Tomorrow and Friday, I’ll be posting my interview with Dave Pollard, author of Finding the Sweet Spot.In his book, Dave Pollard describes the process of discovering our Sweet Spot – that is, the intersection of our gifts (what we’re good at), our passion (what we love doing), and our purpose (what is needed).
It’s a powerful process that forces us to move past the typical navel-gazing that occurs when we think about what we want to do with our lives, and actually gives us the tools and processes to discover what we’re meant to do.
For next week’s Ruzuku challenge, we’re focusing on one of the three components of the Sweet Spot: your passion.
What is Ruzuku? Ruzuku is a learning community built around support and encouragement. You commit to a challenge and then report periodically on your progress all the while supporting and being supported by the community going through the same thing you are. Read more about Ruzuku here.
Here’s how the challenge will work.
Step 1: Commit to the challenge. If you’re at all interested in discovering your passion and want to work with a group of folks working through the same process, sign up by Monday, November 9th. Registration is free.
Step 2: Answer the question. Every day, answer at least one of Passion Discovery questions. I’ll post a suggested question in the Challenge Forum, but it’s up to you which one you answer. These questions come from Dave’s book, Finding the Sweet Spot, and are
- In other people’s observation, what do you seem to enjoy the most? What activities cause you to smile or sing while you do them? What is it about these activities that makes them so enjoyable?
- What have you done, or tried to do, that you really loathed? What made it so awful?
- What tasks do you take on with most relish, whether you are good at them or not? What do people get you to do because they know you will take it on enthusiastically?
- Intuitively, if someone asked you what your “ideal job” might be, how would you answer?
- If you’ve done interest tests, where did they suggest your passions lie?
- What did you enjoy most in school, whether or not you were good at it?
- What hobbies or recreational activities that you do, or have done, do you or did you most enjoy? Why?
- What do you most enjoy working with: people, tools, ideas, or information?
- If you suddenly received a lot of money, or a lot of power, what would you do with it, and what would you start doing that you’re not doing now, and why?
Dave also re-published some additional questions originally posed by Neil Crofts in his book Authentic Business:
- When do you feel at your most motivated?
- When do you get lost in activity or thought and lose all track of time?
- When do you feel alive, focused, and engaged?
- What is the common thread between smiling at the rain, enjoying the earth in your hands, putting on a sumptuous feast, and playing with your child?
- What is the focus of all your “flow” activities, the pivot around which they turn, the outcome to which they all drive?
- What is your nonnegotiable dream, so precious that so far you have told no one about it for fear it will be compromised?
Step 3: Tell us how it’s going and what you’ve learned. As part of the Ruzuku Challenge, you’ll be prompted to update your progress on the journaling activity. Report back to the community any insights you gained, anything you’ve learned, or questions you have. Unless you want to, there’s no need to talk about the content of your answer. The point of the Challenge community is to provide support and accountability to ensure that you are on the path to discover your passions – and so that we can learn from each other in the process.
What are you waiting for?
I’ve scheduled the challenge to start on Monday, November 9th. So, you only have a few more days to register. Registration will remain open until midnight your time November 9th, but know that the first journal assignment is also due November 9th, too! Registration is, of course, free.
Learn more about Ruzuku and see other challenges »
Published Wednesday, November 4, 2009