We are taught from a young age that in order to achieve great success we must set and achieve our goals. However in doing so, we become focused on where we are going rather than enjoying where we are right now. We sacrifice today in the hope that a better future will emerge, only to discover that achievement rarely leads to true joy. Goal-Free Living presents an alternative philosophy – that we can have an extraordinary life now, all without goals and detailed plans. By living for each moment, it’s possible to have a successful life and follow your passions at the same time.
In Stephen Shapiro’s book “ Goal-Free Living” he presents his eight secrets to living life free from the constant pressure of goals:
- Use a compass, not a map
- Trust that you are never lost
- Remember that opportunity knocks often, but sometimes softly
- Want what you have
- Seek out adventure
- Become a people magnet
- Embrace your limits
- Remain detached
Goal-Free Living offers practical guidance on putting these secrets to work in your own life every day. Take them to heart and you’ll be free of the tyranny of goals-and experience a life truly worth living.
A couple of random quotes from the book:
"I started thinking about growth rather than downsizing. Innovation and creativity rather than efficiency."
"The things to do are: the things that need doing: that you see need to be done, and no one else seems to see the need to be done. Then you will conceive your own way of doing that which needs to be done – that no one else has told you to do or how to do it. This will bring out the real you that often get buried inside a character that acquired a superficial array of behaviors induced or imposed by other on the individual."
"One of the side effects of living goal-free is that we don’t end up with a neat and tidy set of accomplishments that defines us. We end up with lots of strings that cross, weave, twist, and turn. They all lead to the current moment, right now. They lead out into the future too, but we can only guess at where they will cross again. Any threads can take me almost anywhere I need to go, but to sort it out logically in terms of goals and accomplishments can really squeeze the life out of the stories, the threads, this life."
"Networking isn’t about business opportunities or social status. Rather it is about making new connections, gaining new experiences, and sharing passions."
"Difference knowledge rather than more knowledge."
In Q1 2008 I started a free professional network in Denmark for people with interest in the SCRUM process framework in Denmark. Today the network hit 600 people! and the discussions treads seems to sparkle more and more… (600 may not seem as a lot but for a local network for people located in Denmark with a interest in Scrum I think it is pretty good). I can’t think how it would be possible to connect 600 people in 8-9 months if it hadn’t been for the help of LinkedIn – great platform! Lets hit 1000 members in 2009…
In the book ‘The contrarian effect’ Michael Port and Elizabeth Marshall writes about why It Pays (Big) to Take Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite.
The typical old sales tactics we’re all familiar with no longer work. Cold calling gets you nowhere, door-to-door selling is a nonstarter, and today’s consumers are too savvy for most traditional scripts and closing techniques. With those tactics, it takes more time and effort to reach fewer and fewer clients. If you’re still doing it the old-fashioned way, you’re probably barely keeping your career afloat.
High technology and instant communication have put customers firmly in control of the sales process. They don’t answer calls from unknown numbers; they demand honesty and transparency in the sales process; they are well informed about your product before they deal with you; and they have no patience for pressure tactics like closing questions. No wonder traditional sales methods no longer work.
The book ends with a contrarian primer with 9 ‘rules’ here are 4 of them:
Build relationships and make connections.
Each potential customer is a human just like you. He is not a ‘prospect’, a ‘commodity, a ‘potential sale’, etc. Seek to understand their needs and make a sincere effort to connect with the person.
Respect your customers and honor their wishes.
Make relevant and timely offers.
When you listen to your target audience and understand their needs – you know what they want to buy and know what you sell – make the ends meet.
Practice radical transparency.
Be honest!
Book idea! It could be fun to mix the contrarian approach with the ‘old school’ sales books like ‘Advanced Selling Strategies’ (Brian Tracy):
The law of unintended consequences states that any purposeful action will produce at least one unintended consequences. This is not a scientific law but I have a hard time finding actions that do not have a unintended consequence.
Robert K. Merton listed five possible causes of unintented consequences:
Ignorance (It is impossible to anticipate everything, thereby leading to incomplete analysis)
Error (Incorrect analysis of the problem or following habits that worked in the past but may not apply to the current situation)
Immediate interest, which may override long-term interests
Basic values may require or prohibit certain actions even if the long-term result might be unfavorable (these long-term consequences may eventually cause changes in basic values)
Self-defeating prophecy (Fear of some consequence drives people to find solutions before the problem occurs, thus the non-occurrence of the problem is unanticipated)
An example:
In 1990, the State of Victoria (Australia) made safety helmets mandatory for all bicycle riders. Together with a reduction in the absolute number of head injuries, there was also an unexpected reduction in the number of juvenile cyclists. Research by Vulcan et al. found that the reduction in juvenile cyclists was because the youths considered wearing a bicycle helmet unfashionable.
Try to think about the actions you have executed in the last 24 hours and what unintended consequence(s) you (could) have created
My first real encounter with Scrum (a software development process framework) was in a airplane from San Francisco to Copenhagen in 2002. I read, thought and tried to understand the philosophy of Scrum in 8 hours with too little leg room but enough room for a little brain activity I think the most important thing I adopted was the mindset of the empirical process model.
The empirical model of process control provides and exercises control through frequent inspection and adaptation for processes that are imperfectly defined and generate unpredictable and unrepeatable outputs.
I think the implementation of software mostly fails when managers and customers tries to use a defined process control model – trying to make a safe environment is a quite natural human action but when doing software it normally only saves you from top management and not from project failure
SCRUM defines a simple solution on how to inspect/monitor and adapt to the unexpected. Please remember that simple solutions can be hard to implement (mainly because people need to adapt to a new way of thinking).
Although I am still a young man I have seen companies collapse, been unemployed, been fired, been cheated etc. but I am still a ‘naive’ person that believes that people try to do their best.
It is easy to stand by your core values when the sun is shining and money stacks up on the bank account but when a financial crisis peaks it seems like peoples core values crack and some evil monster takes control and spits out actions that are misaligned to their core values.
About 11 years ago a fellow student at Aalborg University and former platoon commander in the Danish army told me that the big-bodybuilder-types soldiers were brave when the war was nowhere near them but when danger closed in on them other soldiers took the lead. This is in my opinion true to companies but the problem is when managers get crazy core values and tries to save their own ass and thereby taking the employees as hostages (they did not sign up for a manager with crazy core values).
Lars Kolind is pretty sure that a lot of the good leaders have been scout leaders. I think in some degree that he got a good point – a scout leader have learned that being a leader is about helping other people and getting people to work together as a team – the core values are not money but doing good stuff, being kind to others and to have a good time.
Maybe hard times splits the managers from the real leaders?
But why keep your core values and believes when the guy with the crazy core values wins? When people goes for short term gains and treats other people bad they are likely to lose on the long term!
Why? My take…
I believe that is important to keep being yourself if you want people to trust you now and in the future.
I probably got 30-35 years of work ahead and I will most certainly meet the people I trashed again in the near future and that may not be that fun
I am an INFJ Meyer-briggs-type which makes core values very important for me. I get physical ill and my soul dies (the big questions arises, who am I, how could I do that, etc.) when I do not follow my core values. Just to clarify: an INFJ type can still be an asshole
Can/Do you keep your core values when the shit hits the fan?
The Porcupine X site is hosted by Jørgen Larsen. A Jack of all trades, master of none, though often better than a master of one. He is an expert in software development (methods, process, programming, usability, ...), a inspiring leader, a caring manager, a semi-professional photographer, a writer, an open networker, a handyman, a father, an old DJ and radiohost, an idealist, a creative person, easily inspired, very independent, spunky...
In Q1 2008 I started a free professional network in Denmark for people with interest in the SCRUM process framework in Denmark. Today the network hit 600 people! and the discussions treads seems to sparkle more and more… (600 may not seem as a lot but for a local network for people located in Denmark with a interest in Scrum I think it is pretty good). I can’t think how it would be possible to connect 600 people in 8-9 months if it hadn’t been for the help of LinkedIn – great platform! Lets hit 1000 members in 2009…
I think the most important thing I adopted was the mindset of the empirical process model.
