A Warrior Spirit To Survive And Thrive.

Something needed to change. 

Whilst hugely uncertain - loss of jobs, clients, money - the old world of creaking, broken systems is no place to return to.

Disappearing eco systems affect you. In the food you eat, diseases you catch, in the air that you can or can’t breathe. 

Financial systems costing you livelihood. 

Stress taxes your energy and creativity and wellbeing and health. 

The pre-Covid world was shitty and stressful and unhealthy and, well, quite pants.

Albeit predictably pants. 

No need for despondency, however. The predictability is what we crave, not the content.

The truth is, everything was always unpredictable. It was just less seen. At least in our little corners of the world. Unpredictability. Uncertainty. These are norms elsewhere. And long before Covid chickens came to poop on the roof.

As unsure and uncertain as the future might be, I don’t want to go back.

Where Might We Go Instead? 

Let the future be defined by a Warrior spirit.

Yes, jobs will go, businesses will close. Many, potentially. And in their place others will seed and (need to) grow. Urgently.

If you still lead, own or run a company or team, you have a massive opportunity. And if you plan on creating a business, equally so.

People you employ look to you.

You hold their future in your hands. 

And, by return, they hold your future in their hands. 

Unleash them, inspire them, let their deep pools of creativity and ingenuity go to work. They have it. They are human after all. 

Our work, their work, is an opportunity to be seen, to contribute, to make impact. And this is a time and need for impact.

Make impact your objective.

And work to a more creative, healthier, wealthier, more abundant future. 

A Warrior shaped future. 

A Warrior Future?

There are many kinds of warrior.

I’m talking to the fearless, brave, energetic warrior. 

She fights for and with three qualities… 

- Usefulness 

- An ego-less (ness / ish!)

- Focus ; on thriving and excellence.

Embrace this. But How? 

“For all that I do, whether on my own or assisted by another, should be directed to ... the common benefit and harmony.” Marcus Aurelius. 

Ok, ok, I know. These old quotes seem lofty and unattainable. 

That makes them no less true. They come stress tested over time. No passing fad.

What he’s talking to is what marketing departments across the land have been feasting on for the recent months / years. 

I am reluctant to use the ‘P’ word, but….

The business world eats up words and spits out words as ‘marketing/marko-babble’. Words like Purpose.

Useful might be a better word. 

Is your business or team or project oriented to positively impact the life of others? If not, good luck, my friend.

In usefulness you’ll find resilience, adaptability, creativity, care and support. 

And, in being useful - working for others, more than you - you rise above that other pesky enemy… Mr or Mrs Ego. 

Relax. Let’s be realistic. He (or she) isn’t going anywhere soon. You know who I mean, the needy, shouty, slightly desperate version of you, so keen to be heard and seen and loved. Always front and centre on the sidelines.

He sits pretty big on my shoulder.

Or I’m small on his, I’m not sure. 

But working to an alternative future is about intention and hope, and our work and companies (and almost everything, for that matter!) will made smoother, more creative and more useful the less this little (big) ego guy calls the shots.

Set your work and business to focus less on itself and more on being useful. 

That’s less ego and more value. 

“The worst things in my life never happened to me”. Mark Twain

It's possible Mark Twain said this. Who knows. It's one of those oft used but essentially unattributable quotes.

Irrespective of who said what when, it’s roundly true. We spend large chunks of time stuck in, dreaming about, scared of an imaginary future. 

“The future looks good!”. “The future looks bad!”. “My clients will never come back!”. “This is the big one!”. “This is the shit one!”. “Oh no!”. “YES!".

This is true for us individually. It’s true for the companies we run/lead/create. 

Focus instead on process. Know the little things oft repeated which increase your positive impact, which increase your usefulness. Obsess about them. These will be personal actions, behaviours, they will be in service of better marketing, selling, organising and leading. Whatever they are, know and repeat them. And let the future take care of itself. 

As my granny might have said “count the process pennies and the let the £comes take care of themselves”. Ok, she would never have said that. She’s American for a start.

And finally? 

“The most important thing is remembering the most important thing”. Suzuki Roshi

Focus on thriving and excellence.

Know the ten most important things. 

Scrap that, know the top three. 

Hold on, no. Know the MOST IMPORTANT thing. 

Pioneering Zen Monk and general all round good guy, Suzuki Roshi, said:

“The most important thing is remembering the most important thing”.

What is your most important thing?

Know the most important thing.

Everything else is noise.

We need not go back. Back is shit, it’s pants. Species dying at an unprecedented rate. Our own species dying pretty spectacularly too. Pandemics of doubt and addiction (to work, our phones, as much as an opioid). Disconnection and sorrow. Spinning on an ever more unhinged hamster wheel. 

Let us instead go forward - forward with a heart shaped Warrior Spirit.

Forward motivated by usefulness, by (a little bit!) less ego and a lot more focus.

A forward defined by thriving and excellence.