Your Life on Purpose

Genius 1 is better, stronger, or faster than anyone else and Genius 2 thinks so differently that society can’t do anything else but turn their heads in awe.

Einstein is spot on, but unless someone reads this quote or hears it from someone else, he more than likely will never know he’s a genius.

We’re all geniuses in some way, but not everyone finds it.

To find it, you need to look beyond what the classroom and school typically asked of you. Genius isn’t about memorizing data or performing a task faster than everyone else. It’s not found in a test.

Genius, on the other hand, can be broken down into two separate tracks. There are geniuses like Daniel Tammet, the autistic savant who can master a language in just weeks, and then there are geniuses like Steve Jobs and Steve Woznisk who think conceptually and are so creative that they turn the box society stays confined in into a soccer ball for a game.

Genius 1 is better, stronger, or faster than anyone else and Genius 2 thinks so differently that society can’t do anything else but turn their heads in awe.

Lesson #1: Never Settle and Level Up with Community

(And that's when my cat Yoda walked across the keyboard and words did actually fill the screen. They just didn't make any sense.)

Here are three writing prompts to help you find your creative juice or kick you out of writer's block thanks to some good old friends like Jack Kerouac. You can also use these writing techniques to identify your passion and purpose because all of these writing strategies are meta-cognitive in nature, which is a big fancy word that means you call attention to your thoughts and think about your own thinking.

1.) The Beat Word Sketch

This is something my wife and I do often when we go on a date. It's fun. You should try it. The idea comes from Jack Kerouac, one of the most famous Beat Generation writers, who loved exploring the world around him through the art of language. 

Kerouac believed that grammar and punctuation constipates our use of language and so by forgetting all of these rules, writers can write words more freely -- much like a musician would create a riff off a jazz beat. 

So, here's what to do:

Stop and look around and grab a pen and paper or use Evernote. Set a timer for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, write down what you see and think for the next 5 to 10 minutes. You are not allowed to use any grammar or punctuation, except a dash to separate your thoughts. Allow yourself to think silly thoughts and jump around like a firecracker or just write exactly what you see. It's a game between your left-brain and right-brain that gets you to breakdance with your words.

Afterwards, you should have unlocked the potential to continue writing whatever it is that you were trying to get at before writer's block came about. Or... you'll just have a really cool bit of language to share at your next slam poetry event.

Here's what it could look like:

The lamp shade to my right looks like something straight out of the game clue and my Macbook shines bright in my face illuminating the intensity in my eyes as cafe guests mill around drinking beer coffee and chatting with their friends in spanish -- maybe a Spanish lesson? -- I remember when I first learned Spanish and tried to order a sandwich in Barcelona only to be laughed at by a teenager for my terrible American accent -- learning a language is something I love to do and haven't focused enough on -- learn French or Spanish next? I don't know -- Language is such a beautiful thing like a tango on the tongue between two souls that wish to connect.

See? It's pretty weird and takes a bit of getting used to, but once you let go, it flows naturally and something you'll be surprised by what you create. I'm proud of the one line at the end. The rest of the paragraph is kind of junk, but that last line, "like a tango on the tongue" sounds beautiful to me and reminds me of the beautiful sing song of language. 

2.) Journaling... (Remember That?)
Yes, journaling -- the manly word for writing in a diary. I would be a major hypocrite if I said I journal consistently. The truth is, I have a long inconsistent string of journaling.

When I was a kid, I had these dream journals where I would write down my dreams as soon as I woke up. And even as an adult, I can't stand handwriting, nor have I been able to type a consistent journal. 

Michael Hyatt struggles with this too and writes about the need to journal. Here's a helpful template he created.

The thing about journaling is that if you write in a journal every day, it will turn into a habit that will develop your reflective ability to be more aware and present, all while being able to make sense of your emotions. Consistent reflecting like this and trying to make sense out of the tangled yarn of life experiences will allow you to grow into a more present being. In other words, you'll be in control of your emotions and perhaps empathize with your readers more so than others. 

Go ahead and try it. Try to keep a consistent journal. Real men would.

Start small with maybe just a few sentences every day and then grow it into what you want. Says Jeff Goins, "If you want to get this writing thing down, you need to start writing every day. No questions asked, no exceptions made."

3.) Focus Freewrites 
These are a bit different than journaling and Beat Word Sketches. Journaling is entirely reflective and builds your meta-cognition. Word Sketches break free from grammar restrictions and ask you to describe the physical present (through descriptive language) all while allowing you to roam into your steam of consciousness. 

Focus freewrites, however, are... a bit more focused. You'll need to choose a topic to start off with and will need a prompting question. 

Here's what to do:

Step 1: Choose a prompting question. The question should somehow relate to the topic you are writing. Here are a couple examples:

Or they could be more existential in nature:

Step 2: Set a timer for 10 minutes (feel free to have the Star Wars theme song be the timer ring tone!)

Step 3: Start off by answering the question and then let your mind wander a bit. 

Once it wanders too far away from the essence of the question, pull yourself back in and redirect and refocus your writing to the origin of the question. So that means you can answer the question a different way, or tell a new story that highlights your answer, or write how someone of another view point would answer the question. 

The goal here is to become aware when you stray off your focused path and train your brain to come back to the focus of your writing. It's very much like meditation. When in seated meditation for instance, a common practice would focus on the breathing (in/out) and not think of anything else except, like Tom Hilgardner says, "be one with the breath." What happens, however, is the mind likes to think of... well... pretty much anything to distract you. 

The mind will say things like "That itch in your right butt cheek is really annoying, isn't it? You should probably scratch that" or it will say "You should really prepare for that meeting today because it's going to be a tough one." 

The practice then shifts to acknowledging that the mind has wandered and simply bring it back to the breath. Because the mind wanders so easily, many meditation practitioners will put words to the breath to help stay focused. During yogic meditation, David Life had us think the traditional mantra "Let' and "Go." So, you may think the word "Let" on the inhale and think "Go" on the exhale.

Just like the focus freewrite, the practice of meditation is about coming back to focus on the present. So, with the focus freewrite it's about saying "Whoops, I've been a bit too tangential here" and then coming back to the main topic. 

It involves a bird, my feet, and a mind that wanted to race in the rain.

I woke up this morning with a pretty foggy head. I worked a lot of hours yesterday and went to bed exhausted, sleeping through my 5 a.m. alarm clock.

I brewed my French press, then sat on the porch watching the morning rain.

I thought about all the things that I need to do today and my mind started racing with "got to get to work, got to get to work."

Then, thankfully, my daily habits that I've worked so hard to build kicked in. I've learned to recognize that when my mind does this, that's probably when I need to stop and stay still.

I laid out my yoga mat on the porch, just out of the rain's reach, and set my 20-minute timer for meditation.

I watched as my mind raced like a Formula One car, zig-zagging through the many errands and assignments I need to get out. The new website I'm building. The book I'm writing. And how I want to spend more time with my wife.

I just watched and watched and kept bringing my mind back to the breath.

When the timer went off, I moved into downward dog and started my short morning Jivamukti yoga routine.

After about twenty minutes, I moved into Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) -- one of my favorite postures.

My body stood straight and I breathed Ujjayi breath. Yoga breath.

Then it happened.

I felt little tiny prickles on my feet. Was it rain? No, because my feet weren't getting wet. Was it little pieces of wood from the rafters somehow landing on my feet? So, I moved my feet a bit to see if I could somehow take a look and there it was. One of the finches that often visit the patio garden had landed on my feet. He stood there, perched on his little tiny prickly legs and blinked at me.

Then I did what any normal human would do. I freaked out and came tumbling out of my shoulder stand.

Little birdy flew away and I broke into volcanic laughter as I laid there on my side on the patio.

I probably looked like a madman to any neighbors who may have seen me.

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I share this story because I'm finally learning how to stay still. And staying still is one of the most difficult things for me to do. I'm a capricorn ( a mountain goat at heart ), and I want to run up the mountain, chase after my dreams, and be extraordinary.

So, staying still is not in my DNA.

It's my greatest struggle in life.

But, I've learned that staying still is a unique strength. It's not a weakness. Staying still allows one to focus. It allows for understanding. And it allows one to be present.

As I continue on in my day and start checking off the list of the many things I need to do today, I need to remember to stay still.

Here are three takeaway tips that I've learned on how to stay still.

1. Don't Panic

The first line in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says, "Don't Panic." It's hilarious because when you are in a panic, the last thing anyone wants to hear is "Don't Panic." That's juts about as helpful as someone saying "calm down."

But it's true.

When you're panicking, you're likely going to make awful decisions. Instead of panicking, breathe. Breathe slowly on a four-count inhale and four-count exhale.

So, never say, "Don't Panic." Instead, breathe.

2. Three Little Birds

Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" know what's up. They remind us that every little thing is going to be all right, so there's no need to worry about a thing.

I'm not sure that that's entirely true all the time because bad things happen, but thinking positive about a situation allows one to be positive when it comes to making decisions.

Anytime you enter into a situation where you're thinking negative, like "I'm never going to get this job" or "she's never going to say yes to me" or "I'm never going to pass this test, all that does it stress you out.

And stress is a good or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Kelly McGonigal reminds us in her TED talk that stress, if looked at as a good thing and a sign that you are challenging yourself in life, can be really helpful.

3. Uncertainty 

During meditation this morning, a large tree branch cracked and fell to the ground and I opened my eyes in shock. Then, I went back to meditation and thought of Pema Chodron.

In Living Beautifully: With Uncertainty and Change, Pema reminds us that change happens with or without our help. Tree branches come crashing down all the time, with or without me climbing a tree.

When we live knowing that our future is uncertain, it allows us to focus on the present and be here now.

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