PurpleLine Consulting

“When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take - choose the bolder.”  Field Marshall William Slim

“When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, such as the choice of a mate or a profession, the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves. In the important decisions of personal life, we should be governed, I think, by the deep inner needs of our nature.”  Sigmund Freud

Today I heard the sad news that Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, has lost his fight with cancer.

Steve is someone who followed his intuition in making decisions about his life and his work, often in the face of opposition.  He was very successful in his work, but it wasn’t always easy.

His commencement speech to graduates of Stanford University in 2005 is very inspiring and worth listening to.

These words from his speech are especially poignant:

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

I’m working with someone at the moment who wants to leave his ‘safe’ career to follow his passion.  It’s a tough decision.  He wants to do the ‘right’ thing.

Making changes involves facing uncertainty.  We all find uncertainty very scary and this impairs our decision-making process.

What is your preference for making decisions, especially big ones – head or heart or a combination of both?  Doing the logical thing can seem the ‘right’ thing to do but will it make you happy?  There are no guarantees.

Following your heart and doing something that you love, that energises you and that you are passionate about is very appealing.  But there are risks attached.  That choice can appear difficult or even impossible when considered logically or from the perspective of another person, especially someone who is important to you, like your partner, your parents or close friends.

Helpful habits support you to move in the right direction to achieve your goals and dreams.  Want to know whether you have these or not?

The Creative Mindset Audit^(TM) is a fast and easy, 27-question online assessment to help go you get a better understanding of how well you've primed your mindset, workflow and environment for high-level creativity, innovation and performance. It quickly assesses three different areas, each of which is critically important in your ability to cultivate the mindset needed to create, innovate and take action at your highest levels, both in work and in life.   I’ll let you know in advance that the answers are in this book.  Mine is on order and I can’t wait to get it.  But from the questions you get the message about the type of activities that will help you achieve your goals.

And then the next step is making it happen.  That requires action.

What’s the first step that you can take today towards achieving your goal?

Take it now – life is short.