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Kevin Rose is one of my favorite curators. Intelligent, discerning, well connected and well traveled. He tests, evaluates & shares the best ideas and objects he finds. Rose has given me leads on lifestyle staples in areas as wide ranging as stress relief (Kava tea), meditation, and cryptocurrency.
Here are the 3 methods (all free) to tap into Kevin’s insight:
Most of the great ideas I’ve heard have one thing in common: Someone else thought of them! We are fortunate to live in a time when access to great ideas, and the potential to use them to improve our lives, has never been greater. But here’s the downside: Information overload causes us to be reactive. Have you ever tried to implement every good idea you hear? How well did that work? If you are like me, you could benefit from a simple framework that helps you leverage your gifts to create momentum in your life. Over the last 10 years I have developed and refined just such a system, which I have come to call “Personal Leverage.”
Personal Leverage is the force multiplier effect you experience when 4 key elements of your life are in alignment.
In chronological order, these elements are:
As you develop greater alignment, your Personal Leverage grows. The result is outsized and increasing momentum towards the things that matter most.
Let’s take a brief look at each of the elements in the Personal Leverage framework.
Values are the most basic themes that are truly important in our lives. A few of my personal values are engagement, authenticity, integrity and service. Together, these form an internal compass, guiding the direction of my intentions and actions. Remember that values can change over time, so it is critical to remain aware of what yours are. Personal Leverage grows out of alignment, and values are where alignment begins.
Intention comes from the Latin “intendio,” meaning both “stretching” and “purpose.” In the Personal Leverage framework, it means stretching toward purpose. I think of intentions as the intersection of goals, attitude and motivation. When values and intentions are aligned, it creates a solid foundation to which you can anchor your actions. Clear intentions also provide a personalized filter for the vast universe of information.
Information Diet is essential to aligning intentions with actions. Being deliberate and disciplined about the content we consume can be especially challenging in a culture of constant connection. But access to the right ideas and information is critical. A great content strategy acts as a filter: Maximizing your exposure to relevant insight, education, encouragement and feedback – while minimizing distractions and negativity. After I have clarity on my values and intentions, here are some of the questions I ask that help me develop an information diet that is in alignment:
Taking action is how you bring your intentions to life, changing the world in the process. Actions are part of an execution plan that usually includes efficiency tools like time management and productivity tactics. Consuming content and taking action go hand in hand, since successful execution is almost always supported by encouragement and guided by feedback. The goal of a solid execution plan is to bring your intentions into the world, aligning your life with your values and thus growing your Personal Leverage.
This model has become so effective for me that I am dedicating this site, as well as a portion of my time on a weekly basis, to sharing it.
What have you found creates the most momentum in your life? Any ideas or examples to share? I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to comment here or use #PersonalLeverage on Twitter.