The Road to Your Best Stuff 2.0

Pushing Your Career, Business or Cause to the Next Level…and Beyond

Mike Williams

• Publisher: Mike Williams Solutions
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780980053456
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Marketing
• Index: Business

Do you want to do something amazing with your talents toward your life's work?

Use The Road to Your Best Stuff 2.0 to customize your way forward. If you're serious about making a real impact, dig in! Reap the rewards from your efforts! No matter your field or your level of achievement so far, The Road 2.0 has something for you. Tap into your passion and your gifts—your stuff—with a comprehensive approach to achievement!

Through intensive and careful self-development, you will be challenged to examine and maximize your personal, professional, organizational, and promotional dimensions to push your way to the highest level of your unique stuff. Whether it's in a new career, a new non-profit, a start-up business, or a freelancer, here is a place to get you on track or build the track just for you. Bring your ideas, skills, talents, and energies fully into the marketplace. Put methods with your passion and make something powerful happen.

This second edition, The Road to Your Best Stuff 2.0, provides a deeper dive into the process of identifying strengths, weaknesses, habits, priorities, and possibilities than the original. Each chapter, with its questions, actions, tips, and resources, gets you closer to that ideal match between your potential, your commitment, and your passion. Your work will get results.

Get on it! Take The Road to Your Best Stuff 2.0 to someplace special!

I. PREPARATION

Chapter One:

THE PERSONAL DIMENSION

IF you want to reach some major goal or milestone of achievement and sustain it, you will need a solid sense of who you are: your own history, your ideas and aspirations, your strengths and weaknesses, the values and standards you hold, and other things which make you you. Who you have been is a key, but not the only key, to who you might become or what you might need to overcome, to establish your special place on the planet.

1. Examine who you are, what you want in your life, and why.

Actively explore and get to know yourself practically, beneath the surface.

Step back and take a long, hard look at yourself. If you take the time, it can be revealing. Consider your strengths, weaknesses, likes, needs and dislikes, ideas and experiences—the collection of things that define you. This self-examination process is very important for determining what is likely to be satisfying for you, personally and professionally, beyond your immediate time and place. Before even considering where or how you want things to go in your future, take some time and effort to get a fresh sense of who you are uniquely and fundamentally, and who you have been in your past. Get help from those you trust to get a solid assessment.

The late Chadwick Boseman gave a clear and precise lesson on the importance of knowing who you are not long before he died. He described the value of knowing himself on the TV show, “The Shop.” When asked about the roles he played and how he got to those roles, he described his starting place in this way: “First, who are you?” In talking about the pitches he heard, to play one part or another, he said it all began with the question. “Who am I?” So, by avoiding pressures to play roles he didn’t see as a good fit, he was available for roles that did fit with how he saw himself. His perspective got him into position to play the legacy roles of baseball great, Jackie Robinson, Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, and the “King of Soul,” James Brown. All these roles earned him acclaim and respect. They also helped pave the way to the lead role in “Black Panther,” the global blockbuster that made him an international superstar and a personal superhero to many. In his public appearances, especially addressing young people, Boseman was an advocate for the importance of being true to who you are, beginning with knowing who you are.

Knowing where you have been is also important. Part of what distinguishes you from others is your personal history. When you examine the events, the people, the lessons, the joys, the hardships, the hopes, the breakthroughs you have experienced, you see something that is uniquely yours, uniquely you. Just knowing what matters and how it serves to structure your real priorities helps you know how you might organize and live your life more meaningfully.

In addition to the role your personal history plays in helping to distinguish or define you, your aspirations, the hopes that are deeply planted, say a lot about who you are. In fact, your aspirations help to shape your decisions, which help to account for your history to date. You are shaped by what has happened to you, by what you allowed to happen, and by decisions and choices that made things happen, and by how you handled things that have happened. You owe it to yourself to pay attention to all of these things.

When you think carefully about who you are, you are helping yourself with choices on your life’s work, the business you want to launch, or the cause that could absorb your life. It is important to think about your choice as a good match, based on what you know about yourself. Are you the artistic type, or are you content just dabbling a bit creatively? Do you enjoy digging into the details, or are you more of an idea person? Do you like being out front, or do you prefer staying in the background? Are you a people person, or are you more interested in the challenge of the work itself? These are some of the many questions that can help you plot your way forward.

How we present ourselves is a practical expression of who we are. So, in workshop training we often begin by asking participants to list key words or phrases that best describe them. Then they share their lists with others and see what kinds of things others say about them. This process isn’t objective, but when we ask people to go home and ask others to describe them in simple words or phrases, we get a broader picture. We get information that can help us view who we are, as others see us.

When you start thinking about what you want, consider the things you would value as keys to your legacy or your purpose, things that would make all your efforts seem worthwhile. And depending on where you are in your life, the question raised, and how seriously it is likely to be taken, is at issue. Teenagers trying for careers in the performing arts, sports, broadcasting, carpentry, or computer technology might have little interest in asking the why question: Why are you choosing this field? But the question remains, and it is important. Is there something in particular about it that appeals to you, or are you checking the box to appease or impress someone else? Younger people are more likely to care more about how than about why. As one who pursued engineering based on math skills and the trending salary scale in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, I made a decision to ignore the profiles that suggested that writing and other creative areas might be more fitting and fulfilling. I was looking to check a box, punch a ticket to something with money attached. It didn’t take long for my career choice to crash, beginning a long journey to something real.

The answer to why sets the stage for how.

Before you start to put together the resources to move your career or business dramatically forward, be clear about where the appeal lies, what part of your stuff is being addressed or expressed. The answer to why sets the stage for how. Entrepreneurs who know why they want to be in business, or in a particular business—and not just to make money and be independent—save themselves loads of stress by digging a little deeper. They help themselves by exploring the questions surrounding the kind of business that suits their knowhow, their goals, their values, their needs, their passion, and their hopes for the future. When you make the investment in time, energy and money, you need to have a sense of the payoff in non-monetary, as well as monetary terms. So, the things you get to know up-front can shape the approach you take in pursuing your path, to best express your unique stuff.

Money can be a strong motivator in the earlier stages, but going to higher and higher levels usually requires more than a financial incentive, unless the goal itself is money. Money is usually only part of the goal, a measure of success or a means to other successes. And if money is the only substantive goal, it complicates ways for others to stay involved and to ride out the challenges that you, and everyone with you, are likely to face.

The popular pastime of staying on top of celebrity ups and downs in popular media, if it is presented in a more empathetic way, provides a useful look at ups and downs in our own lives and careers. If there is something useful in knowing about the fall of a pop music idol or a Hollywood star, it might be the fact that the challenges of their lives might provide some insights into our own, seemingly more ordinary lives. As I see it, there are no ordinary lives, or maybe no extraordinary ones. Each is unique. Each matters, especially to those involved. A failed marriage, a trip to drug rehab, or a battle with eating disorders is a private and painful detail of someone’s life, whether experienced by actors, singers, chefs, event planners or bus drivers. If the details of celebrities’ lives can be understood in ways that give insights into the lives of non-celebrities going through similar stresses, then the collective gawking might give us some value beyond the wide-eyed spectacle.

The expansion of cable and satellite television and the emergence of new streaming media platforms have provided some new avenues for looking at our lives and career possibilities. A cable TV show outlining the challenges of opening a new, upscale restaurant and another following an entrepreneur’s expanding hair salon business, several years ago, detailed in a useful way the hurdles each entrepreneur faced in situations involving the challenges of explosive growth. Both shows gave good pictures of how personal issues play out, when critical situations and important decisions are being made. Tempers flare. Things go wrong. Poor decisions produce poor outcomes. Shows like “The Profit” and “Shark Tank” give us a glimpse into how business investors approach their prospects and evaluate their potential. But as I heard an investment lawyer tell a group of innovators and freelancers in a presentation, don’t expect your search for investors to put you into a pitch room that works like “Shark Tank.” I got this note on good authority from the investment lawyer: it’s likely to be a lot less dramatic, and not nearly as fancy.

You might not get much from television shows, but media of all kinds can give you a glimpse of what a career, business or non-profit agency can look like as practiced by those in the field. There is the field, and there is you in that field. You need to begin with a good assessment of yourself, who you are in the midst of things. Often dismissed or devalued in the interest of getting things rolling, a solid self-inquiry can lead to places you might not otherwise explore. It can provide answers to questions you might not ordinarily ask, and you are better off being better informed. You might get a sense that your temperament is poorly suited for some things. If you’re not open, what kind of caterer, stylist, or chef might you become? This is apart from your skills. Police shows draw people into law enforcement and criminal justice. Movies, television programs, documentaries, Internet videos, and books that show a field in an ideal light often inspire recruits. The thing is, you have to look for every opportunity to see behind the veil, to get a more realistic picture than the stories or portrayals might provide. And, be sure to satisfy the question, do I really see myself doing this? Or am I grabbing at straws, looking for a choice that is easy to make, but harder to carry out, and maybe not worth it?

In garages and driveways all across the country are weekend mechanics who tinker with cars for the enjoyment. For most of them the fix-it thing is a way to make or save money and pass the time doing something they enjoy and pride themselves in. Most often it is a hobby. For some it is the beginning stage of a way of working they have long dreamed of having. They have the ability and the desire to find out what’s wrong and fix it, like the legendary “car guys” did on National Public Radio. Many businesses are examples of part-time interests that became full-time ventures, because they became lucrative enough to provide such an option.

Most weekend mechanics are not headed for full-time careers in the field. The same can be said for some of our favorite part-time caterers and event planners. Success often presses us to make a decision. Do I really want to do this? Doing favors for family members, coworkers, and friends can turn a personal interest into a business decision, and we see opportunities begin to flow. For some, it’s no big deal. But, if it’s what you want, what keeps you up at night, imagining possibilities, you can’t take it lightly. Music—like computer trouble shooting, videography, home repair, or fashion design—hits you hard or it doesn’t. If dabbling or tinkering is good enough for you, that’s good to know. If it’s not something you are itching to dig into and take to a high level, it’s good to know that. Knowing what is not important can be just as important as knowing what is.

On the other hand, a cause that occupies a special place in your life could be more important than any traditional career pursuit. Putting your efforts into a political campaign or movement, plunging into a charitable or human rights organization could become the primary way in which you focus your thinking and your energies. Your cause could become your career. If so, it is important to examine yourself and the role it might play in your own life and in the larger world. If it really has meaning, are you willing to give yourself credit for trying, or do you really want to make something powerful happen? Consider the idea that if you give it your best, and you continually make your best better, you might be pursuing a course that will change the world, if only in a small way. Impact might trump income from your perspective.

continually make your best better

My mom chose her career-cause when she was about 20. She retired from it when she was about 90. Over those years she held many jobs that paid her enough to allow her to cover expenses and spending money. But none of them were especially important to her, except for the people she met and worked with. Her career was in community service. It began with the March of Dimes during WWII and included Girl Scouts, YWCA, AARP, the parent-teacher organization, the anti-poverty agency and many others. She was not just a typical volunteer. She was founder, president, board officer, or committee chair for many organizations throughout her 70-year career. She loved what she was doing and met many along the way who recall her contribution as generous and invaluable. She never really made a big deal of it, though others often did. It was simply her, being who she was, doing what she did.

2. Know your baggage, what you need to overcome.

You need to know yourself in many ways if you want your stuff to shine. So if you ask yourself the question, “Am I ready for major success, for the big time?” it is important to be honest and accurate. If the question creates discomfort, it probably means you’ll face real obstacles in moving ahead. If the answer is given without any real thought, it probably means that the matter of getting to know yourself seems unnecessary. Big mistake! Many people go through life never asking themselves such questions. Others offer glib, top-of-the-head replies when asked, providing a false reading, a false positive on readiness for the bumps in the road ahead. The reality is that we all have baggage of one sort or another, some set of negative experiences that at the very least cause us some anxiety or self-doubt. And most of us know that if we are haunted by something in our past, it will find its way into our present and our future. Be forewarned! The key word is “haunted.” It is a commonly known fact that people often overcome negatives in the past to become overwhelmingly successful and make great contributions in their fields. What inspires some might kill the dreams of others.

Unfortunately, you can’t push a “hold” button or “fast forward” your development. If there is serious, unfinished business, it needs to be acknowledged and factored into the scheme of things. A failed marriage, a costly financial decision, a troubled childhood, a bad career move, an emotional job loss, or anything else to which you are emotionally attached can get in the way of efforts to sustain success, even if they don’t prevent you from initially achieving it.

Because support is so important, I always ask clients, and people I interview, about the extent and kind of their support. Several years ago in discussions with an author/speaker about taking his career to a higher level, I asked about his team, his backup. When he replied that he was the team, I knew there might be a problem greater than selecting the right people to fill this role or that one. I asked if there wasn’t someone, a family member, long-time friend or business associate, or someone from his past he might seek out who had expressed an interest in his career.

His face showed the answer. Blank. I had seen him command an audience, so I knew he could communicate with larger numbers of people and from a distance. I also had seen that his interaction with people away from the platform was stiff and uncomfortable. He approached me after overhearing a conversation I was having with a client. He knew he had gone about as far with his business as he could go by himself, yet he seemed unprepared to ask for help, no matter how much he might have needed it. He would have paid for services to the extent his budget would have allowed, but he made it clear that it wouldn’t have allowed much. He was on his own and uncomfortable. He knew it, and I knew it. Being really good at something doesn’t mean you’ve got it all covered. There are always other things that are important to high-level achievement. And it is important to keep in mind how much mindset boosts skill set.

admit that you need help

When you recognize that you have a weak base of support, you could already be on your way to getting what you need. You have no illusions. So, when you examine your list of current contacts and those who might have expressed interest in the past, you might not be far away from the support you can use to build. Speakers tend to dr...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword by Les Brown
• Introduction
• I. Preparation
• II. Execution
• III. Special Applications
• Conclusion