Why real fulfilment comes through commitment and community
Many of us spend our lives on what writer David Brooks calls the first mountain.
“The goals on that first mountain are the normal goals that our culture endorses – to be a success, to be well thought of, to get invited into the right social circles, and to experience personal happiness. It’s all the normal stuff: nice home, nice family, nice vacations, good food, good friends, and so on.”
Happiness here tends to be individual. Some never leave this place.
But it can feel hollow.
This is why for many people something shifts.
Either they taste success and find…
Lessons learned from a Fireside chat with our business mentor Alan Wick
We know how it is. You’ve launched. You’ve got customers. And your business is growing… very slowly.
If you find yourself at a stage in your business where you feel like you’re putting more energy into than what you feel you should be getting back then maybe you need a re-think.
Do you have the right processes? Or the right people? Or even the right mindset?
What’s getting in your way of growing your business… in the way you want to grow it?
This week on the Friday Fireside we were joined by our good friend and mentor Alan Wick…
We had so much fun on our Friday Fireside today with Liana Wilson-Fricker.
There’s so much aligned thinking in Liana’s approach and ours. We could have talked for hours.
Here are the main takeaways from our conversation about what it takes to build a brand, company or community right now. See further down for a link to the recording.
- Entrepreneurship is not a science
As well as learning the methods and how to de-risk situations through experimenting, you also learn how to trust your instincts. As Peter Drucker says “it is neither science nor art, it is a practice”. …
Why 2–3 words can transform your business and life
In his memorable talk at Happy Startup Summercamp in 2014, serial entrepreneur Jack Hubbard talked about a book that changed his life.
Titled Will it make the boat go faster? it tells the story of Ben Hunt-Davis’s journey to Olympic gold in the men’s Rowing Eight at Sydney 2000. It’s a tale of talent, supremely focused preparation and hard work. But also the power of simplicity.
This question — will it make the boat go faster? …
An excerpt from Ash Perrin’s talk at Happy Startup Summercamp 2018:
Whatever it is you’re doing now, planning to do or are in the process of starting, do it with an authenticity, a pride, a poise and a sense of dignity and a commitment to being truthful.
Magic.
A product can be magic, a computer can be magic, but create magic, make it special, make it feel tingly when someone uses it.
Truth. Fun. Belief. Value. Love.
If those things are involved in your project it won’t fail.
You might have to knock back a few bits of dirty money but in the end you’ll get far more reward because it will be yours.
And it will be you that’s represented in what you’re offering.
Lana Kristine Jelenjev is a shining example of how to give before you get.
We got to know Lana through her work with the Community Builders Facebook group, and she then actively contributed to our community, sharing her wisdom and gifts and slowly building trust and awareness with us and our tribe.
When we came to launch 2020 Vision at the start of last year, Lana was our clear choice for being our co-creator and fellow coach on the program. We just get each other and are on the same wavelength.
It feels easy.
But we’re not the only ones.
Spark curiosity and people will want to join you on your quest
This morning we were putting the finishing touches for a startup workshop we’re running this Thursday.
Typically we might run a visioning exercise, like writing a cheery postcard from the future, to help people to get clear on what success looks like for them.
Think of it as a personal mission statement.
But this time around we’re going to try something different and get participants to craft their mission question.
“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” — Eugene Ionesco
For us the question when we started The Happy Startup School was:
“What would the world look…
“Self-care is child care” Kim McCabe
It’s tough enough running a business during a pandemic, but throw in kids and home schooling and things get, well, interesting.
On today’s Friday Fireside we were joined by parenting expert and author Kim McCabe. Kim is the founder of Rites for Girls, and helps children and (their parents) learn how to take charge of their emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing.
Kim is a regular on our Firesides, always offering sage advice in the chats and today it was her turn to join us on the show.
We discussed:
- The challenges of being present…
Great Fireside this lunchtime with Dr Rachel Morris about resilience and overwhelm.
Rachel has worked with stressed out GPs and professionals and found that there is so much overlap with the entrepreneurship journey.
Here’s my 10 takeaways from our conversation:
- No matter how busy you are, make time to reflect
Rachel shared how most GPs and people in positions of responsibility rarely carve out the time to reflect on how their day went, or even how they are feeling about it. For your own wellbeing and productivity, try and build this habit. - Get comfortable saying no Time for regular reflection…
“When you say ‘yes’ to others make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself.” — Paulo Coehlo
I don’t know about you but this week has been a rollercoaster 🎢
Over the last few days I’ve had a number of chats with folks in our community who have found it particularly hard. Even the optimists.
This was meant to be the year of hope and the first few days of the year have been, let’s just say, eventful.
Yet amidst the chaos there is hope.
Every conversation I’ve had or session we’ve run has left me feeling positive and…
