Podcast 385: So Good They Can’t Ignore You with Cal Newport

Cal NewportI recently interviewed Cal Newport a Georgetown University professor of computer science about his new book entitled “So Good They Can’t Ignore You“.   Cal’s book title is taken from advice that comedian Steve Martin once gave to aspiring entertainers and that was to “be so good they can’t ignore you.”.

Cal bunks the advice that we should follow our passion, or do what we love and the money will follow.  He cites that in Steve Jobs’ famed address to the graduating class of Stanford that he advocated to “follow your passion”.  Cal states that the evidence shows that this advice will do your career more harm than good.  Cal reveals that loving what you do is a wise goal, but following your passions isn’t the way to get there.   ” Stop trying to figure out what you are passionate about, instead the secret to building a career you love is to develop rare and valuable skills that you can then leverage to take control of your livelihood. Get good, and the passion will follow.  Not the other way around.

In “So Good They Can’t Ignore You”  Cal presents studies and compelling examples that expose the truth about how people end up loving what they do.  He cites experience, autonomy, competence and relatedness each play a much bigger role in motivation and job satisfaction and his roadmap for getting you there consist of four easy rules: 1) Don’t Follow Your Passion 2) Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You (The Importance of Skill) 3) Turn Down a Promotion (Importance of Control) 4) Think Small, Act Big( The Importance of Mission).

If you take Cal’s advice he states that you will create career capital, and science tells us that the key to loving what you do is to have important traits such as autonomy, competence, creativity and a sense of impact in your working life. These traits are rare and valuable. Basic economics tells us that if you want these traits in your career, you mist build up rare and valuable skills to offer in return. In other words, until you are very good at something, you shouldn’t expect a very good job.

If you are new to the job market or a seasoned veteran the advice that Cal presents in “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” is compelling and sound.  I highly recommend reading Cal’s new book, and applying the principles and advice he has for the reader.   I

f you would like more information about Cal Newport you can visit his blog by clicking here. I hope you enjoy my interview with author Cal Newport about his new book “So Good They Can’t Ignore You.”

Podcast 372: (1) How Many People Does It Take to Make a Difference? with Dan Zadra

 

Dan ZadraI am doing a series of interviews with author Dan Zadra on what I am referring to as his number series books.  In this podcast we are going to be speaking about his book entitled “(1) How Many People Does It Take to Make a Difference?“.

In my humble opinion the best part about Dan’s books are the amazing simplicity, yet positive impact they have on the reader.  Yet again, in his book (1) How Many People Doe It Take to Make a Difference, Dan inspires the reader to believe in themselves and reinforces that we are not here by mistake–we all have a grand purpose in the greater scheme of life.  This statement has such significant importance if you are going to make a difference.  You are not here by mistake and you are here for a reason.  The key is in finding your purpose and living it out.  I know easier said than done, but we all have to start looking for our purpose and be brave enough to live it.

Think about this little statistic that Dan so carefully placed in the book.  Odds of bowling a 300 game 1 in 11,500.  Odds of being hit by lightening 1 in 575,000. Odds of getting a royal flush on your first five cards 1 in 649,740. Odds of becoming the U.S. President 1 in 10,000,000. Odds of winning $340 million jackpot in MegaMillions lottery 1 in 175,000,000.  Odds of being born in this particular time, place and circumstances: about 1 in 400,000,000,000.  Amazing isn’t it.  Best we make something of this wonderful life we are given.

One of the greatest ways of making a difference is to be of service.  Yes, being of service now matter what we do is truly how we make a difference.  In an address in 2007 to the graduating students Bill Gates so eloquently stated ” I hope you will judge yourself not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world’s deepest inequities…on how well you treated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.”  So nicely said–what to make a difference in your own life, then help make a difference in someone else’s.

If you want more information about Dan and his series of books please click here to be directed to the Live-Inspired website or click here to watch a great Youtube video.

 

Podcast 371: (5) Where Will You Be Five Years From Today with Dan Zadra

Dan ZadraHow many of you have ever asked this questions ” Where Will You Be Five Years From Today“?. Great question isn’t it.  Not only is it a great questions to ask yourself, but a wonderful questions to start to go to work on and explore the possibilities.

During my interview with Dan Zadra we discuss the importance of defining your personal values, and how this can be an amazing guide to helping someone ground themselves and get really clear as to what is matters most to them.  I know that years ago I did this exercise, and I was amazed as how much power is in this little exercise.

In the (5) book you are given lots of wonderful quotes, stories and mini-exercises.  The layout  is exceptional, as a matter of fact in all the personal growth and mastery books I have ever read, I have never found any as engaging, thought provoking and as easy to warm up to as the one that Dan created in “Where Will You Be Five Years From Today?”.   The whole series of Dan’s books of which we are  doing podcast for,  all have a similar layout and intuitive design–easy, fun and engaging just the way you want a book to be.

An important aspect of defining where you will be five (5) years from today is you ability to get in touch with you imagination.  Dan and I discuss the importance of imagination and creativity and how to get back in touch with this aspect of ourselves that often gets supplanted the older we grow.  It is so important to tap into our dream gene and take risks again-live, love, laugh and enjoy and dream the possible.

Thinking big seems to fly over the heads of many of us.  I know almost everyone has read the quote ” the greatest danger for most of us is not that are aim is to high and miss, but that it is to low and reach it.”.  This quote says it all, aim high really high–who knows what synchronicity just might occur that will allow you to achieve your goal.

We need to break our routines and do something new for the first time.  All of us get to comfortable and are not willing to break out of the mold.  It is time, we are in the dawning of a new age and abundance in all forms is all around us.  As the Nike ad states “Just Do It“.

I hope you enjoy this interview with an author that not only writes about possibilities, but he lives them.  If you want more information about “Where Will You Be Five Years From Today” you can

 

click here to  be directed to the Five (5) website, or you can join Dan on Facebook by clicking here.

 

Podcast 370: Platform Get Noticed in a Noisy World with Michael Hyatt

Michael HyattIn my recent interview with Michael Hyatt the  CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, and the author of a wonderful new book entitled “Platform-Get Noticed in a Noisy World” we discuss what is required for someone to get noticed in this very noisy and crowded world we live in today.

Michael is one of the top business bloggers and holds the #1 spot as a Leadership blogger. No doubt he is extremely well qualified to speak about getting noticed and building a platform.

He states that “competition has never been greater and people are more distracted than ever.  That being said, never before have there been so many ways you can connect with people if you do it right.  Michael states that there are two critical parts of the success equation: a compelling product (the what) and a significant platform (the who). 1) Create products that people would love to use 2) Create products that solve problems in unexpected ways 3) Create product that exceed your customers’ expectations.

We also speak about what Michael refers to as the WOW Experience, of which he states has some combination of the following ten (10) elements:

Surprise , Anticipation, Resonance, Transcendence, Clarity, Presence, Universality,  Evangelism, Longevity, Privilege.    He says that being successful means becoming the expert in recognizing WOW when it shows up.  More importantly, it means being able to recognize it when it is absent–and insisting that you ask yourself to deliver it.

Michaels’ new book is loaded with tips and ideas to help anyone who is attempting to develop a platform.  What I really enjoy about Platform, Get Noticed in a Noisy World is that the chapters are short 3-4 pages, easy to digest and filled with very useful tips and information that you can put to use immediately.  If you are someone wanting to get noticed in this noisy world, then reading Michael’s new book is a must.

If you would like to download a free chapter and watch an informational video about the book, then click here to learn more.  You can also click here to be directed to the Facebook page.

 

Enjoy this wonderful interview with author Michael Hyatt.

 

Podcast 368: Your Best Just Got Better with Jason Womack

Jason Womack

I learned about author Jason Womack through a connection with author David Allen and an article which appeared in Productivity Magazine.  I read the article about what Jason was doing, and thought he would be an excellent guest for Inside Personal Growth.

In my interview with Jason about his new book entitled ” Your Best Just Got Better” we discuss what is required in our fast paced world what is required to work smarter, think bigger and make more.

Jason and I both attended University of Santa Monica, and an idea that we speak about in our interview is something called the “Ideal Day” that we need to give credit to Ron and Mary Hulnick (our professors) at USM.

I bet this is a foreign concept to most people, just what does an ideal day look like in your life. If you were asked to write it down, could you?  If all you get from reading  “Your Best Just Got Better“, is this concept then it is worth the read.  Really, write down what an ideal day looks like for you and attempt to live it-it is amazing what will change in your life.

Jason speaks about “thinking bigger“. Just what does thinking bigger mean, and why should you practice the art of thinking big.  Jason states ” ask anone who works at the highest levels of professionalism—from business to athletics to government institutions–about the secrets to their success, and they are bound to tak about their mind-set. Mental rehearsal–that is, visualizing something before it actually happens–is a great way to set yourself up for success.  It establishes the foundation for the results to come.  This practice of visualization and thinking bigger is so very important to raising your level of success and reaching for a new goal,  unfortunately this simple practice is not engaged into enough, and it really works—it also produces amazing amounts of energy giving the drive to accomplish the dream.

There are  lots of power packed ideas in “Your Best Just Got Better“, and two of them we speak about in our interview is the IDEA card, and what he refers to a MIT (Most Important Think).  Jason  carries a small note book and he has what he refers to as an IDEA card in the notebook, the acronym stands for Identify, Develop, Experiment and Assess. He recommends spending time everyday writing your ideas down on paper, capture them for they are the gold that will propel you into a new businesses, product development and collaborations with others.

The MIT concept is quite simple–are you focusing on the most important thing.  We all know how our in-boxes get full of stuff, but really how important is it.  Get in the habit of focusing your attention on the most important thing.

I highly recommend ” Your Best Just Got Better” the book is filled with great ideas, stories and practices to stimulate you to shift how you process physical stuff as well as how you deal with shifting your mental perspective about life and living.

If you would like more information please visit Jason”s website by clicking here, or watch one of his YouTube videos by clicking here.

 

Enjoy this wonderful interview and podcast with author Jason Womack.

 

Podcast 366: The Unfoldment with Neil Kramer

Neil KramerIf you are looking for the uncommon and philosophical approach to  life, then Neil Kramer’s  new book entitled ” The Unfoldment-The Organic Path to Clarity, Power and Transformation” is a must read.

I was throughly impressed with Neil’s approach to life, living and finding its true meaning.  As Neil states in the book ” the purer the mind, the deeper the consciousness that passes through it.  The purity of naturally arises from the practice of the unfoldment: the clarity of the inner work, the power of conscious will, the transformation of authentic heart.

Neil says that we need to get our hands dirty, and in so doing we can develop the discernment necessary for true unfoldment. He speak about something called gnosis, which means to have living knowledge that presents itself through direct contact, as opposed to abstract learning from books or computers.  It is closely aligned to discovery.

One thing that “The Unfoldment” stresses is the one universal truth from which all sacred knowledge flows.  Every authentic philosophical, religious, scientific and mystical system is attempting to rediscover the essence of that original emanation.  Such is its brilliance and luminosity–that its reflection can be found in all forms, both physical and non-physical.  The purer the reflection, the closer it feels.  It points the way to growth and integration, and it reassures us in the adventure of separation as we live as human beings.

Truth is a perennial discovery– states Neil, each reflection of truth can be regarded as having three main elements to it: wisdom, part thing, and part observer. The wisdom represents one strand of the original emanation of truth.  It is an encoded route map back to source/the divine, lending insight and discernment to any given subject. The thing is the energy configuration that casts the reflection.  It can be a poem, as piece of wood, a glass of water, or a memory. Anything.  The more authentic and uncorrupted it is–the more organic–the clearer the reflection it will give. The observer is the consciousness of the person.  You. Me. Your mother.

So no matter your beliefs, and you will certainly start to question them while reading “The Unfoldment” and most likely you will disgard most of them along the way.  Neils’ book allows the reader to explore, awaken and unfold by providing though provoking questions and ideas for consideration.  I recommend his book wholeheartedly, it is one of the deeper and more provocative book on personal and spiritual growth.

Enjoy my interview with author Neil Kramer, and for more information you can visit his website by clicking here or click here to be directed to his Facebook page.

Podcast 361: Birth 2012 with Barbara Marx Hubbard

Barbara Marx HubbardI recently had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Barbara Marx Hubbard about her new book entitled ” Birth 2012“.  I have interviewed Barbara before, and it is always an honor to speak with her about her passions.  Her new book “Birth 2012“is truly remarkable and a book that anyone interested in learning more about the dawning of the new era should read and actively  becoming involved in this amazing movement.

Barbara spoke with me in our interview together about how humanity’s evolution has accelerated to a point that the changes have become visible to all, and she has a passion to bring to millions of people a far greater awareness of the potential of our Planetary Birth and our emergence as a universal species.

As she writes in the Letter of Invitation at the beginning of the book–” Our current condition of over-growth in our finite Earth system is simply  not sustainable. We will either evolve toward a more sustainable , compassionate, and creative global system, or we face the real possibility of devolution’s and distraction of our life support system and of much of life on Earth–within our our own or or children’s lifetime.  This dangerous reality is motivating us to enter into what I call the first age of conscious evolution–that is, evolution by choice and not by chance.  It means that we need to be causal in the actions and directions we take in this lifetime. What is being required of us to learn to co-evolve with nature and cocreate with Spirit.

These are very important questions that we all face and are important for us all to participate in the outcome.  As Barbara stated we have a choice, and as this planet and our species evolves we need to consciously participate in transforming our world into a place where sustainability of all of our systems can be achieved.  We are all experiencing a breakdown of our existing systems, but we will shortly see a breakthrough where new and better system will evolve that will support our species in what Barbara refers to as a “Universal Humanity”.

The urgency of our problems is causing people to wake up all over the planet.  It’s dawning on us that something creative—something new–is pressing within us to emerge. What is now being born is transforming the old situation with the prospect of new solutions; and, at the same time, it is helping to create a new world–a world that we have in some respect always held in our hearts.

I encourage you to listen to the words of wisdom from a wonderfully intelligent and compassionate woman who can help to unite and transform the consciousness of our society into a place where survival and sustainability are the mantra of all.

 

If you would like more information about Barbara Marx Hubbard please click here, if you are interested in learning more about the “Birth 2012″ book please click here.

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