Doing more, finessing less.

It feels like the universe is sending me a message to DO MORE and finesse less, whether it be the content I am consuming, the events I’m attending or the conversations I’m having. I am grateful for many light-bulb moments and wanted to share some lessons learned to help encourage you to DO MORE also in 2017 and beyond.

As a planner and perfectionist the DOING MORE mindset can at times be at odds with my default response of waiting till everything is on point before sharing. To challenge existing limited beliefs I have cataloged pertinent themes to fuel DOING MORE, more often:

• Acknowledge that we all have the potential to live many (different) lives happily and productively, and that there’s not just one ‘right’ path.
• Don’t waste time finessing and waiting for perfection. Acknowledge that failure is a critical ingredient to success and build a habit of converting failures into growth opportunities by recording and categorising attributes regularly.
• Acknowledge that great innovation is an outcome of trial and error, and perseverance.
• Exercise vulnerability by exposing yourself and socialising your ideas. No one ever achieved greatness by playing it safe. 
• Practice prototyping. Ask questions, uncover hidden biases in a controlled environment, rapidly iterate, and capture learnings real-time to evolve and accelerate development of your chosen product or design.
• Be brave and question: how would you behave if you knew you couldn’t fail?

3 step process shared by Paul Dolan for how to start DOING MORE things that bring you happiness:

1. Decide - make a call about 'the job to be done’ and give your task your full attention and focus. Establish and articulate what is it that you’re seeking to overcome, overhaul or create.
2. Design - develop a plan for how to make it happen. The plan should be action oriented and be measurable so that you can pivot.
3. Do - get started! Activate your test plan inline with your design criteria, measure and learn from it, and evolve your plan based on feedback and / or interactions.

I am embarking on my own journey and ‘signing-up’ to DOING MORE and encourage you to do the same.  

Recommend reading and watch list to inspire you to DO MORE:

• The power of vulnerability by Brené Brown (TEDxHouston)
• Daring Greatly:How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown.
• Happiness by Design:Change What You Do, Not How You Think by by Paul Dolan 
• Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Consider this my first prototype of many which I will learn from and evolve. I appreciate your feedback and support.

Thanks for reading and good luck!