An Unexpected Outcome Of The Corona Virus Nightmare
I'm not going to talk about the silver lining we should be seeking in the wake of the Corona Virus.
If you haven't heard, New York City's hospital staff is getting crushed.
It's hard to talk about the good things that can come from bad things when the bad things are really bad.
So, instead, I would like to find another way to reframe what's happening.
We have to admit that what's happening is a nightmare for many people.
I'm very grateful that I don't live paycheck to paycheck and that my life hasn't been entirely altered by this, so I feel that too--but I want to focus on the pain.
I don't know about you, but chances are, if you're reading this blog, you have something inside you that is driven by helping people.
You might be making software, writing a book, or helping an amazing company reach more people, but at the heart of it, chances are, you're in it for impact.
This is your chance.
People are in pain.
It's a nightmare for a lot of folks.
But it's not just a nightmare. Nightmares don't stay nightmares forever.
It's an opportunity to help people.
It's your chance to rise.
It's a nightmare, but it's a calling too.
2 Minute Action:
Take 2 minutes to help someone today.
If you don't know how, here are some ideas:
- Call your mom and ask if she needs help ordering groceries online.
- Text your friends and ask if they want to set up a "skype date" to stay social and raise spirits.
- Send a pizza to your local ER and let them know they matter.
None of these things are hard, but they mean so much.
It's definitely a nightmare.
But it's also your calling.
P.S. Here's what some other folks are doing, too:
DONATE
Wethos is partnering up with the Freelancers Union to launch a half a million dollar relief fund that will distribute grants of up to $1,000 for freelancers experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic. Donate to the cause, here.
CROWD SOURCE
Betterific/Ideascale launched a public health challenge. People are collaborating to find relevant and actionable ideas to the crisis. Get involved, here.
BUILD SOMETHING
Copper 3D has developed and open-sourced a design for reusable 3D-printed face masks as part of their #HackThePandemic initiative.
AMPLIFY WHAT YOU DO
OLIO is matching your home-cooked meals with low-income families who previously relied on free school meals to feed their children.
USE THE INTERWEBS
Classcraft is helping students and educators all over the world navigate the shift to remote learning in the wake of school closures.
FILL THE GAPS
Cell-Ed created this free mobile text-to-audio COVID-19 guide to bridge the information gap for hard-to-reach populations, no data or internet required to download.
Read This If You Think You Should Follow Your Heart
At some point, you were probably told "follow your heart and the money will follow."
Please take a second to file this under "well-intentioned, bad advice."
Just because you love making scrabble jewelry doesn't mean it's something that can earn you a living making.
It's not your fault. It's not the scrabble jewelry's fault.
What we're talking about is a Venn Diagram (yes, another one).
You're looking for the overlap in "stuff that makes money" with "stuff that makes an impact in the world" with "stuff I enjoy."
You might not get all of them right away, and that's okay.
You just have to get them in the right order.
Here are some definitions of different overlapping zones of this imaginary Venn Diagram that may help you in your exploration of this:
A Hobby.
A hobby is something that costs money. It's generally something you love to do and something you want to get better at. It may not have any market value, but it probably has some intrinsic value to you because it feels good when you do it. This is something that might only be in the "stuff that you enjoy" category.
A Job.
A job is something you do to make money. It could be something you know, something you do, or some combination of those two. Either way, the idea is that by trading your time doing a job, you get a predictable income, which is generally regarded as a pretty sweet gig. This might only be in the "stuff that makes money" category. If you look hard, you might find one that overlaps in all 3 categories.
An Enterprise.
An enterprise is a totally separate entity. It's bigger than a person or a job. It contributes profit in excess of the work/job transaction. It's one of those "more than just the sum of the parts" kind of things. It's usually a bunch of relationships and work all pooled together for a common vision. By doing this, the enterprise creates more profit than any individual or job could have on its own. This is really hard and you need a lot of things to go right for this to spin up and become sustainable. Some of those things are in your control and some of them aren't. Either way, this might not be in any category, and it might be in all 3.
So, what did we learn today?
There's a chronological order to this:
- Start with something that makes money.
- Then find something that makes money and also makes an impact.
- Then find something that makes money, makes an impact, and is something you enjoy.
We also learned that these things don't even align neatly with hobbies, jobs, or enterprises!
The point I'm making here is that while "follow your heart" is a strategy for gaining fulfillment, it might not be an adequate strategy for creating a life.
So, perhaps, better advice might be:
Follow your heart, but follow your brain, too.
2 Minute Action:
Do you have a hobby, job, or enterprise?
Then realize that no job, hobby, or enterprise in the world is going to make you happy.
That's on you.
So, now what does "follow your heart" mean to you?
Let that sink in for 2 minutes and let me know what you come up with.
Taking 2 minutes to define this is going to increase your chance of making it happen.
The 3 Critical Stages To Conquer Any Upsetting Change
Here is the fastest route available to dealing with difficult change:
1 - Awareness
This is the stage where you realize the reality of what's happening around you. This is where you understand the impact and consequences that change has brought.
2 - Acceptance
This is when you realize that what's real is real and thinking about it or wishing it wasn't true doesn't actually improve anything. You can't go back in time and this is the turning point when you adapt to reality and become ready to move on.
3 - Action
This is the stage where you are back in motion. You are moving with the waves and toward a new destination or vision. Even if you don't have a vision yet, you know you have to start somewhere and this is you in motion.It's these critical 3 steps that you must move through unpredictable or difficult change.That's it.Now that you know, it's up to you to figure out how to move faster through them.How to do that?Identify the phase in which you take the longest amount of time, and start there.
2 Minute Action
For me, it's the second step that takes the longest. I, like many others, tend to ruminate on what could be, what I could have done, or what I should have done. Reflecting and analyzing is helpful, but ruminating and dwelling is non-productive and time-consuming.What's your weak point out of these three?Reply, forward, comment, and let me know!The more we share these weaknesses, the better able we are to address and strengthen them.