Innovation

This morning at the office, we had our monthly communication meeting. Usually the primary messages encompassed in the PowerPoint slides are all about EBIT, making the numbers and other financial gobbledy gook that makes my eyes start to glaze over.

However, while there was some of that today, a pleasant surprise in the presentation included a short discussion on innovation.

Innovation is a new way of doing something or "new stuff that is made useful."

The gentleman leading the talk gave two examples of innovation. The first, about an employee of Johnson & Johnson who invented a product that failed miserably, but when he thought he would be fired, instead he was asked by senior management to make some tweaks to the original formula. The next attempt was very successful. The second person he mentioned was the entertainer Chris Rock. Apparently Rock goes to comedy clubs to try out his new material. And many of these jokes really bomb. But he keeps trying and eventually, he has some great material.

The true takeaway from all of this was, how can we be more innovative in our daily lives? What ideas can we try to make a reality even if they are looked upon with disdain or trepidation?

So now I pose that question to all of you. What have you done lately that was innovative? Or what can you do tonight, tomorrow, this week or even this year that is innovative, original, and really outside of your comfort zone?

You never know, you might change something or someone in a brand new way.

Everything Happens For a Reason...

A breakup. A new job. A death. A move. When friends part ways.

Just a few of the major events in the lives of people I know, including myself. And these events shape us, change us, move us forward. Or, in some cases, move us in a completely new direction.

I was talking with a friend today about how lately I've felt like I'm the backwards version of Robert Frost's "I took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference." I feel like I've taken the road everyone's traveled and I haven't really blazed my own trail. I haven't really done anything with my life. I've played it safe. And gosh darn it, I want to stop doing the same thing, following the same pattern. I need to risk more and perhaps I will gain more.

I've been told, "Everything happens for a reason." And I want to believe this is true. Sometimes it doesn't feel true, but I can't prove otherwise. I mean sometimes we don't know why something has happened in our life until many days, weeks, months or even years later. And maybe we never know why certain things happen. But maybe we're not supposed to. Even so, it's almost comforting to know that perhaps whatever we do is our life. Or maybe not so comforting? Hmmmm...I'm still contemplating this concept.

So, perhaps all the choices I've made so far have led me to this point in my life, for a reason. I mean, why not right? And while I don't know what the reason is yet, I am willing to explore the possibility that I have some more choices to make, easy and hard. I will take those chances, er choices, to make a life for myself that I am proud of. A life that I am excited to be living.

That being said, I know that whatever choices I make, however small or large, will shape my future. That's a given. And while I am always hoping that the choices I make will lead me to someplace I'm truly happy with, I have to accept that there are bound to be many more mistakes and misjudgements, mixed in with happy accidents and kismet.

So, I'm gonna bypass the "road more traveled" and opt instead to kick a few stones and scuff the dirt to create a path all my own. I urge those who read this to do the same.

Carpe Diem!

What Lies Ahead

Change. A concept that is feared by some, embraced by others.

Lately, it's the topic of much discussion between me and several of my friends. That yearning to shake things up a bit. Whether moving out of state, moving out of their current home, going to school, finding a new job, finding a new career, breaking up with someone, starting to date someone new, it's the possibility that things in our lives can somehow be different.

But...therein lies the challenge. How much do we want that change? How do we know it's time? What do we do to make it happen? And how much do we risk in making that change?

Sometimes it's better to try than to look back, years from now, and wonder. Because as a good friend of mine said to me the other day - you have to make mistakes to grow. If you make a mistake, you learn. And I think that's a wonderful concept. One I'm going to hold onto as I keep striding down this road towards my unknown, my next step in my journey of change.

And I encourage you to grab a hold of what your dream, your idea of change, your concept of something new is. Don't be scared of it, don't let it stop you. Remember, if you make a mistake, it's okay.

As Anais Nin once said, "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." And to quote Erica Jong, "And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk more."

So, go and be bold! The world is yours!

Here and Now

Why is it that we are never content with what we have? Why are we always searching for something else? Do we not know that we have talents we can use right now, we have dreams we can fulfill? I guess I say this because I've been doing a little bit of cleaning around my home and find myself ensconced in nostalgia.

Ah, memories. Of what we once wanted, of what we think we can never have. I find that I have not changed that much over the years, and yet I have changed a lot. Contradiction? Perhaps. Or possibly growth. The realization that we have parts of us that will always want or need certain things, and then there are those other sides to us, ones we may not let the world see, that are actually pushing us, secretly, further. Pushing us to explore and go where we think we cannot.

I'm hoping that I can use those hidden motivators, as they do sneak up on me, and burst out of my rut, and into the beyond. Into that future, that for now seems a little daunting, but when I look back in a few years, I will understand that it is what I needed, more than anything, at this time in my life.

And while I may be taking two steps forward, I might need to take one step back. But I will get there, wherever it is I'm supposed to be. Until then, I'm just going to remember that time waits for no one, and I will try to enjoy what I do have in my life, right now. That's very important. At least I think so.

What do you do to motivate yourself? How do you conquer the daily grind and still exlore your passions?