Remember alphabet soup?

I ask you to remember because the last time you had it probably wasn’t yesterday, or last week. It may have been a decade or four.

Something about alphabet soup brings out a sense of wonder and curiosity in us as kids. We stir it around to see if any secret messages emerge randomly, like a vegetable fueled Ouiji board. We use our spoon to carefully arrange our own words, spell our name, a simple sentence, or maybe a dirty word…Just me?

But then we outgrow alphabet soup. Why?

Are we afraid our sophistication will be challenged? That we’ll be considered immature? That people won’t take us seriously?

in a seemingly unrelated note, it’s impossible for me to see an airplane and not think of my father-in-law Gary. He loves airplanes. He used to drag his wife and four daughters to air shows. Their reviews of the regular excursions are mixed, but one thing was constant: it was always an opportunity for Gary’s inner child to soar.

I had the pleasure of attending the Oshkosh Airshow with him a few years ago. According to him, it’s the Super Bowl of air shows. He may have technically been sixty at the time, but it seemed more like he was six. His passion for airplanes has never faded.

Recently, he took my kids to watch sky divers jump out of planes and land safely a few feet from them on the ground. You might think he wanted to share a passion with his grandkids. You’d be partly right, but let’s be honest, it didn’t really matter if there was anyone else around. It was merely an excuse to indulge in a little bit of wonder.

When we are kids, we are drawn to wonder, and there are so many things that light us up and get us excited.

Too often, like our declining consumption of alphabet soup, we neglect or hide the things that light us up.

Maybe it’s because we are afraid our sophistication will be challenged. Or that we’ll be considered immature. Or that people won’t take us seriously.

There is a phrase we often use: guilty pleasures. They are things we enjoy but feel guilty for dong so. Usually there is no real reason we should feel guilty, it’s just that they threaten our carefully-curated likes and dislikes that fit in with the people we associate with or want respect from. 

I’m with Dave Grohl, lead singer of the Foo Fighters, who said, “F*¢K guilty pleasures.” Like what you like. If you like Britney Spears, like Britney Spears. 

Embrace your guilty pleasures. Find what lights you up and love it.  Reconnect with the passions that get your inner child fired up and own them. 

Never outgrow your sense of wonder. 

“Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way.” –Alan Watts

It’s overly simplistic to say that all you need to do to be successful is to “follow your passion.” It’s and important factor, but not the only one.

However.

Money is a powerful force. Our view of it and need for it impacts our decision making in many — often subconscious — ways. One good way to make sure you’re on track for living a great story is to ask yourself, “What would you be doing if money were no object?”

How would you spend your time? What would be the first thing you did each day? What would be the last thing?

If your story seems to be stalled in neutral, sometimes taking money out of the equation can be a great way to get yourself in gear.

My favorite line in the movie “The Avengers,” is when the villain Loki declares, “I am burdened with glorious purpose.”

I love that line.

It’s pretty funny in the movie, because it speaks to Loki’s delusions of grandeur. Although, in truth, each of the heroes in the movie could probably say the same thing and mean it. But because their intent is noble, the connotation of the entire statement is changed.

I too, am burdened with glorious purpose. Not to rule the world, but to make it better.

Are you?

If you aren’t burdened with glorious purpose, then binging on Facebook and Netflix every day can be done without any guilt. But if you do share that burden, there’s never enough time. I feel like I have too many ideas and dreams and not enough life to accomplish them all.

Regardless of intent, people who are burdened with glorious purpose, the ones dead set on changing the world, always look a little foolish at first. We could probably all agree that the world could use at least a little changing, but who is anyone to think they’ll be the one to actually do it? But purpose mixed with tiny actions is very powerful. All the big, world-changing things had humble beginnings.

The Simpsons started out as a bumper sticker on the Tracey Ullman Show.

Michael Dell sold his first computers out of his college dorm room.

One of Fred Rogers earliest jobs was as a puppeteer for a local children’s show in Pittsburgh.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver started the Special Olympics in her backyard.

The Missionaries of Charity, which now consist of over 4,500 sisters active in 133 countries, started with one humble woman helping one poor person.

Let the naysayers laugh and the doubts roll off your back. You are not too small to make a dent in the universe.

Especially if you are burdened with glorious purpose.

What is yours?

[ About the Art: There are two types of people in the world: those who are burdened with glorious purpose, and those who aren’t. The former are the ones who make history, even though they seem a bit foolish to the latter.

I like how the color and texture came out in this one. Originally, the bird was completely blue, but I added a white belly and the flare of orange to make him pop out a bit more (and better reflect his boldness.) If you look closely, you’ll notice the elephant is overlaid with a very subtle texture of real elephant skin. (Made with Photoshop.) (Buy the print!) ]

I know, I’m just as surprised to hear that as you.

You know what separates the Oscar-winning movies from the ones that go straight to DVD? The ones that win awards are telling stories we haven’t seen before. Throughout the entire process — from the screenwriter to the producer to the casting director to the cinematographer to the director to the cast — everyone has the opportunity to do things the way they’ve always been done or to take a different tack.

Not different for the sake of different, mind you. Movies that are different for the sake of different may play well in art houses, but they’re mostly just…weird. It’s usually better to shoot for different for the sake of better.

When it comes to the story of your life, you’re wearing all the creative hats. You decide how you spend your time, your money and your energy. You get to pick your friends, your attitude, and where you live. Your dreams, your traditions, and your beliefs? You own those as well.

This may go without saying, but your story sucks a little more with every choice you make that’s just like everyone else.

[ About the Art: This piece gets its inspiration from a baby moon trip Kim and I recently took to Rhode Island. We visited an art gallery in Newport and there was a big painting I liked that featured some falling leaves on a stark background. It stuck with me. I’m sure my recent stint of raking leaves may have had something to do with it as well. If you look closely, you’ll also see an organic leaf texture incorporated into the background. ]

I love the booming sounds, the explosive display of light, and the smoky smell of sulfur in the air that comes with a good fireworks show. But I quite like the communal aspect of it as well. I love how thousands of people gather together to stare up at the night sky and marvel at the breathtaking sights and sounds. They ooh and aah with one accord, and after the show is over, walk away with smiles on their faces and their spirits uplifted.

The same thing happens when a person lives their life with passion. There is a magnetic, ethereal quality about it that we can’t help but be captivated by.

These days, we often hear the familiar refrain to “follow our passion,” which usually means we should leave behind the things that bore us in order to chase the life of our dreams, filled with activities that bring us never-ending joy and fulfillment.

Not a bad goal, I suppose, but living with passion is different than following your passion. “Following” insinuates that what we’re seeking is outside our grasp. But whether you are currently living your dream, on your way to it, or not sure which direction it’s hiding, you still have the choice of doing it with passion. In other words, you may not be passionate about your job, but you can choose to be passionate in in doing it.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. suggested:

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

When you live your life with passion, it truly is a remarkable thing. We can’t help but be drawn into it, oohing and aahing, walking away with smiles on our faces and our spirits uplifted.

It’s quite a thing to behold.

Who is someone you’ve witnessed embodying that quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.?

What is the role of a parent? Obviously, keeping them alive is a big one. I’ve learned that feeding them semi-regularly and redirecting them away from hot stoves and wild animals helps with that. Teaching them morals, and how to be a positive contribution to society are important next-level responsibilities.

But what about being brave? Isn’t it important to teach them how to chase a dream and how to take risks and strive to reach their potential?

The tricky part is that kids still pay more attention to what we do than what we say. (Dangit!) The standard platitudes like, “You can be anything you set you mind to,” or “work hard and you’ll achieve your dreams” fall pretty flat when they see us settling for a job that sucks the life out of us or increasing our television watching instead of improving ourselves.

Consider these thoughts from artist Kelly Rae Roberts:

“I think it’s vitally important for our families, especially our children, to witness us being fulfilled. Not only does living our dreams give our family and children permission to do the same, but it also creates an energy in the family – we’re happier, more inspired, more energized. And we bring all that energy to the family system. By the same token, I think it’s important for our children to witness us taking risks and reaching toward our potential. How will they ever do the same if their mamas and papas haven’t shown them it’s possible by living that very possibility into reality with their own lives?”

I couldn’t agree more. Mind you, this is not an excuse to neglect our children in a whirlwind of workaholism. (They can just as easily learn from us how to sacrifice our family FOR our dreams. Not good.)

But it IS a call for us to be brave with our stories so they can be brave with theirs.

By the way, this applies to all of us, not just those with kids. We are being watched all the time, by friends, family, students, patients, clients, co-workers, etc. Actions always speak louder than our words ever will. When we live our lives as a great adventure, we give others permission to do the same.

Who has been your greatest role model when it comes to living life as an adventure?

This tweet was about baseball, but if we looked at “life” as a game, it would still serve as a stirring rallying cry.

When you were a kid, you spent a lot of time imagining the day when you would finally be grown up, with all the amazing powers that came with it, like independence and height and a drivers license. You had dreams and visions of the great adventures to be had, once you finally had the chance to call your own shots and live your own story.

So, are taking advantage of the opportunities now before you?

Are you playing this game of life with the heart and passion and fire of an eight year old?

If not, get to it. This game only has so many innings.

When I was a teenager, I worked at a car dealership. The garage where I spent my days smelled of used oil, antifreeze, and in the summer, sweat (hooray for no air conditioning!). My job was to wash cars, run errands, and keep the shop relatively clean. It was good pay for a good job with good bosses and flexible hours. And I learned how to drive a stick shift and detail a car like nobody’s business, which will come in handy when I buy my Porsche someday :) By all accounts, it was a pretty great career for a teenager.

But that doesn’t mean I liked it.

I hated being trapped doing something I didn’t care about. While the clock took its sweet old time plodding toward quitting time, I daydreamed about all the other things I’d rather be doing. Probably not so unusual for a typical teenage job.

But what really impacted me was that, for the most part, this same attitude was shared by the majority of the mechanics who worked there. They were good, but they were also mopey, cynical, and unengaged. I couldn’t wrap my head around it: this was their chosen career, the occupation they had decided to spend the majority of their waking hours doing. Where was the joy? Where was the love? Where was the energy?

I resolved that I would NOT spend the bulk of my days in a job I didn’t like. Not for the money. Not for the benefits package. Not for anything. It was that determination (stubbornness?) that carried me through the hard early days of our business. The days when nothing we tried worked, the tearful nights when we questioned our sanity, and the years when bankruptcy loomed around every corner.

The sad thing is that the story of those mechanics is still being told today. Millions of people feel trapped in jobs they are good at but either don’t really like or outright loathe. They are traveling through life wondering, “Is this all there is? When do I get to the point where I’m finally happy?”

Maybe that’s you.

There are many flavors of career advice out there, some wholly secular, some sprinkled with spirituality. There are assessments, intakes, and tools out the wazoo, but I think that this quote by Howard Thurman distills all of it down to one brilliant and relevant suggestion:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

On a near daily basis, I am constantly reminded that I seem to make the biggest impact (and experience the most success) when I’m doing the things that light me up. So that’s what I try and do more of.

The world does not need another decent but disinterested mechanic, a competent but listless lawyer, or an adequate but uninspired teacher.

It needs you, fully alive.

[ About The Art: This piece was inspired by the oft-heard refrain that parents know all too well: “Are we there yet?” I was trying to come up with a sky color that wasn’t just your standard Crayola blue. You know, going for a bit more sophistication :) The color scheme I came up with set the whole tone of the piece. I added the field of white dandelions to work with the color scheme to give a feeling of late summer, which mirrors the point of one’s life where the big questions really start to mount. Sometimes these questions can cause our souls to feel a bit detached from our bodies, so I added a bokeh texture over the whole thing to stimulate a sense of dreaminess…I’ve heard people say that they like to know what the artist was thinking when they made something and why they made the choices they did. Sort of like a peek behind the curtain, as it were. So, was any of this interesting to you? Should I keep it up? I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions in the comments. ]

In conversations with people over the past several months, it was obvious that many people, businesses, and industries were waiting. Because of the presidential election, people were stuck waiting to start something, waiting to finish something, or waiting to to see what to do next.

As if permission to do something amazing has anything to do with who’s in office.

There will ALWAYS be challenges, obstacles, and timing that’s less-than-perfect. Guaranteed. What there will NEVER be again is right now.

The potential for something amazing starts within. You want to SEE something amazing? Then DO something amazing. [Hint: Amazing things usually start with nothing more than a simple choice and a small first step.]

The waiting is over.

My neighbor has a brain tumor. He’s in hospice. He’s under forty.

So yeah, this seems about right.

The best day to do something amazing is always today.

Photo credit: Etsy

He is also a writer, entrepreneur, purveyor of the blog The Art of Non-Conformity, and author of the excellent book by the same name. His mission is to help people live unconventional lives, make their own choices, and change the world.

We had a chance to chat with Chris recently, and covered a wide range of topics. We asked him about his world travels, how his adventure has changed him, and what has rendered him awestruck along the way. Chris also shares his opinion on the most Adultitis-free culture in the world, his unconventional thoughts on life balance, and some tidbits from his childhood, including his favorite toy and the surprising thing he wanted to be when he grew up.

In this short but thought-provoking interview, you’ll learn a super tip on how to save money while traveling and hear some things that may inspire you reinvent the way you look at life.

Run Time: 22 minutes, 34 seconds
Download MP3 (21.7 MB)

P.S. Chris has a new book out called The $100 Startup, which can help you reinvent the way you make a living, do what you love, and create a new future. You should get it, especially if you are unemployed, underemployed, or like your job less than head cheese. (See our review here.)

[ Non-Conformity. Acrylic on paper. 19 x 25 inches. ]

I was talking to guy a few summers ago who was out of work and was looking for a job. He’d been looking for eight months. I remember thinking, “Jeez, if you’d started a business when you first got laid off, you’d probably have some pretty good momentum by now.” Instead, he was still waiting for someone else to give him any old job that he probably wouldn’t like any better than his previous one. To my knowledge, he’s still underemployed to this day.

One of the biggest excuses people have for not making the jump toward creating their own dream job is the fear of sacrificing a solid living for an uncertain one. But if you’re currently unemployed, that excuse flies out the window. Heck, even if you are employed, businesses can be started and nurtured during nights and weekends until they’re strong enough to support you on their own.

The truth is that now is probably the best time in the history of the world to start your own thing.

And finally, to my great delight, there is a resource to show you how. It’s called The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future. I got an advance copy from the author, Chris Guillebeau, and I can confirm that it delivers the goods.

As an entrepreneur myself, I’ve read a TON of business books. But none like this.

This one chronicles fifty case studies of people who’ve started a wide variety of successful businesses with very little capital. (Many began with under $100 in funding.) The stories deliver gobs of inspiration, but this book also gives you steps to take, and charts to follow, and solid real-world advice for making your little dream a big reality.

If you are unemployed, underemployed, or toiling in a job you like less than beets, you should check this book out.

Now is your time.

Time flies, whether you’re having fun or not.

Creating a great life story requires living with intention. As the old saying goes, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. But if you want to create a life filled with great scenes and happy memories, you need to do your part.

You need to invite those scenes and memories into your story.

One way to do that is with a bucket list. Write it out. Draw it, like I did. Or make a collage with pictures from the internet or magazines. Fill it with big things and little things. Maybe team up with your spouse or family to create one together. Then — and this is the important part — keep it somewhere you’ll see it often. This bad boy is going on my fridge.

Summers get busy and are gone before you know it. Let this become your ever-present reminder to fill it with adventure.

P.S. I’d LOVE to see your lists. Feel free to post them to our Facebook page or email me at jason@escapeadulthood.com

Me, I’m not a big fan of resolutions. Instead, I like to choose a word of the year.

If you think about it, a word of the year makes for a better story than a resolution. A resolution is kind of boring. Whether it’s to lose 50 pounds, run a marathon, or get out of debt, there’s not a lot of mystery to it. You either accomplish it or not. (Mostly not, according to the statistics.) Plus, it usually involves a lot of work.

But a word, now that brings some drama. It’s specific, yet open-ended. It gives you a direction with which to focus your energy, but leaves the door open for surprises. And besides, whose story sounds better, the girl who chose “Freedom” as her word of the year, or the guy who wants to lose 15 pounds of belly fat?

I’ve been thinking about my word of the year for a few weeks now. I knew the feeling I was going for, but I couldn’t think of a word that embodied it. Finally, it hit me: magic. That’s my word of the year. Considering I’ve been saying it a lot of late, it should have been more obvious.

Now, I won’t be learning any card tricks or anything. To me, magic is the free prize, the unexpected little extra that transforms an experience from average to awesome. Magic doesn’t have to cost money, but it does require creativity and mindfulness. Because it doesn’t happen by chance. In 2012, I want to experience magic, and I want to help create magical experiences for others.

Most resolutions only address one level of your life, such as your body, your relationships, your job. But the cool thing about a word of the year is that it covers your whole life. For instance, I’m looking forward to making and experiencing magic in my speaking programs, through our web site, in my travels, and in my daily life with Kim and the kids.

Adultitis-Fighting Tip: If you haven’t already, why not come up with your own word of the year? I have more thoughts about it here, and this great primer even has a list of words to spark your imagination. Spend some time in quiet thinking about your word, and then write it down or print it out and post it somewhere you’ll see it every day.

What’s your Word of the Year for 2012?

[ Magic. Gliiter, construction paper and a Christmas tree, shot with my Canon Digital Rebel XS ]

Like this post? Sign up to receive our free weekly newsletter to get regular reminders and tips for stressing less and having more fun. It’s a well-deserved jolt of happiness for your inbox.

P.S. Learn more about bringing Jason in to inspire and energize your group right here.

In discussing this with our midwife, she had a really cool take on it. I’m paraphrasing, but in essence she shared… People want to FEEL their lives. Why do we run marathons? Climb mountains? Learn how to paint? Because we have the desire to FEEL alive.

It’s so true. These big hurdles are not accomplished with a simple amount of effort or desire. They force us to come alive in a new way, to dig deeper than we thought was possible within ourselves, to go far beyond the day-to-day breathing and existing.

So, how do you break out of your rut to start this journey towards FEELING your life (short of getting pregnant — ha!)?

Do something today that FREAKS the hell out of you.

At the start, make it something trivial — something that doesn’t effect your life at all — other than it makes you jump, or scream or almost pee your pants a little. This will help you break out of “existing mode.”

Need some inspiration? Here’s a video of me looking like QUITE the fool, as I muster up the courage to feed a freakin’ crazy-looking Scottish Highland Steer out of my hand. It was the most alive I had felt in days — what an AWESOME feeling!!

Mary, who was in her mid-fifties, sported silver streaks in her hair and boasted wrinkles around her eyes — the kind that come from smiling too much.

She could tell from the boy’s inquisitive eyes that his question was not intended to tease. He was truly puzzled by this dichotomy that was tying his shoes.

“Well,” Mary thoughtfully began, “I have an adult body, but I still try to think and act and have fun just like a kid.”

“Oh,” grinned the boy. “That’s what I thought.”

And that, my friends, is how you know you’re doing life right.

Kim and I took Lucy and two of her cousins to a Madison Mallards baseball game recently. I brought my camera and managed to snap a few photos of Millie, one of the mascots, and she danced down the first base line jazzing up the crowd.

It’s an ok photo, but did you see it?

Look closer at Millie’s eye, and you’ll notice the face of the performer inside the costume. She’s smiling.

When fitted with the standard emotionally unchanging giant heads, most sports mascots have to communicate primarily through energy and mime. Unsurprisingly, on the outside, Millie was a happy and upbeat oversized Mallard.

But it was kind of neat to look at this photo later and realize that, although the crowd couldn’t see it, the person who brought Millie to life was also having a good time. Clearly, she loved what she was doing.

I’d be willing to wager that if she didn’t, we’d be able to tell from her performance, even though we couldn’t see her face under the mask.

That’s true of the rest of us as well. I like to think that I’m pretty good at faking enthusiasm and passion when I need to. But I’m not. No one is. No matter what your occupation, whether your title is vice president or stay-at-home parent, people can tell if you’re passionate about your work by your performance.

Life is too short to be spending big chunks of it doing something you’re not passionate about.

If you don’t love what you’re doing, we can tell.

I suspect that just about everybody alive would prefer to be doing something they love. Not something unrealistic in which there are no problems and no headaches. (Those occupations don’t exist.) But something they are good at, something that makes them happy and makes a difference. Something in which hard work barely seems like work at all.

Everybody should be doing what they love. Unfortunately, not enough people are.

Are you?

I hope so. If not, I really hope you’re at least working toward it.

Otherwise, what the hell are you waiting for?

Except it’s not.

Not even close to as cool as this:

We often wonder where kids get all their energy from…

Try beginning your day *enthusiastically* reciting (out loud) everything you’re thankful for and the things you’re good at, and tell me if you don’t have a little hop in your step.

Optimism. Enthusiasm. And a spirit of gratitude. It is (and always has been) the only way to change the world.