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In This Issue: June 2006
Journeyman
 As
one of my business goals this year, I set myself the objective
of speaking in ten funky places around the world. So far
so good: I'm writing this newsletter from Prague, watching
a sunrise that's lighting up one of the most beautiful cities
in the world, and preparing to speak at a coaching conference
here.
One of the impacts
of globalism has
been how much easier
it is to travel.
Last night, walking
towards the Charles
Bridge, I was swept
along in a current
of hundreds of tourists
from all over the
world.
Physical travel
may have become easier,
but the bigger journey
still lies in crossing
our own internal
frontiers, those
boundaries about
what we can and cannot
do with our lives.
The
Observer newspaper
quoted an article
in Psychology
and Social Review called "It's
Beyond My Control" that
reports that the
number of teenagers
who think that they
can have no impact
on the world has
hugely increased,
and that malaise
is one, I suspect,
that spreads beyond
just teens.
So can we have an
impact on our world?
In the main article,
How
Far Will You Go?, I look at two
people who've stretched
beyond expectations
- theirs and others
- to have different
but significant impact
on the world.
Know anyone who's
on an interesting
journey? Please forward
Outside
the Lines (in its entirety
please) to anyone
you think might be
interested. This
community grows with
your help.
I'd be delighted if you should wish to
reprint (for free) any part of Outside
the Lines in your newsletters, websites,
and message boards.
Contact me at
michael@boxofcrayons.biz for
further details.
Michael
Bungay Stanier
Principal, Box of
Crayons
Don't take my word for it
"I had the ambition to not only go farther than man had gone before,
but to go as far as it was possible to go."
Captain James Cook, explorer
"Rail travel at high speeds is not possible because passengers, unable
to breathe, would die of asphyxia."
Dionysius Lardner, author of Steam Engine Explained, 1830
"Travelers, there is no path. Paths are made by walking."
Antonio Machado, poet
"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge
waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass
of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by
themselves without wondering."
St Augustine
"I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine."
Caskie Stinnet, travel writer
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things
that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover."
Mark Twain, writer
Fire Sale!
I'm selling 25 slightly quirky copies of Get Unstuck & Get Going for
US$25 - that's almost 60% off the regular price. Their covers are either
slightly scratched, or I made a mistake while writing a message on the inside
cover (d'uh!).
First in, first served. You can only purchase the books through this
link.
How far will you go?
I'm very proud of my mission: to infect a billion people with
the possibility virus. It's at least a couple of years old now,
but I still find it inspiring.
However, I recently spent a weekend away, under the stars and
staring at a campfire (one of the greatest things to do in the
world). And as I mulled over my life in that meditative and reflective
space, I realized that I wasn't really living in a way that showed
I was fully committed to the mission.
If, I asked myself, I had no fear of failure, what would I do
that would best serve that mission? The answer (to be brief) is
to be bolder, and to say "no" to a few more things that
(in the interest of short-term, money making, ego stroking) I've
been saying yes to.
Now, I'm one of the privileged few in this world. I'm white, tall,
male, well-educated, English-speaking, and I live in a wealthy
and safe country, Canada. And I constantly struggle against my
self imposed limitations.
How easy it is to make up all the things you can't do, "because".
So I cast my eye around for people who had truly transcended expectations.
Here are two local examples of people who've gone well beyond
what anyone would think was possible.
1. Mark and Craig Kielburger
A little over a decade ago, twelve year Craig Kielburger gathered
11 school friends together to start fighting child labour. Craig
had read an article describing the murder of another twelve year
old, Iqbal Masih, who been killed for speaking out against child
labour - and decided to do something about it.
Free the Children is now the largest network of children helping
children through education in the world, with more than a million
young people involved in 45 countries.
As an example of some of their work, they've built 400 schools,
shipped $9 million in essential medical supplies, and partnered
with the Brazilian government to allocate an additional $1 million
for programs to help support child labour laws.
Free the Children recently won the 2006 World Children's Prize,
commonly known as the "Children's Nobel". (They've been
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.)
I've met some of the staff of Free the Children, and I've been
struck by just how fun, committed and fearless they are.
You can find out more at www.freethechildren.com and
purchase Marc and Craig's latest book Me
to We: Turning Self Help on its Head.
2. Anne Abbott
Anne's a former client of mine, and has given me permission to
tell her story. She's an artist, and when we first met she told
me one of her goals was to be a millionaire.
Of course, that's quite the stretch for any artist.
But for Anne, you might think it was more so. She has Cerebral
Palsy, and it's impossible for her to use a brush. Instead, she
applies paint directly on the canvas with her right index finger.
Each painting takes immense physical effort.
Because of her disability, she can't speak and communicates by
spelling out words through pointing at individual letters on a
board on her wheelchair.
She sells her paintings and cards on the weekend at a market in
Toronto, and her charisma and talent are such that her stall is
always crowded with admirers and clients. I particularly love the
sign on the back of her wheelchair that says something like "don't
treat me as stupid just because I can't talk!".
If you'd like to contribute to her goal of becoming a millionaire
- not to mention buying some fabulous art - you can check out www.artistanneabbott.com or if you're in Toronto, visit the St Lawrence Market on Saturdays.
SOMETHING TO PRACTICE
Complete this sentence: Because I'm __________ I can't __________
.
You could insert in the first blank: under educated, over educated,
rich, poor, young, middle-aged, old, a man, a woman, white, black,
mixed race, tall, short, with a disability, from an underdeveloped
country, at the start of my career, in the middle of my career,
at the end of my career, gay, straight ... you get the idea.
You could insert in the second blank some goal you've set yourself.
It can range from a small step forward for a better life to a crazy-bold
impact you want to have on the world.
Now ask yourself: Is this true? Is it really true? What if it
wasn't true? What would be possible?
And now define the next action you need to take to move forward
on your goal.
WANT TO LEARN MORE? HERE ARE SOME USEFUL RESOURCES
Is Your Genius at Work?, Dick Richards. This book has
a bunch of useful exercises for you to help create new perspectives
on what might be your genius, your special talent to bring to the
world. [ buy: US CA UK ]
Jen Louden, The Comfort Queen. I've got to know Jen over
the last six months or so, and I'm really struck by her combination
of feisty humour and her wisdom around what it takes to look after
yourself. Knowing your boundaries starts with knowing yourself.
I featured an article by
her recently in The Scribbler and you can see
find out more at www.ComfortQueen.com and her blog at www.jenniferlouden.typepad.com.
David Allen, Getting Things Done. I've been re-reading
GTD recently (in part because I've got to know David and some of
his team a little), and am struck by its practical wisdom. One
of the smartest tricks he offers up is the importance of defining
the next action as a way to stop procrastinating and keep things
moving. [ buy: US CA UK ]
David
Malouf, An Imaginary Life. Published in the 1970s by one of Australia's
premier poets and novelists, this tells of the last years of Ovid, which he
spent in exile on the very edge of the Roman Empire. The first book of literature
that truly seized my imagination.
[ buy: US CA UK ]
The
Ideas Bank. I mentioned it in last month's Scribbler, and it's such a
smart idea that it's worth mentioning again. It is an online resource of
over 4000 sustainable ideas that will help make this world better. See what
sparks your imagination at www.globalideasbank.org.
Comments? Feedback?
michael@boxofcrayons.biz
What on earth do I actually do?
I'm asked this quite a bit. "Box of Crayons," they say. "Cool
name. So... do you work with kids?"
I work with organizations, teams and individuals to help them
move from doing Good Work to doing Great Work. My team and I offer
expertise in organizational change, innovation, strategic planning
and coaching. You can find out more
at www.boxofcrayons.biz.
My favourite work right now is helping companies take the power
of coaching deeper, wider and cost effectively into their organization.
We're using a combination of unique tools, a different approach
to training and wisdom about change to create the right approach
for a range of organizational cultures. If you're curious and would
like to learn more, drop me a line.
Reducing our Carbon Footprint
One of the repercussions of my increased travelling is a heavier
demand on the environment. As a result, Box of Crayons has set
itself a goal to reduce its carbon footprint to nothing. A carbon
footprint is the effect you, or your organization, have on the
climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases you produce
(measured in units of carbon dioxide).
We've switched to BullFrog,
an energy provider that sells carbon-neutral energy. They buy power
exclusively from wind and low-impact hydro generators who meet
or exceed the Canadian federal government's Environmental Choice
Program EcoLogo standard for renewable electricity.
We use public transportation when possible and rent fuel efficient
cars when not using a great car sharing service called AutoShare.
We're exploring the use of "carbon credits" that offset
the environmental impact of the flights we take. According to one
carbon calculator I used, my flight to Prague and back will produce
1.5 tons of CO2. One simple way of offsetting this is
by planting trees which soak up CO2. We support the Nature
Conservancy of Canada. To find
out more about what's available in your part of the world, here
are a few more sites that can help:
Got it Going On
My speaking tour is slowing up for the summer, but in July I'll
be in Minneapolis and Portland. You
can see what I'll be speaking about here.
My next open Get Unstuck & Get Going teleforum is on
Wednesday, June 21 at 2pm EST - you
can register
here.
As you might be able to guess, I love to speak and run workshops
or teleforums for groups!
Read more about the keynote
and workshop topics I
offer in this
PDF.
'The Scribbler'
Look for the next edition in your
Inbox on the Solstice, Thursday,
June 22 with guest writers Mark
Silver and Dick Cappon.
Michael Bungay Stanier helps people, teams and organizations to get unstuck
and get going on the stuff that matters. He is the author of Get
Unstuck & Get
Going ...on the stuff that matters,
a self-coaching tool endorsed by leaders in the coaching and training professions,
and creator of The Eight Irresistible
Principles of Fun,
a movie that's taken the internet by storm. He is the 2006 Canadian Coach of
the Year. You can find out more at www.boxofcrayons.biz or
you can contact him directly at Michael@BoxOfCrayons.biz or
+1 (416) 532-1322.
To subscribe to Outside the Lines & The
Scribbler click
here. If you have any trouble accessing
the form, send an email to subs@BoxofCrayons.biz.
Outside the Lines is distributed on the
2nd Thursday of every month. The
Scribbler is distributed on the 4th Thursday of every
month. Your contact information is never
traded, never rented, never sold.
©Box of Crayons 2006. Box of
Crayons is a registered trading name of
Maida CC Inc.
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