#Trust30 Day 24 - Intuition

The secret of fortune is joy in our hands. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you could picture your intuition as a person, what would he or she look like? If you sat down together for dinner, what is the first thing he or she would tell you? –Susan Piver

My intuition might be a scribe, pen in hand. Never stop writing, you will find your voice, he would say.

My intuition might be an eagle. Spread your wings, and you will soar.

My intuition could look like a younger, more-in-shape version of myself. Go for a run and then hit the weight room, you’ll feel stronger, ready to take on the world.

Perhaps my intuition looks like a wizened old man, full of wisdom beyond my years. Choose your path carefully but with enthusiasm. Life goes quickly.

My intuition might look like Batman. Drop what you’re doing and start fighting for the underdog.

Intuition might look like Kurt Russel, playing Wyatt Earp. You called down the thunder? Well now you’ve got it. Skin that smoke wagon, and get to work.

Intuition might look like Dante Alighieri, or Leo Tolstoy. Write about injustice with passion, so those who committed it will be forever remembered for their misdeeds.

My intuition might look like Frank Sinatra. You’ve got to get up on that stage and sing, man.

Most likely, though, my intuition would look like….me.  Don’t settle, don’t ever settle, he would say, your struggle will be worth it.

Trust30 Day 21 - Making decisions

[Another #Trust30 post--only nine left! For more information about them, click here].

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

We live in a society of advice columns, experts and make-over shows. Without even knowing it, you can begin to believe someone knows better than you how to live your life. Someone might know a particular something better – like how to bake a three-layer molten coconut chocolate cake or how to build a website – but nobody else on the planet knows how to live your life better than you. (Although one or two people may think they do.) For today, trying asking yourself often, especially before you make a choice, “What do I know about this?” - Jen Louden

Who would know better than me how to live my life? Many people are taught that the best way to make it through life is to fit in and not stand out from the crowd. I was never taught this. Around my house, the advice was always “you need to be a leader” or “don’t let them push you into doing what everyone else is doing.” This advice was repeated many times while I was growing up and it led me to seek out my own path in life. For the most part, the strategy has worked out well.

The point all of these posts based on Emerson’s Self-Reliance is to encourage us to be more, well, self-reliant (insightful, I know). We are encouraged to trust in ourselves and our capabilities. I like the idea, though I would say that it is important to not become so self-reliant that we completely isolate ourselves from the community of people around us.

In practice, how could a person follow the advice in today’s prompt? How could you become more willing to make your own decisions? A step-by-step process might go something like this:

1. You realize that you have a decision coming up that you are going to have to make. It’s a big one, so you are scared about making the wrong choice.
2. If your first reaction is to think, “Oh, sh--. I’ve got to call R. and see what he thinks,” that could be a sign that you are too dependent on others for help with decisions. When you reach for your phone, stop! Put it down. Give yourself a day to think about it before making the call.
3. Get out a piece of paper and a pen. Write the decision down in question form, e.g., “Why should I take that job offer in another city?”
4. Write down some possible answers, plus pros and cons or whatever else comes to your mind. The act of writing is good for helping you clarify your thoughts and you will be able to revisit your initial reaction at a later time.
5. If you find it difficult to wait until the next day to ask for help, do something to take your mind off your decision. Go get some exercise. Exercise, even something as low-intensity as walking, gets the blood flowing to your brain and gives your subconscious a chance to sort things out.
6. After a day has passed, and you have sorted out your own thoughts, then it’s time to ask others what they think. They may end up trying to persuade you to do what they think is right, but at least you came into the discussion more prepared.
7. By the time you get to this point, you should have a good sense of what your decision is. Trust yourself—you’re right.

In these types of decisions, you could also ask yourself, “What don’t I know about this?” Once you determine what you don’t know, then you know what else you need to know before you can make your decision, you know?  

The whole process of fostering self-reliance is about building trust in yourself and your capabilities, and trust is not built in a single act. It is built up over time. Start making small decisions for yourself to give yourself confidence for bigger decisions. After you get used to making smaller decisions, you will have more confidence in your own abilities in the future.

When faced with a life decision, where do you seek advice? Friends, parents, spouses, Google? How do you decide when to shun the advice of others and make a decision based on what is inside you?

#Trust30 Day 14 - Ambition

[Yes, there are a lot of these #Trust30 posts...here's why].

When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The world buzzes about goals and visions. Focus. Create a vivid picture of exactly where you want to go. Dream big, then don’t let anything or anyone stop you. The problem, as Daniel Gilbert wrote in Stumbling Upon Happiness, is that we’re horrible at forecasting how we’ll really feel 10 or 20 years from now – once we’ve gotten what we dreamed of. Often, we get there only to say, “That’s not what I thought it would be,” and ask, “What now?” Ambition is good. Blind ambition is not. It blocks out not only distraction, but the many opportunities that might take you off course but that may also lead you in a new direction. Consistent daily action is only a virtue when bundled with a willingness to remain open to the unknown. In this exercise, look at your current quest and ask, “What alternative opportunities, interpretations and paths am I not seeing?” They’re always there, but you’ve got to choose to see them.” - Jonathan Fields

The author’s prompt does not quite fit my situation. I do not have a “blind ambition” that causes me to miss opportunities that I would otherwise see. Rather, I am too open to possibilities, and the reluctance to choose a more focused approach to life is creating challenges for me. There are too many distractions in my world, not too few.

However, even though the prompt is not perfect for my situation,  I am still willing to sit down and think about the ‘alternate paths’ I might not be seeing. Some of these could be:

1. Writing for a magazine or other publication
2. Start an international coffee newsletter, to combine my interests in coffee, travel, writing, business, economics and storytelling
3. Turn this site into more of a demonstration of my capabilities and let people know how they can hire me (building logos, graphics, creating presentations, speaking, editing videos, etc.)
4. Try to find a “normal” job that allows me to travel and write about those travels when not working for the company
5. Contracting with a company to write/oversee its newsletters, either internal or external

One alternative (#2 above) for what I am doing would be to create a newsletter for the coffee industry that is different from the coffee trade magazines. [side note: If you are someone who is in the coffee industry, is there some type of information out there that you are missing that you would like to have available? My crack team of researchers could start working on finding it.] I heard a marketing professor say one time that to be successful, you have to find a problem and be the solution to that problem. In other words, you find someone with a headache and then be the aspirin.

My current ‘quest’ is to make a living out of writing and other creative activities. I would like to turn Caffeinated PDX into a more important and useful site for visitors, but that is going to require some changes (and, eventually, some assistance). The blog is going to have to have a stronger message to attract more people and it also will need to grow outside the Portland area.

In essence, the current Caffeinated PDX is a first draft for the project it will eventually become. During the last several months, I have learned a lot about coffee, writing, blogging and social media. I continually remind myself that it takes time to build something successful, and that even on the days when it seems like my progress goes backwards, I am learning things that will be valuable in the long run. At some point, I will find the right mix of message and utility, and then use my “not so blind” ambition to make it work.