2010 Reaffirmation: My Grand Aim & Manifesto

Posted on January 2, 2010 by pdncoach

Following is a re-post of my blog from November 2009, which is an appropriate reminder to start to this new year and decade of life:

“The man I am writing about is not famous. It may be that he never will be. It may be that when his life at last comes to an end he will leave no more trace of his sojourn on earth than a stone thrown into a river leaves on the surface of the water. But it may be that the way of life that he has chosen for himself and the peculiar strength and sweetness of his character may have an ever-growing influence over his fellow men so that, long after his death perhaps, it may be realized that there lived in this age a very remarkable creature.”

– W. Somerset Maugham, introduction to The Razor’s Edge (1944)

The Razor’s Edge is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Its epigraph reads, “The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard. —Katha-Upanishad”

Perhaps you are more familiar with the movie, The Razor’s Edge, than the book. The Razor’s Edge tells the story of an American, Larry Darrell, who returns to Chicago after his experience in World War I disinclined to assume a conventional role in American society. He then travels the world from Tibet to Paris in an attempt to find some meaning in his life. In the 1984 movie version starring Bill Murray as Larry Darrell, the book’s epigraph is dramatized, in much more practical English, as advice given to Darrell by a Tibetan monk:

“The path to salvation is narrow and is difficult to walk as a razor’s edge.”

I am that man. My primary aim is not for fame but to be very remarkable, measured by the value of my influence in the lives of others. I borrow my Grand Affirmation (you might call it my Vision for Being, an existential aspiration or even a potential epitaph as well as primary aim), from the author Maugham because he has written what I would aspire to say about my life, about my living. Meditate upon and understand Maugham’s quote and you will understand me and, I pray, you will understand more of yourself, too.

My primary aim is not for fame but to be very remarkable, measured by the value of my influence in the lives of others.

The trace of my sojourn need not be fame or really even fortune, in common terms. I seek to be a remarkable creature whose “strength and sweetness” of character might have a valuable influence in the lives of others. I do so, not by telling people how to live, but by living and asking others how to live, how they want to live and, most importantly, what they want to live and why.

I believe there is a minute demarcation between significance and insignificance – narrow as a razor’s edge. I have chosen to walk on the edge. I seek daily salvation in authentic self-expression that adds value through relationships, which somehow glorifies God and edifies my fellow men and women. It provides the foundation for my Purpose:

to ask questions that open up new possibilities and new ways of being in a manner that develops people who will improve the quality of life for the world around them.

What if I put my Purpose into numbers? What if I had Purpose-full and profound relationships with 100 people this year, and each of those people had a direct effect on the quality of life for at least 10 people around them? I would have a positive influence over the lives of at least 1,000 people. What if I had that direct effect on 150 people…? 250…? More…?

What if I sent invitations to my Manifest Birthday Party? This would be a celebration indeed, not so much for another year in my life but for the Birth Date of what is to come, the influence that is yet to be. What if 100 people, carefully chosen, joined me to celebrate my re-birth and pledged to hold me accountable and join in my sojourn, to see that I walked this razor’s edge? They would accept my invitation because they support the way of life I have chosen and want to assure I have the strength and sweetness of character to have an every-growing influence over the people I meet on my sojourn. They would choose to attend or correspond because they want me to be a very remarkable creature. They want to hold me accountable to my Grand Affirmation. They want to join me on the razor’s edge.

The Razor’s Edge – The Intersection of Purpose and Now. You are welcome here. Would you join me?

Join me at the Intersection of Purpose & Now.
Posted in core values, Grand Affirmation, New Year, Purpose, razor's edge, vision | Leave a comment

Developing the Motivation & Initiative to Achieve Anything You Want

Posted on January 2, 2010 by pdncoach


I recently responded to a question on LinkedIn from another executive coach seeking assistance in “facilitating and coaching a group of directors about how to improve and develop self motivation and initiative attitude”.
This week marks the beginning of 2010, a new year and a new decade. Since self-motivation and initiative are on the minds of most people who seek to make this year (and decade) their best ever, I chose to share my answer to this question with my readers at The Intersection of Purpose and Now:

The core of my business practice is helping individuals and groups develop focus, self-motivation and initiative to achieve what is most important to them. I can’t say there are any one or two exercises I use to accomplish this; however, I would like to help you. I’ll attempt by explaining some of the basic elements of motivation and initiative that I have found to be fundamental in planning any facilitation or coaching practice.

At the core of motivation and initiative is “knowing what one wants” – personal desire. In this sense some of the same exercises you might use in strategic thinking or in coaching should be helpful. Individuals, teams and organizations drift and lack motivation because they lack clarity of focus on what is Most Important to them. Knowing what one wants, and committing that into a specific, measurable goal or action item is the first step.

Next, why do I want it? A goal doesn’t really become a call to action unless it is truly something one wants at a personal level (the famous emotional WIIFM). What are the rewards if I/we achieve or attain this goal? What are the consequences if I/we don’t? These questions get at the heart of motivation. If goals seem to be clear, yet people still aren’t taking action, this is the place to look. Often, we assume that because a goal is established it is automatically “my goal” that I will want to achieve. On the surface, we may even convince ourselves we want the goal initially. Drilling down (i.e. using the “5 why” technique) one’s answers to the basic questions of “What are the rewards for success?” and “What are the consequences of failure?” reveal the most personal and idiosyncratic motivations for one who is pursuing any goal.

Third, what are the obstacles that MIGHT keep me/us from achieving what we want to happen? This is a critical thinking activity and one most often ignored, slighted or taken out of sequence. Identifying obstacles leads toward focused initiative. The one obstacle we take for granted or fail to identify early on, typically becomes the one that throws us off course or is the “shadow cause” of what otherwise seems like a lack of initiative. I have found there are at least 7 obstacles to any goal; time, money and fear (in some form) are the most common obstacles. When addressed in sequence, most obstacles can be overcome or avoided altogether if addressed with predetermined solutions, which is the next step.

Acknowledging obstacles up front and identifying possible solutions and action steps to overcome or avoid each one is the key to creating new possibilities that before seemed impossible. Once you have helped your client identify all conceivable obstacles, help them identify possible solutions to each obstacle, one at a time. Choose the best solution(s) for each one, then map out the action items (individual tasks) that must be taken to implement the solutions. This, of course, is the common practice of goal or project planning, but it becomes more powerful and effective when the “Why” and “Obstacle” questions are addressed first. (By the way, if there is an obstacle for which there appears to be no conceivable solution, then your client should rethink the goal.)

Now your client has a well-conceived plan to achieve what they want. Now if they still find themselves lacking motivation or not taking planned actions they know where to look for root cause: review “Why is this my goal?” and the two guiding questions. Chances are, lack of action is because the rewards for success and/or the consequences for failure aren’t compelling (motivating) enough. In other words, this really isn’t MY goal; it isn’t what I REALLY want.

There are many activities and techniques I use in helping clients identify and develop self-motivation and initiative, but the sequential elements I have described above are the foundation of a process that works every time.

Join me at the Intersection of Purpose & Now.
Posted in achievement, goals, initiative, motivation, New Year, planning | Leave a comment

Make 2010 a Very Special Year

Posted on December 11, 2009 by pdncoach

Have you a vision for how your life and your business will be different one year from now?

If you avoid goal-setting to allow for the “unknown”, in reality you are letting circumstances dictate your level of success or failure.


Why not explore the limits of your ability to achieve at the boundaries of your realm of belief? If you do not have specific plans for how high you will reach, you may never know what you could have achieved. Articulate now (in writing) what you want success to look like in 2010. Risk taking action to achieve what you really want – for you, for your family, for your team, business or community.

Many business managers mistake budgets for business plans. They determine revenue and cost projections while failing to address how they will develop a culture that inspires people to achieve beyond projections. They plan for expansion without considering how to increase Customer Loyalty necessary to achieve real growth and sustainability. They will pressure people without improving the systems in which their people work.

Sound like you? Do you avoid written goals because you believe them to be too confining and inflexible, rendering you unable to adapt to changing circumstances? Research and practice of the most successful organizations prove otherwise. If you avoid goal-setting to allow for the “unknown”, in reality you are letting circumstances dictate your level of success or failure.

Many people and organizations thrived or failed in 2009 – not “because of the economy” – but because of their basic attitudes about the economy, their daily habits and their pre-determined goals or lack of goals.

Join me at the Intersection of Purpose & Now.
Posted in goals, planning, success, vision | Leave a comment