How To Merge Your Interests and Make a Massive Impact

Earlier this week we talked about the idea of being made for more. Here’s what some of you had to say in response.

“...it really spoke to where I’m at right now. Not sure if you’ve caught it, but I started a new poetry project. It’s just the start, hoping to continues to move into something…..more”

-Steve K

“This is really such an incredible story. I've always loved writing, but I had never written anything professionally as it was not in keeping with what was expected of me as an "Information Technology professional". Needless to say I had a similar epiphany, and I have written and self-published three books in a series called "Ku" which is a story about an individual's search for meaning and purpose in life."

While I have yet to sell a single copy of any of the books on Amazon/Kindle I'm so incredibly happy that I have taken this step in my life. Who knows what is next?”

-Geoff N

What’s key in both of these responses is that neither Steve nor Geoff did something that was perfectly in line with their profession. Geoff mentioned he works in IT and wrote a series of books on purpose and meaning.

The concept of MORE is not about staying within predefined lines, it’s about figuring out ways you can go above and beyond.

Let’s talk now about a simple 2-step process you can use to find where you can give/create/do MORE.

STEP 1: MERGE

I recently came across the story of Lin-Manuel Miranda while watching 60 Minutes on TV.

                           linmanuel.com

Lin is a playwright and actor. He loves musicals.

But he also loves hip hop.

Musicals and rap music traditionally haven’t gone together. But he took two interests of his and decided to merge them. He said, 'I want to be the guy who makes rap-sicals.'

This is crucial because it’s so easy to keep your interests, hobbies, and ‘personas’ separate from one another. 'Work me is different from home me, is different from weekend me, is different from intramural softball me.'

Forget all that shit, it’s YOU at the end of the day.

Instead of keeping everything siloed, find two interests of yours and merge them. For another example of merging, check out step 2 of The Burner Method.

STEP 2: FIND THE CATALYST

Our playwright/actor friend Lin was on vacation when he picked up a biography about Alexander Hamilton (you know, America’s first treasury secretary...the guy on the $10 bill).

               wallstreetotc.com

He became so enthralled by the life of Hamilton, that he decided he wanted--nay, NEEDED-- to write a musical documenting his life. But remember from Step 1, Lin wasn’t going to just create any old play. He was going to create a hip-hopera.

So he writes a hip hop musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton, called Hamilton.

He knew he wanted to do something different. All he needed was a catalyst. Reading the biography was his catalyst.

 

"By the end of the second chapter, I was on Google saying 'someone's already made this into a musical.' How can anyone NOT have made this into a musical?"

Lin-Manuel Miranda

When you merge interests, you skyrocket your chances of finding a catalyst because you’ve opened up the playing field to more possibilities. Sure, it was a chance encounter that Lin picked up the Hamilton biography, but your mind naturally gets into a more creative mode when you don’t treat everything in your life as exclusive.

“I drew a direct line between Hamilton writing his way out of his circumstances, and the rappers I’d grown up adoring.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda

And because it’s two of your interests and not just one, you become SO MUCH MORE EXCITED to do it. AND ON TOP OF THAT, you don’t get caught in a ‘yeah I’ll get to it later’, or a ‘everything has to be perfect before I can start’ mode. You just go.

               scpr.org

“I think the secret sauce of this show is that I can’t believe this story’s true. It’s such an improbable and amazing story and I learned about it while I was writing it. And I think that enthusiasm is baked into the recipe."

Lin-Manuel Miranda

You increase your ability to do/create/give MORE. 

RESULTS

What happened as a result of Lin merging interests? Well, someone’s ears immediately perk up when they hear there is a hip hop musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton. Check that, everyone’s ears perk up. See, when you merge interests, because it’s so unique, people aren’t going to get it at first. But they will be interested enough to learn more.

"I say hip-hop, Alexander Hamilton, and everyone laughs…and then by the end, they’re not laughing, because they’re in it. Because they get sucked into the story, just like I got sucked in the story.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Remember, when it’s two of your interests and not just one, you become so much more excited to do it. And the energy and creativity you feed into that output is INFECTIOUS. People vibe off of your vibes.

What people? The beauty of merging interests is you get the attention of multple audiences. With Hamilton, Miranda attracts people who like hip-hop, people who like musicals/theater, AND people interested in U.S. history.

And for people like me who have an interest in all 3--well people like me are straight poppin' boners over this, becoming ultimate advocates. I love hip-hop, I get down with musicals, and U.S. history fascinates me, in particular the revolutionary war period.

Wood has been sprouted.

                            obsessedbynature.com

Hamilton is shattering the Broadway box office. In its first 3 months, Hamilton has pulled in $57 MILLION DOLLARS IN ADVANCE TICKET SALES! $57 Million!!

And Lin-Manuel Miranda is loving every second performing on a stage he loves, in a style he adores, about a person he admires.

Create your Hamilton. What are 2 interests in your life that you could merge? Leave a comment below.

Are You Made for MORE?

Over the weekend, our friend and Idea Lemon tribester Liz Flores (we’ve mentioned her here and there in previous posts) gave a TED Talk at the TEDxNormal conference.

Liz’s talk was about this theme of being made for more.

She’s an artist at heart, but it wasn’t until a couple years ago when she realized that was the case. For years she had buried her inner creativity because it wasn’t necessarily what she was supposed to explore as an adult.

But she listened to herself, and realized she was made for more.

So she found her inner artist again, and when she did, things snowballed.

What started with picking up a pencil and sketchbook and just doodling turned into designing on larger canvases, which turned into publicly posting one of her pieces on instagram for the first time ever,

     @lizitto

which turned into creating more, which turned into gaining a following, which turned into selling her work, which turned into meeting artists she looks up to, which turned into getting her own studio, which turned into doing a public display on Michigan Avenue in Chicago,
 

              @lizitto

which turned into pursuing art full time, which turned into Saturday’s TED Talk.

Oh and somewhere along the way she also found herself on the same sofa as Arianna Huffington, inside Huffington’s penthouse (seriously).

Do you see what’s happening here?

Liz had (and continues to have) a series of small, incremental wins that ladder up to major victories. She had a public art display on Michigan Avenue--the most trafficked street in the 3rd largest city in the USA--but that came from building up a series of small wins.

And those small wins don’t happen unless she is honest with herself first and realizes she’s made for MORE.

Where do YOU want to give MORE? At your job? Your relationships? The hobby you once wrote off? Leave a comment below

Take care and be awesome today,

Rajiv

How to Stop Constantly Comparing

Recently, I've been reading the book Creative Confidence by the guys over at IDEO, and they tell a story of a 3rd grader who is making a horse out of clay.

The horse was a little chunky, and a girl in the class told him it was terrible. So, he balled up the clay, threw it back in the bin, and never worked on creative projects again.

In my previous email, I talked about fear of judgement from the outside world. So, this story really hit home with me, as I expect it would with anyone who has explored their creative side.

But, what isn't addressed in that story is our own internal judgement. The type that stops you before you even start.

At least in the case of the girl in the classroom, you've given it a try and put something out there to be commented on. But, when our internal naysayer chimes in, we often stop before we even start and never realize our true potential.

Throughout my own life, I'd see this happen all the time when it came to learning how to draw. Sure, I'd trace comic books and draw little cartoons in the margins of my notebooks, but when it came to thinking of myself as an artist, or taking that next step toward mastery, I'd stop myself. 

I'd pull back the tracing paper and see what the 'real' artists had made and think, "I could never do that!". Then I'd go back to focusing on my calculus book, or something. (Like I was ever going to be a mathematician... see I just did it again!)

I'd peek over that fence, see the greener side, and retreat back to my little patch of crabgrass and doodles. 

But, over the past couple of months I've been challenging these long held creative blocks. Pushing myself to be confident in where I'm at, even if I'm at level zero, and focused on practicing new skills and creating every day. 

It took help though.

For starters, my conversation with Srinivas Rao in LA opened my eyes to what life is really like on the other side of that fence, and how our confidence is constantly challenged, even when we find success. That we have to just keep on rolling with the punches. 

I've also surrounded myself with people who are trying to overcome similar fears and create in their own lives. Like my friend, Liz Flores (@lizitto), who has chosen her art over a "safe" career and shares amazing stories of her artistic development along with her masterpieces on instagram every week. 

Then, to top it all off, reading this Creative Confidence book by IDEO, which is giving me the inspiration needed to keep moving forward, no matter what doubts pop into that pesky little brain of mine.

"Let Go of Comparison" - Creative Confidence

This quote really stood out to me, because comparing myself to the best of the best in the past would often stop me in my tracks.

My way of combating this, is to create one-take drawings, and keep moving forward, regardless of how they turn out.

But, what this quote misses is that, while you shouldn't compare yourself to others, I feel you can compare yourself to yourself. An as long as you're improving, you're heading the right way.

When the batman comic above popped into my head on the train, I had to draw it, regardless of how shaky the seat may have been. I was going to stick with my one-and-done approach and just post it, but something in me knew I could do better. I wanted another shot at it, so I tried again.

Then I compared the two. 

If I compared it to, say, someone like Frank Miller, I'd be pretty bummed about my batman. But, comparing version 1 to version 2? Damn, was I happy. 

So keep creating, stop comparing, and watch as you slowly kick ass over time! 

What is one thing in your life that you are constantly comparing against others? (Career, income, fitness, skills, abilities, etc?)

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!


Stay Awesome,
-Martin