297: How To Begin Doing Something That Matters

Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts!

Please note: This is an updated “Holiday Selection” re-release of Episode #210.

“Sit with the idea of what it would mean for you to take on a worthy goal, become the best version of yourself, and unlock your greatness by taking on the hard things. I’m asking not just for you, but I’m asking for me and my world, because it’s a chance for all of us to live a better life.” – Michael Bungay Stanier

I’m very excited to share my “Holiday Selection” re-release of one of our most popular episodes, featuring the great insights of Michael Bungay Stanier.

As an exciting new year is coming, with its fresh energy of possibility, what would it mean for you to find and set a worthy goal, something that is thrilling, important, and daunting at the same time?

Today’s special Finding Brave guest reveals the 3 key components of a worthy goal, what it really means to commit to one, and why we don’t have to travel this path alone, because we can ask for support along the way.

Michael Bungay Stanier helps people be a force for change. He’s best known for his book The Coaching Habit, which has over a million copies and has thousands of 5-star reviews online.

His latest book, How to Begin, helps people find the clarity and courage to take on a Worthy Goal and start something thrilling, important and daunting. He founded Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that helps organizations move from advice-driven to curiosity-led.

They’ve trained hundreds of thousands of managers to be more coach-like and their clients range from Microsoft to Gucci. Michael left Australia about 30 years ago to be a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he shares that his only significant achievement was falling in love with a Canadian. Michael now lives in Toronto, having spent time in London and Boston. Balancing out these moments of success, he was banned from his high school graduation for “the balloon incident,” was sued by one of his Law School professors for defamation, and his first published piece of writing was a Harlequin Romance-esque story involving a misdelivered letter called The Male Delivery.

I encourage you to read Michael’s latest (and very enlightening) book and let us know what lessons you glean from it. How has your energy been shifted, and what did you learn? Please feel free to reach out to Michael or me with your feedback and questions about what we discuss in this episode. Here’s to your joyful pursuit of your worthy goal!

 

Highlights from this Episode:

• The worthy goal that Michael has for his latest book [5:44]
• Why he is expecting a big shake-up for the coaching industry in the very near future [7:07]
• What Michael means when he says that we unlock our greatness by taking on the hard things [13:52]
• How his childhood influences have contributed to the way that he now sees the world [17:36]
• Some of the ways that Michael “zags” when others “zig” [20:03]