Lessons from SOBCon07: Clarity (again)
When Ben Yoskovitz’s Productivity meme went around recently, I wrote a post about the value of clarity. Thankfully, a number of people liked it and found it as useful as I have.
Well, you shoulda been at SOBCon… because in no less than five of the presentations, I found clarity to be a ubiquitous theme.
The Iowa Trio (Mike Sansone, Drew McLellan, and Mike Wagner) talked extensively about knowing who you are, where you’re going, who you’re going there with, and the importance of being intentional with how you’re representing yourself, rather than just letting it happen accidentally.
Phil Gerbyshak, who led off the day, had “Know Thyself” as his cardinal rule of building successful relationships, which was later echoed in Wendy Piersall’s presentation, when she spoke about getting clear on your mission. Wendy’s passion about bringing your mission — your reason why you do what you do — into your work was really compelling and profound; so much so that she (and lots of us in the room) were on the verge of tears a few times, because of the nearness-and-dearness of our heart’s devotions.
Perhaps my favorite presentation of the day, however, was David Armano’s. He went from speaking about clarity to conversation to community and beyond… a lot of what he spoke about resonated with where my BPL groups are going, and his slideshow was clear, clean, and simple (I want to design like David does when I grow up).
Wake up, son!
One of the key points around clarity he shared right off the bat, which woke me up big-time, was the statement/question: “You are unique. Is your blog?”
That question started me off on a caravan of thought that’s rippled out ever since. And whether or not you blog, it’s a darn good question. What makes you someone others should pay attention to? And not just on an educational-content level, but on that deeper level of purpose and meaning, where hearts get ignited as well as minds?
If you’re here reading this with me, then you’re thinking about more than just ideas. You’re thinking about reasons. Convictions. Passions. Missions. And I believe that it’s on this level that meaning gets made, that transformation begins, and you can have the kind of impact on people’s lives that you got into business for in the first place.
So, is it a good, if not great, idea to get clear about what you’re about on a marketing level? Is it even more important to get clear about what your mission is, what your passion is, and why you do what you do?
According to David and the others, it’s pretty darn essential.
It helped me get more clear about where I’m going and what my personal brand is. I actually spent the entire flight home soul-searching, philosophizing, and writing about it. And the more I chew on it, the better it tastes.
I’d like to hear what this conversation does inside of you, too. What are you passionate about? Do you feel that passion making its way into how you present yourself? And, is it translating to a gut-level feel about your business?
(You may not really know the answer to that last one, unless you ask your patrons. So go ahead and ask. And, if you’d like to comment on mine, please feel free…)
Image by Sister72, used by Creative Commons License.
And thanks to all who commented on the previous post: Liz Strauss, Jonathan C. Philips, Wendy Piersall, Dawud Miracle, Terry Starbucker, Tony D. Clark, Phil Gerbyshak, Kammie, Karin H., Mary Schmidt
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Intuitive purpose finder and meaning maker.
I luuuuuuuuuvvvved David’s presentation too - it was so well stated, and visually stunning - and he put out some really great, fresh info. Thanks for this post - looking forward to the next installment!
You bet, Wendy. As much as I loved David’s, I don’t think anyone’s matched the energy of your presentation, I have to say.
(Actually, I will say, because the series shall continue…
)
What am I passionate about? Do I feel that passion making its way into how I present myself? My website is new and I don’t have many readers yet, but I do believe my passion is coming through. I sure has me excited about getting up in the morning. And it’s much harder to get myself to bed at night. That’s a good start, I would say.
PS This post reminds me of Robert Louis Stevenson’s: “An aim in life is the only fortune worth finding, and it isn’t found in foreign lands, but in the heart itself.”
It sounds as if we’ve all found ours, only instead of “aim” we call it “passion”.
Hi Jean, I think the excitement you’re feeling is a great sign. (he says, replying to comments at ten past eleven in the night…)
And your Stevenson quote reminds me of a Rumi poem:
Hi Adam
To me it still feels like a ‘chicken and egg’ situation sometimes. Clarity is essential in everything, specially in your (blog/business) missions, but sometimes (like yesterday when I posted my “dilemma in progress”) writing about items brings clarity to the mission (or dilemma in this case).
Thoughts can be very random, for writing you need precision and clarity of mind. Then the ‘picture’ get clearer.
Hope I’m not rambling too much but IMHO Clarity feeds Clarity.
Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)
Hey brother. Seems like everyone’s talking about David’s presentation. It certainly was good to hear his suggestions about blogging and branding. I know I left SOBCon with some direction shifts in my business and how I present myself. It’ll be exciting to see what falls out.
Hi Adam,
I’ll be sure to make you take the rust off your ASL skills at the next SOBCon.
Nice recap– I enjoyed David’s presentation too. Heck, the whole thing was great!
Hola Adam - I am writing now because I have been at my computer since 4a.m. Thus I have had time
borrowed from my sleep to delve into email.
I am clear that I am passionate about people (and the earth) having the time and space to be caring and creative.
I am passionate about helping folks clear out the extraneous and the impediments and trying to help our world attain some sort of sane balance regarding resources.
I am looking forward to your BPL class because I
want to be able to engage folks more easily in the
project of their life truly looking as they want it — being true to THEIR deepest values. This was what I was about as a therapist and what I have been about as an organizer. If disorganization and stuff are NOT an impediment then I say - don’t worry about it!!!
I know I need to work on my CLARITY and communicating it! Thank you for your article!
For instance - this is what I sent out in my tip yesterday — does this fit? What would people change?
__________________________________________
Greetings–
If you are like most of us (me included) there is a TON of information that comes at you every day - by email, snail mail, radio, TV etc.
We each have a different overload tolerance - mine is pretty low. Thus, following the “Golden Rule”, I have decided to decrease the frequency of my organizing tips back to once every TWO weeks. Please let me know if that is a problem for you, but I doubt it will be.
It aligns with the tip for this week.
Decrease the volume and you will find it
easier to stay organized.
Mind you, it takes an odd kind of bravery to be able to admit, “In reality I DON’T have time to read that __________ every week.”
It takes courage to say, “I know enough about that topic for right now. I can go to the library or re-subscribe when I REALLY need more info.”
BUT piles of unread magazines or dozens of unread e-zines won’t make you happier or smarter. I promise.
Once you are clear about that, you CAN (yes- you really can) cancel a subscription. Sure you can GIVE away the extra magazines AFTER your receive them, or delete an e-zine but even that takes time and attention. It IS possible to unsubscribe!
If you feel burdened by the ton of subscriptions piling up… try letting at least ONE go and see how it feels.
Wishing you more ease and space! Joanna
Comments always welcome
Adam, great post.
Jean, wonderful quote.
Karin, I agree. I would like to be more clear than I am, and I am in the process of getting more clear. In this moment I can accept that I am as clear as I am and hope that in the next moment, doing things that will deepen clarity, I will be clearer still. Actually, I have confidence in that. It is a moving wave.
Thanks for presenting this, Adam.
Stuart Baker
http://www.consciouscooperation.com
Stuart, I like the picture you paint: It’s a moving wave.
(Just try to stay on top of the wave ;-))
Karin H.
Hi Karin, I agree that clarity begets clarity, and I, too, often write as a way to get clear on the things I’m not clear about.
Just to be clear (oy!), I’m not saying that you can’t/shouldn’t act until you’re clear — sometimes, it’s only action that gets us clear. What I’m saying is that continued action without clarity can get ugly, and we should seek clarity whenever we realize we don’t have it. By whatever means necessary.
Dawud, you’re right, David’s post was a winner, and clearly a crowd favorite. I’m looking forward to seeing your changes!
Karen… I’ll try! A good friend and neighbor is actually an interpreter, so I’ll have to ask her to help me get back my skills.
Joanna, you’re welcome for the article. It’s great to hear your passion, and isn’t it cool to see how it’s something that’s followed you through various career twists and turns? That’s a clear sign if I’ve seen one.
I like your tip, also. I, too, try to keep my subscriptions not at a minimum, but at a level I can give the proper attention that each thing needs. I also stopped saving old emails, which has been a big burden-releaser; I print (to pdf) important receipts, articles I want to save, etc., and then all goes in the trash. BIG load off my psychic RAM.
Stuart, you’re welcome. I agree with Karin; nice analogy on the moving wave. My only tip would be from my surfing days (yes, I’m a Southern Californian): you can be in position for the next wave, or not. And it’s going to make a big difference as to whether or not you actually catch the wave. So, when you say, “hope”, I say, “prepare hopefully.”
Adam, reading all these great post-SobCon summararies like yours has given me a much greater appreciation for the quality of the presentations, because, as you well know, I couldn’t spend as much time really watching them as I wanted, between figuring out my dance moves and singing selections and all
I really appreciated your insights and straightforward and honest “takes” on things and it was a pleasure to meet you. See you next year! All the best.
Me too!
Hi Joanna
Thanks, Terry (and Dawud), I know how tough it is to be the one who’s holding things at an event like this. For years, I was the ‘teacher’ (in some capacity) at almost every meeting I went to. In the past year or so, I’ve been able to attend a few events as a participant, and it has been such a relief!