no longer a scarce commodity.


Seth says 'If you can write it down, I can find it cheaper'.
If your job description overlaps with the possibility to automate your work, you are doomed.

So you need to stand out. You need to be original, better, unwritedownable. You need to be or create a Purple Cow.

At the Ogori Cafe in Japan and every customer gets what the customer before him ordered. Now there's an original concept!

One thing you SHOULD NOT do is bowl. Because at bowling, everyone is more or less good. Don't choose something where the best is perfect, where everyone does or is able to do well. Do not choose an activity where the best possible score is perfect.

Seth is no fan of current education and Sir Ken Robinson joins him in that in saying that Schools kill Creativity. We have learned to be obedient, to follow the rules.

For Seth, obedience belongs in the dog training school.

The HOW you do this is not important. What's important is that you do it. That you SHIP.

You cannot blame the system anymore because in our day and age, you have all the possibilities in your hands. If you have a laptop, you can do it.

What stops us from doing it? What stops us from shipping?

As Seth puts it: "You don’t need to be more creative. All of you are actually too creative. What you need is a quieter lizard brain.”

We have inherited this primal fear from our ancestors. Back when we were animals, we needed to be afraid because it meant survival. Nowadays, the most afraid will be punished the most.

So where do you put the fear?

“The genius part is getting the lizard brain to shut up long enough to overcome the resistance.”

Watch this video on shipping, the lizard brain and the resistance.

Seth ended his speech by giving some interesting advice for parents and the 2 thing they need to teach their children.

1. Teach them to solve interesting problems (he suggested asking them how they would solve the debt crisis of Greece)
2. Teach them to lead.

Soon to be continued with 'How my almost 4 year old son solves the debt of Greece...'

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You can't change the world if no one knows your name

Evangelizing Yourself

View more presentations from Whitney Hess.

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Are you a starter or a finisher?

In 'The Handbook of Academic Writing' by Rowena Murray and Sarah Moore the starting versus finishing paradox is described as follows:

The starting versus finishing paradox exists by virtue of the fact that the skills associated with starting a writing project are qualitatively and radically different from the skills you need to activate in order to progress and to complete it. Starting a writing project is very different from completing and finishing, and this fact is often the cause of writing obstacles as the demands of moving from starting to finishing become difficult to overcome.

Andrew Boyd summarizes the different CEO styles that Randy Komisar talks about in The Monk and the Riddle

• Phase 1 Starters that are all ideas, excitement and enthusiasm - these folks get the thing off the ground. Starters are riskoholics - they love the challenge of impossible odds.
  
  
• Phase 2 Growers that are more organised - they replace the starters, and build the organisation through the first couple of years. They are risk managers rather than balls-to-the-wall risk takers like the Starters.
  
  
• Phase 3 Maintainers that are very good process people - they thin out the early excess weight in the organisation and settle it down into a good value proposition for shareholders. Maintainers are risk-averse and performance means more to them than relationships, steady and guaranteed growth more than a shot at the truly remarkable.

No matter which of the above you are, it is clear that all three are needed for a company, projects or society to work. If we only had starters, all those bright ideas would never grow up to anything successful.

It is different when you work alone, have your own one-man-show, are an artist or blog writer. Here you need to be all three in one.

You need to start a blog or a post, a painting or a project. But you also need to grow the blog if you want it to be read and and become successful. You also need to finish the painting, frame it and get it out into a gallery, if you want to make your art known and sell it.

In that case the three phases often conflict with or contradict each other. If you are a good maintainer, you might shy away from taking the risk of investing in a new website design for example. If you are a starter, you will have all sorts of brilliant ideas on how to make life and the world a better place, but usually get stuck once it comes down to putting it all on paper and selling your idea.

I believe that this is the reason why so many struggle in the beginning and numerous projects die before they get a chance. Sometimes, the solution to this problem can be so easy though: hire someone. It is a scary thought, I admit, and it comes with some risks. So if you are a brilliant maintainer you might never get to this conclusion...

Here are 7 signs it's time to hire someone. Think of it as an investment in you, your business, your art. Even though it will cost money, it will leave you with more time and only the tasks that you're good at and enjoy.

And that is priceless.

“You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be responsible. Give them authority and hold them accountable. Trying to do too much yourself creates a bottleneck.”

-- Donald Rumsfeld (astonishingly enough :-)

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