Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, “Outliers” has spread virally (as with many of his other books), and I’m seeing the idea that “to become an expert at something you need to spend 10 000hrs on it” bandied about on just about every personal and professional development blog out there. One of the most universal issues that I see service professionals struggling with is the idea of calling themselves an “expert.” The word “expert” is a loaded word for most of us.
I recently wrote a long post about Agile Living, where I unpacked the Agile Living values and strategies, but the essence of Agile Living is being able to change easily and gracefully in response to your changing environment, much like a dancer moves and changes easily and gracefully. And for me, a big reason why Agile Living is so important is because, in a high-change, high-pressure environment, it makes you more resilient. When you can bend under pressure, without breaking, when you can easily drop limiting, fixed paradigms and discover liberating ones, and when you’re flexible enough to be able to find many different ways to express your Essential Self, then you’re resilient. Charles Darwin summed it up when he said, “It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
This post is part of my “Real Life (S)heroes” series, where I introduce you to awesome real-life, everyday heroes and sheroes who have inspired me by living large, being fully self-expressed, and making a meaningful contribution, in spite of the risks – this is what Agile Living is all about! I’m sharing these stories with you because one of the biggest sources of stuckness that I come across is when people hit up against a fear and then get stuck in their fears because they’re beating up on themselves for having those fears.
I have the good fortune of hearing about people’s fears from people of all walks of life, and one of the most powerful things that’s done for me has been that I’ve been able to see how “what’s most personal is most general” – in other words, we all basically struggle with the same stuff. And recognizing that can help you to stop judging and fighting your own fears, and invest your energy in moving your “thing” forward instead.
Most of you are probably aware of the big change that Andy and I made when we decided to become nomadic. More recently you would have seen and heard more about location independent living on my blog/ tweets/ facebook, and perhaps you joined me and Lea Woodward last week, when I interviewed her (you can download the recording here) about creating an independent, flexible and free lifestyle through location independent living.
farmerI read this wonderful parable in Adam Jackson’s latest book, “The Flipside” (an awesome book, by the way – look out for it in the Bottom-line Bookclub later this year. And yes, it’s still on the boil, with more secret stuff I can’t talk about yet… will keep you posted!)
The Taoist Farmer
“The Taoist farmer lived in a remote village in the furthermost corner of China. He was not a wealthy man, but he was content with his life, and farmed a small
