Toronto, April 10 2012
I’m excited to talk to you about a tool that will help you frame your future and focus your energy for maximum impact. This is big. So be ready. It’s about Your Core Axes: the lines around which your world turns; the lines directing the forward motion of your life; the series of points that define your mental and emotional equilibrium.
Context is everything. The trends will sweep us along whether we’re aware of them or not. Success without awareness is called luck. It’s a one-time or sometime thing. We’re often surprised by it, and we certainly don’t believe it’s sustainable.
On the other hand, success generated by awareness is when we’re tuned into the future and we act accordingly. That’s called “Informed-Action” and it yields superior results.
The Core Axes represent equilibrium. Most of the time, we’re experiencing disequilibrium. There are always ebbs and flows. Much of our lives are spent trying to restore our equilibrium where we feel mentally and emotionally balanced. Sometimes we chase distraction as a false substitute for equilibrium.
True equilibrium is full self-expression and freedom from doubt. It’s where we’re being our Personal Best, surrounded by people who reciprocate our commitment to them. That sounds like a breakthrough, right? You may be closer to it than you think. In fact, you may need to change your attitude rather than your circumstances to experience your own equilibrium.
All breakthroughs begin with an insight that inspires someone to introduce something new. Insight. Inspiration. Innovation. Indivisible. Either the insight is so profound, or the inspiration is so stirring, or the innovation is so dramatic that a significant result is achieved.
The starting point is to realize that things are not what we think they are. The meaning of things comes from their “emotional tagging”. An emotional tag is the way we file things in our brain and body. It’s the feeling we experienced when we first encountered them or something similar to them. We feel things first, then we think, talk or act accordingly. Motion is driven by Emotion.
So be aware of your emotions as you review the Core Axes that we believe are shaping our mental and emotional equilibrium. Ask yourself how you feel about each of them and why.
Here are the Ten Core Axes. I guarantee you that each one is impacting your life deeply. After you’ve reviewed them, share your reactions with me as well as any other core axis you’ve identified.
- From Clock to Cloud: We’re moving from being able to touch and define something permanent and precise to living with something fluid and fleeting. The cloud is no longer just a source of shade and rain. It’s a source of information and ideas. The future is not a place for those who need closure and control. It’s a place for those who are experimenters and explorers.
- From Fatigue to Vitality: According to all our research, today’s most prevalent emotion is chronic fatigue. It’s taking all we have just to stay where we are. So much is coming at us so fast, it’s hard to know what to focus on, never mind what to do about it. We’re exhausted and we’re in desperate need of more energy. We’re tired of being tired. We want to feel alive and excited.
- From Single to Community: We’re all connected all the time. We all belong to multiple communities. We’re committing to goals that are bigger than our own. Collaboration and cooperation are the order of the day. There is safety and prosperity in numbers. What’s more, our communities are transcending traditional social boundaries. New insights and ideas are enrolling us in new possibilities with new partners.
- From Boring To Fascinating: Competence alone isn’t enough. We’re all in competition for other’s attention. No matter what we do, we need to make it interesting to others. We also need to reward them for choosing us. If people enjoy being around us, they’ll spend more time and money with us.
- From Superfluous to Spartan: Whatever isn’t adding value is being stripped away. Bare is beautiful. Flat is the new up. We all need to consistently demonstrate and communicate how essential we are. The optics are as important as anything else. We also need to let go of those things that are not serving us any more. If we’re not travelling light, we won’t go far.
- From Old to Young: Age is no longer an indication of youth. 60 is the new 30. From rockstars to thoughtleaders, grey power is growing. Boomers are regenerating themselves and their role in the future. They’re rediscovering their mojo. They’re bridging the generational divide. All our research shows that cross-generational teams are the highest performing ones.
- From Rogue to Compliance: Whether we like it or not, the global meltdown has increased regulation and oversight across every industry. We’re all operating in a tighter space. Either we play by the rules or we’re disqualified from playing at all. It’s not good enough just knowing the rules, we have to embrace them. Going rogue is not an option. But neither is resigned submission. The greater the constraints, the more creative we need to be.
- From Degeneration to Regeneration:Whether we’re using human resources or physical resources, we need to leave the campsite in a better state than we found it. In an acutely transparent world, there is nowhere to hide. It’s up to our imagination to turn scarcity into abundance. In fact, it’s a necessity. Whatever we deplete, we must replenish. Our future depends on it.
- From Conformity to Autonomy: From the Middle East to the Great White North, people are taking control of their destiny. They’re making their voices heard. They’re pursuing meaning, well-being and wealth in equal measure. The new world is rewarding those who disregard the impossible. We are such stuff as dreams are made of. Lemmings are so 30 years ago.
- From Impersonal to Personal: We are all a market of one. The new champions are customizing their message, products and services to every individual customer. And we’re expressing our delight or disapproval from the digital rooftops. Everyone matters. Business is very, very personal. We’re only as good as the way we make others feel. Public Kudos is the ultimate currency of success. We build our personal brands one fanatical fan at a time.
Insight. Inspiration. Innovation. Indivisible. Hopefully, these insights have inspired you to introduce your own innovation along your Core Axes. Now it’s your turn to inspire others. Pay it forward.
