Escape from Cubicle Nation

"Joyful participation in the sorrows of the world"

What to say with today's news?

I came across this quote while reading a tribute to a dear friend who passed away two years ago:

"All life is sorrowful; there is however an escape from sorrow; the escape is Nirvana – which is a state of mind or consciousness, not a place somewhere, like heaven. It is right here, in the midst of the turmoil of life. It is the state you find when you are no longer driven to live by compelling desires, fears, and social commitments, when you have found your center of freedom and can act by choice out of that. Voluntary action out of this center is the action of the bodhisattvas – joyful participation in the sorrows of the world. "

The Power of Myth (p.203) Joseph Campbell

Joyful participation in the sorrows of the world sounds just about right.  Hang in there, don't panic.  We will get through this.

How are you feeling, really?

I asked my friends on Twitter the other day (in typical 140 character limit fashion):

"question for day:  given financial meltdown, where are healthy corners of market?  needed services, useful products, etc."

In addition to useful answers like "anything that serves the wellness/lifestyle needs of boomers, driven by unchangeable demo shift, not short term trend or economy," (thanks Jonathan) I got a good one:

"Crisis counseling." (thanks Matthew)

Naomi at Ittybiz has an interesting take on this, responding to my post on Lehman and the New York Times article (which also got picked up at US News & World Report) with her post Blood in the Streets: Home Business Economics in Troubled Times. Penelope Trunk adds her perspective on career development in today's economy with Three things to learn from the career-crashing of the super-rich.

If you can agree intellectually that there may be upsides to all this carnage but still are feeling quite stuck and panicky, you may need a little help working through your emotions.

In that spirit, I wrote this post for Martha Beck's blog, entitled "How are you feeling, really?"

I hope it gives you some tools for moving from "bad afraid" (vague, generalized anxiety about things you can't control) to "good afraid" (a bit of trepidation about a career path that is within your control).

Enjoy!

If I were to attach a giant magic probe to foreheads across the U.S. right now, what emotion do you think would be off the charts?

Fear, anyone?

Market meltdowns, government bailouts, war, natural disasters and election uncertainty make this point in history a pretty unsettling one, at least for those of us in the United States. However, I would guess that under the general feeling of panic, there are some other emotions which are causing people to feel paralyzed.

As my friend Colleen Wainwright said recently, "What is really harshing your mellow?"

Chapter Eight of Martha's book Finding Your Own North Star offers an extremely simple but highly effective way to decipher your emotional state, asking the question: "Are you more sad, mad, glad or scared?"

This works like magic with my clients that feel foggy, conflicted and totally stuck.  When I ask "how do you feel?" they often do not have an answer.  But with the question, "are you more sad, mad, glad or scared," most will immediately choose one of the words, like "mad" or "scared."

Once the primary emotion is identified, we dig down and find out what is causing it. With the cause identified, we define what course of action is necessary to get them to feel better.  Once they see a path forward, the original emotion almost always dissipates, or at least does not feel so overwhelming. So if you are feeling stuck and uncomfortable in some part of your life but don't know what to do about it, try this 4-part exercise from Finding Your Own North Star:

Magic Question #1:  What are you feeling?

Exercise

1.  Right now, are you feeling more sad, mad, glad or scared? Even if your feelings are very mild, try putting them in one of these categories.

2.  Now write down at least six different words, besides those listed above, that describe your feelings at this moment.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

3.  Think of three works of art (songs, movies, images, poems, plays, books, etc.) that resonate with your current emotional state.

a.
b.
c.

4.  What do these works have in common?

5.  Complete the following sentences. Don't think about grammar or spelling; just shoot for emotional accuracy.  No one has to see this but you.

a.  I wish ...
b.  I hope ...
c.  I'm angry that ...
d. I'm afraid that ...
e. I'm sad about ...
f.  I'm happy about ...
g.  If it weren't embarrassing, I'd feel ...
h.  Even though it's stupid, I feel ...

Magic Question #2:  Why am I feeling this way? Those of you who have young children will immediately recognize this exercise.  It is attributed to the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota who used it in their rigorous quality program to drive production efficiency, but we all know that they just stole it from a bright toddler (Mom, do I have to eat this ohitashi? Why?  Why?  Why? Why?  Why?).

Exercise:

1.  What was the strongest emotion that emerged as you did the exercises from Magic Question #1?

2.  Why do you feel this way?

3.  Why?

4.  Why?

5.  Why?

6.  Why?

When you get to the real reason you are not feeling good, you may find the answer is not one you want to hear.  Martha says: Read the rest here.

How many Lehman employees do you think have backup plans?

My heart broke as I watched dejected Lehman Brothers employees carry their personal effects out of their offices on Sunday.  As much as they were aware of strain in their company, if they are like typical corporate employees, most did not expect the bankruptcy outcome.

I was so fascinated to see this right as I am polishing the chapter of the Escape from Cubicle Nation book on why corporate employees are afraid to leave their jobs to start a business.  A very common concern is that their "cushy" situation is as good as it gets, and they would be foolish to leave the "stability" of a corporate job for the "uncertainty" of entrepreneurial life.

I would bet that those Lehman employees who had small gigs going on the side:  consulting projects, eBay stores, blogs w/ad revenue, niche products, are feeling a little less panicked this morning.

The New York Times said yesterday (my paraphrase) that now might be a crappy time to leave your job to start a business. (must register to read). (hat tip to Carlos for referring this article)

Yes, things feel quite bleak in the market today.

But, I would argue, if you are sitting back with your head between your knees gripping your corporate job like a favorite teddy bear, you are putting yourself at risk.

I learned from my martial art days that the safest thing to do when under attack is to keep your eyes wide open, ground yourself, leverage your strengths and let curiosity, not fear, be the emotion your opponent sees in your eyes.

Like in any crisis or economic downturn, some people are going to thrive and grow despite the chaos. These are the people who are not afraid to try new things, work on side projects, network like crazy outside of their day jobs, and maintain a balanced and positive outlook on life.

What position are you in, feet firmly planted on the ground with your eyes wide open, or crouched in your chair waiting to see what will happen to you?

photo credit:  Reuters

The growing email overload: more like killer algae or kudzu?

OK, I am having serious metaphor issues.

As I am cleaning the first chapter of the book, "I have a fancy title, steady paycheck and good benefits. Why am I so miserable?" I am working on a section called "blood from a turnip."  You know what I am talking about, where your life force is squeezed from you as you desperately try to keep up with outrageous amounts of work, since they doubled your workload after cutting half the staff last round of layoffs.

So when I get to the part about the overwhelming volume of email in a corporate setting these days, I think "This would be a great place for nature metaphors. Something like that algae that is taking over ocean wildlife, or the crabs who hide under ships from China and jump off in San Francisco Bay and eat all the native creatures."

So I google "predator sealife," or some such thing, and come across this fantastic book, Killer Algae by Alexandre Meinesz.

It reads like a suspense novel and science fiction nightmare, only it is a true story and happening now.  Here is an excerpt:

In the early 1980s, the curator of the tropical aquarium at Stuttgart, Germany, noticed the exceptional properties of a beautiful green alga, Caulerpa taxifolia, used as decoration in the presentation of multicolored tropical fishes. In contrast to other algae, it does not wither, it grows with astounding vigor, it resists cool water temperatures, and it serves as a secondary food source for herbivorous tropical fishes. Specialists quickly learned about these qualities, and public aquaria acquired cuttings.

This is how it arrived at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, where it was cultivated beginning in 1982. Two years later, the alga was discovered in nature, under the windows of this celebrated building. At that time, the beautiful stranger occupied only a square meter of Mediterranean bottom. Six years later, the alga was noted on the French coast five kilometers from Monaco; its detrimental impact on coastal ecosystems was deplored. The alga grows everywhere, from the surface to the lower limits of underwater vegetation. It grows as well in front of capes swept by storms and currents as on the soft bottoms of sheltered bays, on the polluted mud of harbors as on stretches of bottom with a diverse flora and fauna. Highly toxic, it barely interests herbivores; they have not hindered its spread. It is thus growing unrestrained, covering and then eliminating many plant and animal species. A new equilibrium is reached when the alga forms a dense, uniform carpet that persists from year to year (highlight my emphasis).

"A new equilibrium is reached when the alga forms a dense, uniform carpet that persists from year to year."

Isn't that a delicious metaphor for email?

So I vet it with my Twitter friends and it seems they prefer the killer plant Kudzu, an import to the Southern United States from Japan that grows about a foot in one evening and eats everything in its path.  More here.

Some people even suggested bunnies gone wild was a good metaphor for out of control email, but, come on, where is the terror in bunnies?

Zebra mussels and non-native Python snakes in the Everglades have all been thrown out as alternatives.

So I am asking for your vote: 

Metaphor for the out-of-control growth of email:  killer algae or kudzu?

If you vote for bunnies gone wild, I might just have to eject you from this forum.  :)

The Contrarian Effect: Atypical sales advice from Michael Port

Even though I am a bit annoyed (ok, jealous) by the ease by which people like Michael Port, Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki  seem to spin out gigantic volumes of books, posts, products and communities in their sleep, I am happy to let you know about the new book Michael just released with coauthor Elizabeth Marshall called The Contrarian Effect:  Why it Pays Big to Take the Typical Sales Advice and do the Opposite.  (You might have read my review of Michael's other recent book, Beyond Booked Solid)

You know from my recent post about my exasperation with sales letters that our new world needs some new models of selling.  A blurb from the book says:

"High technology and instant communication have put customers firmly in control of the sales process.  They don't answer calls from unknown numbers; they demand honesty and transparency in the sales process; they are well informed about your product before they deal with you; and they have no patience for pressure tactics like closing questions.  No wonder traditional sales methods no longer work."

For many of my readers, they are so nauseated by the "old tactics" that they just avoid thinking about selling altogether. The problem is that without a strong and ethical sales process, your business doesn't do much but sit and drain money and energy.

This book, like Seth's The Dip, is a nice and slim read that strips things to the essence and gives practical advice.  I don't know if it is a trend, but thin and to-the-point business books seem to be en vogue.

To follow their tagline of "doing the opposite," Michael and Elizabeth are promoting their book a non-traditional way:  holding an online auction of a whole bunch of goodies such as two tickets to the Inc. 500 Conference in Washington DC (Jim Collins is a featured speaker there - I have seen him live and he is amazing.) or a ($3,000) seat in Michael Gerber's Dreaming Room (gotta love a man confident enough to wear a white suit and pink tie) , or even my own little "workshop that could" (where you answer the question "is this all there is to life?"  hint:  nope, not even close). The currency for the auction is books, so the more copies you buy, the more points you can use to bid with.

Check out the auction here.  It has a short run, just about 22 hours left as of this posting.  Enjoy!

Social good: a natural extension of entrepreneurship?

I have a theory I am postulating in The Book that once people disconnect from the "my corporate job sucks and I am trapped in cubicle hell" world and start a successful entrepreneurial venture that they naturally become more compassionate and interested in social change.

I think this is due to a number of reasons:

• Long-suppressed emotions, dangerous to expose in corporate life, rise to the surface and you begin to feel more deeply
• Having launched a successful venture, you realize that it is possible to take something from concept to reality
• You look at world challenges through an entrepreneurial lens:  as a problem to be solved, not as something overwhelming and unchangeable

Although I don't talk about this much, I admit that all my "freeing corporate prisoners" work is actually a secret plot to unleash smart people on world problems.  In college, I majored in International Service and Development, with an emphasis on Non formal Adult Education in Latin America (say that three times fast!).  The basic theory underpinning my work, which I studied in-country in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, is that when people have access to education and supportive networks, they take care of their own problems. 

Such was the case with mothers I worked with in an exceptionally poor neighborhood of Bogota who formed a collective day care center to tend to the children of the community.  This was also the case with the young former gang members I worked with in San Francisco and Oakland, who radically turned their lives around after training martial arts.

While some people may think working with highly educated corporate employees with existential angst is the height of elitism, I actually see it as the first step to creating deep, widespread social change.  (A commenter on my post asking people what it felt like to work in a cube, said "I guess I am in the minority. Working in the cubes at Hewitt Associates gives me a feeling of protection and security. I don't have to work out in the harsh elements, I have the benefit of air-conditioning & heat. We have it better than 2/3's of the rest of Planet Earth's working class. Think before you gripe so much.")

So I was delighted, but not surprised, to see some of my favorite bloggers and "living the dream" entrepreneurs band together for a new endeavor which combines athletic training with fundraising for Darfur: Train for Humanity.  The co-founders are:

• Leo Babauta, former corporate employee and now author of the hugely popular blog Zen Habits
• Mark Hayward, former peace corp volunteer, social entrepreneur, and co-owner (with his wife) of the Palmetto Guesthouse in Culebra, Puerto Rico
• Dan Clements, author of the sabbatical guide Escape 101

Leo really embodies the domino effect of change, as he revealed in an interview for my book.  He started by quitting smoking and losing weight.  Once he did that, he tackled debt, and clutter, and a lot of other things that made him feel better and stronger. Excited by his research and first-hand success with changing habits using positive thinking, he started his blog Zen Habits.  With his blogging success, he was able to quit his day job and start writing full-time.  Now he is working on this social endeavor, one of what I imagine will be many in the years to come.

What Leo, Mark and Dan demonstrate is that you don't have to wait to amass enough fortune to give away 40 billion dollars like Warren Buffet. Or you don't have to be a life-long activist like my dear departed friend Carlos Aceituno.  By awakening your body, mind and spirit, you just may find that you are one step closer to your entrepreneurial dreams.  And in the worst case scenario, you don't raise one dollar for charity, but get that "I'm a hip entrepreneur and athlete" vibe going on.  It won't hurt!

In their words:  How You Can Help

1. Sponsor Leo, Mark or Dan

2. Help Spread the Word

Helping isn’t just about money. If you have a blog, a website, a Facebook or Twitter account, or just an email address book, I’d like to ask you to take just a few moments of your time to post, Digg, Stumble, forward, tweet, email, or otherwise help spread the word about Train for Humanity. You can find pre-written blog posts, badges for your site/blog, and other easy word-spreading ideas right here.

3. Become a Participant

We’ll soon be opening TFH to other “everyday athletes”. Anyone with a desire to make a difference can participate - the only requirement is that you take part in an endurance event, such as running, walking, cycling, or swimming. The distance isn’t important. Some TFH participants will run marathons, others will walk a few miles, but they’ll all be making a difference. You can signup here.

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Photo credit:  I took this picture 23 years ago, when I lived in a small village in Mexico with a farming family.  The pure joy on the faces of these boys, with their homemade spinning tops, still makes me smile.

Self promotion for wimps

It is hard to describe how much I loathe those lengthy sales letters with red ink and highlights and 22 testimonials of perky business owners who transformed their life or business by implementing a revolutionary "turn key system."

What infuriates me more is how despite my loathing and mockery of the format, I feel myself being lulled into buying whatever the horrible sales letter is selling.

I have talked about it with my friends  Havi Brooks and Nathan Bowers and we all agree there must be a way to sell useful things at the right price to people who need them without reverting to Vern the Car Dealer with greased-back hair and "a whopping deal for you."

So it was with great joy that I heard about a program that Havi developed with Naomi Dunford, perhaps the most hilarious copywriter/internet marketer/small business coach on the web entitled Self Promotion for Wimps.

Per their copy:

This is a 6 week power course for creative types, small business owners,and people who are (understandably) too busy freaking out to properly live their dreams.

Six weeks of learning, soothing, ass-kicking, fear erasing, question answering, and some other things that end with "ing".

It's a course for people who want to get their business -- sometimes referred to as "that thing that you've always wanted to do and maybe you might get paid a living wage for it someday but it's not really, you know, a business business" -- rocking and rolling.

It's for people who are ready to clear out the crap that's standing in the way of their awesome life and start having more fun and making some money doing it.

I cannot adequately convey to you how much this is needed.  For those of you who make plans and complete them, set high goals and knock them out of the park on a regular basis without a smidgen of self doubt, I bow to you.

For the rest of us, procrastination, demons, dirty self talk, lethargy and terror get in the way of realizing our dreams.  After awhile, it just becomes annoying, and it doesn't have to be that way.

So if this course fit the bill for you, I highly encourage you to take it. As I told Naomi:

"I saw your program and it looks EXCELLENT!  If I weren't scared out of my mind, doubting my worth, shoving Oreos down my throat and feeling not worthy writing my book, I would join you!!!"

I was only half-kidding.

Havi has a really unique take on procrastination and fear and has developed some ultra-cool tools for overcoming them.  Naomi is razor sharp, understands marketing inside and out and is terribly funny.  She also swears like a sailor, so make sure to hide your kids in the next room when participating in their calls.

They did develop an affiliate program, which I joined and you can use to get a special discount if you use my link.  Naomi says:  "Havi calls it a "partner" program because she's a hippie."

If you want to sign up, EfCN readers get a $30 discount when you type the word "Pam" (no quotes) in the coupon field.  Check it out and sign up here.

But wait, there's more!

Before I leave you, I think the "back story" of how Naomi and Havi joined forces is just as interesting as the program.

Some people tell you that to grow your business, you have to scour the web for "appropriate joint venture partners" that have a certain number of ezine subscribers, or Alexa ranking or press exposure.

In my experience, it is the exact opposite.  You trip over someone through a link on someone's blog, or notice them on Twitter.  And you fall head over heels in love and will do just about anything to hang out and work together.

Such is how Naomi described meeting Havi. And how Havi described the meeting as "Non-gross marketing and my Canadian love child."

This is where the really cool partnerships happen, people, by having fun, real, deep conversations with people you like about things you care about.

If I weren't so busy, I would be jealous.

Have a great weekend!

Heads up on two interesting opportunities

Two of my favorite mentors have some interesting programs going on:

Rich Sloan of StartupNation alerted me to the 2nd annual Home-Based 100 competition which highlights entrepreneurs like me who do work in the midst of laundry/toddler/toy/crumb-laden environments (wait, maybe that is only me -- the rest of you may have much cleaner home office environments).  If you work from home, check out the categories and enter your business to win!

Dr. Srikumar Rao is offering a new segment of his renowned Creativity and Personal Mastery Course in Los Angeles, California.  Pardon my late reporting since the application deadline is September 5th, but if you have a moment, I really suggest you check it out.  One of my life goals is to participate in this life-changing program.

Details:
Creativity and Personal Mastery(CPM) will be offered beginning October 5, 2008 in Los Angeles. The deadline for application is September 5, 2008.

This is a very innovative course and many have found it life-changing. This article from the Financial Times tells you more about the course and the instructor Professor Srikumar Rao:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/df5176e6-5430-11dc-9a6e-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

The syllabus, application procedure, calendar, fees and other details are at:
www.areyoureadytosucceed.com

CPM is the only business school course anywhere that has its own alumni association - a testament to the overwhelming value that those who have taken it feel they received.

This program is not for everyone and there is a deliberately cumbersome application process. Do read the syllabus carefully and see if you think you qualify. It is best to do this early and not wait for the deadline. The application requires thought and takes time to complete.

Good luck if you choose to participate in either of these events! 

Quick, do something!

This weekend during a wonderful trip to Sedona, I was talking with my son Jeffery about his paintings in progress.  He had done a lot of work on a number of canvases, but found finishing the paintings was difficult.

So I recalled the advice I wrote about a few months ago from my friend Ramit Sethi:  Perfectionists are losers.

Starting a project is the fun part:  imagining what you want to do, scoping it out, creating the big vision, and making the first moves.  Once you get a lot of material drawn or written, however, it is easy to get paralyzed.

• What if it doesn't turn out how you imagined?
• What if no one likes it?
• What if no one buys it?
• What if someone else does it better?
• What if you have been wasting your time and should have done something else?
  

When you get to this awkward, uncomfortable stage, I suggest you pick up Ramit's phrase and start to repeat it:  perfectionists are losers.

Losers, of course, in the sense that by maintaining an impossible standard of achievement, you deprive the world the satisfaction of experiencing your project or paper or book or picture. 

And you deprive yourself the joy of completion.

Not everyone will love it.  But for someone, it will be just the right thing, at the right time. 

And if everyone hates it, including you, you get to recite a powerful and sacred mantra:  Who cares?

So if you are sitting on a project waiting for a majestic wind to sweep in and motivate you to finish it, don't hold your breath.

Just pick up your pen, or paintbrush, or keyboard and get cracking.

I am right with you. 

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Picture of Jeffery by Ivan Martinez, who you might remember from an earlier post.