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You know when you’ve been around a campfire and your jacket smells like smoke for weeks? It’s annoying but you also kind of like it? Either way, you probably will want to wash that jacket to get the smoke smell out right? Because what might be a great reminder of an awesome night around a campfire to you, might be an annoying offensive smell to someone on the train next to you in the mornings. Yes, fires leave clues.

Now let’s talk about metaphorical fires. The kind that shake up industries and change the world.

Rule #1 of fire-starting: Expect Criticism.

If you start a fire, expect critics. If you don’t want critics, just keep doing nothing. Critics can smell smoke but they’ll never actually go looking for the source of the fire. They’ll just be the ones to let you know that you stink. They could care less about the actual fire so long as it doesn’t burn them. How do they keep that from being burned? They try to put it out when they start to smell smoke.
Critics-smell-smoke

The signs of a fire are unmistakable. If you start one, you won’t be able to hide for long. Just like a rebel on the run through the wilderness, starting a fire will give up your location immediately. The smoke will rise high above the tree line and the smell will travel quickly through the pines. They will soon be hot on your trail….

Let them come.

Happy Wednesday!

Chris

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Last week I ran away with Jen to the mountains of North Carolina for a short retreat. It was refreshing and inspiring to be there and gave us both some time to chill, read, reflect, and plan for our year. It was amazing and I highly recommend it.

The book I chose to take with me on our trip was Chris Guillebeau’s new book The Happiness of Pursuit. The whole book is full of stories of people doing incredible things like running 250 marathons in one year and a family of four cycling from Alaska to Argentina. Chris calls these adventures “quests.” For those who don’t know, Chris completed a quest of his own not too long ago. He visited every country in the world (193) before he turned 35. He defines a quest like this:

-A quest has a clear goal with a specific end date.
-That presents a clear challenge.
-Requires a sacrifice.
-Driven by a sense of mission.
-Taking small, incremental steps to reach the goal
-The quester has a significant amount of personal growth throughout the quest.

In all these stories, the thing that most inspired me was when these crazy people start their new adventures, there is a clear, relentless drive to accomplish the goal. In the face of everything that could possibly come at them, they continued on their quest.

So, I was wondering, are you thinking of starting a new adventure? Your own quest? Ask yourself this one question:

Can I be happy in the pursuit of this adventure?

If the answer is yes, despite the very vocal negative comments form people you love. Despite the sacrifice you’ll likely have to make to reach your goal. Despite the hard long work days that test your spirit. If the answer is yes, then you’re ready.
Happy-in-pursuit

Why is it important to be happy in the pursuit? Because the beginning and the end are what the rest of the world gets excited about. Only you will be there for the pursuit. Everybody else shows up at the finish line. (Except for critics because they don’t want to admit they were wrong). You have to be the one excited about the pursuit.

Are you?

Happy Monday!

Chris

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You should have a notebook full of ideas. Your brain is constantly throwing them together and most of the time we just forget them. We forget because we didn’t capture them. We didn’t capture them becasue we thought they were bad ideas.

Let me be clear: A notebook full of bad ideas is better than a notebook full of no ideas.

Sometimes a bad idea is a bad idea because it’s a bad idea. Sometimes a bad idea is bad because it’s not the right time. Sometimes an idea is bad because your not in the right space…yet. Time and space will change. That’s why it’s important to collect bad ideas.
Collect-bad-ideas

We tend to think that ideas have worth based on their relevance or on their “goodness.” That if an idea is not good then it is not worth anything. It’s not worthy of remembering or collecting. The problem with this is that we can’t see what comes next. And becasue we can’t see what comes next, it’s important that we remember these “bad ideas” because their worth will not be defined until presented to us in the right space and time.

Bad ideas can become good ideas or may become relevant to future projects. Let’s not let them fall away. Write down your thoughts, ramblings, ideas when they come to you. This is your creativity at work. Don’t let it get away. A notebook full of bad ideas is still a notebook full of ideas.

Happy Thursday!

Chris

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travel-photographers(pp_w860_h630)

Good morning! I’m sitting in the sunlight this morning drinking bulletproof Bongo Java coffee in my kitchen. I love this. This is the kind of morning that fuels my soul. These are the kinds of mornings that nobody sees but that will be inspiration for our work throughout the year. It’s these little things that make us keep going. I see it as income.

It’s the kind of income you won’t find in your bank account. You don’t see it on your tax returns. Things like travel, spending time with friends, finding inspiring places, and small, seemingly insignificant mornings where the sunlight and your coffee cup warms your hands as you write a blog post.  There’s no way to measure it except that you know when it’s there and when it’s not.

What are sources of invisible income for you? What can you do to raise that bottom line this year? It’s important to know what these things are so we can pay attention. Success happens through definition.

Happy freakin’ Monday, guys! 🙂

Chris

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As 2014 is drawing to a close and we prepare to celebrate with good friends to ring in the new year, I couldn’t forget about someone very important to me. Another good friend of mine.

You.

Thank you for listening. If it’s in your inbox, or on Facebook, whatever, thank you. You have made this year amazing and I wanted to say how grateful I am for that.

In 2014 I wrote 164 articles on this blog read by nearly 7000 visitors. What did I learn this year from putting 60,000 words out there for the world to read? Well a lot of things. But perhaps the most important one was this:

It’s not about me.

As much as I want it to be, it’s just not. So as I go into 2015, I go with the peace that this whole thing that we’re all a part of; this thing where we go out and chase our dreams and make things that mean something, I can’t screw it up. Because what I make it not about me. It’s about the fact that it’s made. And just incase you’re wondering, it’s also not about you. So you can take that load of your shoulders too 🙂 Make 2015 the year when everything doesn’t rise and fall with you. Make 2015 rise and fall with making something that matters.

That’s what I’m carrying with my into 2015. Not worry, or stress, or regret but grace and peace. A knowing that all will be well.

two-lessons-from-2014

 

 

Other fun facts/”thankful for’s” from my 2014 (That ironically are about me 🙂 ):

My favorite post I wrote this year was this one: Humble & Reckless.

My favorite song this year was Step Out by José González. In fact anything that made it onto the soundtrack for Walter Mitty got played a lot in our house this year 🙂

My favorite podcast was Chris Brogan’s The Owner’s Mind. With an honorable mention to Serial and Start-Up.

Jen and I got to travel and be outdoors more than we ever have. Next year we will get to do that even more. I am so incredibly grateful for that time spent with her and can’t wait for what next year holds for us.

We got to spend more time with friends and formed new friendships.

I started this thing called Dude Pow-Wow which is a 3-day camping/roadtrip experience for creative guys. That was awesome.

I lost 28 lbs and I am stronger than I’ve ever been.

I jumped off a cliff.

I got to talk to you. Thank you again for being here. I’m glad you’re here.

Happy New Year!! Here’s to 2015!

Chris

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