Writing

Finish or Punt.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

Ever have too many projects and don’t know what to do?

Friday was a bit of a panic. I’ve got 8 projects overwhelming me right now. I honestly thought I’d drop all 8 balls and let them come smashing to the floor in a bit of Awesome Failure Glory. Panicked. You know, the “I’m going to be an exceptional failure and never do anything right” kind of day.

So I sent a long letter to the president of my company asking for advice on one of the biggest projects that’s currently on my plate. It was a hard question: I asked if we should pull the plug on a project I’ve been working on for over a year.

He said, take the weekend off. Don’t do anything related to the project and don’t touch a screen, folder, email, idea, notebook, or pen related to this project.

So I took the weekend off. And of course, while not thinking about it, the (metaphorical) table full of projects in my mind seemed to start to organize themselves. And I asked three really smart people around me for advice.  Here’s what the advice came down to, in a nutshell:

Finish or punt.

Pick up one project at a time, give yourself a time limit (for example, a week or a month), and then finish it or get rid of it. Don’t let it sit there.

Unfinished projects sit in your mind, in your space and fester and grow, invading your space, your creativeity, and your time.

Get rid of projects that aren’t working. Finish the other ones and call them done. Make space to work on new things.

Projects without deadlines expand to fill all of your remaining energy. Fix a deadline.  Make a decision. Finish it. Learn from it. Go on and build something else next. More importantly, have the guts to punt when it’s not good enough to finish. Be okay with getting rid of the project. Or finish it.

Just don’t let it sit there.

Oh Heyyyy yeah.

The Most Important Thing That You’re Not Doing

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

I was chatting via email with a family friend of mine who reads my writing from time to time.  I lamented the non-publication of this book I’m “trying” to work on. At the end of her reply, she wrote:

“Don’t bother writing me back; just get to writing on your book!”

Her words hit me like a sledgehammer. She was right.

Everything I’m doing that’s not writing – that’s not getting my book published, that’s not building up a writing set — whether it’s sending an email, watching TV, working late, even writing on this blog, at times — is effectively taking time away from the writing that I want to do.

As it stands, I’m all talk when it comes to a book. I haven’t done it yet. And until then, everything I choose to do is effectively choosing that over something that I keep saying (longing,wanting) to do.

My coach told me to stop thinking about it and just do it.

“What’s the easiest way to get started writing, and nothing else?”

What are you not doing?

What are you doing in place of what you should be doing? What is your life purpose, your question, your raison d’être, your meaning? And if you don’t know that, are you spending time figuring it out?

Because if we’re not doing that — if we’re twittering and emailing and filling up space with things, things that don’t matter so much in the long run, things that just expand to fill the time you give them — then what’s the point?

What’s the cumulative effect of what we are doing?

And what, by doing what we’re doing right now – are you not doing?

Commitment.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

Goethe, on The Power of Commitment:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative ( and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now”.

– J. W. von Goethe

Finish early.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

Don’t stay late. Go home early.

Do less. Seriously, take most of the things off of your to do list. Here are some words to live by, when hiring and managing people:

“I’m more impressed by the person who can get it done in 6 hours – and go home and rest – than the person who gets the same thing done in 16 hours.”

Great managers recognize the human-ness of work, and the reality of productivity.

Just make sure you do the one most important thing each day.

Tonight, put down the trivialities. Go home. Eat dinner. Sit in the sunshine. Breathe the outdoor air. Finish your task. Rest.

The world is not made for over-working. In fact, leave early. You probably don’t do it often enough.

Great things can happen by people who live deliberately.

Generosity. World Give Day: More About We, Less About I

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

What do you give back to the world? Each day, each step, each moment on the planet is a gift. What do you give back? World Give Day is tomorrow, May 4. As part of the effort and outreach, Laura Kimball and Jolkona asked several bloggers to expand on the following statement: “Small scale donors are the backbone of philanthropy”

Giving is a series of moments.  Giving is not about the enormity of a gift or an idea. Giving can be simple, it can be small, it can happen in a moment. Giving is an attitude, a belief about the inter-dependence of the human spirit and the human condition.

Moment 1. In the line at the post office. Frustrated. Tired. Ready to go home. Sighing loudly. I wait, tapping my feet impatiently. The young man in front of me turns, smiles, and says, ‘Busy?’ – In a word, a phrase, a glance, my heart relaxes a bit. ‘Why don’t you go ahead – I’m just enjoying my day,” he continues.

Gift: gracious space. Gentle kindness. A reminder to live slower and just be. Thank you.

Moment 2. Flat on the floor, yoga, stretching, reaching. Tired, sore, worried. The instructor reaches over and puts his hand slowly on the small of my back. He stretches my feet out behind me, pressing downwards on the back of my ribs, reminding me to breathe.

Gift: Touch. A smile. Understanding. Support and friendship. I am so grateful.

My life is filled with moments of wonder as people all around me give gentle nods of encouragement and smiling reminders that we are all here together, working, doing, being. I am only humbled and wish fervently that I can be as generous with my time, money, and energy as everyone is to me.

In the spirit of World Give Day, I want to encourage you to remember that gifts don’t have to be monetary – we can give gifts of our hearts, minds, and ideas – and give them freely. Here are ten of my favorite (non-monetary) things to give.

Ten things you can give – every day:

  • 1. A hug.
  • 2. A smile.
  • 3. A Book or an idea.
  • 4. A listening ear.
  • 5. Advice
  • 6. A Lesson. Teach someone how to do something – for free. Share what you know with someone who needs it.
  • 7. Encouragement.
  • 8. time
  • 9. Space
  • 10. A thought or note. Appreciation and recognition.

What’s your favorite thing to give? What is the best gift you’ve received? If you do enjoy giving monetary gifts – and these are always highly encouraged – I admire many people who give 10% or more of their earnings each year. I strive to give 10% each year to people in desperate need. For those looking to give, here are some of my favorite organizations:

  • Jolkona is an organization built around the idea that small acts add up – quickly.  Connecting you to larger philanthropies, they show you how your giving makes a difference – and work really hard to make the experience interactive, so you can watch your dollars at work. (My personal favorite is teaching people with disabilities to dance – and then getting a video back! How awesome!)
  • Charity: Water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. With the tagline, “water changes everything,” this charity has become one of the biggest organizations in giving, with 100% of public donations directly fund water projects. Learn more or donate.
  • Kiva is a microfinance lending non-profit that funds entrepreneurs around the world through small loans given by many different individuals.  In lending a small amount, such as $25, your funding goes towards helping someone build a business or project. (To see the projects I’ve financed, take a look here.)
  • Red Cross. From money to time to blood donations (you can go every 8 weeks and they give you apple juice and cookies!) – the Red Cross gives around the world.
  • Salvation Army or Goodwill. When cleaning out your closet, decluttering, or moving – box up the things you don’t need and give them to someone who does need them!

“In 100 years, we will not be known for our technological advances; rather we will be known for how we used technology to tackle some of humanity’s biggest challenges.” ~ Adnan Mahmud

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“This post is part of a blog series inspired by World Give Day and hosted by GiveForward and Jolkona. To find other posts in this series please visit www.worldgiveday.com or follow the hashtag #giveday.”

Ten Things for Right Now.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

Ten vows for – the new year – right now.

I write a letter to myself every year (in addition to journaling and obsessive list-making and many other things involving pens, paper and imagination).  One of the most important things on my list is not just what I want to achieve, but also my best guess at the way to achieve what I want to achieve – a means to get to the goals that I want to accomplish.

Next to each goal is a break-down of the steps that it will take to get there.

A little further to the right, hanging by my door as I leave my room each morning –  is a set of reminders for things to do, each day, as I live. These are my “rules to live by.” When I get overwhelmed with my ideas, my aspirations, and my lists, this is the list called “right now.”

On my wall I have posted my list of ten things for right now.

Somewhere in the middle, when it gets crazy (Hello, April and May!) – I breathe and remind myself to go slowly and focus on incremental changes. I remind myself not to race to the end of the year, but to let myself learn and grow, slowly, over time.

As part of my lessons from less series, and as a means for taking more time to step back and reflect, these are my rules for right now, for today, and probably for tomorrow.

They’ve really helped me in terms of sanity and balance (however balanced you can be as an intra/entrepreneur). And every day I try to remember these rules, from when I wake up each morning until I fall over in bed each night. I post them because I see them when I wake up, some mornings at 4am, and when I fall asleep at night. My wall, painted blue from a previous’ tenant, has a smattering of green post-its and sheets of paper pinned to it, tacked up, with words written and scribbled and crossed out.

When I get dressed in the morning, I can see the notes next to my mirror. And when I get overwhelmed by my ambitions, scared of doing the little things, terrified that I’ll fail miserably and beautifully, I breathe and try to remember my simple rules.

Here are ten things for right now.

1 – Keep it simple. Appreciate the small steps. Do something little every day and it will probably turn into something bigger.

2 – Live each day as though you may only have one more. Everybody dies. It’s not morbid. It’s true. There’s no guarantee of any second chances.

3 – Appreciate momentum. Never wait to get started.

4 – Laugh often. At least half of the time, when presented with fun and with work, do the fun stuff. It will help the work stuff. (Of course, the ultimate goal is to have the fun stuff BE work, but that doesn’t always happen exactly like that.) Often the fun stuff turns into the best work stuff, anyways. Smile and laugh while you work – it helps.

5 – Encourage others. Never discourage others. People are working hard to do incredible things. Let them.

6 – Wander, Walk, and Run. A lot. It’s what your body is designed to do. We are not designed to sit at computers or at desks. Listen to the most basic, fundamental tenets of design in your body (it makes you a better designer/worker anyways).

7 – Learn. Read. A lot. If you can’t read, watch. If you can’t watch, listen. Observe people around you. Ask questions. Question assumptions. Find something to be insatiably curious about it, and figure out how it works and why it does what it does. Cultivate an insatiable sense of curiosity and wonder.

8 – Listen honestly to the heart. When you get too busy, breathe. When you’re scared, question why, and let yourself feel the emotions. They are honest reflections of your opinions and circumstances.

9 – When you’re scared, it’s okay to step back and reflect before you dive in again. Just don’t wait too long. (You might miss the boat).

10 – When you’re tired, go to sleep. There is no better cure for anything than a beautiful night of rest. Sleep is the most powerful anecdote to hundreds of ailments. The time under closed eye provides a place for imagination, brain re-organization, mental sorting, and is exceptionally mood-boosting. In a world where we are faced with inordinate amounts of pressure to work more, find a way to be selective about the work you do and when your work is done each day, go to bed. Sleep is powerful.

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Hope this helps you as much as it helps me. I fail to achieve these simple rules on a regular basis, and posting them somewhere visible is a great way to remember to relax and do better work.


A swift kick in the ass. (I’m here to tell you to work harder.)

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

Yup, that’s right. You heard me.

It’s time to work harder. Not just harder, better.

We live in a world where people try to make us feel good about ourselves and our goals. We talk about our accomplishments and offer consolations to people who don’t make it to glory (“oh, it’s okay, at least you tried!”).  I’m usually adamant for positive encouragement, trying things, and getting better.

But not at the expense of getting soft.
Because there comes a point when good enough just isn’t enough.
What makes you feel good at night isn’t just that you tried.

What really matters is that you tried, you failed, you tried, you tried AGAIN, you worked your crazy butt off and then YOU DID IT.

You did what you set out to do.
What feels good is when you actually, against all odds, found a way to make it happen.
Unfortunately, sometimes people stop at “just trying.”

Just trying can make you feel pretty good.

But at the end of the day, just trying isn’t good enough. Most people don’t care that you tried. In fact, you might not even care that you tried.

Actually doing what you set out to do is what makes you a ROCKSTAR.

I’m talking about that feeling of HELL YES, I DID IT. The feeling of utter and complete exhaustion knowing that you really DID do everything to make it happen. The feeling that when you get home, you can’t finish your beer because you’re so-damn-tired but you are grinning from ear to ear because hell-yes-you-made-it-happen.  When you do it, you know.

Not: Oh – well I tried.
Not a shrug, and Okay, well, I guess I’ll watch TV for a minute because it’s too hard. I don’t have time to finish it right now, but at least I tried.
Sometimes “just trying” is bullshit.

You know you want to make it happen.

If “it” hasn’t happened yet for you – whether it’s your dream of writing a book, running a marathon, getting a new job, or starting a business – then frankly, you need to keep working.

It’s probably not that fun right now. That’s okay.
It can be pretty rough in the beginning.
Sometimes that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Get over it.

Don’t stop now.  Be inspired by the people who are so dedicated to their dreams that they worked for 5, 10, 15, years to make it happen.

Success doesn’t happen overnight.  Success happens by consistent, long-term, dedicated, disciplined determination and hard work.

Most of my readers are outgoing, go-get-’em, talented, driven people. (I know, because so many of you have emailed me, shared with me, chatted with me over lunch or met up virtually via twitter- believe me, I think you’re amazing). You are amazing. And I am here, 100% behind you, believing in you.

But today, right now, let’s face it: believing isn’t enough. Believing doesn’t get your book written. Thinking positively doesn’t get you off the couch to go running. Reading someone else’s work doesn’t move your ass to where it needs to be. Sometimes, we have to let failure sink in and think things through. Maybe you’re not there yet, and that’s okay. I will encourage you and support you.

I will also tell you to work harder.  And better.  Find a way to make it happen. Find a way to get it done. I don’t care what you have to do. Today, I don’t care that you’re tired or scared or stressed out. I’m calling bull sh*t on you. Do it anyways.

You have to do the work.

I’m here, at a computer, working. I’m there, late at night, in an office, working. There are lots of nights of endless work and very un-sexy days of hours of figuring things out. I pin stuff up on walls, tear it down, write it again, rework my ideas, agonize, and meet with people to figure things out. I share my ideas and they get ripped off the walls. I start over again. Weeks go by in immense frustration. You wouldn’t know the half of it, except, well, I share a lot of things on this blog so you DO know the half of it. Then I’m here, writing about it, telling you about when I make it happen, when I fail, and what I’ve learned.

What are you doing, right now, to make things happen?

In an article on the difference between Asian parenting styles and Western parenting styles, Amy Chua of the Wall Street Journal talks about raising talented children, and the high expectations she has for her children. In an evocative essay on the differences in parenting and expectation, she makes several points that are worth repeating:

“We must work harder and longer and struggle to learn new things, to the point of mastery, even when it’s not fun in the beginning.”

Why? Because (as she says), we know that ‘nothing is fun until you’re good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences.’ “

While I may or may not agree with all of her points on parenting styles, this point is so true it’s worth repeating:

It’s not going to be fun yet until you get THERE.

And most people won’t get there because they give up too quickly and too soon. Yeah, it’s hard. Yeah, it’s gonna take a lot of work. Why are you here, anyways? You’re here because you like reading my stories and occasional ramblings. You’re also here because you like being inspired, or hearing about how things happen.

Things happen because you make them happen. Read that again.

Things happen because YOU make them happen.

Because you work your ass off getting it done.
Because you put in long hours when it needs it.
Because you’re willing to say no to the things that don’t match your vision.
Because you want to make things happen.

So. Get working. I’m done talking to you. Consider this your swift kick in the ass for the week. (You deserve it).

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Guest Post | Reprint : On silence and the clutter of noise, by Dave Ursillo

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

“Devoid of the clutter of noise, we are nothing more or less than in existence; we are because we are and the universe is because it is. Engulfed in simple silence and nothing, the mind is quiet, the heart is open, and the Soul becomes clairvoyant; this is the bliss of nothingness.”

– May 2010, The Clutter of Noise and the Power of Silence

Sarah’s note: This is one of my favorite posts from Dave Ursillo, a writer and entrepreneur whose essays explore living, potential, and the vibrancy of experience.  To read more of his writing, check out his website, or read the original post here. My thanks to Dave for kindly allowing me to re-print his words here.

The Clutter of Noise and the Power of Silence | by Dave Ursillo

“See how nature–trees, flowers, grass–grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.” ~Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Our lives are cluttered by noise. The noise of life can be beautiful, relaxing and certainly inspiring, like the ballads of song and the sound of happiness embodied in laughter.

But when constant noise becomes the status quo of how we live our lives, moments devoid of audible commotion suddenly become awkward instances of discomfort; when we become addicted to surrounding ourselves with background noise, we lose the uniqueness of moments of quiet that provide us with exceptional clarity, inner balance and present-mindedness.

Engulfed in simple silence and nothing, the Soul within ourselves reemerges and returns us to our purer nature–if only for a moment.

Within these moments of quiet and nothingness, when we abandon and forget everything about who and what we are–our individual sense of the Self, our pasts, the circumstances of our lives in the present moment, and all that we expect and anticipate the future to become–a more pure, honest, and whole form of ourselves reemerges from deep within our souls. It reemerges, rather than emerging for the first time, for this purer side of ourselves resides deeply and hidden at most times, yet it remains an integral and potent component of our human nature.

Seeking Out the Quiet, Amid the Commotion

For human beings in society, the peaceful pace of nature called “silence” often and quickly becomes a discomfort. When constantly surrounded by the noise of everyday life–from the sound of the alarm in the morning, to the car radio, our iPods and MP3 players, music on our computers, to TVs and so much more–the constant stream of noise and sounds becomes the natural state of life. Every waking moment is consumed or accompanied by noise.

Although silence is the natural state of mother nature, for humans in society silence gradually becomes a series of unusual and uncomfortable pauses. Moments of quiet are even considered socially awkward when interacting with friends, family members and acquaintances.

We become so entrenched in noise that we forget what it is like to live, work, even sleep or simply exist in the midst of silence. This is unfortunate because during moments of silence and nothingness, a purer side of ourselves reemerges; in moments of blankness and quiet, and often without so much as realizing it, we embrace the present moment for all of its worth and abandon the common chaos and noise of everyday life. Devoid of the noise of life and “thinking for the sake of thinking,” in silence we regain the peace of mind of living in the moment–the unfamiliarity of living consciously and fully in the present time.

The Power of Silence: Living Fully in the Moment

The power that comes from moments of silence and quiet–those times in nature or alone to ourselves when our minds become blank and free–is that we arrive at a state of mind that allows us to fully live in the moment. Within these rare moments of silence, we are allowed to abandon the confines of our thoughts; the constant stream of consciousness and thinking that begins when we wake and merely pauses when we sleep.

Surrounded by little else than simple silence and nothing, we forget who we are and what we have become. Though led from the past and into today by that which has occurred unto and around us,in silence time loses all meaning. There is only the present moment. Within silence and nothingness, there is only the wind that rushes across the plains, nothing but the rush of waves sweeping the shores.

Devoid of the clutter of noise, we are nothing more or less than in existence; we are because we are and the universe is because it is. Engulfed in simple silence and nothing, the mind is quiet, the heart is open, and the Soul becomes clairvoyant; this is the bliss of nothingness. The gift is not given, for it simply is. The moment cannot be captured, for it simply is. The power of silence is opening ourselves to the present moment; a fleeting instance in time that we oft never realize; a fragment of our lives wherein the world becomes perfectly peaceful amid the quiet of nothingness.

Want the Process, not the Product

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

The most important type of change in your life is incremental change.

Sometimes life requires big leaps.

Other times, it requires lots of small steps.

Wake up in a flurry, have a dream, want something. Expend all your energy that day, that week, in starting your new goal. (Say your goal is running, so you run 4 times that week). Your energy fades, your enthusiasm peters out, and the next week you’re back in the same place, same habits. Not running.

Worse yet, dream the dream – and do nothing. Decide preemptively that the dream is too difficult and therefore must never be attempted.

You’re still in the same place, where you are now.

Unfortunately, our dreams are often heavily focused on the final outcome.

Crossing the finish line at the marathon race, being a best-selling author, being a director at a major company, mastering a language, being fluent in a skill – these are all final outcomes.

We have a vivid picture of what the product or outcome looks like, but not the process.

But what’s much, much more important than the final outcome is the process of getting there. Not the outcome. The outcome is one small measure that showcases the process you went through to get there.

To get there, you have to want the process. You have to be okay with The Middle. With the dip, the part where you stick to it or you give up. The early mornings or the late nights. The hum-drums of the routine that isn’t so exciting, because it’s about the process. It’s about dedication.

To learn how to hold a side-arm crow pose in yoga, you can’t force it to happen in one day (I can’t, at least). I get up almost every day and practice in the living room. The practice and exploration mean more to me than the day I “finish” the pose.

Can you even finish a yoga pose? There’s no such thing.

Because the next day, I’ll be doing it again. And again. And exploring, slowly, my body as it reaches, bends and unfolds in front of me.

To write a book, what does that look like? What is the process? Where will you write? How often will you write? What will it take to get it done?

For each of your dreams, what does the finish line look like?

More importantly, what does the process look like? Learn what the process will be.

Is that what you want?

City Wanderings (and a 10-day hiatus!)

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

I see London, I see France …

What a whirlwind year already (And it’s only April!). I’m smack in the middle of deadlines, in over my head in responsibilities, and I want nothing more than to sit and write more of the pieces I’m working on — both for this blog and elsewhere.
Sounds like it’s about time for a re-boot.
After The Middle and even though I have deadlines – maybe precisely because I have deadlines – my Sister and I are taking off for a 10-day respite from the crazy of the working world.
I’m headed to London, UK, and Paris, France for 10 days. I’ll be wandering through cities, exploring the urban environments, and building marvelous plans for World Domination (or something like that).
I’m taking off! Time to get out from behind the computer and see the world.
I won’t be back in the States until the 18th, and I’m deliberately leaving my computer and my cellphone behind. I’m not sure if I or others will be more shocked from this digital vacation – I’m expecting to need the entire 10 days to rehab from my ever-building internet and facebook addiction.  My vacation responder now gives a stern rebuke to those trying to contact me (they have to go through my mom to get to me!) — and this will be a great test of my ability to actually slow down and see the world, even in the midst of crazy deadlines.
Vacation – and time off – is important. Extremely important. Most of us don’t take enough time to recover, to re-build our stamina, and to give ourselves the fresh breath required to do our best and most brilliant work.
I’ll have good things for you while I’m gone.
A special guest post will hit this blog next week while I’m gone. Enjoy! Other than that, I’ll be gone from the internet world for 10 days.
But I won’t forget about this blog for *too long.*
And I’ll have even better things for you when I get back!
When I’m back, I’ll have notebooks filled with observations, ideas, and new posts. And pictures – LOTS of pictures. Also, I’ll be launching several fun projects that I’ve been working on and sharing lots of fun things with you soon.
See you at the end of April!