How to Perform at Your Peak
Scenario: "Dude, we're just trying to make money and buy Porsches. Yay. High-five!" Beethoven, Gandhi, MLK, Gates, Jobs, Jordan, Lincoln, and Carnegie had one common denominator. When you performed like an all-world rock star, what drove you to perform at your peak?
- a) Self-rewards (e.g. money, rewards, etc.)
- b) Interests beyond self-rewards.
Probably the latter. Ridiculously meaningful work drives you to perform at your freakish peak.
Why Meaningful Work Rocks
Psychologist Abraham Maslow terms fulfilling meaningful work as, "self-actualization." That is, people perform like a ridiculous mutha-!@#$%^ when they tap their inner passions:
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be.
Instead of tapping the conscious mind to motivate you, you start exploiting your unconscious mind -- that houses creativity, discovery, and intuition -- to tap where you most kick booty.
"What is meaningful work?"
Beethoven had a different meaning of 'meaningful work' from MLK, who himself termed it differently from Carnegie. The world won't define it for you; only your sexy-self can. Start asking yourself a simple question: "How meaningful do I find my work?" Ta-da: now you have a clearer perspective of your unique definition of meaningful work. What your answer probably means:
- Response #1: "Blah!" - You're performing very sucky.
- Response #2: "It's something I have to do!" - You're performing very sucky.
- Response #3: "I was meant to do this." - You're kicking ass.
If your answer's not similar to Response #3, don't fret: ya got some hope.
"How do I seek meaningful work?"
Start off with a simple: "If I had five years to live, what would I do?" That should generate a good road map to what you really should be doing -- whether that's altering course, changing business goals, building particular social networks, etc. Seeking meaningful work, according to Maslow, involves a huge exploration process. (That is, you won't get your answer overnight.)
"So how I know I'm there?! Ahh!"
Once your unconscious mind starts telling you: "I was meant to do this," -- you're on the right path. And, without realizing it, you'll start performing like a peak mutha-!@#$%. The rule of thumb: The more meaning you find in your work, the sexier you'll perform.
Seek freakish meaning.
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14 Comments
on How to Perform at Your Peak
Maria Helm
2007-03-19 08:35:30 UTC
I love the concept, but the strategy doesn't work for me.
“If I had five years to live, what would I do?”
> I have a family to support, and would have to keep doing what I am doing, because that's what pays the bills and puts a little aside for when I am gone. Aggh!
I even tried changing it to "if you had unlimited funds, what would you be doing?" Well, I got a lot more ideas that way, but I couldn't figure out how to implement them, since I do not have unlimited funds.
One strategy that I am thinking about, though, is "what meaning can I find in the work I am already doing?" I know when I started, it sounded pretty exciting...how can I get that back? I occasionally find a piece of that in a story from a customer about how my work helped them, or even when beginning with a new customer and they describe their pain and I think "aha - I can fix that!". But, how do I get more of my focus into that mindset, and pull out the energy that mindset provides?
Meaningful Work Rocks! » Nice4Rice.com
2007-03-19 08:46:21 UTC
[...] How to Perform at Your Peak is an article about finding ‘meaningful work’; work that motivates you, taps into your creativity, and drives you to perform like an “all-world rock star”. The article itself is motivating. Don’t believe me? Here are a couple of quotes… people perform like a ridiculous mutha-!@#$%^ when they tap their inner passions [...]
The Trizle Team
2007-03-20 06:57:05 UTC
Hi Maria,
I'll get back to you on that once I get back to my office.
Talk to you soon!
-Andrew
The Trizle Team
2007-03-20 06:57:38 UTC
Nice blog post by Spud/Nick, by the way. Thanks, man!
Hej Varlden » links for 2007-03-20
2007-03-20 10:46:38 UTC
[...] How to Perform at Your Peak Tänkvärd bloggpost från Trizle om att hitta något meningfullt att jobba med för att kunna prestera sitt bästa. (tags: business) [...]
mariahelm.com » Finding Meaning in Everday Work
2007-03-20 17:12:50 UTC
[...] In a post called “How to Perform at Your Peak“, website Trizle.com suggests asking yourself “If I had 5 years to live, what would I do?” [...]
Hendy Irawan
2007-03-20 20:52:55 UTC
"I’ll get back to you on that once I get back to my office."
Wow. (speechless.....)
Hendy Irawan
2007-03-20 21:26:36 UTC
Andrew! I *love* psychology. Especially when the topic at hand has more connection with philosophy...
A personal story, I myself, in relation with Stephen R. Covey's advice "Begin with The End"... I literally started with the end, that is called Rainbow Purple. Not just planning, but actually have started my "end" before I even start planning what I have to do in order to reach this "end".
This 'end', is maybe what Andrew called 'meaningful work'. And ironically it's not [just] about web site development. (although technically and professionally, I'm a web developer)
"What one can be, one must be." Maybe I misinterpret this I'm quite in contrast with this. I can develop webs but I'm "not a web developer", in the sense that this is far from being my 'inner passion' as Andrew put it.
Being an artist may be common in the past. Nowadays, it's more of a luxury rather than taken for granted. Most people do things that they 'can', but they do not 'be'. In a sense, what they can do, is only a means to what they be[come]. I develop webs not because I want to be a "web developer", but because I'm 'forced' to do so in order to achieve more.... meaningful work. :-)
Back to the 'end'. This gives me a dilemma, but also a motivation. In order for the "end" to be successful, the means used to maintain it alive has to be running. And this means, I already have a deadline even before I started doing what I should do!
It also means that I have a deadline to start... I have to start as soon as possible.
Since the "end" doesn't live on its own, it needs support, I must build support for it using limited time and funds. Or I have to work for keeping it alive. In essence, it's kinda' forcing me to do it, or else means that I'm letting it die...
Whether it'll die or not, it remains to be seen.
Hopefully, I'll fight along the way...
shadow
2008-02-18 04:36:53 UTC
well well well.. this is easily the best easier-said-than-done story i have ever read..
i mean.. lets face it.. guys passing out from college(not a liberal arts one) get into their jobs and do what they are expected to do.. U might be a marketing guy(that is a degree in marketing) but u might be asked to do a more finance oriented job.. and dats something "ordered" by your employer.. now tell me, how feasible is it to do something that you dont like but have to.. well, if u go by statistics, millions all around the world are doing just dat... only if u have an enterprenuerial bent of mind and want to do something on your own, you would be able to do what YOU really like. the article's subject should be changed from "How to Perform at your Peak" to "How to do what you want to do". in that case, this story is good, but believe me my friend, if this story is more generalised, then this simply is not good work..
peace!!
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2008-03-25 22:47:05 UTC
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Vundiliver
2008-06-01 03:47:54 UTC
Interest story!
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