How to create life changing moments
World around us is changing more rapidly than ever and the way new opportunities being created are completely different compared to past few years. Exponential organizations, co-creations producing billion dollar startups with almost no capitol. Over next decade, artificial intelligence will make many of jobs and businesses extinct limiting opportunities for value creation per traditional thought processes. Repeating the same things we have been doing so far can no longer take us to the next breakthroughs in our life [1].
Generate 10 new ideas per day — Here are some examples, books I would like to write and self publish, how companies can improve their business strategies, how data can be utilized for common good etc. Very likely most of the ideas you come up with will be bad or someone else have already thought about it, however this will train your brain and eventually you will be able to generate great ideas [2]. Offer your ideas for free to companies, send them to your linkedin contacts, submit for business on kickstarter or quirky.
Volunteer for a cause — There is world outside your own problems and challenges and often inspiring to see how other people overcome challenges in their life. Helping other through volunteer opportunities to building homes, cleaning neighborhood, food for homeless people through volunteermatch, your local hospital, city and community can help to turn worse days in your life to best days in your life.[3]
Define mission statement for your life — In what areas you are passionate? would like to develop mastery, true edge, how you would like to contribute to the world? What is your story of life that inspires you and others? Dedicate your life for a mission that is larger than life and will make you to get up from bed with high energy. Mission statements needs to be like Google, “organize world’s information” instead of becoming number 1 in certain area. Once you define your mission and work towards it there will be high probability that you will achieve it, but if you define that you need to be number 1 as your mission and once you achieve it then what is the next step?
Attend events and conferences — Events, technical conferences, the ambiance and people you will meet, ideas you will encounter will impact your life forever. Many people think that they do not need motivation and they can achieve anything they want. Benefits of such events is you are learning from some people who have dedicated their entire life to certain cause and you can learn from them in just few hours instead of reinventing the wheel. To learn music, math we go to school, then why not learn from masters about important aspects of life?
Give talks — If any of your original work can benefit other people, provide deep insights, your big ideas, problems you have solved, present it in the leading conferences, try to avoid motivational talks like you can do it too. Presenting your mastery can generate new dialogues, feedbacks from like minded people giving you more visibility in the community of your area of interest.
Break your routine — Reenergize, take a vacation, go for hiking, camping, backpacking or even consider a mid career retirement. Breaking routine patterns can break thought patterns thus providing visibility to the opportunities you have never seen before.
Redefine your routine — Practice mindfulness, meditation, priming, exercise, change your posture [1–7]. There are proven benefits of getting your heart and brain in sync. This not a religious practice but learning to live in the current moment, exercise that can increase your energy level.
Read a new book — Biography of someone inspire you can introduce you to many new concepts, ideas, powerful quotes, strategies they have applied. Biography’s often teach that struggles in one’s life have some bigger purpose and meaning and how their life was shaped due to these events. Character is shaped in toughest moments of life.
Create role models — Michael Phelps, Elon Musk, Jack Ma, Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos so on … Follow them on twitter. Create a list of 50 influential people in your area, develop connections with them [4]. Its about becoming yourself rather than changing yourself [5].
Develop emulation model — People almost always know the right things to do but lack courage to take action because they have not practiced or experienced the results of taking the risk or being brave. Take more active approach in designing your life so that you can create a life that gives you fulfillment, joy and passion. Choose to be ok with uncertainty, when we attach certainty to outcome we are limited but when we open our minds to the uncertainty of the outcome we are unlimited. Being open to uncertainty can gain the outcomes we have ever imagined [6].
Understand trends — Track changes in the world around us. For example, global population coming to internet over next few years, demographic shifts and increase in senior citizens, water supply per human being, deforestation, blockchain impact, data creation and usage etc. Project challenges and opportunities created by these trends and how you can do anything to address any one of them.
Define your life philosophy- Philosophy is originated from the Greek words “philo” means love and “sophia” means wisdom. The philosophy is about own, not other people’s mind. We all have things that matter in life — body, economics, sprit, emotions, family, business and we tend to examine the world through our own personal lens. “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” — Dr. Wayne Dyer. Your life philosophy can include — mental resilience to be world-class, become an innovator, a pioneer etc that can work as a moral compass. If you are at management or leadership position — get out of the way, trust people … so on.
Learn to talk to strangers — Next big opportunity can be the person you have not met yet [7]. Learn to break from your social habits by experiencing unpredictable diversity within social hubs. Utilize strength of “weak ties”. Instead of “You’re welcome” next time, may be “Come back to me”, “It’s great to collaborate,” or “That’s what friends are for” as most of your work gets done through weak ties. It makes us comfortable to be around people who are similar. When we need new ideas, when we need new jobs, when we need new resources — this is when we pay a price for living in a clique [7].
Learn to Unlearn — Unlearning is not about forgetting what you have learned previously, but rather rejecting a previously learned and enforced belief, long-deep respected or admired theory. To develop GPS we have to unlearn nature of Newtonian time. Unlearning becomes critical when there is something that no longer relevant or there is a better way forward that is in odds with what we have known to be true.
Find a mentor — With so much competition it can feel impossible to move towards your dream. You know exactly what needs to be done but feels endless obstacles on your way. How to get out of this rat race? Good news is most of your competition is going through the same, so getting in top 1 percent requires fundamental change. “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” — Buddha [8]. Most people are mediocre at what they do because they are playing by rules that halt optimal performance. They are climbing traditional ladders intended to slow them down and keep them average. Follow the footsteps of best in the world to be the best in the world [8].
Learn to be independent thinker — “The day before something is truly a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea.” Trying out crazy ideas means bucking expert opinion and taking big risks. It means not being afraid to fail. Because you will fail. The road to bold is paved with failure, and this means having a strategy in place to handle risk and learn from mistakes is critical.” — Peter Diamandis. If what you’re doing doesn’t seem slightly crazy to you, and very crazy to other people, you’re probably following the safe path. [1]
What is meaning of life? Whatever you want it to be. Goals allow us to create our future in advance. They allow us to envision our destiny, and, in turn, shape our lives. They give us direction and hope. Meaningful goals create emotion and drive inside of us. They spur us to grow and expand. But if we want meaningful goals, then we must create goals that are compelling enough to draw those emotions out of us. If we can create a strong enough “why” to keep going, then we will have the fuel to endure anything that comes our way. Ultimately, material objects or a certain title will not make you happy. The only thing that will make you happy is the person you have become and what you have created in your lifetime. [3,9]
It’s perfectly okay to have no idea how you are going to achieve your goal. And it’s perfectly okay to set goals that go beyond your present ability or skill. What’s important here is that you operate from absolute total belief and faith.
Frame your goals with absolute certainty — that no matter what, you will find a way to make it happen. Even if it seems impossible to you now, you know in your core that you can pull it off. When you have that fundamental belief, you will be taking back control of your life. [10]
Our lives are measured in moments, and defining moments are the ones that endure in our memories. [9]
References
[1] Bold — How to Go Big, Create Wealth, and Impact the World Peter H. Diamandis
[2] FAQ On How To Become An Idea Machine — James Altucher
[3] How to get what you want, set meaningful goals to create real, lasting change in your life — Tony Robbins
[4] 6 Smart Techniques to Connect With Influential People — Adam Toren
[5] How to Create the “Moments” that Change Your Life “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” — Tony Robbins
[6] Letting Go of the Outcome — Payal Khurana, TEDxUF
[7] The secret to great opportunities? The person you haven’t met yet -Tanya Menon, Ted
[8] How to Become the Best in the World at What You Do — Benjamin P. Hardy
[9] The Power of Moments : Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact — Chip Heath, Dan Heath
[10] How to be The Luckiest Guy On The Planet in 4 Easy Steps — James Altucher
