#42

Welcome to Week #42

What whisper did you hear from #41?

Did you close your eyes? What did you see?

Are you holding tightly or loosely a yesterday version of yourself?

How did you become you – even over the last week?

How else do you experience clarity?

What’s struck me this week?

 
1. Sshh, can you see it? It’s behind you!

In a famous 2007 experiment, violin virtuoso Joshua Bell tried his hand at busking in a plaza of the D.C. metro, playing anonymously for nearly an hour on his priceless 1713 Stradivarius violin, a talent for which he is often paid $1,000 a minute. In the end, only seven out of a thousand passers-by stopped to listen. He collected $32.17! When he finished playing each piece, there was no response from the passing crowd. But, as Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten noted, “Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away.” As Antoine de Saint said, “All grown-ups were once children… but only a few of them remember it”.

Go on, be child-like for a moment. Even childish 😊

Article: Why Do We Fail To See the Beauty?

YouTube: Joshua Bell's 'Stop And Hear The Music' Metro Experiment

2. Not an attack on your character it’s a gap in your craft

When someone offers feedback listen deeply. Whether they are right or wrong in their assessment is less important than if you can see how it highlights an opportunity for you to grow.

So, next time you ask for or receive some feedback (or disguised advice) then resist the temptation to see it as an attack on your character. Interpret it as a gap in your craft and resolve to close the gap. Do that for a while and you’ll be significantly better in a very short space of time.

 
3. Question of the week – Part #2 How do you perpetuate you?

What do you do (or not do) that perpetuates the current version of yourself?

Consciously we’re able to pay attention and process such a small amount of the information and data that’s available to us. Unconsciously, we process millions of bits of information and data. Consciously, it’s triple figures at best. So, on one hand, we’re missing so much. On another, I wonder how often we only process the information that perpetuates who we are now?

Sounds crazy but I’m in a regular dialogue with myself about what I’m picking up and what I’m missing. It’s fascinating to ponder how often the data that perpetuates our current self can be such a small percentage of what’s available to us. Often that current self can be a safe and secure version of our self so it feels legitimate and necessary. I’m trying to remain curious about how often it prevents us from growth.

How about you? Curious?

 
4. Quote of the week - "Nothing is a greater impediment to being on good terms with others than being ill at ease with yourself" - Honoré de Balzac

What’s your relationship like with yourself? I suspect many of us would confess to having a better relationship with others – empathic, compassionate, kind, unconditional, supportive, generous, etc – than we do with ourselves. For many to even consider we can have – or already do – have a relationship with ourselves is a big step.

Often I hear the language “I’m my own worst enemy” and I can see how that might drive some people. If that’s our only relationship then it’s potentially limiting. So, if you were to be your own ‘best mate’- how would you change the relationship with yourself?

 
5. Freedom Fridays Podcast

My weekly conversation with ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We explore some of the big changes people have gone through and what’s helped the journey. The intention is to share as openly as possible some of the ingredients – the good, the bad, the ugly – that shape our shift from ‘I have to’ into ‘I choose to’. The lessons are hiding in open sight within the conversation – it’s up to you how you apply them.

This week is a continuation of the conversation I had with Karen Gately, Founder & Sensei of Corporate Dojo. In Part #2 we share some thoughts about the voyage of discovery some people ‘choose to’ or ‘have to’ go on. We get uncomfortable with parts of us that aren’t comfortable to consider and the impact words - particularly from others - can have. I pause the conversation again to consider why we are playing the game we’re playing.

Enjoy Episode #40 Part #2.