March 11, 2014
What is YOUR Verse?!?
I have worked hard over the last 12 years building Crown with the ultimate goal of creating a successful business to help brands grow their eBusiness. But on a more personal note, I deeply enjoy mentoring talented people and helping them grow into their potential. I have interviewed and hired over a thousand people. I aspire to inspire all of them to make their mark at Crown and beyond, to the absolute best of their potential.
Apple captured it perfectly in a 90 second video with Robin Williams from Dead Poets Society narrating in the background. Entitled ‘What will your verse be?’, it invites you to watch as people create their ‘verses’ at all ages and in a variety of disciplines. The underlying theme is two fold – success is determined both by passion and the relationships we build around us (and of course achieved with the iPad). They are subtle, but apparent.
I actually got teary listening to it. While I don’t identify with the same dreams as everyone in the video (the sumo wrestlers, the child botanists), I am deeply touched by others sharing their dream and following it so passionately. People should dream more and bigger. Dreaming is the beginning of making something a reality. It allows you test out ideas before beginning and inspire yourself to go after them. The problem is most people don’t dream. And when they do, they dream small or let them slip away. A dream doesn’t have to seem realistic from the onset.
I believe the difference is in writing them down.* My son and I write out our goals on Evernote and update them frequently. We give each item a timeline for completion. I have quarterly goals, annual goals, 5 year goals and 10 year goals. I check them off as I go along and add new ones. It allows me to chart my progress and remind me where I’m headed. A goal is just a dream with a date on it.
I challenge you to write down your dreams -- lots of them. Then turn them into goals and keep updating them. When you start dreaming and then translating them into goals, chipping away at them, you will be shocked at how far you have gotten after even a short period. The most successful dreams are (written down) ones fueled by passion. Ones that you are not afraid to go out on a limb for, set others ablaze for and fail for. It’s only a dream until you make it happen, until you bring your verse to life.
*Yes, I know the Harvard/Yale goal writing study is a myth, but I believe in accountability and progress reports. Studies have shown them to be highly effective in increasing progress towards a goal.