Bring your person or professional vision to life, one adventure at a time
David Niu
“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
Can you relate to this quote? This is one of the top five regrets that people have on their deathbed as documented by Bronnie Ware, a palliative care nurse. This quote resonated deeply with me and inspired me to take my careercation (career + vacation).
Can you relate to this quote? This is one of the top five regrets that people have on their deathbed as documented by Bronnie Ware, a palliative care nurse. This quote resonated deeply with me and inspired me to take my careercation (career + vacation).
Up until late 2012, I had been sprinting for over 10 years with a pedal-to-the metal mentality as an entrepreneur. I had launched two successful startups, but was completely burnt out. I had been doing all things that others have expected of me—getting the right degree and becoming a successful corporate executive and entrepreneur.
So when I told friends and family that I sold all my possessions and bought one-way tickets for my wife, our 10-month-old daughter and myself to travel around the world for a six-month careercation, everyone thought I was crazy. Yet, if I didn’t jump in with both feet and take that trip, I wouldn’t have created amazing family memories and have been inspired to start TINYpulse to help leaders improve retention, recognition and results.
While not everyone can sell all their possessions for an around-the-world trip like I did, here are a few tips that worked for me to recharge and to find personal and professional passion.
Write It Down
Numerous studies have shown the psychological benefits of keeping a journal. As busy entrepreneurs and leaders, our time is valuable, and it’s easy to make excuses about being too busy to journal. The irony is that if we don’t keep track of what’s been keeping us so busy, how can we know what we have accomplished?
Write It Down
Numerous studies have shown the psychological benefits of keeping a journal. As busy entrepreneurs and leaders, our time is valuable, and it’s easy to make excuses about being too busy to journal. The irony is that if we don’t keep track of what’s been keeping us so busy, how can we know what we have accomplished?
In my case, journaling helped me organize my thoughts for my book. During my careercation, I interviewed more than 30 CEOs and found that a common pain point for all of them was managing people. I wouldn’t have remembered this if I hadn’t documented all the interviews, or have been inspired to launch TINYpulse. Journaling also helped me remember the stories so that I can share them with my kids and inspire them to live lives true to themselves.
For the next two weeks, I encourage you to start journaling for 10 minutes each day. You’ll be amazed at all the things you will have accomplished in just two weeks, and it’ll inspire you to focus on the important and not just the urgent.
Paint Your Picture
I’m a firm believer in setting a clear vision. During my “careercation,” I wrote down what my personal and professional visions were going to be. I’m a big fan of Cameron Herold, the author of Double Double, and he recommends creating a “painted picture” with vivid details of how you envision your life three years from now, both professionally and personally.
Paint Your Picture
I’m a firm believer in setting a clear vision. During my “careercation,” I wrote down what my personal and professional visions were going to be. I’m a big fan of Cameron Herold, the author of Double Double, and he recommends creating a “painted picture” with vivid details of how you envision your life three years from now, both professionally and personally.
Once you’ve created your vision, work backward and create tangible goals that will help you reach this vision. A vision doesn’t have to be five or 10 years; that’s too far into the future. Three years is digestible enough for you to tackle one goal at a time. This painted-picture approach allowed me to take my journal thoughts and boil them down into themes and goals to shoot for.
Share It
Once you have established your vision, whether in the form of a painted picture or otherwise, share it with everyone around you. You may feel overexposed and vulnerable by doing so, but you’ll also be more successful because sharing builds accountability to yourself. Each quarter I reiterate my painted picture with my TINYpulse staff. By doing so, I’m making sure that my staff is clearly aligned with the direction of my company.
Share It
Once you have established your vision, whether in the form of a painted picture or otherwise, share it with everyone around you. You may feel overexposed and vulnerable by doing so, but you’ll also be more successful because sharing builds accountability to yourself. Each quarter I reiterate my painted picture with my TINYpulse staff. By doing so, I’m making sure that my staff is clearly aligned with the direction of my company.
Another great benefit of sharing your personal or professional vision is that so many people will want to help! For example, if you share that you want to run a marathon before turning 40, then friends can point you to organizations or others who’ve accomplished that. Or if you are looking to start a restaurant in your neighborhood, letting others know might get you introduced to someone who is looking to sell their restaurant. At the end of the day, if other people don’t know what you’re striving for, it’s hard for them to help you.
David Niu is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and author of Careercation: Trading Briefcase for Suitcase to Find Entrepreneurial Happiness. His company, TINYhr, and its product, TINYpulse, helps hundreds of organizations like Hubspot and Amazon get a pulse on how happy, frustrated, and burnt out their employees are before retention sinks and issues fester.
David Niu is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and author of Careercation: Trading Briefcase for Suitcase to Find Entrepreneurial Happiness. His company, TINYhr, and its product, TINYpulse, helps hundreds of organizations like Hubspot and Amazon get a pulse on how happy, frustrated, and burnt out their employees are before retention sinks and issues fester.
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