The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Rollo May’

Seth Godin – Your Invisible Mentor

Five Great Ideas

1. Stop asking what’s in it for you, and start giving gifts that change.
2. Productivity and generosity make markets bigger and more efficient.
3. Seek out achievements where there are no limits.
4. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
5. Perfection is overrated, laugh at it. Benjamin Franklin discovered that perfectionism doesn’t exist.

Questions to Ponder

1. If your organization decided to replace you with someone with superior skills and far better at your job than you, what would the job ad say?
2. Do you have the confidence to make a difference in your organization, and to do work that matters? If yes, why do believe that?
3. Can you anticipate and solve your customers’ problems, even the ones they do not realize they have?
4. What do you fear? What holds you back from being your authentic self?
5. What tools do you have in your tool kit? Do they make you more productive and efficient? Do they make you remarkable?

“Original thinker, provocateur, someone who cares, the person who can bring it together and make a difference…Someone who owns her own means of production, who leads and connects, and walks into chaos and create order” is a linchpin says marketing guru, Seth Godin in his book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Linchpins are also connectors, and they value relationships because they understand that no one succeeds alone.

While I was reading Linchpin, I kept on thinking about a statement Earl Nightingale made in his classic The Strangest Secret: “Rollo May, the distinguished psychiatrist, wrote a wonderful book called Man’s Search for Himself, and in this book he says, “The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice … it is conformity.” And there you have the reason for so many failures. Conformity — people acting like everyone else, without knowing why or where they are going.”

People are playing it safe and conforming, so we are living in a me-too culture, where most subscribe to the herd mentality. In Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, Seth Godin uses the term artists, but in the context that an artist is someone who changes people by the gifts they offer the world. Reading the book will make many uncomfortable, because most people do not want to stand out and be remarkable. Why? Because it takes hard work and a lot of effort. And many do not step out of their comfort zone and do what needs to be done, because we have always been told what to do.

Historically, if people kept their heads down, did what they were told, showed up on time for work, worked hard, sucked it up and not make waves, they would eventually attain professional success. Those days are long gone. To be successful today, the new reality requires people to be remarkable, generous, make judgment calls, create art and connect people and art. This is what the global markets dictate. People have to take the initiative and do what needs to be done.

Being remarkable and doing what needs to be done will create resistance because it’s foreign. When this occurs, it’s time to move through the dip and do what Susan Jeffers says, to feel the fear and do it anyway. Contrary to what we were taught, our creations really do not have to be perfect. Most times 80 percent is good enough. As an artist, the more craft you make, the better you become.

Seth Godin deals with a very difficult topic, because to be a linchpin requires us to swim upstream. To get more customers, or increase market share, requires that we up the quality of our service offering, do what others are not doing. In what ways can you up the ante and deliver your product or service so that it changes your customers?

A good place to begin if you want to become a linchpin is to honestly answer the five questions to ponder, then take action.

1. If your organization decided to replace you with someone with superior skills and far better at your job than you, what would the job ad say?
2. Do you have the confidence to make a difference in your organization, and to do work that matters? If yes, why do believe that?
3. Can you anticipate and solve your customers’ problems, even the ones they do not realize they have?
4. What do you fear? What holds you back from being your authentic self?
5. What tools do you have in your tool kit? Do they make you more efficient? Do they may you remarkable?

Simple Application

People often forward interesting articles to their clients for them to read. In my post yesterday I discussed how to go a bit deeper, and instead of simply sending the article, add your keen insights. This simple gesture will distinguish a linchpin from an ordinary employee. Yes, it’s more work, but it’s value added for your client. And in the process, you are making yourself more indispensable.

I recommend Linchpin – Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin because it will make you think.

Are you a linchpin? What are five things you could do today to add value that would change your customers’ experiences? How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

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What’s your ASSIGNMENT in life? What were you put on this earth to accomplish? I was reading Mike Litman’s article “Why Most People Never Soar” and here’s what he wrote which got me thinking:

We were all born for a certain ASSIGNMENT.

A ‘position’ in life that our unique talents and skills
can serve the greatest amount of people and reap us
incredible prosperity.

The closer we are to this POSITION, the place where success
is practically guaranteed, the greater our likelihood of
massive success.

Why do most people never aim to locate their ASSIGNMENT, the
PLACE that their success can come naturally and in great
abundance?

Do we have just one assignment? Or do we have multiple assignments in life? Just like in school, I think that we have many assignments in life, and as we complete one assignment we are ready for more challenging assignments. These assignments prepare us for our ULTIMATE LIFE ASSIGNMENT.

At this stage in my life I think that my ASSIGNMENT is to teach others through this blog, using the skills that I have honed and developed over the years.The Invisible Mentor blog is a culmination of my research, analysis and writing skills. I’ve been told that I am an excellent interviewer because people feel comfortable around me so they open up. My articles usually have information that you can sink your teeth into because of my 15 years of research experience.

What is your ASSIGNMENT at this stage in your life? What have people told you that you are good at? And if you are doing what you love and aren’t reaping incredible prosperity, does that mean that you are not working on your ASSIGNMENT in life?

My ASSIGNMENT is to interview individuals who have wisdom and knowledge to share, and review books that contain information that you can apply to your life. There are times when I will fail my assignment, and I have to review and regroup and learn from the failure. And that’s okay because I gain experience in the process.

Do you agree with Litman when he says that “…Most people never aim to locate their ASSIGNMENT?’ If you agree, what’s the reason? Could it be that people conform and get into a position that’s too comfortable?

Earl Nightingale in his classic The Strangest Secret says:

“Rollo May, the distinguished psychiatrist, wrote a wonderful book called Man’s Search for Himself, and in this book he says: “The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice … it is conformity.” And there you have the reason for so many failures. Conformity — people acting like everyone else, without knowing why or where they are going.”

Please keep the conversation flowing, click on the comment link below and leave a note for me. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

Photo Credit: Google via Apture

One of the things I discovered about myself is that the more I read, the more creative I am, and the more great ideas I generate. I thought I would have some fun with this blog post and create tweets (less than or equal to 140 characters) for some great people who died. Click on the links to learn more. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

@Einstein I was surprised when Time magazine named me Person of the Century, thx to Max Talmud 4 exposing me 2 key texts in science & math

@FlorenceNightingale Thx 2 Charles Villiers for supporting me when I advocated for improved healthcare in infirmaries

@RolloMay I’m convinced I got it right “The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice … it is conformity” Man’s Search for Himself

@Archimedes I was so excited when I figured out how 2 measure the volume of an irregular object I ran down the street naked shouting Eureka

@Gutenberg I had no idea that inventing the printing press would so profoundly impact info dissemination, of course the Internet helped

@TheWrightBrothers No one succeeds alone, we’re gr8ful to Otto Lilienthal, whose research was instrumental in assisting us to invent the airplane

@Confucius I’m both teacher and student, learn more by reading the Analects of Confucius online

@MarieAntoinette Things u may not know abt me, I am fond of music, I cld barely read or write at age 12, and I believe in giving to charity

@LadyGodiva I’m not an exhibitionist, I rode naked on a horse to protest the oppressive taxes my husband imposed on his tenants

@MartinLutherKingJr We are our brother’s keeper, what affects one of us affects all of us

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last speech

Rollo May Existential Psychotherapy Video

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• Chow Yun-fat to play Confucius in China-backed film (guardian.co.uk)
• Wise words of Confucius (telegraph.co.uk)

Photo credit: Public domain, photo of Archimedes