On being driven

This weekend my friend Frank and I discussed what it means to be driven and realized that it is hard to define. He told me that he considered a mutual friend of ours to be driven because: "That person is able to clearly articulate their goals."

I told him that goal setting is only part of the story, and in fact, I think it is a smaller part of the story. I break down being driven into three parts. 

Purpose

This is different from having a goal. Purpose can be vague. It can be as clear as: "I want to have and run my own company", or "I want to be the best father possible", or "I want to rid the world of malnutrition". Purpose comes in many shapes and sizes. It can be hard to define. And it changes. But purpose is the air that fuels your fire. 

I strongly believe everyone has a higher purpose, a meaning for their life in our society that transcends their own. 

Path

Even if you do not have a clear grip over your purpose, you should still be able to visualize your path. What are the possible next steps? Do you create a life open to new opportunities. It doesn't mean everything has to be planned out. It just means you should plan. Try to crystalize your purpose and desires into actual steps.

Discipline

The best definition I ever heard of discipline was.

"Doing what you need to do, when you have to do it, even when you do not want to."

Thanks Chris!

Being driven means you take action to follow your path guided by your purpose. You do not watch the world go by. You shape your life through actions, even if / when you do not want to.

My friend Frank spoke of another mutual friend who has their own company. And said: "Is this person driven because they started their own company and has to make it work or did they start their own company because they are driven?" 

I said, it doesn't matter. The friend made the choice, and is now gunning for it. He is doing what he has to, even when he doesn't want to.

Anything I'm missing? What does it mean to be driven to you.

Why you should start your meetings with good news

And no, I do not mean; "Do you want to hear bad news or good news first?" I mean in your daily/weekly/monthly update meetings. In the calls you have with your colleagues to recap what has been done and what you are going to tackle next week. 

It is something I learned in my first job straight out of university. We used to do daily meetings that followed the Rockefeller Habits rhythms. (If you don't know about the book, you need to read it.) Why should you start of the meeting with good news?

1.) It's an easy default and creates structure in your update. Start with good news, what have you achieved, what do you want to achieve, and what are your bottlenecks.

2.) It reminds the organization that no matter how tough everything seems and how much adversity you have to overcome, there is always something good happening. 

3.) It starts your meeting with positive energy that is shared with everyone. It creates a buzz of can do attitude that everyone in your organization can feed off of. 

How to get your energy back

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Agency work is about people, ideas, thoughts, strategies. And you can't do this when you are a whiney little gangster; tired, and grumpy.

I'm sensitive to people's moods. If I'm in a crowd of umotivated beings I find it very difficult to break out. If I'm having a draining conversation with someone, it affects me. These are my energiser methods.

Note: This does not reflect my workplace, it reflects me. 

Morning Routine

I tell everyone to get a morning routine. Make sure it includes; two big glasses of water, 20 squats, forcing a smile while you shower, and the usual hygiene stuff. It works miracles. If you are strong enough to  follow your morning routing you set yourself up to tackle the day head on. 

A morning winner is always a winner! 

Body posture

Stand up straight. And before you go into a meeting, difficult conversation, negotiations, raise your arms into a big V sign above your head. Holding the victory position lowers your cortisol (stress hormones) levels and increase your testosterone levels (closely linked to assertiveness

You have to watch this video. What an inspiring and useful video.  Our pitch team now always raises their arms in victory right before the meeting starts.

Conversion Energy

You'll notice that most of your colleagues start the day on a low note. Low energy, perhaps even a bit grumpy. Start your day by passing bursts of your energy to them. See it as your mission to take those first 3 minutes of conversation with them and raise their energy level.  

Don't start talking softly and meekly on their grumpy level. NO! Supercharge them! I takes a bit of your energy, but you'll get it back from them throughout the rest of the day.

Now go energise!