Issue No. 2 of #BIOBG comes to you from the mind and heart of one very tired and simultaneously very energized human. And, this isn’t exactly the message I intended to share this evening. Though I do believe it’s the message I’m supposed to share.
For the past 9 hours, I’ve been engrossed in a range of work projects with hard deadlines looming (as in tomorrow for some 🙀).
Yes, some deadlines have been known. Others more newly-created when, in a burst of creative inspiration, I decided two days ago to do THIS instead of that. Which required retooling that into THIS, which required substantial time and energy. (Also, THIS is so, so much better than that would have been.)
So, this is why I’m tired. My brain aches from a seemingly endless series of creative efforts as I flowed from one project into the next, over the course of this day.
And at the same time, I’m incredibly energized because all of the work I’ve focused on today? EXACTLY what I want to do. The stuff I want to create. The impact I want to (hopefully) have.
So, time seemed to stop. While I feel empty from the effort, I also feel very full with the satisfaction and gratitude that comes only from the alignment of purpose and opportunity to create.
I observe this is a primary gift of my commitment to DO while at the same time being committed to LESS. I’m choosing my work carefully, pruning those things that don’t align with the core purpose I’ve articulated. And, I’m fully committing to being fully ignited by and in the work I choose to do.
So what in the world does this have to do with #BIOBG?
That being ignited is possible. Even when we are overwhelmed, overworked, overstimulated, and #overthepandemic.
My message today is simple: even with all of the other things in your world, you can commit to the #BIOBG challenge. You can embrace, embody, and inspire the leadership we so desperately need to #makelawbetter.
We will do this together. An experiment in radical collaboration!
And today, we start simple and small. We start by committing to create a leading innovation habit, to find ways to use the tools, methods, and mindsets of innovation leadership to make the change you wish to see.
The leading innovation habit is open source, meaning we encourage each other to share our habits freely. And, we open our eyes and look around to witness and learn from what others are doing. We practice our habits out in the open, not in the dark.
The leading innovation habit is open to and shaped by your interpretation and creativity. It’s not a prescriptive habit but rather a progressive one, in that the habit you adopt is completely up to your imagination.
As a precursor to the fun exercise of designing your habit, let’s lay a foundation. Over the course of the next two weeks, I challenge you to prepare for your new habit.
And here are some resources to seed and inspire your preparation:
Forming a new habit doesn’t have to be hard. In The 1-minute secret to forming a new habit (via TEDTalks Daily podcast), learn how you can start small to succeed in building your leading innovation habit.
[TL;DL (too long, didn’t listen): Our behavior change doesn’t depend on the reasons or depth of our convictions that we should do so. It depends on our willingness to be bad at our desired behavior. Yes, you need to be willing to be bad at leading innovation! Also, strip the thing down to something so easy, you can do it every day with barely a thought. The goal is repetition, and initiating the behavior is often the hardest part.]
And while the science says that grounding our new habit of leading innovation in our convictions isn’t what guarantees our success, I observe that a strong conviction (BE IGNITED!) motivates one to start in the first place.
So, here’s some motivation for you to start, in two acts:
Act I: This conversation [TEDTalks Daily podcast] between John Lewis and Bryan Stevenson. Just listen. “It’s possible to do difficult things, important things.” John Lewis embodied #BIOBG. Bryan most certainly lives it.
Act II: This story [TEDTalks Daily podcast] shared by WNBA star Renee Montgomery, about how she opted out of her dream job mid-Pandemic to make social justice reform happen, to “make it felt”: “When people feel their voices aren’t being heard, they have to make it felt.” She opted out of her comfort zone, and in doing so, truly opted in. Renee defines #BIOBG.
Ending an exhilaratingly exhausting day by crafting this note to y’all and listening again to the wonderful stories shared above is my definition of perfection. Thank you. Thank you for reading, for joining in this journey to lead innovation, for being ignited.
Onward,
Cat
24 January 2021