The 76-Day Challenge
I’ve developed an action guide called the 76-Day Challenge for the book The Power of Starting Something Stupid. You can access your free guide by entering your email below. An email will be sent to you with the link to download the guide. Also available is a free excerpt of the book Résumés Are Dead and What to Do About It.
Enjoy!
Do you believe:
1. That your life matters?
2. That your life has purpose?
3. That you are meant to be happy?
Before you embark on the next 76 days, you must first internalize these three truths. You must embrace them completely—not just as general ideas that apply to the “collective we” or that exist for some kind of specific social categorization.
You must believe that these three things are true of you, of your life. You start here, because in order to create the meaningful life satisfaction and success you seek, you must first believe that you deserve this kind of life.
You must believe that you deserve a life that consists of more than commuting, working, eating, surfing the Internet, sleeping and watching TV. There is an entire world full of excitement, energy, influence, purpose-driven projects and experiences, authentic meaning and joy—right at your fingertips.
Reach out and take it!
This 76-Day Challenge will help you start your very own “something stupid.”
This plan will take you by the hand and prompt your authentic self as you consciously make the kinds of choices that will give your life a sense of sincere purpose, leave you feeling vibrant and alive, and ensure that you live a courageous life, a life without regret.
Go make some waves!
Go start something stupid! Richie Norton, Author The Power of Starting Something Stupid www.RichieNorton.com/Blog
A (VERY) BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE 76-DAY CHALLENGE
When our second son (Cardon) was born, he had a difficult time falling (and staying) asleep. After many long, sleepless nights, and many tears shed—both sweet Natalie’s and Cardon’s own—we did what any good parent would do.
We threw our hands up in the air and admitted that we had no business being parents. Clearly, we had exactly zero idea what on earth we were doing. We consulted with our pediatrician. We devoted hours upon hours to personal study.
We tried every holistic (possibly read: voodoo?) trick in the books (and books and books).
We devoured ever piece of information we could find in an attempt to solve our baby’s sleeping problem. Then, well then, we stopped everything and simply banged our heads against the wall (which ironically seemed to help the situation as much as any thing else we tried, go figure).
Nothing worked. Nothing, that is, until one glorious day when we discovered the magical key that unlocked the golden gates of sleeping euphoria: FOCUSED SOUND.
The hum of a fan, the whoosh of Natalie’s hairdryer, the sound of dense rainfall recorded to a compact disk (yes, this was long enough ago that we were actually still in possession of a CD player) . . . the exact type of sound didn’t matter.
Our infant son, with his newly developing brain, didn’t have the skills necessary to turn down the volume on all the sensory input around him.
Thus Natalie and I, as his parents, stepped in and helped him soothe and calm those distractions by introducing a clear sound for him to focus on. Once that focus was established, he was able to secure a healthy sleep pattern that blessed all our lives.
For the first time in nearly eight weeks (that’s approximately 64 days, but who’s counting?), our son (and his crazed parents) got more than two consecutive hours of sleep. Our once fussy, miserable baby had transformed, literally overnight, into the happiest baby in town.
THE PURPOSE OF THE 76-DAY CHALLENGE
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” – Hans Hofmann
Life, like infancy, can be exceptionally overwhelming.
Many of you are, in this very moment, overwhelmed beyond description. To you, I offer my most sincere empathy.
Please, rest assured that you are most certainly not alone, and trust me when I tell you that there is another way, a better way, to live.
Overwhelm, anxiety, worry, fear, procrastination, confusion, lack of direction, lack of purpose and joy, the disparaging opinions of others . . . all of this discontent and more are symptoms of a very real and very powerful foe—an epidemic even—that is running absolutely rampant in today’s day and age.
THE DISEASE OF DISTRACTION
At every turn, we are met with forces, powerful ones, which relentlessly (often, ferociously) vie for our undivided attention.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of these competitors for our time are mere distractions that cloud our thinking and prevent us from consciously and courageously engaging in the projects we are most passionate about, and thereby, prevent us from living the life we are truly meant to live—the life of our dreams. Friends, this is a frightening diagnosis, yes, but there is a way out.
The trick is to turn down the volume on competing, unnecessary influences, so that you have the capacity to hear and follow the most richly necessary (guiding) influences of your life. The 76-Day Challenge exists to help us do just that. Just as the simple presence of one, soft, consistent sound—a sound that was capable of gently drowning out all the others—was enough to help our infant son focus his senses and guide him into deep, restful sleep, there is purpose-filled, guiding direction available to you.
领英推荐
Over the next 76 days, as you work to consciously take your life by the reins, you will uncover your very own clear and authentic sense of direction.
This clarity and sense of direction will help you turn down the volume on the things in your life that matter least, and help you turn up the volume on, and make room for, the things in your life that matter most.
OVER THE NEXT 76 DAYS:
? You will exercise the courage to acknowledge your stupid ideas, despite doubt, fear, or the opinions of others.
? You will dig deep and get in touch with a project or idea that authentically matters to you.
? You will accomplish at least one thing each day that is aligned with that overarching goal.
? You will acknowledge less than ideal life circumstances and commit to courageously stop letting them have control over the trajectory of your life.
? You will define and evaluate existing thought and behavior patterns and consciously recalibrate them as necessary in order to align them with your overarching goals.
? You will face and overcome fears.
? You will face and overcome pride.
? You will face and overcome procrastination.
? You will develop a sense of your best possible self, become authentic, and embrace positive personal change.
? You will set and maintain standards for yourself: personally and within the framework of your project as a whole.
? You will embrace the principles of S.T.A.R.T (pg 115, 193-199) and develop a plan of action to implement them into your personal project and your life as a whole.
? You will work to identify and leverage existing resources by carefully, and authentically, engaging art of Mission Matching to accelerate success.
? You will occasionally reference the book, The Power of Starting Something Stupid.
(Remember, the 76 Day Challenge was created as a companion guide to The Power of Starting Something Stupid and is best understood by referencing the book as you move along.)
? You will face obstacles.
Naturally, everyone’s experience will be different. However, no matter who you are or the goals you are working toward, there may be will be difficulties and roadblocks along the way. Don’t become discouraged!
Develop the mantra, “Learn and lean.”
When challenges, mistakes and/or setbacks arise, learn from them (now: when the stakes are relatively low).
Then lean in to the journey, and keep moving forward.
The lessons you learn now will help you incrementally gain the skills necessary to face future challenges (later: when the stakes will likely be higher).
? You will face success! The 76 Day Challenge is driven by results. Take time to acknowledge, celebrate and be proud of even the smallest of wins and successes along the way!
? In short, you will get clear, get real, and get things done. There is a wonderful world out there—a world of direction and purpose, a world of satisfaction and inspiration, a world of surety and peace. Yes! There is a wonderful world out there, waiting . . . for YOU.
WHY 76 DAYS?
In my life, the number 76 is significant.
76 is the number of days our wonderful son, the inspiration for Gavin’s Law—Live to Start, Start to Live (pgs 7-14, The Power of Starting Something Stupid)—lived with our family here on earth.
I often set project goals within this time frame, because it helps me to stay focused and committed, tethered if you will, to what matters most. It may sound silly, but this time frame makes me feel like I’m consciously leaving a legacy for my son with every stupid project I complete.
The practical reality is that 76 days is more than enough time to move any (yes, any) project from idea phase to measurable, and sustainable, action.
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