Most of us walk through life driven by only one or two things.  For some, it takes years to name our north star.  For others, the vision is crystal clear.  We might do a bunch of different jobs, but really we’re just continuing in the same direction we’ve always been headed.  If you’re unclear about what drives you, just ask the few people closest to you.  They usually know.  That’s probably the topic for a different post.

When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships. As a result his men were well motivated.  Captain Ramius: The Hunt for Red October

“More options are better than fewer options.”  My kids have heard me say that time after time.  As a general rule, this statement is mostly true — but not always.  Sometimes more options are far worse than fewer options.  Sometimes there's great power in knowing only ONE option exists.  Cortez grasped this truth, as did Captain Ramius.  They used it as motivation to succeed. 

Stillness is something I’ve always aimed for, but a practice I find immensely difficult.  It’s the same flaw that so often gets me into trouble with the bees. 

The favorite “job” I’ve ever done is that of a beekeeper.  Every time I go to the hive, the bees teach me something new.  Jorgen’s piece on empathy reminded me of the most powerful lesson the bees continually teach me — becoming completely present and empathic.

Last week I met with the founder of a young startup to go over the financial model for their company. As we started digging into the finer points of his spreadsheet, I stopped and said, “This is all great, but how are you imparting the vision to your group? Does everyone know their role? Do they understand the vision, its importance to the world and that it will not come to pass without them?” We quickly ditched the spreadsheet and went to the whiteboard.

As I peruse the nonfiction bestseller wall at the bookstore in the airport, these are the titles that jump out at me. They probably say great things. The titles make me want to pick the books up. They even make me feel a little special. My chest puffs out a bit. “That’s right, I am a badass, different and completely special. Thank you for noticing.” I think to myself. (My wife says you can learn a lot about me from that last sentence!)

There’s a mesa behind our house where I go to run, think, recharge and listen. Recently, I looked down at my watch to find my pace a full minute faster than usual. “Wow, I’m getting so much faster and I don’t even feel like I’m trying that hard!” I thought.

“Did you check your eggs?”

Confession. There’s a part of me, buried way down deep, that sort of lives for this question. I usually keep my mouth shut. But then comes the admonishment . . .

“Can you give us $150 million dollars?”

Before we’d even exchanged business cards, this was the question from a young CFO of a hot pre-IPO tech company.

“Me personally?" I deadpanned. "No.”

“My company? Maybe.”