2016 – my year to Ship!

For the past few years I’ve set an intention for each upcoming year. Like turning a new leaf, blank, crisp, open to possibilities. Ready for me to fill it with just about anything.

2013 was about School development.
2014 I focused on Transformation.
2015 was my year of Expansion.

As I look back over these years, I can see my expansion. That is a word with a great deal of significance to me. It’s become a part of my life, on a daily basis. As I do my morning Headspace, I am reminded by each intake of breath of the importance of expansion. And each time I breathe out, I am reminded that in order to expand, some things have to go. Those that no longer serve me. That which I am done with. The memory of it, and the learnings, remain. But the thing or action or habit itself has passed its due date and it’s time to let it go.

2016 will be my year to Ship.2016

My Advent Calendar theme of #SethinLondon has certainly inspired me to set this intention, but it’s not been an active process to find it. I woke up, early in the wee morning hours on the 30th of December. And there it was. Ship. That’s what 2016 will be about.

Like being given a gift from the Universal Mind.

Ship it.

Shimmering in the horizon.
No specifics. There doesn’t have to be. It’s not the details of what I ship that is at hand here. It’s the habit of shipping. Of creating, and letting it out into the world. In a bang, loud and clear, so no one can escape knowing something big has just been released. Or very very gently. Like a whisper, a soft breeze, nudging your cheek, so faint, you can hardly tell there was a movement of the air, at all.

How I ship, is of lesser importance, than That I ship.
Can you see the difference? Do you understand why?

Bye bye 2015!

Sit down to write a few lines on the highlights of the year… and discover my mind is blank. Open my calendar and start to scroll, month by month, and wow. What a year. Again, Because aren’t they all like that really – amazing, jam-packed with experience and memorable?2015en

2015 has a lot to offer. Considering how much I travelled in 2014 I never thought 2015 would be yet another year filled with travels. All in all I actually think I travelled even more times than 2014, even though the duration was mostly shorter.

Creating the impossible
I started off the year with 90 days online-course with and by Michael Neill. Creating the impossible really made an impression on me, and the project I chose really gave me a lot of room for expansion.

#cleanse4expansion
This was my project for Creating the impossible. 90 + 90 days of daily cleanse, aiming to go through both my physical and digital home. Each thing in its place, and a place for each thing. You would not believe the amount of cleansing I did. I managed to work through almost every little bit of my house, I donated a lot of stuff, and it feels so good. It’s as nice to have done a significant inroads on my digital vistas, most notably my Evernote-account and my Dropbox.

#afkUmeå, Sweden
What would a year be without an #afkSkolvåren (i.e. School-spring)? Luckily, I didn’t have to discover this in 2015 either, and for that I am very happy. Do you know what it feels like to be a part of such an incredible movement that #skolvåren is?

Innate Health conference, England
What an experience. The realization that I won’t be attending more conferences like this, where the main part (or all?) is about intake, and very little is about taking active part and cocreating, was a large one. And yet. Listening to Dicken Bettinger, made the entire journey worth it. I was deeply touched, and reinforced in my hope for the future at that.

Mainland support Almedalen
After three years at Almedalen I chose to stay at home to be the mainland support for the #skolvåren gang on site. This was both very rewarding and tough. Not to be right smack in the middle of it all, very curious as to what’s happening, whom are they meeting, what possible connections and future collaborations are being born and so on. A lot of thought, and without a doubt it’s very less taxing for body and psyche to act as mainland support rather than being there on site. But the number of tweets certainly dwindled!

Center for Sustainable Change
Board member and chair of the Programming Committee is also something new for 2015. The Center for Sustainable Change, with strong roots in the US, is an organization in the midst of a transformation, and I’ve been given an opportunity to contribute with my thoughts, energy and wisdom. Let me tell you, there is a lot of learning opportunities here for me!

Human Potential Realization summit, The Netherlands
As a total opposite to the Innate Health conference, this was a fully co-creative experience. 2,5 days of intense energy and connection, connective harmonies and exploration. What a magnificent experience, and there is more to come!

Choir tour with a royal twist, England
The day after coming home forn the Human Potential Realization summit it was takeoff time to head off to England with the rest of my choir and our smashing choir master Jens. 4 days of fun and singing in an England on it’s best behavior (weather wise!). What a treat!

#theconf
A little over a year ago I bought two get-two-pay-for-one-tickets to #theconf, an odd sort of conference organized by Media Evolution i Malmö since quite a few years back. I gave away my extra ticket to Michael Sillion, who did a great job at summarizing Derek Sivers small gigs. DThese short snippets of mindbendingly well spoken thoughts were really great, and along with Suleiman Bakhit they were my main take-aways from #theconf, which is a conference I strongly recommend you attend.

#SethinLondon, England
This was high-impact. Talk about being wowed! A 5 hour Q&A-session with Seth Godin, in front of an audience of 400 people, including me and (yet again!) Michael Sillion. He was the best travel companion I could have to ensure that this very powerful experience won’t stay an experience as such, but will actually grow into something more permanent. The experience in itself was the inspiration for my advent calendar here on the blog this year.

#ULab
Sara Modig asked a handful of people if we wanted to join her for #ULab, a MOOC with and of Otto Scharmer, the father of Theory U. JI was all game, along with five others, and we set up our own coaching circle. Now what an experience that turned out to be. And such an amazing set up of people to experience this with. And it won’t end either, my coaching circle will run through the entire #ULab course once more, in slightly slower tempo, starting January. Read the summary in Huffington Post, written by Otto Scharmer, and definitely keep an eye out for future MOOCs!

KASAM – a feeling of connection
Thanks. My deepest thanks to you all, who surround me. Connections that Näve contributed to, a co-creation that enrich my life. For real. It’s not just something I state here, because it sounds a bit fancy. I truly mean it. These past few years have meant that I now am surrounded by a supporting circle of friends and family who play a large part in my personal development. No matter the life-force of a seed, if the soil isn’t just right for it, nothing good will come out of it anyway. And the soil I thread in is extremely life-affirming, let me tell you! It consists, amongst other things, of my MasterMind-gang, my life line, and the #skolvåren mobile office. Ledarlyftet, everyone at Being at full potential and many others. Newfound friends, such as Tess. Relationships that have grown deeper, such as with Dominic. And not to forget, Carla, my coach, mirroring me, and giving me wisdom and loving nudges along the way. My deepest heartfelt tanks to you all, both those specifically singled out here, and everyone else!

My family
In think and thin, in rain as well as sunshine, in the ordinaryness of life as well as on vacation and on travels – this year to LondonFranska Rivieran and Madrid, to name three. Love and care, irritation and quarrels. We encompass it all, together, and I love you! Add to that the joy of having gotten another two bonus-grandchildren during 2015, and you can understand what a rewarding life it’s been on a strictly private level as well.

HEROs very own day
Mmm. That’s what the calendar says, weekly, a full day, and have done, since the end of August. It doesn’t always turn into a full day. And I move it around when needs be. But it’s a significant change. I have started to put Myself as my top priority, and truly stand for it. To say No is an art Iäve been practicing a lot since I posted HEROs very own day as a regular activity in my calendar, and it’s been very instructive and worthwhile. I don’t know exactly what 2016 will bring for me, but HEROs very own day will most definitely be a piece of the puzzle that I will bring with me in to the upcoming year!

And what a year. Again. Because aren’t they all like that really – amazing, jam-packed with experience and totally memorable – all the years that pass?

Changes are afoot!

key nyckelI’m opening the door to something new. Soon, by January 1st I hope, all my new English blog posts will reside at a new website and blog. I have decided to separate it from now on, as I am not really happy with the mix of Swedish and English that this blog has become. The Swedish posts will be published here, for now.

I hope you will help me spread the word of the new site, once it’s up, and if you enjoy my English blog posts, please subscribe to the new blog. If you enjoy the Swedish posts, subscribing here is an option as well, of course!

I have not really decided upon a blog schedule yet, but am considering having a more fixed structure, with posts being published on specific weekdays. I will not even try to publish daily in both English and Swedish, that I know. But I plan to keep on blogging daily,  either here or at the new site, because daily blogging is one of my best tools for self-coaching, and I wouldn’t want to miss out on that!

For the first time ever I am self hosting a WordPress site, and that has proven to be a wee bit trickier and more time-consuming than I expected. So I succumbed to fiverr.com the other day, and as of right now, some fiverr WP-guru is working his magic om ny new site, or so I hope.

And you know what, I am quite happy with that. I would have figured it out eventually (not by January 1st though, and that’s been my shipping date for a few months now!), but honestly – why should I? There are things I truly love to do, and other things I don’t, such as configure a website. I love to write, so all the copy on the new site is written by me. I also love to take photographs, so all the photos are my creations as well.

It’s better that I do what I truly love doing, letting other people do what they truly love doing, isn’t it?

Podcast 52/52 – Love your soul

Suddenly. It struck me.

Hey. It was Sunday the other day. And I didn’t post a podcast-tip on my blog. I did the Sunday before, I know I did. But I must have forgotten this past Sunday. Or didn’t I?

So I had to check it out. And whaddayaknow? I was right. I did forget. So here it comes, a few days late, but better late than never, as the saying goes. Podcast tip 52 out of 52 for 2015. And you know what? I have enough to have a go at another 52 weeks of tips without even listening to a single new podcast, there are so many good podcasts out there!

Martin Sheen on On Being will be be featured on this my last podcast recommendation of the 2015.

About 18-19 minutes in (in the edited version at least) Martin talks about love. About finding it, deep within ourselves, and how often we forget to look just there.

We have to look in the spot where we’re least likely to look, and that is within ourselves. And when we find that love, that presence, deep within our own personal being — and it’s not something that you can earn, or something that you can work towards. It’s just a realization of being human, of being alive, of being conscious. And that love is overwhelming. And that is the basic foundation of joy. 

Listening to this podcast… I shiver, experience a sharp intake of breath, of having my eyes opened, realizing that here is a person, a full person, with so much more depth to him than I ever imagined in my restricted and prejudiced mind. Amazing.I love it. I love having my eyes opened to the extraordinary ordinariness of another human being, and slowly, slowly, I notice I look at my fellow human beings, those around me, with a more open heart, open mind, and I know. I know there is more to this person – to every person – than meets the eye. Because there always is. It is wonderful. Imagine the marvel of it, the joy of glimpsing the soul, the onlyness, and it will never end. There are more souls out there for me to glimpse than I will ever be able to actually experience.

I close my eyes.
Feel myself twirling around and around.
On an old-fashined merry-go-round, round and round.
Knowing whenever I open my eyes, there will be a completely unique human being there to meet, to get a soul-glimpse of, to befriend and love.love your soul

Knowing I am also one.
A complete human being.
With more to me than meets the eye.
Someone for me to meet, to get a soul-glimpse of, to befriend and love.

Opening my eyes.
Look around me.
Look within me.
There’s love. All over.
Inside me. Outside of me.
Overwhelming.
Absolute joy.

We look high, we look low, we look afar and we – might – look close.
But how often do we actually look within ourselves for Love?

Re-writing the Story of Stuff

We had Christmas gifts laying around all over the house at home!”, I overheard my teen say the day before Christmas Eve (which is the day for Swedish celebrations and gift-giving).santa

You see, I had two minuscule piles of Christmas gifts laying about the house, three gifts to bring with us to my mother’s place – where we celebrated Christmas yesterday, all in all 6 adults, a teen, a tween and a darling little 4-month old bonus grandchild – and two to bring for the other bonus grandchildren, for the second celebration, due tomorrow.

They did get a few more gifts, the kids, but those were mostly experiences, and each and everyone was appreciated by them.

And yes, this has been a very deliberate process, to reduce the amount of Christmas gifts, and to only give to the kids. For the money we are not spending on gifts for each and every one, each family also donates to a charity of our own choosing (Médecins sans frontiers and Refugees Welcome to Malmö were our choices).

So you bet it made me happy to hear her comment of those few gifts being ”all over”. It’s easy to go overboard with gifts. And we’ve – I’ve – been there. My entire childhood was loaded with gifts, and also when my children were small. But then we actually thought it through and talked with the others we spent Christmas with and agreed to rather pool our gift giving for the kids, so they could get something really nice from all of us (rather than smaller things from every family), and to stop giving to adults, instead donating to charities.

As we are all participating – more or less – in perpetuating the Story of Stuff, this has been one of the ways me and my family try to re-write our version of this story. It has made Christmas a richer experience for me, in so many ways, and I rejoice in the feeling!

Wishing you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas!

24/24 – Are you a cook or a chef?

We got a final gift. The generosity kept on coming. A beautifully printed piece of paper to remember the occasion by. (As if I would ever forget it anyway?!)

The photo doesn’t do the print justice at all. But my piece of print is being framed right now, so it’s the only photo I’ve got to share with you.london session

The question is this: Do you want to be a cook or a chef?

You see. Seth calls out for more chefs. And I agree. We do need more chefs. But, if at heart you are truly are a cook. Go be a cook, and create a life that matters to you, doing what you love!

But if you are not, at heart, a cook. Don’t settle for it. Don’t listen to the mind chatter telling you that you cannot venture forth and try to become a chef. Because you can. And that, now that I think about it, really sums up the message Seth keeps on hammering out there.

You can.

At least. You can venture forth. You can act. You can also fail. And learn from that. Venture forth anew, course-adjusted based on your learnings. Act again. And possibly. Fail again. Repeat, repeat, repeat, and then… You will see that little by little, you become more and more of a chef. If you learn. And don’t fall for the biggest scam around, ok? Falling in love with a specific way to achieve your goal, rather than setting your hearts desire on said goal, is just not a good idea. Try one way. If it fails. Try another. And another.

If you are a chef at heart – the world needs you. Your onlyness. Don’t cut yourself – or the rest of the world – short. Be a chef. And please, echoing Seth, go, make work that matters.

Reflection #24 of 24 from the notes I took and the experience I had at the Seth Godin Q&A-session in London, November 2015. These reflections will constitute my Advent Calendar for 2015, and will be posted daily from December 1st to the 24th.

23/24 – Construct your life

construct

You.

You construct your life. 

Unless someone else does it. And is it then the life you want to live? Or does it turn into a life lived by you, rather than the life you want to live?

Perhaps it’s a subtle difference, not visible to each and all of you.

But for me… there is a difference there. A matter of ownership. Of being the person constructing my life, taking it on, fully, actively. Constructing my life.

The opposite is riding along in the bus. Back-seat driver at best. Likely nothing more than a passenger. Passive. Ceding ownership to someone, something, else. Almost a way of claiming victimhood. Who would I cede to? And why?

No. Not for me. That is not my path. I don’t see a reason why I would not construct my life. Do you?

Reflection #23 of 24 from the notes I took and the experience I had at the Seth Godin Q&A-session in London, November 2015. These reflections will constitute my Advent Calendar for 2015, and will be posted daily from December 1st to the 24th.

22/24 – What’s your Why?

If you know me at all, you know I have a soft spot for the question Why.

Why makes my heart beat a little bit faster, as I truly believe knowing what lies at the heart of something, a passion, an interest, a purpose, makes a difference. It makes the feeling behind the action and/or words purer, more energetic, vibrant and full of life.heart

So ask yourself – what is your Why?

But don’t stop there. Do it the Toyota Way, asking at least five why’s in a row, really getting to the bottom of it, finding the root-cause.

But it doesn’t have to be a problem that needs fixing. Not at all. Rather. Get to the heart of what makes you happy everyday, and then, DO more of that. Create a life where that Why infuses your day. Every day.

I know my Why. But still. I get prompted by this Advent Calendar to dig deeper. To redefine it. Or clarify it. It’s as if the rough sketch is about to turn into a sharp and well-shot photograph. With great clarity in the details, and unquestionably clear in what it’s showing.

Yeah. My Why is getting sharper. Your’s?

Reflection #22 of 24 from the notes I took and the experience I had at the Seth Godin Q&A-session in London, November 2015. These reflections will constitute my Advent Calendar for 2015, and will be posted daily from December 1st to the 24th.

21/24 – Your elevator question?

elevator question

Everyone has heard of a thirty second elevator pitch. But have you ever heard of anyone actually getting anywhere with one? Making a sale? Catching a big fish, so to speak?

I doubt it. I haven’t heard of any example at least. Maybe you have?

Anyway. Seth has a suggestion, and I love it.

Rather than go down the Ego lane of making an elevator pitch, get an elevator question instead. Questions are so much more invigorating and interesting than any pitch you might come up with.

And once you have you elevator question ready (or two? Three? Ten?), make sure you have this down as well: Be. Honestly. Curious. About. The. Answer. 

Otherwise you don’t have to bother. People who ask a question without an interest in the answer isn’t much fun to talk to, are they?

Reflection #21 of 24 from the notes I took and the experience I had at the Seth Godin Q&A-session in London, November 2015. These reflections will constitute my Advent Calendar for 2015, and will be posted daily from December 1st to the 24th.

20/24 – Podcast 51/52 – The Startup school

I am a fan of Seth Godin. I guess that isn’t a big surprise if you’ve stuck with me these past 20 days or so?

I am fascinated by his mind, marvel and wonder at how it works, because he has an ability to look at things from a totally different perspective that what seems the obvious one, and that is a very valuable skill. He is a great teacher at that, and I learn so much from reading and listening to him.your turn

He is also very generous! At the London Session, everyone got a copy of What to do when it’s your turn, and also a copy of one of the other books he brought to London. Generous with his books. But also, very generous with his knowledge, which he shares freely. So when I went searching for podcasts with or by him, and stumbled upon his Start up school, it feels as if I hit the jackpot!

Here are fifteen episodes of Seth. 

1 – Freelancer or Entrepreneur?
2 – Adjusting the Course?
3 – Creating Scarcity
4 – Appealing to Consumers
5 – Permission and Trust
6 – Raising Money
7 – Advertising and Competitors
8 – Making Ideas Travel
9 – Compromising
10 – Tactics
11 – Cash Flow
12 – The Dip
13 – Building The Truth
14 – The ShipIt Journal
15 – Distinct and Direct

Do what I did. Start at number one and just keep on going all the way to fifteen. Most of these are around twenty minutes long, so it’s doable, and well-spent time at that.

Seth is unrehearsed, as this was all taped during three days of a Startup school he ran with a handful of budding entrepreneurs. Genius as always, sharing wisdom, insight and knowledge, asking questions, the answers of which has the potential to change my life.
If. I. Act. On. It.

As always, that’s the catch. If I don’t take action, it will never change my life. Listening to it, and never ever acting upon what I hear and learn, won’t make a dent in the universe. Not at all. But if I listen. Learn. And act, out of what is mind to do. Now. That’s another story!

Reflection #20 of 24 is a bit of an odd ball, as it’s not from the notes I took and the experience I had at the Seth Godin Q&A-session in London, November 2015. Rather, this is a reflection on a podcast with Seth Godin. These reflections will constitute my Advent Calendar for 2015, and will be posted daily from December 1st to the 24th.