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Driving towards downtown Nashville today, I see this huge billboard that reads, “Our goal is to be the best!”

 

Goal-Be-the-best

What does that mean exactly? The best at what? Does a 5 star rating make you the best? Does providing quality service make you the best?

There is always someone better than you. There is a way, however, to be the best. But it doesn’t involve beating everyone else or winning an award, having all 5-star reviews or proclaiming your best-ness to the world on a giant billboard.

It involves showing up.
It involves standing up.
It involves making stuff that will blow people’s mind that only you can make.

The best is in your contribution today. In your space. In your world. You can be the best at that.

Happy Tuesday!

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I want to challenge you to be intentional today. Wake up, drink your coffee, eat your bacon… Then do something with the intent of fueling your mind.

Watch a video on TED.com
Read a blog post from Seth Godin or someone else’s blog you read.
Listen to a podcast.
Read a book.
Write 500 words.

You might already be planning to read or write or watch a video this morning but taking the time to think, “I am here. This is what I’m doing. This is why I’m doing it.” Will put your brain in a different place. In my experience, if there’s nothing about my morning that I do on purpose, the rest of the day will be doomed to fall into the same routine of reactivity.

It’s not our fault. Our brains are smart and they are meant to follow routines. That’s why we can drive and not have to think about braking. But it is our responsibility to do something different. Routines are good and we need them but we sometimes need to break them. Shake it up! Throw your brain a curve ball and see what it does for your thinking and your creativity.

Happy Friday!

Question:
What’s something you do everyday that you could be more intentional about?

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Back To The Future is an awesome movie. Anything that has hoverboards, time travel, and stainless steel cars in it, is obviously a win. There is an unrealized story of work in this movie as well: Dr. Emmett Brown has an idea. A crazy idea. He works quietly on it for 20 years until he finally perfects the process that leads to time travel… via a DeLorean powered by plutonium. In quite obscurity, he works on his greatest invention. He made something stupid. Not telling anyone, not getting recognition. He just made it.

Then he shared it and said “Here it is. This is me. This is what I made.” Marty shows up to an empty mall parking lot and Doc begins to show him his creation. With a controller in his hand, he drives the car around the lot like a toy until it’s facing them a little ways away. Realizing that Marty is blown away, Doc looks at him and says:

“If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour… you’re gonna see some serious sh*t.”

As In, “You think that’s cool? Just wait. It’s about to get crazy up in here. Watch this.”

Watch This

I’ve heard that, “Hey, watch this!” is always what people say right before they do something stupid. I agree. But maybe we need more stupid. My friend, Richie Norton would thinks so too:

“Life is too short not to start something stupid.”
―  Power of Starting Something Stupid

Stupid is good. Great ideas often start out that way: This might not work. But watch this.

 

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Yesterday, I was thinking about how we live in a perfect world. Not an Ideal one. But a perfect one. Today, I’m reading The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau. It’s a book about living an unconventional life. About stepping out of the status quo and making the life you want happen. Love it so far.

One of the exercises Chris suggests you do when starting down this path, is to Describe Your Ideal World. From waking up to going to sleep, describe what one ideal ‘perfect’ day would look like to you.

What will you eat?
Where will you live?
Who will you talk to?
Where will you go?
What kind of things will you do?

The more detailed the better. Then after you get this all written out, start to make changes in your life that get you closer to this ideal world you want to build.

Chris Says, “If you take this exercise seriously, you’ll learn a lot about yourself even if you don’t make a lot of changes based on the information you acquire. You may even begin making conscious decisions about how you spend your time and what you focus on.”

There’s something liberating and exhilarating about this. You can get lost in the details of how awesome it would be and once it’s all out there, you can feel free. No it won’t just happen. There will will still be work. There will still be struggle. But you can feel free to move towards that ideal world. Free to dream big. Free to finally make the first step toward getting as close to making it all as real as possible.

Creeds, Chris Creed, Adventure, World Domination, Chris Creed blog

Make it real.

Happy Wednesday!

Other things to think about after you do the Ideal World scenario:

Where does helping others fit in?
Where do big hairy audacious goals fit in?

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As I’m sitting here this morning pondering my goals and things I want to accomplish this year, I’m struck by this overwhelming feeling of “I’m not good enough.” That somehow there is a perfect example of what “good enough Chris Creed” looks like and that I’m definitely not that. Who drew this picture of the dude who’s good enough? This guy that should be the one doing these things in my stead? It was me. There is no perfect Chris Creed to stand up and do the work for me. For example: If I don’t get up and write on this blog every morning no one is going to say, “You know what Chris, I was thinking maybe I’d just write for you today. I pretty much get what you’re thinking about this morning. I got this.” That’s probably not gonna happen. Probably.

We live in a perfect world filled with imperfect, anxious, prideful humans. But we’re not striving to be perfect as it is a lost pursuit. We strive to make something. To do what makes us feel alive. To help us and help others be less anxious, less prideful, and more awesome.

Being perfect is not in the cards for me or you. We aren’t going to always have to right things to say or know exactly what to do or where to go. All we can do is work. Work towards our goals, Work to leave something behind… Work to build a legacy.

Work because work has value for the sake of work. What we will leave behind is the value that we bring to the conversation. The conversation is happening right now. We’re waiting for you. Not to raise your hand and ask for permission to speak… but to stand up and start to tell your story. There is no invitation coming for life.

So I’m gonna just do it. Yeah, just like the Nike commercial. Make big plans and change them and grow and travel and make awesome things happen through ideas and dreams. Because no one is going to do it for me. It’s up to me stand up and say “Here I am. This is what I’m about.”

Chris Creed, Blog, Creative

Happy Tuesday and Happy Dreaming!

Question:
Have you ever felt the pressure of perfect? Did it stop you from doing something you wish you’d done?

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  • Paige - Chris, I just LOVE your blog. You have the most inspiring and thought provoking sentiments. Proud to know you!ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - Thanks for reading, Paige! You’re awesome 🙂 Proud to know you as well!ReplyCancel

  • www.laurensapala.com - This post came at just the right time for me. I, too, have been feeling that “not good enough” anxiety lately. It’s actually been a great lesson, because I’ve ended up pushing myself to move outside of the anxiety and into a new thought pattern of “I am where I am right now and this place has something to teach me.”

    Thank you for sharing your own “not good enough” struggles. It inspires me to keep pushing through!ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - So much truth, Lauren. Same thoughts exactly. Thanks for reading and sharing 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Mark Brown - Perfect inspiration today – Thanks so much for your contribution to this world!ReplyCancel

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