How do you expect me to work in this mess? Dan Miller

Several times recently I have observed the work areas of other people.  Some are in a cramped and cluttered cubicle, one friend works on a board over stacked concrete blocks under the stairway in his house, another uses a shelf inside a closet, and another has found his dedicated work space eliminated because of his growing need for storage for his online business – so he just grabs his computer and stands wherever he can.  I often see at-home offices that are combinations of cobwebs, tangled wires and cords, bare walls, dirty carpets, and half-filled coffee cups.  I see others who have no office but go hang out at Starbucks, surrounded by people coming and going, kids crying and trucks passing by. 

Personally, I could not do any valuable work in those conditions.  If we consider our “work” doing the  minimum to get a paycheck, then I suppose any conditions will do.  If we’re just cranking something out and the quality is not a big issue, then doing it hit and miss in the middle of chaos and disruption is probably sufficient.  If your work uses only your left brain – you’re just putting pieces together, or counting widgets, or assembling boxes – then I suppose the conditions are not as important.

But if we consider our “work” our art, the release of the very best that we have to offer the world, then I think the setting is of maximum importance.  Creativity, brilliance, mastery, talent, virtuosity, and genius are not likely to be engaged if our back is cramped and a co-worker just bounced a paper airplane off the side of our head. 

I consider my working area a sacred space.  (I resist even calling it my office because of the connotation of hard work, bright lights and pressure.)

Here are some dictionary definitions of “sacred”

• reverently dedicated to some person, purpose, or object
• highly valued and important
• regarded with reverence
• secured against violation, infringement, etc.
• entitled to reverence and respect

That’s where I’m likely to do my best art.  If it’s distilling the wisdom of the ages into a new book to give hope to people today, or coaching someone, or scrolling through the tons of questions coming in to then deliver a weekly podcast, or making comments on Facebook, or even just working with my accountant on understanding the flow of money that has been entrusted to me, I want the peace of my sacred space to set the tone. 

I had trusted advisors help me design my work space – the colors, the lighting and the sounds – because I knew it would be the place I would either create mediocrity or excellence.

So what about you?  Does your work space impact your “art” or are you immune to your surroundings?  How have you designed the space that nurtures the release of the very best that God has put in you to share with the world?    

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People who avoid failure also avoid success Dan Miller

People who avoid failure also avoid success

1. You’re making me hate my job more.  Would I be better off not listening?
2. What would you do every day if you had a billion dollars?
3. How do you look for a job in the same field without your boss finding out?
4. It feels like I am avoiding failure by not attempting to succeed.
5. How can a Podiatrist generate income outside of just seeing patients?

 

“Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” – Robert T. Kiyosaki

Ten characteristics of Poverty

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Coaching with Excellence – September 3-4th

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Filling your head with meaningless information won’t get you a job Dan Miller

I’ve got a new resource for you that could explode your level of success – see end of article.

We are releasing the all new 48 Days to the Work You Love seminar on September 1st.  Because of the continued workplace volatility we are getting a lot of pressure to make the course “certified” for use in traditional colleges and universities.

While that sounds appealing, the deeper I explored the process the more disgusted I became.  I do want people to experience the freedom of finding their passion and applying that in work that is meaningful, purposeful and profitable.  But I can’t get excited

Make sure you can show competence, not just knowledge

about the process that would make this “certified.”   Unfortunately, there are requirements that defy everything I believe about showing competence. To me, “education” is broadening your life with experiences and understanding and that can take place as you’re traveling through Switzerland or starting your own delivery business.  That education may be more valuable than sitting in a classroom and just regurgitating what’s in the textbook.

Academic certification requires certain things like seventy-five hours of coursework. It doesn’t matter if the content can be conveyed easily in forty hours. I would have to artificially create seventy-five hours, even if that included just busy work to meet the requirement.  Their model, then, for proving your competence is to regurgitate what was in the material. So we would have quizzes, tests, and essays where you feed back information that was in the textbook.  You could cite the average time on a job and how unemployment has changed over the last 20 years.  You would know how many small businesses are starting every month and what the average income of a teacher is.  And what that means, and this just absolutely destroys me, is that a student could get an A in the course, 48 Days to the Work You Love, and yet never get that first job, never get a promotion, never find their passion, never find work that they love, or never start their own business. They could fail at all those parameters by which I measure success and still get an A in the course.

So I’m really outside the academic model. I’m happy to be there, frankly, because I think the academic model we have in the United States right now is the next bubble that’s going to burst. And there are a whole lot of people that are saying that. People like Mark Cuban and Mike Rowe and lots of other bright people that are seeing what’s happening. It’s a really broken model where we’re encouraging students just to fill their head with the knowledge that you can access from an iPhone in three seconds.  Yes, times have changed. Why would to fill your head by memorizing the capitals of all 50 states or the names of all the presidents?

Here are a couple recent questions from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire:

• “Nephelococcygia” is the practice of doing what?
• Which First Lady was a ninth-generation descendant of Pocahontas?
• Who did artist Grant Wood use as the model for the farmer in his classic painting “American Gothic”?
• What letter must appear at the beginning of the registration number of all non-military aircraft in the U.S.?

Will knowing these answers open new doors of opportunity?  Will those come up in an interview?  We need people to help people solve problems. To come up with solutions, unique ways of seeing new opportunities and creative ways of relating to other people.

Those are the kinds of things I want to convey, and so proving competence in my courses is not just a matter of feeding back what the materials say, or memorizing insignificant information.  Rather, describe to me a project that you’ve worked on. Let me see a blog that you wrote. Tell me about the landscaping business you had last year or the woodcarving business that you just started. Tell me something that you’ve done where you’ve put legs on an idea and created an economic model that will benefit you. Show me the invention you’re working on.  Describe how the job you have now fits you or how you just discovered a unique way to blend your passion, talent and money.

There’s a lot of research to support that getting a 4.0 in college is not a good predictor of any kind of success by however we measure that. We have to move past this valuing of knowledge to understanding and application.  Learning is easy – mastery is challenging.  And unfortunately, a lot of our academic program doesn’t require that. We just show knowledge and that’s it. Knowledge doesn’t do anything for you unless you move all the way through to understanding and application.

And here’s my recommended resource.  “How to run a Mastermind Group”  I don’t remember the symbol for Barium from the chemical chart of elements I had to study years ago (I’ve replaced that path in my brain with something meaningful), but Mastermind groups have been my constant source of new inspiration, support and motivation for me for many years.

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What’s more important – your life or your work? Dan Miller

 

What’s more important – your life or your work?

1. Ten Characteristics of People who end up Rich
2. How do we help our children find their creativity when they are in schools where “They are being molded to conform, memorize, do exactly what they are told, and create predictable things…”
3. How can I get my blog shared over 1,000 times like Derek did?
4. Here’s a free ebook – “5 Ways To Balance Your Life”
5. I cannot imagine living a life where work isn’t the highest priority and use of my time!
6. What’s the most effective process for getting a new job?
7. I feel uncomfortable working with people who are taking advantage of the company day in and day out.

 

 

Send ideas on creating entrepreneurial children to:

kids@48Days.com 

“At the end of life, it’s the laughter, the tears, the shared joys

and the shared heartaches we remember.  The wealth, the work,

the trials and problems are as nothing.  It’s the quality of our days

and the people we share them with that make the difference.”

Margaret James

Ten Characteristics of People who end up Rich (provided by you the listeners)

1. Expects Success
2. Creates a clear plan
3. Works Hard
4. Avoids Debt
5. Be teachable and a lifelong learner
6. Exercise self-control, persistence, and delayed gratification.
7. Accept Personal Responsibility
8. Keep Good Company
9. Be Opportunity Conscious
10. Enjoy the present but plans for the future

Text 48Days to 33444 for our free resource of the week

YouTube video to help Aren Haggard win his $4000 scholarship to the Institute for the Psychology of Eating

Other Resources:

Free Guide to Understanding Personality Styles

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5 Ways to Balance Your Life – ToddStocker.com  — look for the elephant

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Coaching with Excellence – September 3-4th

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Why do I have to work with morons? Dan Miller

A 48 Days Podcast listener writes:

“I just started a new job recently and I love the type of work I do. But the only thing that is bothering me is the environment that I’m in, I feel uncomfortable working with people who are taking advantage of the company day in and day out.  They are

Maybe this dude has his work completed

constantly on their phones when no one is around. They don’t do it in front of our boss but when she is not around they live on their phones, computers, sitting around , talking etc..  I’m not the type who likes to tattle tail on people but it’s way out of hand and I don’t know what to do.  Should I ask to be moved to another position or just deal with it because it’s eating me up watching these people steal from the company everyday.”

Andy – Every company has it’s own “culture.”  It will never be perfect.  Please be clear that if you have taken a JOB you have given up a great deal of control for the work environment you’ll be in.  Be realistic about what you can control and what you can’t control.  If the company has a “results only” culture it may not be an issue that people aren’t spending a full 8 hours on work.  Lots of companies give employees the freedom to complete their work without even coming in to the office – and those employees could be in their jammies and running a side business on eBay.

Asking to be moved to another position because of what you describe will not put you in a good light.  It will appear that even though you’re a new employee you are immediately making judgements about the quality of the current employees’ work.  I would suggest you set the example by being someone with integrity and strong work ethic.  That will get noticed on it’s own and new opportunities will appear.

Check out our free resource to help understand yourself better – What Work Fits My Personality

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How can I get paid for coaching on campus? Dan Miller

A 48 Days Podcast listener asks:  “I have an idea that I have been working on for a while. Many student-athletes come to college well prepared academically, athletically, and emotionally whereas other student-athletes have struggles and can sometimes be described as “at-risk”.  These “at-risk” student-athletes have a difficult time handling daily struggles such as peer pressure, drugs and alcohol, boyfriend/girlfriend relationships and other problems that often have an adverse effect on student-athletes’ performance in the classroom and on the field. I have seen countless student-athletes have off the field distractions and make bad

Athletes need balanced success

decisions that lead to loss of scholarship, and negative publicity for the school and alums. A position such as a Student-Athlete Development Coach should be created to assist student-athletes in their transition from high school to college. My question is how do I make money doing this and how do I get this program into colleges and universities? I have contacted college and universities but many are not coming around to this idea.” David

I love your idea – and you are so right.  Many gifted athletes sabotage their opportunities by making poor decisions off the field.

Be careful about wanting a JOB for a creative talent like coaching.  It may fit better as an independent contractor, free-lancer, consultant or entrepreneur.  Here in the Nashville area we have 17 colleges and universities.  What if none of them wanted to give you a job but you found 8 of them that wanted to have you available for their student-athletes 2 days a month – and would pay you $100 an hour for five hours.  That would be $1000 a month from each of those 8 schools – a very reasonable and small investment for them without all the complexity of bringing you on as an employee.  But that would mean $8000 a month for you for 16 half days of work – and $96,000 a year.  If you think like that it will open up a whole lot of doors that will be totally closed if you are looking for a job.

In Coaching with Excellence we look at creative applications like this.  Check out some of the testimonials from people who are creative coaches, gardening coaches, diabetes coaches, career coaches and many more. 

If you want to see if your personality “fits” being a coach – start with this free Personality Overview Guide.

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Don’t crowd your day with work Dan Miller

 

Don’t crowd your day with work

1. I am having trouble keeping jobs. I need help.
2. I lost my job a month ago and started a new one this week. I got a text from my boss this morning saying I’m done.
3. My husband is 31, is a college grad and has hopped around different jobs and has not really found anything that he finds fulfilling.
4. I feel like a rocket car primed and ready to explode that can’t get into first gear.
5. I thought I could make money from my writing – and you just left me hanging.

“ The truly efficient laborer will not crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task, surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure, and then do what he loves best. — Thoreau

Other Resources:

Free Guide to Understanding Personality Styles

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Coaching with Excellence – September 3-4th

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