Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
Knowing I was going to be writing this intro and putting the finishing touches on the latest issue of Coach Talk, I went to bed last night with the intention of having all the ideas I needed to be generated while I was sleeping. How is that for effortless?
There is nothing like the understanding generated in the haze of the first waking moments of the day. This morning I was treated to ponderings over the question of what it is that I really do. I'd like to share my thoughts here:
I work with clients to reclaim the essential nature of who they really are. The snags we encounter in creating the businesses we truly want are simply invitations to get closer to knowing who we are, what we want and how to create deep fulfillment in the ways we spend our time. Business (or career) is just one of those pathways. Relationships, our rapport with money and our health are some of the other major categories that act as catalysts for personal transformation.
There are an unlimited number of tools to help us reclaim ourselves. So in this issue of Coach Talk, we explore the idea of how conscious choices we make every day guide us to create pathways towards our essential nature. Also, I am recommending a book that will complete transform your relationship with money. I urge everyone to read it.
Busting Loose from the Money Game
I am great believer that if I can change my mind about what is, I can change anything about myself, about my business and about my life. Busting Loose from the Money Game did just that for me. It changed my mind about money and it began to alter my perception of who I truly am. The ironic thing about it is that this process began before I even started reading the book.
I'll keep it short - Pick this book up, devour it and experience yourself feel freer about money.
Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
What a 40-year old tagline may still have to say to us
Last week my colleague Kristine and I were driving over to Berkeley to give a talk on "Finding Work That You Love." As we wended our way through the leafy streets, I thought about Berkeley and how being in this particular place might influence what I wanted to say. And what kept coming to me was Timothy Leary's famous phrase from 1966, which has come (perhaps slightly erroneously as it turns out) to represent the counter-culture of that time and that place:
Turn on. Tune in. Drop out. Great, I thought to myself. That's useful advice for people who want to find meaningful work: take LSD. Then I thought of ways I might tweak the language so that it in fact could work. Something like, Tune in, Turn on, Show up, or something along those lines. In any case, I shelved the idea for later research.
As it turns out, I think the phrase is just fine the way it is. Here's my take on how it can in fact be a powerful reminder and motivator, particularly if you swap the order of the first and second parts.
Tune in: Tune in to your desire, your strengths, your core. Get clear on your vision and goals for both your work and personal life, and get clear on how you want to show up in the world. Like older-style radios that had a manual tuning dial, imagine that you are turning a radio knob through lots of scratchy noise until you get to that resonant place on the dial where there is nothing but clear, beautiful sound. Your sound. That only you can make.
Turn on: Once you've tuned in to who you are and who you wish to be (both in business and away from it), you can't help but be energized! You are connecting with the core of who you are, with that "self" that is not changed by time or circumstances. Let that energy come through and inform your plans, actions, and interactions with the world.
Drop out: Leary himself said later that this was often misinterpreted as simply suggesting that we all get stoned. What he meant was learning to separate ourselves from that which does not serve us, being willing to detach from looking for meaning and acknowledgement from something outside of ourselves. For me, I think it also means figuring out what I need to say No to, so that I can allow a lot of cool Yes's to be present in my life.
So the next time you see a peace symbol, hear a song by the Grateful Dead, or are otherwise reminded of that former time and place, remind yourself of the little phrase from the 60's that might have still something to say to you today. Right on, man.
Exercise: It's All About the Yes
Make a list of the things in your life and/or business that you want to say No to; i.e., those things that are energy vampires that just suck the life right out of you. Next to it, list the things that you will then choose to say Yes to. In other words, the purpose of the "Nos" isn't "No" for its own sake. It is in fact all about the Yes. With the time and energy freed up by being wiling to say No, what do you then want to say an energetic, excited Yes! to?
And yes, I am aware that sometimes it is challenging to say no. We may feel selfish. We may feel guilty. And yet, I invite you to consider that when we clear away those things that drain us, and engage with the things that energize us, we are in fact in a much better position to be of service to the world.
Quotes
"Saying no to what you don't want frees a lot of energy to attract what you do want. The more ruthlessly committed you are to what you want, the easier it is for what you want to find you."
-- Morgana Rae, Coach
"Drop out" suggested an elective, selective, graceful process of detachment from involuntary or unconscious commitments. It meant self-reliance, a discovery of one's singularity, a commitment to mobility, choice, and change. Unhappily my explanations of this sequence of personal development were often misinterpreted to mean 'Get stoned and abandon all constructive activity.'"
-Timothy Leary
