Tag Archives: Vision

General

Tim Ferris’ Big D.E.A.L.

I have been reading and listening to Tim Ferris since I picked up his book, The Four Hour Work Week back in 2009. I love that Ferris pulls back the curtain in his own life and mindset so that you can learn from his approach and tailor the principles to meet the demands of your own dream life. Everything Tim does seems driven by his desire to help others achieve freedom through pushing themselves to optimize every personal and professional resource they have available at the time… and to dare to push further than what you believe is comfortable. It is there on the other side of comfort that your greatest opportunities live.

I recently came across a video in which Tim and fellow entrepreneur Noah Kagan, help a part-time yoga instructor attempt her dream of going full-time with her coaching and business. The video breaks down Ferris’ framework for creating clarity and momentum when starting a business. The acronym D.E.A.L. (Definition, Elimination, Automation, Liberation) lays out the four steps needed to move you from start to finish from dream to dream life. 

What I love about the D.E.A.L. framework is that you can apply it to just about any goal in your life. The steps to follow could help you grow a business of your dreams so you can retire to a private island or they can help you meet your sales goals in the next week, quarter, or year. I’ll leave a link to the video below but I wanted to highlight the first step in the D.E.A.L. system because it is the most important step when going after a goal or trying to achieve more for your life. 

“Definition,” Ferris says, is about “quantifying your goals and overcoming any fears that keep you from getting started.” The first step is to get exceptionally specific about your goals. If your goals are not clearly defined you will expend a lot of energy in a bunch of different directions without making progress on what you claim to be important to you. Clarity around what you really want and what you are really after helps you stay the course  when chaos attacks or cynicism sets in. So, ask yourself, “What is it that I want to achieve?” “What is my goal this week, this quarter, this year?” Get clarity around that and then aim single-mindedly at it. 

Now, here is where Ferris sets himself apart from other coaches. The second part of Definition is to Define Your Fears. When you identify what you are afraid of you can begin to do the work – internally and externally – of disarming these fears and keep them from impeding your progress. Ferris suggests breaking down your fears through a series of small, silly tasks meant to get you comfortable with the uncomfortable. In the video, he challenges the yoga instructor to straight-up ask for a discount on her coffee for no reason other than she would like a discount. The point is that she will be asking and inviting people to be a part of her yoga business and if you are afraid to ask small… you will never ask big. 

Ferris goes through a few other aspects of Defining what you want and what you need to make your dream a reality but these first two steps: Defining Your Goals and Defining Your Fears can set you up to achieve right now.

Take a few moments today to define what you want and to define what might be keeping you from going full-bore after that goal. Shine some light on your goals and that light will help drive away the fears that are holding you back. 

General

Get Your Hope Here

We could all use a little hope.
 
Or a lot.
 
Hope comes from our ability to look forward in anticipation toward a goal or a specific time. In addition, Hope requires a reasonable amount of confidence that the thing you desire or the dream you have for your life can actually exists or has the possibility become a reality. Hope is like an oxygen tank on Everest. When you have one you have a lifeline that will help you on your journey.
 
In contrast, Hopelessness is the inability to look ahead or to live in expectation of the future. Someone who has come to a place of Hopelessness has done so because they have little confidence and no reason to believe that there is a way forward. Just like oxygen, we need Hope if we are going to survive the journey ahead.
 
That’s why the season we are in right now is difficult. That vacation you were looking forward to… cancelled. Your big wedding plans… curtailed. That project at work… discontinued. The Hopelessness sets in because you do not even have confidence that the new dates will work. We can’t see the end of these ever-changing regulations and so you have no reason to believe that this new guideline will actually accomplish anything.
 
If you are going to Live and Lead effectively you need HOPE for the journey ahead. You need HOPE because your people need HOPE.
 
I want to provide you with some HOPE.
 
HELP –
 
In your life and leadership you will face obstacles, setbacks, and seasons where you will feel stuck, squeezed, and stretched beyond your current capacity. You will need to move beyond your current reality and begin working toward a preferred future. However, hopelessness sets in because too often the task seems too hard, the problems seem too big, and you wonder if you’re up to the challenge. You are capable of making changes in your current situation but you most likely need some help. I want to help you work through issues, set goals, and equip you to solve the problems you are facing. So, consider for a moment… where could you use some help?
 
OBJECTIVITY –
 
When we are in the think of a tense and difficult situation, too often we get tunnel vision and become focused on only a few things… most often the person or problem causing the most noise. The problem is that sometimes we get focused on the wrong things because we can’t see the bigger picture in the moment. When someone criticizes us we get hung up on the words and tones they used. The untruth of unfair criticism or the truth in constructive criticism gets lost in the noise. Sometimes we feel a huge burden about an issue, we feel ashamed because we don’t measure up, or we can’t see the next move because we can’t see around problems or people right in front of us clamoring for our attention. In moments like these, you need an objective voice to come alongside of you listen without judgement, refocus you through asking questions, and direct you toward a new way through the issues you’re facing. Ask yourself… in what areas could you use a fresh set of eyes and ears to help you see a bigger picture?
 
POSSIBILITIES –
 
Desperation and despair begin to over take us when we feel as though we have nothing left to give and no viable options to take. The truth is that while there are great problems facing you there are also great possibilities if you are willing to explore and discover them. The great thing about life and leadership is that man incredible man and women have gone before us. They have faced great problems as well and through their example they have shown us that it is possible to face your fears, overcome obstacles, and move forward into your preferred future. If you cannot see any way forward… what are some areas you could benefit from being able to see new possibilities in order to resolve an issue you are facing?
 
ENCOURAGEMENT –
 
Encouragement is the lifeblood that keeps our internal heart, soul, and mind alive and encouragement helps us move forward. Unfortunately, we are living in an encouragement-deficient world. Working with and for people can be draining because people are quick with cutting criticism and slow to offer genuine encouragement. Too often, leaders grow bitter and their heart, mind, and soul atrophies because they go months without hearing a single word of encouragement or blessing. As a leader, part if your job is encouraging others. I want to encourage you. Let me ask you… Could you use some encouragement right now?
 
I know that you could uses some HOPE in your life and leadership. Right now you are facing heartbreak, heartache, and heartburn. What is happing in you is more important than what is happening to you. In the midst of this season remember that HOPE comes from working through the suffering so that you can gain perseverance for your leadership journey. What you are facing is developing your heart, soul, and mind for all that is ahead. Your character is being formed, right now, even in the midst of hard things. Let’s go after some HOPE together.
 
Questions:
 
What are 3 things that are giving you HOPE right now?
What are 2 things that are making it difficult to have HOPE?
What’s 1 thing you can do today to give HOPE to someone else?
General

Welcome to Kicking at the Darkness

My name is Micheal Felker and I want to welcome you to Kicking at the Darkness.

Like you, over the years I have collected social media channels and have run the cycle of being enthralled with them to being bored to ignoring them to being outraged to feeling a little sleepy to being even more outraged to settling into a pretty chill habit of mindlessly scrolling, liking, and occasionally posting.

My passion is people and so I enjoy the aspects of catching up with friends and posting inspirational pictures of natural wonders and really awesome bbq. However, since the world went on lock-down a few months ago a new vision for my social media channels has formed in my heart, mind, and soul. I have seen over the course of the quarantine that people on social media desire connection like never before, they want to be inspired, they want to be challenged.

Yes, some have used this time to push conspiracy theories or to highlight controversies and divisive rhetoric.

Despite all this, I want to be intentional about this space and the things I put out into the world. I want a post from me to encourage, challenge, and inspire you when it comes through your newsfeed.

I’m launching Kicking at the Darkness because I want men and women to HAVE HOPE, GAIN CLARITY, and to BE STRENGTHENED in every area of their lives.

I want to GIVE YOU HOPE. For me HOPE comes in the form of Helping others, gaining Objectivity, exploring Possibilities, and providing Encouragement.

I want you to GAIN CLARITY about the people and things that are most important to you. I want to help inspire you to set goals for yourself and your family. I want to help you see the future by rising above the present noise and working through past problems.

Finally, I want to STRENGTHEN EVERY AREA of your life. A few years ago I faced a pretty serious health scare. As I begin to work towards a place of health I discovered that my Physical life was greatly impacted by my Mental state. Then I found out that my Emotional life also informed other areas of my life. Oh, and don’t forget how external relationships play a part in shaping your internal life. It’s one thing to preach spiritual consistency and the importance of internal congruency to others. It’s a wholly, holy thing to embrace that truth and pursue it yourself.

So this is what I’m setting out to do… I want to GIVE HOPE, help you get CLARITY, and equip you to gain STRENGTH in every area of your life.

Here is what I’m asking from you.

Will you please engage with me in this new direction? I will do my part to provide you with encouragement, teaching, challenges, and questions. I am asking you to give me some feedback from your own life and experience. I am asking you to ask great questions and challenge me to help find the answers or solutions. I am asking for your partnership in this journey.

The concept of Kicking at the Darkness comes from a song by my favorite little band out of the Northside of Dublin, U2. In the song, God Part 2, Bono sings that he heard a singer on the radio late at night saying that he’s “gonna kick The Darkness til it bleeds daylight.” (The band is actually referencing a real song by an artist who inspired them named Bruce Cockburn.)

I have been captivated by this idea since the very first time I heard this lyric and it has been a forceful and driving image that has helped me face and overcome many of the battles I’ve faced.

In some of the very darkest moments of my life, when The Darkness has threatened to close in around me, I have found that once you start kicking back… The Light begins to shine through the cracks. Once you enlist others in the fight alongside you, the battle is all but won.

Now, I want to partner with you to help you in your fight Kicking at the Darkness. If you need some HOPE, CLARITY, or STRENGTH in your life and leadership… let’s get to work.

How can I help you?