Where does happiness actually come from?

I have found it can be like a maze where you sometimes think you found the path but it’s just a trick. That short-lived burst of joy that dies quickly.

After 40 years of life, I have personally found that we all are easily led further away from real happiness and are teased more and more with tricks.

I know it’s uncomfortable to admit but it’s a result of how we are told to live our lives. We do things that take us further and further away from who we truly are as a human being.

There is a growing misalignment between our inner and outer world. Like the classic example of working the dreaded 9-5 just to put food on the table. Rationalizing that it’s the right thing to do, maybe even convincing ourselves it’s the only thing we can do.

We tend to yearn for something more meaningful. More raw life.

We have options if we choose to see them and are willing to pursue them. Sometimes we become blind to them and other times we are just too afraid to change because it’s hard.⠀⠀

The truth is that the more you align your true inner desires to your actions the more happiness you will find. But first, you have to lift the veil and allow yourself to see who you really are and what you really desire.⠀⠀⠀⠀

When I started Change Creator it was an extension of who I am, my core beliefs. I’ve never felt such alignment in my life since the day I met my wife.

Most of us are afraid we won’t make money. But, money is all around us and abundant for the taking. Money is not the roadblock, how we think about ourselves and our personal power. ⠀⠀⠀⠀

When you start opening your mind to finding your truth, that alignment between your inner subconscious world and the outer conscious world you will start to feel true happiness. The more our outer world dictates how we live, the less happiness we will feel. ⠀⠀

So, take more time to listen to your inner self. What does it say?

This time of year can be quite stressful. Not only are we leaving another year behind, but we’re also starting off a new one. As entrepreneurs, it can be tempting to take this time to ‘catch up’ on all those lingering projects we’ve wanted to get done all year, but I would caution you against that.

Over the past few years of owning my own business and now as co-founder here at Change Creator, the end of the year brings its own joys and strains.

Today, I snapped at someone in a work meeting.

I had no patience, no time to discuss stuff, I was annoyingly rushed.

You see, that’s what happens at this time of year for me. I have a million little projects that still need to be done. Add to that the holiday strains and stresses (I have an 8-year old) and you’ve got one cranky person. Every year, I tell myself that I’m going to do my best and find time to just ‘chill’ but every year I give in and do way too much and feel that strain.

So this year, I’m stopping this cycle.

And, I’m going to focus on these 6 ways to enjoy the holidays as an entrepreneur and start 2019 as a more refreshed, positive, all-guns-blazing person on a mission!

1. Take some time to meditate.

Today a trusted colleague told me (again) to meditate. It’s something relatively new to my life but has made such a difference. I swear, 10 minutes of meditation is better than a few drinks to focus and relax you. You can meditate anytime, anywhere as long as you can find your center and focus. I will usually go through meditation spurts, followed by my most productive, happy days, then I’ll let the meditation slide for a few days, followed by my most stressed-out, unproductive days.

There’s a connection here people! Meditate = calm, productive, decisive.

Over the holidays, I encourage you (and me) to take a few minutes every day and meditate. It will keep all those busy schedules, family political discussions, and last-minute trips to the mall in perspective.

2. Delegate your holiday tasks too.

I have to admit. I used to be one of those overachievers during the holidays. I used to make homemade gifts, homemade stocking stuffers, and send out cards. I would schedule and host parties and do the whole nine. Well, I’ve decided that none of these efforts brought me any more joy than what I do now.

Over the past few years, I’ve streamlined my holiday efforts and found joy in what really matters, getting some downtime and eating copious amounts of food with friends and family.

I stopped doing all the cooking and shopping too. This year, I delegate. Everyone wants to be included and it’s not that tough to let people help.

I also do a lot of online shopping.

Just like in business, we can’t to it all on our own. If you are going to enjoy the holidays, you don’t want to be rushed off your feet planning and doing it all on your own. Delegate to friends, family, or just simplify. You’ll thank me for that when you get time to enjoy that third eggnog too!

3. Don’t start anything new from now until the new year.

Okay, folks. Finish whatever you need to this week and then done. Don’t start a new project, don’t try to get a jump on next year’s plans. Take this time to complete something, but stop there.

If you have a free day, that’s okay.

You don’t need to extend any extra effort to tackle those big, new projects. Guess what? It will all be waiting for you when you get back.

4. Unplug for (at least) one day!

I realize not everyone celebrates “Christmas” and that’s okay. But just because you don’t officially celebrate the holidays, doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the one day of the year that most people don’t work.

Unplug for one day. Please.

Don’t check your emails.

Don’t send any emails.

Don’t schedule posts or do some Facebook campaigns.

Unplug and enjoy!

5. Give yourself and your crew a break!

Our employees work really hard for us all year. Please, let’s not be those owners who demand work get done all year round. I’ve worked for many clients that think that Dec. 31 is a perfectly suitable deliverable deadline.

I will never be that employer. Our crew needs time to refresh and relax too.

6. Enjoy yourself.

Have a few drinks. Have a few laughs. Watch some cheesy tv. Make sure you take the time to just enjoy — 2019 is going to be a big year, you need to be ready!

The world is rapidly changing around us and we all play a part in the future that is created. In this article, you’ll explore great tips for living a happier and healthier life that is more intentional.

According to the World Health Organization, 13 million deaths annually and nearly a quarter of all disease worldwide are due to environmental causes that could be completely avoided.

The conditions of our environment play a substantial role in the well-being of humanity and all life on earth.

While it’s easy to feel like our part individually is insignificant it’s important to remember that we’re all part of a bigger system. We are nature.

Taking care of nature is the same as taking care of ourselves.

Health issues such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and stroke can all be triggered by poor environmental conditions.

Business is one major tool people use today to help create large-scale positive change. But we can’t stop there or rely only on business. Part of living an impact lifestyle means to live consciously. This means we need to become aware of small daily actions and make smart decisions. This can be tough sometimes because it’s like breaking old addictions.

You matter!

Here are some steps you can take to start living a more conscious impact lifestyle today.

The Food We Eat

Food is an everyday necessity of life. It’s also a business. How those businesses operate matters and so do the choices we make. Every dollar we spend is like a vote for the world we live in.

Opting for local, healthy, environmentally responsible food helps promote both personal health and overall health of the community.

Production, processing, packaging, and transportation of food is highly dependent on the use of fossil fuels and chemical fertilizers. These can greatly harm our health and the health of the environment.

Today, if you walk through a grocery store and just take a moment to look around a notice how much plastic surrounds you, it will blow your mind.

Sustainable food systems operate in a cycle of sustainable production and support. Farmers can make their food more sustainable by limiting pesticide use and treating their animals humanely and responsibly. Consumers can select food produced close to home and reduce the impact of our food system on the environment by lessening the distance food travels from farm to table.

When buying food consider these tips:

• Buy local produce.
• Buy fairtrade products
• Buy “B-corp” certified products
• Support and preserve rural communities.
• Don’t use a plastic bag for every single fruit and vetable you purchase. Wash your produce at home.
• Eat less beef and other animal products (Beef is a leading cause of deforestation, air pollution, and water pollution)
• Avoid products in plastic containers; look for paper and glass which are biodegradable or recyclable.
• Never buy plastic water bottles (25% is tap water in a bottle anyway)
• Only buy eggs that are “Certified Humane”
• Buy organic to avoid supporting the use of pesticides and toxins
• Look for items locally grown
• Buy fish that is sustainably caught and not overfished (see www.fishpeopleseafood.com)

Transportation

It’s exciting to see the shared economy become more popular. This includes programs like Zipcar, shared bicycles stations in big cities, and even Uber.

Pollutants released by vehicles greatly increase air pollution levels and have been linked to adverse health effects, including premature mortality, cardiac symptoms, exacerbation of asthma symptoms, and diminished lung function. Have noticed that more and more people now have allergies or asthma?

To minimize the damaging impact of our current transportation choices, try adopting more sustainable methods of travel when possible. With hundreds of millions of cars on the road in the US alone we are growing rapidly.

According to the Bureau of Transportation 77 percent of people drive alone still. And at the same time production is booming. According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, there were over 72 million cars produced in 2016 globally. As of May 2018, 29 million cars have been produced so far.

Watch this TED Talk from Bill Ford (grandson of Henry Ford), talk about the future and gridlock.

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Some solutions to consider include:

• Walking
• Bicycling
• Public transportation such as trains
• Carpools
• Vanpools
• Working from home when possible
• Electric cars to burn less fossil fuels

Home Improvements

Sustainable homes are not only better for the planet, but offer opportunity for saving some cash. These solutions might require a little investment up front but you’ll make it back over time in savings.

Tips for saving energy:

• Consider solar roof panels that look great – https://www.tesla.com/solarroof
• Make sure your home is well-insulated to conserve energy and spend less on heat and air conditioning.
• Use a programmable thermostat to time your heat and air conditioning for when you are in your home. These can shut off while you are away, saving both energy and money.
• Weatherproof your home. Caulk, seal, or weather strip outside openings to prevent air leaks.
• Conserve water by installing aerating and low-flow faucets and showerheads.
• Choose garden plants that don’t have a high demand for water.

Looking for a major upgrade? Tankless and on-demand water heaters can save up to 30% of energy compared to standard natural gas tank heaters.

Safe Products

There are many stages in a product’s life cycle, and each one can negatively affect the environment if not managed correctly. Companies may adopt poor practices because it’s cheaper and each year they need to show an increase in the bottom line.

In response to destructive practices William McDonough and Dr. Michael Braungart published Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, encapsulating a journey of discovery about materials as biological or technical nutrients and their use periods and evolution. They created a framework for quality assessment and innovation: the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Products Program.

The Cradle to Cradle Certification process spans over five categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness.

[vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOMVZKQYZYU”]

Before making a purchase, consider the full impact of the product’s material, manufacturing method, and usage. Know the full extent of what you’re supporting. Products can tie to deforestation, pollution, child labor and other challenges none of us likely would choose to support if we knew about it.

To convert raw (or recycled) materials into a product, elements are processed, shaped, and manipulated. These steps consume energy and deplete nonrenewable natural resources. For example, plastic products are made from petroleum, a finite resource.

All the plastic ever made is still here today and will likely never go away. Maybe in a 1,000 years if we’re lucky. It’s filling our oceans, poisoning our food and killing eco-systems. About 8 million tons of plastic trash land in our oceans each year.

Additionally, many products affect the environment throughout their useful life. Using these items responsibly can reduce their environmental impact. Any equipment with a plug requires electricity to operate. To prevent wasting energy, turn equipment off when not in use.
At the end of a product’s useful life, consider what parts may be reused and how to dispose of the product or its components responsibly. Plastics, glass, paper, and other materials may be recycled. Many manufacturers will take products at the end of their lifecycle. Check with vendors in your area for specifics on disposal practices.

Some tips to save money and the planet:

• Save your plastic bags and reuse them
• Shop with reusable bags
• Look for 30% or greater post-consumer recycled content
• Buy 100% recycled paper towels and other paper products
• Never buy plastic plates, forks, knives or cups
• Only buy soap that does not use palm oil or sources it sustainably such as Dr. Bronners. (Palm oil is a major drive of deforestation)
• Look for products made of biobased content (composed of biological products such as plant materials)
• Avoid animal-based products
• Look for b-corp certified
  Look for fairtrade certified
• Buy products that have minimal life cycle costs
• Buy products that have minimal risk of toxic/hazardous chemicals
• Look for products that are durable or have a long product life
• Ask yourself if what you’re about to buy is necessary

Electronics

Electronics impact the environment and human health. Fabricating and shipping electronics use water and energy, and often create industrial waste. The disposal of electronics results in a massive amount of waste going into landfills. Toxins, commonly found in electronics, can leak into the soil or release into the air through burning.

Each year our planet generates about 50 million tons of electronic waste. This includes everything ranging from batteries to mobile phones and children’s toys. Here’s the thing, while this material may have been tossed away that does not mean they’re not without value. Actually, the United Nations estimated the total worth of all that e-waste at $55 billion, thanks largely to the trace amounts of gold, silver, and other metals they contain. The problem, though, is getting them out.

There are specialized centers that can safely dispose of these products to avoid toxic leakage and may be able to recycle some of the material. Many manufacturers will also take old products to recycle their parts.

Only through management over the entire life cycle of electronics can we mitigate the overall negative effects on our soil, water, air, and health.

Check for special programs in your area to recycle:

• Batteries.
• Old laptops or phones.
• Printers, keyboards, and other computer accessories.
• Televisions.
• Wires and plugs.

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An Entrepreneur Goes to Camp

Lisa Chau is a Ted-Ed lesson creator who has been published over 100 times in Forbes, US News & World Report as well as Huffington Post on TABLES: Technology – Academia – Business – Leadership – Entrepreneurship – Strategy. She was a featured guest on National Public Radio’s Baltimore Midday Talk with Dan Roderick, speaking on millennials and digital strategy. A few years ago, she organized and hosted the “How to Build a Strong Start-Up” conference at Columbia University.

We spoke with Lisa about her experience at this boot camp for entrepreneurs:

What brought you Club Getaway this month?

I was thrilled to be invited to participate in Survive and Thrive’s inaugural boot camp for mission-driven entrepreneurs. My interest in startups kicked into high gear when I worked at the Tuck School of Business at my alma mater, Dartmouth College. There, I met alumnus, Alejandro Crawford, who helps build bottom-up innovation and forge risk-aware strategy. We’ve worked together on many projects since the meeting, including co-teaching an MBA entrepreneurship class at The Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.

More recently, I spent almost two years with Potentis Capital, whose mission is to build socially responsible businesses, as well as generate jobs and economic growth on local and national levels. I worked with portfolio company Watertree Health’s President Shane Power and his team to exceed the organization’s 2016 social responsibility goals by saving cardholders $120 million on prescription costs and donating $1.3 million to nonprofit Make-A-Wish®. Additionally, we raised enough money to fund over 2 million meals for 15 regional food bank partners.

Mission-driven entrepreneurship is integral to what I do, so a boot camp designed just for entrepreneurs is a natural match for me.

What did you find most valuable about your experience?

Although I always advise people to diversify their networks, I enjoyed meeting like-minded entrepreneurs in an extremely supportive environment. The endless hours and unique journey of startup life can be very isolating. It was comforting to be surrounded by others who understand the many challenges of growing a business. We just relate easily.

The Survive and Thrive boot camp offered me a community which I will work to maintain beyond our time at Camp Getaway – In friendship and in business. I’ve already exchanged correspondence with Recurrent Capital Founder and President Ethan Einwohner, whose unbridled enthusiasm led our “Stay Green” team to victory during the branding workshop led by Laney Silverman.

I have a long list of other founders I will email, including Quantum Media Group’s Ari Zoldan, Club Getaway’s David Schreiber, Cewebity’s Jameson Bennett, Fearless Talent’s Francesca Burack, and Motivating the Masses’ Susie Carder. WishPoints’ Grace Lee and I are currently discussing ways we can support one another.

Were you surprised by anything?

I attend a lot of networking events, hackathons and business talks. More than 80% of the time, I never have a problem getting a seat near the front of the room. People usually cluster in the center of the room. When I sauntered into the Boat House for Jesse Itzler’s keynote, the audience had taken up all the seats in the front third of the room. Guests were committed to learning as much as possible over the course of the weekend. The anticipation was palpable even before Jesse took the stage. I loved it. There’s something energizing about being surrounded by sheer ambition. We were ready for a great talk and Jesse delivered – He has an amazing presence, singular journey and sense of humor. He is definitely a different brownie!

The next morning, I was surprised I didn’t fall while walking on one wire between trees in the aerial park! I was sleep-deprived, cold and had a painful pinched nerve in my shoulder. But I had to push through – As Jesse insisted: We need to push past our limits. When you think you’re at your limit, you’re only 40% done. You can do more. Reach into your reserve tank… “It’s where the gold is.”

While I waited for my turn on the cables, my brain reminded me of the entrepreneur motto: Be comfortable with the uncomfortable.

(At the same time, I was trying to avoid the other motto: Fail fast, fail often.)

How was this conference different from what you’ve experienced before?

When I signed up for the boot camp, I expected lots of panels in the traditional sit and talk format, but surrounded by trees. This was different in that we bonded and learned by engaging in team activities in the air, on land and in the water.

People didn’t just proclaim leadership, they owned it.

During the teamwork and leadership mastermind session, @EnergeticPhD Cynthia McKee and Managing Director at Voyager HQ John Matson volunteered to brave the cold waters of Leonard Pond, not once but twice, to collect balloons. Meanwhile, I stayed dry on land and flexed my mental acuity to solve a riddle before our rival team could beat us.

The scaling and globalization mastermind session was superbly led by mentor Desiree Reid. She observed how participants interacted with one another and provided detailed, insightful feedback on each individual activity rather than simply throwing out generic comments. Then, she connected the activities to relevant overarching business concepts. She was wonderful. With over 20 years of experience launching and growing brands, including work with beauty and health giants such as Revlon, Avon, and Estée Lauder, Desiree has been featured in Essence and Allure magazines as a notable business leader.

What’s next for you?

I just began writing a business book. I will also offer related consultancy services with the mission of empowering executives in the design of their careers to cultivate meaningful connections & opportunities across their lifetimes.

I’d love to find a complementary business development role based in Manhattan that would also broaden my work with startups internationally. I’ve been to Amsterdam twice and the region is particularly interesting because of its rapidly growing entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Lisa Update: June 2018

After speaking at Microsoft in February and leading mentor sessions at South by Southwest in March, Lisa was invited to join Lampix, where intelligent tabletop augmented reality is powered on blockchain with PIX tokens. She manages community and PR within the marketing department headed by Sirius Satellite veteran Gordon Meyer.

As of April, Lisa officially became an advisor for fellow Dartmouth alumna Joan Ai’s startup Prepared Child, which is a social impact vehicle part of the NYU Steinhardt Edtech Incubator as well as the Dartmouth Founders Project and Pledge 1%.

In the early 1970s, the American rock climber would be hard-pressed to find gear of any quality. In fact, he or she would probably have had to turn to Europe, where the nascent sport was more popular and companies were manufacturing equipment for it. “There were probably 250 climbers in the country,” Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard recalled with a chuckle in a recent interview with NPR.

But even if that climber chose to buy gear from Europe, it would likely have been low-quality, made of soft iron, the kind of equipment you use once and toss. Chouinard and his friends, following in the footsteps of transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Muir, believed they should climb the mountains but leave no trace behind. Pitons should not be used once and left wedged into rock. Discarded lengths of rope should not be left on the forest floor.

The same problem applied to sporting clothes. At that time, and especially for men, activewear consisted largely of sweatshirts and matching sweatpants. There were no clothes that made sense for people doing intense, outdoor activities.

Chouinard never wanted to be a businessman. “This was in the 60s, and businessmen were all greaseballs in the 60s,” Chouinard said at the Commonwealth Club of California in 2016. “We didn’t respect business. In fact, they were the enemy.” But he did have an innate sense that he could improve the tools he was using. “It’s just I have this knack that every time I look at a product I look at it and think, ‘well, I could make something better than that. It could be better,’” he said during an interview with NPR. This is exactly what Chouinard and his friends did. When they went climbing, they would return with ideas about how to improve their tools.

Soon, Chouinard realized that he could not avoid the obvious solution: build better equipment, make better clothes. So with that in mind, Chouinard got some books on blacksmithing and began to forge the gear that he and his friends wanted to use themselves. Soon, he was selling his pitons for a dollar and a half each, far more expensive than the European equivalent, but made to last. “I just happened to be a craftsman. Every time I looked at a piece of equipment I had an idea of how to make it better,” Chouinard said during a lecture at UCLA.

Soon, expansion happened. After a trip to the United Kingdom, where Chouinard saw a rugby-style shirt that seemed to fit the needs of climbers, he began importing sporting clothes and then designed and produced them himself. That was how Patagonia was born.

From there, Chouinard’s fledgling company began manufacturing a broad line of clothing meant specifically for sportspeople. Or more accurately, they began making clothes that Chouinard and his friends wanted to use themselves when they climbed and hiked and surfed. In reflecting on this time, Chouinard recalled trying to put himself in the shoes of his customer, hoping to come up with products that people didn’t yet know they wanted or needed.

The Uncharacteristic Entrepreneur

“If I get an idea, I immediately take a step forward and see how that feels. If it feels good, I take another step. If it feels bad, I take a step back,” Chouinard told NPR. This has been Chouinard’s approach since the start. At the beginning of Patagonia, he was neither an expert in manufacturing nor in apparel. In fact, Chouinard has no formal business training at all. He was simply a passionate sportsman–a person who just wanted to be outdoors and have clothes that made sense.

Chouinard is quick to admit that his not having the traditional background in running a major retail company has had positive and negative effects. “[I was] trying create a business that we wanted to come to work in. All of us. So that’s what we did,” he said in a talk at the Commonwealth Club of California. In all likelihood, that unfamiliarity with business and his wish to build something new helped Patagonia avoid some common traps fledgling companies fall into.

On the other hand, the same unfamiliarity led to some difficult situations, most notably in the 1980s, when about a decade after Patagonia’s founding, the company ran into trouble. “The market wanted our products, so we were growing 50% a year. But you can’t grow a business with 50% growth year after year on retained earnings. At some point, you’re going to crash,” Chouinard said at the Commonwealth Club of California. From the perspective of the long-term health of the company, Chouinard knew that such rapid growth was not sustainable.

For Chouinard, the goal was not simply growth. In fact, the way he saw it, the faster his business grew, the faster it would die. It was about making a change, about using environmentally friendly material and teaching people that you don’t throw out things, you repair them. Chouinard’s vision was that Patagonia would commit to owning one of its products forever. If something no longer fit, they would help sell it for you; if it broke, they would fix it; if it was really spent, they would recycle it.

At an early stage, Chouinard and Patagonia conducted studies on which materials were the friendliest for the environment (they were surprised to learn that 25% of all agricultural pesticides are used for cotton production) and adjusted their production accordingly. In light of what they found out about cotton, Patagonia started using 100% organic cotton in 1996. Chouinard wanted something lasting so that Patagonia could have an impact and exist far into the future. The same was so for the materials they used. After commissioning a study, they realized the impact of the cotton they were using. For Chouinard, such high growth would not take them to his goal.

To keep the company on track, Chouinard actually slowed growth, which with the addition of a recession, led to a critical moment for Patagonia. Chouinard didn’t know if the company would make it. Banks stopped lending the company money and revenues became tight. But with some tough decisions, including management level staff layoffs and an improved growth program that looked toward the future, Patagonia made it through. For Chouinard, there are two types of growth: that which leads to you being stronger and that which leads to you being fatter. Of course, he wanted the former.

In an interview with NPR, Chouinard reflected on entrepreneurship:

“One of my favorite quotes is:

‘If you want to understand entrepreneurship, study the juvenile delinquent because they’re saying this sucks and I want to do it my own way.’ That’s what the entrepreneur does. They just say, ‘This is wrong and I’m going to do it this other way,’ and that’s the fun part of a business. I love breaking the rules.”

It seems one rule that Chouinard has tried particularly hard to break is our modern consumer mannerisms. What is essential for Chouinard is that Patagonia offers a lifetime guarantee. In fact, it seems that the Patagonia mantra should be one of Chouinard’s core beliefs, which is to own very few but very good things.

Indeed, in a world where there exists an abundance of cheap clothing made with questionable materials by people in poor conditions–and our global problems are only growing–it seems we need more companies that share Chouinard and Patagonia’s mission.

Chouinard has never been interested in coming out with a cheap line of clothes. That is evident if you take a look at Patagonia’s online catalog. Despite Patagonia’s price points, Chouinard’s goal is not to reduce prices and appeal to a mass customer base like other retail stores. For him, good quality clothes which are made from responsible materials simply cost more. And we, as good consumers, should prioritize buying less but buying responsibly. That, Chouinard believes, will help us approach some of the daunting problems we face, which seems an idea that deserves reflection.

Patagonia Mission Statement

Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

Wise words for the young entrepreneur

There is no doubt that Patagonia has a compelling story. What is now a company with reportedly over $600 million in revenue was started by Chouinard and his buddies because they wanted better sporting equipment.

Their impact on how we purchase and consume clothing and how clothing material is sourced is significant, perhaps even paradigm-shifting. But also worth discussing are the things we can learn from Chouinard’s approach to business.

Many have considered Chouinard’s style of managing his employees and a huge corporation as eccentric. In fact, many might have laughed at his company directive to hit the waves when the surf was up, or at his annual six-month vacation to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But no one can argue with the outcomes, both in business but also in environmental impact and employee welfare.

In the early days of Patagonia, the company pioneered on-site childcare, flex-work based on a trust policy, paid maternity and other leave, coverage of healthcare premiums, and generous employee development programs. These benefits, of course, are still not entirely common in 2017, over forty years later.

What’s more, Chouinard took an unusual approach to staff his company. Most companies, as he points out, are strongly top-down. There are rigid corporate structures in place and hierarchies that determine how a company will operate. Patagonia, on the other hand, hired a bunch of young and independent people, and then left them alone. Chouinard recently mentioned that psychologists have come to study how the company manages to function so efficiently with this approach. Chouinard seems to bask in his unusual tactics. He doesn’t care when his employees work, so long as they get the job done.

For young entrepreneurs, Chouinard also gives some on-point advice. “If you want to be successful in business,” he recently said to NPR, “you don’t go up against Coca-Cola. They’ll kill you. You just do it differently. You figure out something that no one else has thought of and you do it in a totally different way. So, breaking the rules means you have to be creative.”

Above all, what seems to drive Chouinard the most is the wish for a simpler life. This can be seen in his approach to business, his slowing the growth of his own company, and his encouraging customers not to buy his products but to repair, reuse, and recycle.
Chouinard brings us a lot: wisdom about business, the environment, and how we as consumers should strive to better ourselves in a world that is being taxed by our needs and wants.

But perhaps most poignant are his words about life, which he recently said in an NPR interview:

“The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life because everything pulls you to be more and more complex. I think what I have learned from fly-fishing is that if we have to–either we’re forced or we decide to–go to a simpler life, it’s not going to be an impoverished life; it’s going to be really rich.”

That too deserves some reflection.

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If you’ve struggled for years to have sufficiency in the following aspects of life; time, enough money to start a business, maybe you complain about the government not doing enough, or lack of family support then you’ll need to understand one truth about life. You probably came here looking for tips to achieve your goals — we’ll get to that.

For now, I really want you to know this:

Nothing will ever be enough, nothing will ever be sufficient unless you do one thing right…

“Place Value On What You Already Have“

That’s the only way you can put to good use what you have.

If you think time will increase to 30 hours per day so that you can have enough time to work on something, or that your earnings will magically increase overnight so that you can fund an idea you have and launch in grand style.

Well, your dreams may never come true.

Maximize the results you desire by doing this one thing.

Learn to start using the little you have to maximize the results you desire.

As the world advances, our days get busier and we have less time or your finances may suffer but those things will never change in your favor simply because you simply wish it or pray for it.

You’ll have to keep pushing against the wind.

You’ll have to learn how to use the little you have to your advantage — Because if you think about it, every other person who is doing great and achieving so much doesn’t have extra hours added to their day, nor did many of them have sufficient funding. Their success was dependent on how they were able to use the resources they had at the time.

I used to think that if I earned more money then my time will be freed up and that I would be able to make time for other important things in my life such as family, health, and spiritual well-being.

I was wrong!

I worked hard and increased my income within a few years. I bought myself some cool gadgets, acquired luxuries and traveled to great places.

But it had a seriously negative impact on my health, relationships (both family and friends) and also drew me away from building my spiritual life.

And if you talk to individuals who are now minimalist, they’ll likely tell you the same thing – that happiness doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from accomplishing those small things that give us a chance to spend quality time with our loved ones and take good care of ourselves.

I have found that sometimes the more you want and accomplish, the more cluttered your life may gradually become. Before you realize how deep you’ve gone down a rabbit hole chasing more luxuries and “stuff”, you may find that you’ve broken a lot of relationships, damaged your health, and even your state of happiness.

This is not to discourage you to dream big or aim higher.

While you are aspiring for great things, it’s important to be mindful of how you go about it.

Nothing will ever be enough, but you can make the best of what you have in order to get the results you want.

In order to make that a reality for you, I’ll share a few practical tips that helped me utilize what I already had and propelled me towards my goals in no time and still maintain that life balance we all strive for.

1. Prioritize.

Nothing beats the fact that you take into consideration what matters most in your life and cut out what doesn’t.

Prioritizing what matters and what doesn’t in your life will help you determine the principal reason(s) why you are doing this and helps you stay aligned with it.

When you prioritize, it helps you set principles, this way you can stick to a game plan rather than sacrificing your happiness along the line.

2. Find your tribe.

We just can’t go it alone, try to mingle with people, find your tribe, get as much help as you can get so that you can ease the burden and cut down the amount of time you spend on what you are working on.

Before now, I’ll have a stretch of sleepless nights, because I thought I was the only one who could get it right. I saw myself as the only capable person, it had a serious effect on my health. I spent approximately 30 days in the hospital bed. (I almost died)

When I left the hospital and came back to check on how far I’d gone, I noticed I was still the same place I started off. Nothing was practically done. I learned my lesson, I had to get more hands. I realized there is great power in collective efforts.

3. Use what you already have. (Even if it’s not much.)

There’s always this feeling of displeasure in our little treasure. We feel what we have isn’t enough to begin the journey, or sometimes we don’t even realize that it’s more than enough to finish off.

Mostly in relation to money, we just want to make it BIG and start out big. But that’s not a very great way to accomplish anything ever. Put what you have in and ride out. Most things can be bootstrapped.

If you just get out and start doing something, you could be surprised at how much you can accomplish without a lot of money. You can start a blog for very little money. You can start an online store, or even start a consulting business. There are many ways to bootstrap and get going.

Do an inventory of the resources you actually have:

• Your network
• Your friends and family
• Your online network
• Free online resources and course
• Books (You can learn a lot about business from books!)
• Local business resources (many of free)
• Online business resources

Here are two books to get you started:

4. Practice gratitude. (Always)

Gratitude is the best way to keep our hopes alive, it helps us to be grateful for where we are, what we have and don’t have (yet) while we hope to accomplish them as we work towards our ultimate goal(s).

Gratitude will let you appreciate the people in your life who contribute to your growth (whether they spill negative or positive energy). Being grateful shows that you have a deep insight that no one else understands. It just brings out the brighter side of you and energizes your soul.

I’ve had more accomplishments since I started doing these things, it has helped me live a better life that is meaningful to me and those I care about. it has helped me understand what it means to truly place value on what we have, who we are and stay focused until success is finally achieved.

Some Final Thoughts

By doing an inventory of the resources you actually have, you will find that you are far ahead of the game. Look around at your life. Who can help you? Surround yourself with those that propel your ideas and help you achieve greatness.

There is a lot of advice out there to help you grow a business, even start a business, but here is my advice to you:

Start.

Be thankful for where you are today.

Keep going!

Write down your goals every day. Be clear and specific. Start where you are and keep going.

Nobody wants to do nothing with their life. We all tend to think and dream about bigger things for ourselves.

I’m pretty sure that years ago they would say things like, “as technology gets better we will be able to free up our time and have 3 day work weeks.”

Yet, instead we now work more hours per week and the average household income has gone down.

“From 1973 to 2016, net productivity rose 73.7 percent, while the hourly pay of typical workers essentially stagnated—increasing only 12.5 percent over 43 years (after adjusting for inflation). This means that although Americans are working more productively than ever, the fruits of their labors have primarily accrued to those at the top and to corporate profits, especially in recent years.” (source)

When you work full time and you have a spouse or family with little ones bouncing around than doing any extracurricular work can be near impossible.

Have you ever had goals to do something but when you finally get time you’re burnt out?

I mean, you have to turn things off at some point to let your brain catch up, right? Beer, wine, maybe a joint, then Netflix and Chill. I know I’ve passed up the gym a few times because I needed to recharge.

Respecting Time

Time is an important consideration and should be taken very seriously. The reason being is that it’s the one thing you can’t get more of even if you wanted to.

There are 168 hours in a week and you are awake for 112 of those hours if you sleep 8 hours per night. How we spend that time will determine the life we create.

Sometimes, when you want to make a transition in your life you have to make time. This could mean stretching your waking hours or it could mean looking at how you spend your current time and making some changes so you can work towards your goals.

A fun exercise is to get a small notebook or use your phone and track how you spend your time for one standard week. This is not an attempt to make a lame point about watching too much Tv. Everything is good in moderation. It just helps to take a quick inventory and see if what you think in your mind is the same as the reality. Might sound odd but as humans, our perception of something could be very different than the reality.

Now you can see where you might change things up. Spend a little less time here or there and do something else.

Source of Motivation

Philadelphia was home to my wife and me for 6 years and during that time I worked in New York City. It was a big trip that cost me about 4 hours of time traveling each day.

Despite really liking WebMD, I knew it wasn’t the kind of work I wanted to be tied to for the rest of my life. I wanted to do something more fulfilling and on my own time. I hated being on someone else’s schedule.

People change their life paths all the time. Why couldn’t I? I always thought about it but never really did anything because I was comfortable with my job. It was solid. But this time was different. I was getting older and realized that if I didn’t start changing how I spend my time, I’ll never be able to change my life trajectory or course to become who I really wanted to be.

The pain of not doing something was now far greater than the pain of doing something.

The author Steven Pressfield has a great line in his book, The War of Art, which I think gets at the core of motivation. Pressfield states:

“At some point, the pain of not doing it becomes greater than the pain of doing it.”

I left the house around 645am. I got home usually around 7 pm.

Once I got home at night I usually went to the gym with my wife. The evening is not usually my best time for work. I start to lose focus. The morning was my best time. So, I decided to stretch my waking hours and woke up at 4 am each morning to give myself 2 hours each morning to pursue something I wanted.

Aside from feeling crazy, it was f*cking hard. I was not used to being up that early and by 2 pm my eyes would feel like 30-pound dumbbells.

At the same time, the pain of not doing something was still worse.

I had to schedule my motivation. You cannot wake up and say, “man I hope I get time to do XXXX today.”

Inevitable Progress

Whether you’re starting a business or learning piano or doing anything else there are some fundamental realities to face.

Your current daily pattern in life is what gives you the current results you have. You’ll need to change the pattern to get different results, somewhat like an algorithm. It will not be easy because your behaviors are habits and in some cases even addictions. New ideas always sound nice in discussion or on paper but when it comes time to physically act on them your old habits or addiction could easily overpower you.

You have to be willing to put time into pursuing what you desire. Remember why you want to do it in the first place for a little motivation.

You have to have the discipline to pursue the new pattern.

You have to be consistent to break old habits.

That recipe will allow you to make progress every week towards a new goal. It’s inevitable.

Making The Transition

Sometimes, when you’re unhappy with your job or work you obviously want to change your life. But what happens when you’ve worked in a category for several years and that’s where all your experience is already? It’s hard to escape that because you won’t make as much money and basically have to start over.

Everything starts somewhere.

You have to spend your valuable time a bit differently and in the beginning, for a few months, it will be really hard. It’s like have two overlapping focuses. You can call it a side hobby but if your goal is a life change, such as how you earn a living, then it’s more serious than that. You’re out to learn, create and earn.

It always helps to do a deep self-inventory to understand yourself and find out how you can use the skills you have in a way that leans into your new direction. This will help expedite the process.

It would be nice if we could just focus our full day of waking hours on the thing we really want to spend time on. Anyone can do it but if we are not already on that track we have to slowly and consciously make an effort to transition how we spend our time. There will be a period of overlap between old and new.

There are many new habits you can adopt to start making a transition. I personally got a lot of value out of volunteer work and those early mornings spent building online businesses.

Today, there are new models for business and life while technology is creating opportunities that never existed before.

There is no better time to become a purpose-driven entrepreneur.

We are the designers of our lives.

You might also want to check out our article, Why You’re Not Hitting Your Goals, And How to Fix That (5 Steps)

Life. It’s saturated in mystery. The more you learn the more you realize how little we, as a species, really know.

But right now, we’re living during some very exciting times. Does every generation say that?

Regardless, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is happening as you read this. And, whether you know it or not, it will affect you.

This is the revolution of artificially-intelligent robots, self-driving cars, blockchain technology, neuro-technological brain enhancements, genetic editing.

The evidence of dramatic change is all around us and it’s happening at exponential speed.

This matters because it’s creating a tremendous amount of opportunity that never existed before. Opportunity for people just like you to design whatever life you desire.

But what will you do?

You were born.

You are here now.

You are part of it all.

“We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.” Neil deGrasse Tyson

So, yeah, you matter!

The decisions you make and actions you take, they all matter.

But how can you matter in a good way? To have purpose in this little life.

For Starters, Give Yourself Permission to Matter

I hate writing stuff like that because it always comes off as fluff BS. But it has to be said. Here’s why. Birth is like a lottery, who the hell knows what culture, area of the world or family you will be born into.

If someone is born into a bad situation where year after year they’re neglected mentally and physically they will deeply struggle to see their self-value. They can still be successful, hyperactivity fills the void, but at the same time that person can be completely destroyed inside due to lack of self-value.

You have to see the bigger picture and acknowledge that nobody can replace you. You are part of something bigger and you do matter. Nobody can take that from you.

Just give yourself permission to matter so you can take action and you’re already on a new trajectory.

Tap Into Your Story

If you want to have a meaningful life you have to get to know yourself. I’m talking about inner exploration.

It’s essential to understand your own life story to start uncovering your path or purpose. Whatever you want to call it. The idea is to get on the right track so you can do something meaningful.

A process we use for this in our mentorship program is called self-inventory.  We break down the story into key motivational factors and life pillars.

Below is a quick example of the life pillars.

How you interpret the events of your life impacts how you see yourself and the world around you.

Not only is it meant to help you reflect on your life and develop a positive and meaningful life story but it also helps you understand what is most important to you. It’s a guiding light.

Are you on the right track?

Foster Great Relationships

This requires a full book to really cover the topic but let me drop some key insights to demonstrate why it’s so important.

When people have a baby it changes their world. It gives them purpose. They matter to that little bundle of joy who relies on their care. It’s a beautiful thing.

Putting the effort out to create positive relationships not only drives your success in life but you matter to people and it’s the key to your happiness.

Let me back that up. There was a 75 year study by Harvard that found the 1 secret to living a fulfilling life. Can you guess what it was? Duh, it’s good relationships! They make you happier and healthier.

Don’t be shy or lazy. Stay connected, build new relationships. Help others do better in life. Offer your care and services.

Be of value to the people you engage with around you.

Do Work That Matters and Use Your Time Wisely

We interviewed Tony Robbins for Change Creator Magazine and he said something that just stuck in my mind.

“The most sacred gift that you can give, besides your love, is your labor. So find something that you’re here to play for that’s more than just yourself.” Tony Robbins

Tony is an incredible inspiration and his book Awaking the Giant Within is a one that I highly recommend.

There is one thing in this world you cannot get more of – time!

How you spend that time is important to your fulfillment and the world.

We have families and bills and sometimes feel stuck doing shit work to manage those things. You’re a rockstar already for taking one on the chin and doing what you got to do, but guess what, if you want, you can still get on a track to wake up pumped to do something that actually matters to you and a lot of others.

Is it easy to make the transition, no. Is it worth it, hell yes!

Remember what I said in the beginning of this article about the fourth revolution and more opportunity than ever? There has never been a better time to create your own unicorn life that gives back to society and makes cash.

Don’t have experience doing what you want to do? Start volunteering on the side, get a side gig, take a new job with a social enterprise playing the space you want to be in. The hard truth is that you usually have to straddle two jobs for a while to make a transition.

You might say, I don’t have any time. Don’t have time…or won’t make time? Do me a favor and track your TV time everyday for 2 weeks and let me know how many hours. Or let me know what time you get up and sleep. I woke up everyday at 330-4am to do side hustle work, then took a train from Philly to New York City for work. Came home at night, went to gym, spent time with my family, and repeated next day.

Ask yourself this question? Are you on the path to become who you want to be 10 years from now?

If you say no, then decide to start making changes now to change your path.

When the pain of not doing something about your life becomes worse than doing something to make a change, you will start your process.

Conclusion

You already matter to the world but what you decide to do every day will determine the way in which you matter to the world and yourself.

The world needs you to spend your time wisely.

I write this article with a lot of passion and honesty. These are things that I have lived and heard from some of the top thinkers in the world.

I’m sharing them now to inspire you to live your truth and find more happiness through the actions you take and the way you see the world.

Share this with someone you think might like a little motivation today. Together, we can change the world!

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Have you ever looked or read about millionaires and thought about how they live and how they do their jobs?

Is there anything different that they do from “normal” people?

Is there something that we can learn from them?

Let me share with you one specific thing that everyone else does, but not the successful people. And if you want to become one, you must stop doing it.

Once you read this article, you will understand the difference in the mind set. You have to get rid of it as soon as possible; seriously, it can only cause harm to you.

So what is that? Believe it or not, it is COMPLAINING!

One of the golden rules Shark Tank cast member, Robert Herjavec, believes led him to success, as opposed to just working hard and having an idea, was that his dad taught him to not complain, no matter what, even in the worst of situations.

Seriously, it’s not likely that you’ll see many extremely successful people moping around complaining. Sure, they are successful millionaires; why would they complain? But here is something to think about: do they no complain because they are successful millionaires, or do they become millionaires because they don’t complain? What comes first?

Well, this is no longer a dilemma. In a book by T. Harv Eker “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” published February, 2015, the author identifies a seemingly harmless daily habit average people engage in that the rich refuse to: complain! He was researching the concept of the “Millionaire Mind” and a collection of “mental attitudes that facilitate wealth,” and complaining was one of the primary habits that requires change in the mindset.

“When you complain, you’re focusing on what is wrong with your life — and what you focus on tends
to expand.” (T. Harv Eker)

His point is that successful people don’t spend too much time on failures. They fail (of course), learn the lesson from it and move on.

There’s no point in spending a vast amount of your energy thinking about “what if” scenarios. Past is in the past, and you should keep looking ahead. And to be honest, it makes sense. We live in a time where there are plenty of problems to complain about. On a global level, we live in a time where the unemployment rate is high, or some big corporation decided to move its operations off-shore, or there is global warming coming up, or there is major increase in population.

On a local level, you might have even more problems: no customers, company operational problems, liquidity, or change in the need of your market. (I am sure you can think of a large list of them.) But even on individual level, there is always something wrong, or that can done better: not enough time, hard to find the right partner, or not sure how you will survive until the end of the month. Seriously, I can build a large list of problems that we can all complain about.

Related: What Makes a Great Entrepreneur (One Powerful Expert Tip)?

Problem to Opportunity

Now comes the key concept – try to replace the word “Problem” with the word “Opportunity”. This switch in the mindset changes everything. The high unemployment rate is the perfect opportunity to start a service-oriented company and find good available employees. The challenge of global warming is full opportunity to find a solutions that can help improve the planet (and allow you to make a living while doing so). Are you starting to get the point? Can you find a solution for some of the operational problems or the new opportunity in the market?

And even on an individual level, looking at the problems as opportunities gives you a different perspective. Can you now reflect on all your problems, and try to look at them as opportunities? If so, what changed from 15 minutes ago? Has this new “way of thinking” given you a new perspective in life? I truly hope so.
Now, how can this change your life?

Next time, when you think of complaining about something, think about this article, and stop. Reflect on what the problem is, and try to think of it as opportunity – what opportunities can emerge in order to solve your problem? Are there many other people who have the same problem? Can your solution help others as well?

If so, congratulations, you have a potential for good business. You have the power to actively observe the environment around you, and try to find problems that can be translated to opportunities. That is the “millionaire mindset” that you should pursue. If you look closely enough, you will notice many opportunities.

Observe

Now, sit down for a second, and give it some thought – what problems in your surrounding environment are worth your commitment, energy and devotion in order to solve them? Maybe something in healthcare, infrastructure, education or renewable energy? Will it make the world a better place to live, and does it have a market? That is the power of active observation.

Listen

But why stop here? Let’s take it a step further. In addition to your problems, have you thought about hearing other people’s complaints? People are a great source of information. Think about actively listening for other people’s complaints. What problems do they need solved?

They will complain a lot – and it is up to you whether you will join them, or start looking at them as opportunities for new solutions. Here is a quick, 4-step guide you should have in mind during conversations in order to actively listen for problems. The process should not take more than 30 seconds:

• Actively listen to what other people complain about.
• For each complaint, quickly try to think about what the problem is (the core of the problem, not a
  symptom).
• If you found the problem, consider if there are many people with the same problem? Is it worth
  pursuing?
• If yes, then you have a problem that needs to be solved. Write it down, and dedicate time to solve it as
  well as possible. If the solution is good, you have a product/service that satisfies a client’s needs.

If you’ve managed to transform a negative habit of complaining into active observation for problems in your surroundings, or active listening for opportunities from the people near you, you are a step higher on the self-development ladder. Here is my final advice. This requires frequent self-awareness of your thoughts in order to ensure progress and eliminate complaints.

Start keeping a diary, and write down all the complaints and problems that you come up with through your active observing or active listening. What problems have you identified? Write them down; one of those can be the next million dollar idea. This is what makes successful people different.

Related: What Makes a Great Entrepreneur (One Powerful Expert Tip)?

What does it take to be a great entrepreneur?

Isn’t that a burning question we all have?

Ask several different people and you might get a lot of variation in the answers.

Maybe the better question is: What kind of entrepreneur do you want to become?

Every time I interview someone I have the honor of learning from them just as you would any mentor. The more I talk to a wide range of amazing people the more I find a common and consistent message.

Great entrepreneurs are on a mission and they play for something bigger than themselves. 

The motivation they have is not spawned by the idea of money. No, it’s from something bigger, a cause or a mission in their life that they become obsessed with. Money is only the means to pursuing the mission.

Nothing or nobody can derail them from pursuing it. Their vision is clear and desire strong.

Passion is an important part of the equation but to succeed in scaling an idea and creating a good lifestyle you also must know your competency and market.

In our interview with Tony Robbins, he said that:

“aside from your love, your labor is the most sacred give you can give, so find something that you’re here to play for that’s bigger than yourself”

People like Sasha Fisher, who was featured in issue #11 of Change Creator Magazine, will leave you in awe with her story of great leadership at Spark Microgrants.

Sasha Fisher moved to East Africa in July 2010 to develop the Spark MicroGrants model. Her previous experiences in South Sudan, South Africa, India, and Uganda have led to her passion for community-led development.  Spark has designed a novel approach for launching communities facing poverty into action and has partnered with 150 villages across Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Spark strengthens the fundamental vitals each village needs to succeed, building the base infrastructure for families to discuss, deliberate and make local progress. Spark takes each village through a six-month facilitation process where families set village goals, brainstorm projects to reach one goal and plan a project. Each village opens a community bank account and receives an $8,000 seed grant to launch their project into reality. The six-month process is outlined below.

Now, as you might already know, marketing expert, author, and brand ambassador, Guy Kawasaki is no stranger to the startup world.

We had the honor to talk with him on a range of topics and what we got in return was an overflowing amount of priceless strategies that will help any entrepreneur step up their game.

One of my favorite quotes from Guy is:

“Great companies start because the founders want to change the world… not make a fast buck. Call me a romantic, but I think entrepreneurs should try to change the world.”

Are you ready to become a great entrepreneur?

What decisions are you making? How do you know you are making good decisions?

Understanding why you want to make a difference and the internal and external options you have right now to make it happen can show you what you can do today to get on the path to bringing your vision to life or narrowing down what it is exactly.

However, it’s one thing to say I want to change my life—or the world—and another to follow through with it. Life happens no matter what we do. And if we don’t bring consciousness to our decision making, we will forever live based on external stimuli and internal patterns we don’t recognize as they are playing out in our daily lives.

Daniel Kahneman, arguably one of the most important contemporary psychologists, demonstrates clearly how we like to think of ourselves as rational in our decision making while the truth is that we are subject to many biases in his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”.

As Change Creators, we can’t afford to ignore the intricacies of our decision making.

The Twin Sister of Decision

When Ilaina Rabbat and Roshan Paul decided to build Amani Institute, they were both working at Ashoka. They used their vacation time to do initial sensing, spent nights working on the concept, connections and strategies, hosted meet-ups to come up with a name and logo and finally moved to Nairobi, Kenya to start building the Institute on the ground.

In the process, they had to make a million different decisions. Literally.

The most important one, however, was to commit to making it happen.

Commitment is the twin sister of decision.

Your fears, internal and external options, your strengths and interests, and real or perceived opportunity costs all color the decisions you are making. What makes them count, however, is your commitment.

The Visible and Invisible Leap of Faith

Decisions don’t have to be literal leaps of faith.

Roshan and Ilaina didn’t immediately quit their jobs to start their social enterprise; they took time to prepare the ground. The visible leap of faith—relocating, starting the program, and such—was preceded by an invisible one that was the commitment to creating an answer to a problem they perceived: the lack of the equivalent to a medical training school for people who want to build careers of meaning and impact.

For some people, it helps to publicly say they want to run a marathon to actually follow through with it.

But others experience a sudden lack of energy after sharing with someone that they want to write a book, for example, or want to tackle a difficult problem in the world.

Sometimes, sharing your invisible leap of faith too early and with too many people can also take energy out of it as you get confronted with everyone’s opinions about your decision.

Ground yourself before you make it public.

A compass for decisions:

1. The Cause

When I asked Tosh Juma, who is launching Nairobi Design Institute, an Impact Design Academy in Kenya, what he thinks when he hears “decision making,” his answer was fast as lightning: “The cause.”

If you are aligned with something that is bigger than you, your fears, and your shortcomings, you will figure things out.

Sometimes, that means continuing with your job and moonlighting your idea.

Sometimes the “cause” is not a specific social change topic but just the commitment to doing work that is impactful.

Or it means figuring out that you actually are not a social entrepreneur but rather an intrapreneur, and there is nothing wrong with that if it still furthers the cause you are committed to.

2. Fears, Values, and Happiness

Double-check your story to see if your decision is disguising a fear that you can actually face.

In my last column, we spoke about a fear practice you could develop to make sure you are familiar with your fears and build courage to face them.

For example, one of our alumni decided to build a career working in the nonprofit sector but realized that she would really have more impact in her previous company that wanted her back.

She faced her fears of falling into old patterns and negotiated a new role that allows her to innovate from within and create cultural impact through a very large media company in Europe.

Her decisions pivoted as she worked through her fears, but the commitment to the cause (creating positive social impact through her work) didn’t change.

What is crucial when we talk about fears and commitment is Peter Senge’s distinction between creative and emotional tension. Your fears can create an emotional tension causing you to lower your vision or giving up altogether in the worst case.

Focusing on your commitment, accepting reality, and remaining open to different ways to making your vision come alive will help you build the ability to remain in creative tension that inspires finding better solutions to achieving your goals.

Sometimes, we think we don’t do something because of a lack of courage.

An interesting reframe of such a situation happened when I ran into an alumnus who remained in his family business instead of starting his own social enterprise as he initially envisioned.

He shared with me that he realized it wasn’t really a lack of courage but a very strong value around family that kept him there. A clash of values doesn’t have to create “either-or” situations for you.

In my last column, I shared the “Third Horizon” framework that can help in such a situation: You can build towards a more significant shift of your work in the future by including small things in your daily or weekly routine that help you build expertise and experience.

Read here for more about how values affect your decisions.

Harvard Psychologist Dan Gilbert presents some very interesting research on how our beliefs about what makes us happy are often wrong and how that translates into bad decisions.

Watch his TED talk – Why We Make Bad Decisions

Decision-making tools are only as good as you know yourself

There are many tools that can help you with the actual decision making, ranging from flipping a coin to elaborate frameworks that can help you weigh your options. I particularly like these 52 skills on mindtools.com or this great “Beginner’s Guide to Better Decision Making” by James Clear.

Oftentimes, you won’t know all the answers and have to follow your gut instinct, or you are someone who always does that but needs to start being more analytical in how you are making decisions.

In the context of the Inner Journey, this type of self-reflection is crucial to understanding where your strengths and weaknesses lie. And in the context of social change work, this sometimes translates into a matter of life and death of people you are working with, or puts you in an ethical dilemma that you can’t resolve but still have to act on.

Decision fatigue is a reality and can be a serious problem. Taking a hard look at all the decisions you make on a daily basis and seeing which ones you can eliminate can be very helpful. Remember: Habits replace willpower and making decisions requires a lot of willpower!

Community of Practice

Last but not least, a community of practice and support is incredibly important when you are making important decisions.

Join a group of likeminded people such as the Change Creator Facebook Group – I Am A Change Creator, a Fellowship, or make a point of getting your friends together to support you when you are taking the leap.The ones that will pick you up when you get knocked down and encourage you to try again.

As Brene Brown puts it in her talk “Why It Isn’t Your Critics Who Count”:

“yes, it was as terrible as you thought it was, but you were brave, and now let’s go try it again.”

Don’t let noise distract you.

Know who the people are who are also in the arena and keep on building a better world!

Ready?

Asking for feedback from experienced professionals and friends, finding your blind spots, and checking your assumptions have to become habits if you want to improve your decision making.

You can google decision-making tools, but they are only as good as your ability to self-reflect and your commitment to making change happen.

Understanding why you want to create change and exploring both your internal and external options to making it happen can help you understand what decision you need to make next as a Changemaker.

Expanding your ability to be increative tension instead of letting emotional tension snap you back is crucial to honoring your commitments.

Want to start a new exercise habit?

Maybe meditating?

Daily journaling?

Whatever it might be, we have deep rooted patterns in our lives and creating new habits take hard work.

The steps themselves might be deceptively simple: pick one habit, keep it small to start with, and remember to do it every day.

But it’s not always so easy — there are a number of forces that can stand in the way:

• People in our lives create resistance to the habit.
• Our environment itself creates resistance (i.e. Internet distractions get in the way of writing).
• We forget.
• A crisis or other disruption comes into our life unexpectedly.

All of that is difficult … but there’s one obstacle that gets in the way more than any other.

Our biggest obstacle is ourselves.

I’m guessing you’re not so surprised by this. We have seen ourselves give up on habits many times, because:

• We are busy.
• We procrastinate because we’re tired or just don’t feel like it.
• We get distracted by our addictions.
• We are afraid of failure.
• We don’t like the discomfort of the task.

We are our own biggest obstacle to the new habits we want to create in our lives.

The biggest reason is because we come up with all kinds of objections.

And then we listen to those objections.

We object to waking up early to write, because we’re tired. Tiredness is a big objection of ours.

We object to doing yoga or exercising, because it’s hard and we don’t feel like it right now. We’d rather check our phones. Procrastination because distraction is easier than discomfort is another major way we deal with our objections.

We object to the difficult studying, because it makes us feel like losers to not know what we’re doing. This feeling of uncertainty is another huge objection.

We object to the daily practice, because it feels restricting. It feels useless somehow, to practice but not get anywhere. It’s not working.

We object to discomfort, uncertainty, being overwhelmed, having to do something regularly, not being able to comfort and reward ourselves whenever we want.

How do we overcome these objections? How do we overcome the obstacles of ourselves? Let’s investigate a few ideas.

Overcoming Our Own Objections

There might not be just one answer to this obstacle. People respond differently depending on how they respond to expectations — their own expectations, and other people’s.

So the right answer for me might not be the right answer for you.

Let’s look at a few different approaches.

Have Answers to the Objections

If we have a set of common objections to sticking to something, then we can pre-plan our answers instead of blindly believing the rationale we usually use.

Here are some common objections, with examples of how you might plan to answer them:

• I’m tired (or don’t feel like it). Answer: Just do a little bit of it. You don’t have to do it for very long … if you can do one minute (or write one paragraph), you can call that a win for today.
• Why should I put myself through this. Answer: This is a gift to yourself. Doing this habit is a loving way to make your life better, and always putting it off is a harmful habit. See the deliciousness in this experience!
• You deserve a break/treat. Answer: Take a break right after you do it for a minute. Or … let this be your treat!
• I’ll do it in a minute (or “One won’t hurt). Answer: You know that rationale is a lie. Don’t listen to the lies you tell yourself when you’re tired or afraid. Instead, tell yourself that doing the habit for one minute won’t hurt. Or putting off doing something you’re trying to quit (cigarettes, for example) won’t hurt.
• This is scary/sucks because I don’t know what I’m doing. Answer: Yep, the uncertainty is scary! And yet, everything good in your life has come because you pushed into uncertainty. So see it as something to savor, this uncertainty, because it is the ground where you learn, grow, and get better. Learn to relish in it.
• This is hard, I’ll do it later. Answer: Do a small dose of the hard stuff now, then go to your favorite distraction after. Switch up the order and things get a lot better in your life.

Of course, the answers above won’t necessarily be the best ones for you … so figure out what answers work for you.

Set Up Your Environment

If having answers to your objections doesn’t work, you might set up your environment to be more conducive to habit success, when you’re feeling good and optimistic.

Some ideas:

• Clear away distractions. Make it hard to get to them.
• Make your best option the most convenient option. Put out the healthy snacks where you can see them, and make yourself have to drive to the store to get the unhealthy stuff.
• Tell others in your house/office that you’re not going to do something (not go on Facebook, not eat candy) … and if they catch you doing it, you owe them $50.
• Get others to join you in a challenge.
• Put reminders or inspiration everywhere.
• Make your Instagram or Twitter feed only filled with inspiration, not distractions.
• Ask others to encourage you on your goal every time they see you.
• Set up your yoga mat, meditation cushion, writing space, or sewing area so that it’s easy to dive into your new habit.

Again, what works for one person won’t work for others, so experiment!

Find the Freedom

Some people really don’t work well with restrictions or being told they have to do something over and over. If that’s you, then find the freedom in the activity.

Why eat broccoli and kale? If you make it something your mom is telling you to do, you might hate it. But if you find the deliciousness in fresh, healthy, whole food, maybe it can seem like a wonderful choice. If you think about the freedom it gives you to be healthy, strong, fit and able to do all kinds of outdoor activities, then kale becomes a beautiful empowering leaf.

Why give up cigarettes? Instead of thinking of this as a restrictive thing, think of it as freedom from the burden of having to buy cigarettes, financial freedom, freedom from being tied to a burdensome habit for the rest of your life, freedom from getting super sick from smoking (which will absolutely suck for you and your loved ones).

Why sit down every day to write your book? Think of it as freedom from procrastination and distraction, freedom to express yourself, freedom to finally create when you’ve been running from it for so long.

Find the deliciousness, the treat, the freedom, the fun. And soon you’ll be not your own biggest obstacle, but your own biggest supporter.

Related: 

“Sure, I’d love to help.”

“Yes, let’s setup some time.”

No matter how busy I would get, I had a very tough time saying no to people.

Little did I know, that mastering that one skill would change my life. Seems trivial right? It’s a huge factor as you’ll see when I break it down in this article.

Pursuing work as an entrepreneur can be even more tricky after being in the traditional 9am-5pm role because you need to make your own schedule. There are so many choices to make on how to spend your time to be most effective.

If you’re the kind of person who has an activist-spirit or is already pursuing social business than you probably have a high level of empathy. Something that is very powerful in business actually because it’s so important to understand things from the someone else’s perspective. However, while being a very good thing, it can also be a bit of a curse that you need to be very aware of because you always want to help others.

I noticed this the most during my entrepreneur years the most. I would always be networking and meeting new people. As that happened opportunities would come up to work with them.

At the early phase of a business you likely don’t have a ton of cash flow.

You bootstrap and do everything yourself which means you don’t have an assistant.

You’re just a person following their passion and trying to figure things out.

The one thing you can trade since you don’t have a lot of money is your time. Write an article for someone, build their website, make a video…etc. Whatever skill you might have that can help them out.

But the habit of saying yes to everything has huge downsides that I outline below.

But first, why do we say yes?

Why am I a “yes” addict?

As technology continues to boom and connect us in every way possible we lead high paced stressful lives with infinite choices.

We are taught to help others, be kind, bring value to their lives. This is what gets you a return in life.

You don’t want to let someone down or destroy an important relationship.

You want to be helpful and positive. No, is seen as unhelpful and negative, right?

It the book, The Power of a Positive No, William Ury states:

“Saying no has always been important, but perhaps never as essential a skill as it is today.”

Ury even says that “whether and how we say No determines the very quality of our lives.”

His whole thing is about learning to say No in a positive way that still gets the yes.

Mahatma Gandhi once said:

“A “no” uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a `Yes’ merely uttered to please or what is worse, to avoid trouble.”

Related: Find out what it takes to get paid to change the world with Change Creator Magazine

Delayed Personal Progress

It’s exciting to connect with people who show interest in what you’re doing. Maybe you can help each other out? Out of excitement we might rush into decisions, giving into negative emotions such as fear and guilt.

I was always open to a mutually beneficial partnership because it meant progress to me. But, that usually meant carving out some of my limited time to make it happen.

When you do this a few times, you suddenly realize you’re over committed and basically delaying your progress more than anything because you’re spending less and less time on the things that truly matter to your personal goals.

Eroding Relationships

When you become spread too thin and overcommitted, you start having shallow relationships.

You tap into that limited time inventory and start paying less attention to the most important people in your life, business or personal.

Maybe the work you promised someone in your professional life is being delayed. Maybe your quality is suffering because you’re scrambling to get things done based on a super busy schedule. Now, that relationship starts to erode because they are unhappy with your work and attention to them.

I have built so many connections as I interview tons of social entrepreneurs and connect with people in the industry. It’s very hard to keep up with everyone and most times you cannot. I wish it wasn’t the case but you have to keep your attention focused. People don’t want your half baked attention. They want to feel like you give a shit. They want you to listen and provide your undivided attention to them.

Focus is an art itself. Learning how to keep your attention narrow and avoid constant distraction is important. Practices like meditation help this a lot. It has for me.

Related: 5 best tips for increasing your productivity that you need to know now

Saying No Leaves Room For a Better Yes

As you have read so far, there are very good reasons for learning how to empower your life by saying no.

Your time is limited and you can’t buy more of it, so it’s value is very high. You must use it wisely.

When you’re focused and you know what your priorities are you can intelligently determine when to say yes or no.

When you say no you leave room for a better yes.

You say yes to giving your goals precedence.

You say yes to quality time with family and friends.

You say yes to take care of your health – mental and physical.

You say yes to very important opportunities that surface. Things that are important to you.

Final Words

Success in life requires key pillars – health, wealth and strong relationships. Not just one of the three. I have interviewed people such as Tony Robbins and Arianna Huffington who will tell you this very thing.

I can appreciate the macho hype about living the “grind” to be a successful entrepreneur. You have to put in your time to do great work but how you allocate that time is very important.

All work does not lead to success. You need your personal health and strong relationship – friends and family. This is holistic and keeps you in a good state of mind for better work success.

If you want to learn more about how to say no and still get a yes, then definitely check out the book, The Power of a Positive No, by William Ury. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Related: How to fully commit to your idea