* A Personal Note – Quick & Dirty *
The last few months
It felt like I lost my focus
Standing at a crossroad
Asking myself: what am I doing?
Where am I heading?
Do I have to make choices?
Let me tell you what was going on.
When I started Plan B, I felt like a lonely ranger
Fighting against the system
Screaming out my message
Hoping to be heard
Passionate and driven to change the way we work.
It worked
Faster than I expected
And with more impact than I could ever dreamed of
People got it
The message was spread almost by itself
Booming business
I worked hard
To meet all the needs
Helping people out
Roller coaster life
Pretty heavy
In May of this year, I knew I could not continue this way
It just didn’t feel right
I felt like I was heading the wrong way
Soaked into getting the job done
Drowning in the flow
So three months ago, I decided to decline new assignments
Plan B partners took over
I continued my lecturing, The Code and small assignments
But no intensive Plan B Journeys for a while
I had to break out of the roller coaster Plan B life
Figuring out next steps.
And now what?
It’s August
Summer time
And it still feels like I’m on a cross road
In the last three months I worked on various projects
And new bookings ahead after the summer
Most of this stuff have nothing to do with strategy
I didn’t plan a thing. It all ‘just happened’
In July I got involved in a new project
New people. Totally different world
An amazing personal discovery journey
Uncovering talents of myself
Lots of insights and surprises
Nothing to do with Plan B though…
What am I doing?
So, now what?
Lots of thoughts are crossing my mind.
- 101 ideas in the parking zone. Waiting to see the light. What’s my choice?
- What I am doing writing another book?
- Is the online toolbox the way to go?
- Do I need to commit myself to one of my networks?
- Isn’t it time to give my full energy to happiness projects?
- Is it time to break The Code open?
- What to do with my new discovered ‘talents’?
- What about side projects, not related to Plan B?
- Do I need to focus?
These questions are also triggered by the TED talk I am about to give.
It’s just a talk, but I cannot tell my ‘normal’ story about the value of Plan B
This has to be about the story behind
My personal story
And that’s all about purpose
Today, I was riding on my bike through Amsterdam and it suddenly hits me.
Maybe that’s why I am confused
Did I lose my purpose?
Is it changed?
No
My purpose is still the same
I just lost it along the way
Lost in roller coaster life
Lost in getting the job done
My purpose is not about ‘what I do’ and ‘how I do it’.
It’s about my ‘why’.
And my ‘why’; my drive, is still there.
It’s my purpose to create value for people. Value that goes far beyond making money.
I still have the passionate drive to steer positive change. In a blissful way.
And I still strongly believe that happy, engaged people are able to make change happen.
Big time.
That’s my purpose. Still is.
Maybe it’s okay to stay lost.
Maybe I do not need plan for now
All I need is to feel my purpose
It’s not about what I’m going to do
It’s not about making decisions on the ‘how’ part
It’s about staying in touch with my ‘why’
And recognize the special things that are passing by, matching my purpose.
Funny thing though, that I had lost my sense of purpose
I’m helping people to find theirs; it’s the core of Plan B! (B Focused – Value)
Even funnier: one of the key findings in my Plan B research was how easy it is to lose your core, your value, your purpose. Getting lost in daily tasks and ‘getting the job done’.
That’s why I designed the Master of Value in Plan B…
So, I’ve stepped into this pitfall myself.
I forgot to be my own Master of Value.
I almost lost my own purpose.
Lost in daily tasks.
Trying to rationalize my way out.
It’s human
Sometimes we got lost
But that’s okay
Maybe even necessary
Because beautiful things emerge from serendipity
I wrote this earlier: about enjoying the feeling of getting lost
Discovering side ways, cross paths
Things you can only see when you loose your focus
Like me,
Deep down you know what your purpose is
You know what makes you happy
You know what is meaningful to you
All we have to do is let our intuition guide us
Let go of fear
I believe
You don’t always have to know where you are going
Just stay connected with your drive
And pay attention along the way
Trust your gut feelings
And feel the tiny tinglings, sparkling moments
That’s were the magic happens
When your mind stops thinking
And it feels good
Then you know you are on the right track
Wherever it may go
Don’t let it pass you by.