09 Jun 72 Hacks & Beliefs to Live & Work on Your Terms – from People Actually Doing it (World Domination Summit Recap)
Written by Scott Dinsmore – Follow me on Twitter.
“Be impeccably you. Boldness means pushing. Innovation’s messy. Enjoy it.”
-Danielle Laporte
The last four days have been a bit of a blur. Chris Guillebeau hosted over 500 of the most inspiring web entrepreneurs, freedom fighters and road less travelers from around the world at the World Domination Summit in Portland. They knocked it out of the park.
What blew my mind was not just the dozen or so speakers who had kicked ass in life, but more importantly the same was the case for just about every person in the audience. In every corner, every lunch, every brewery (too many of those…), every interaction was full of passionate people.
I was left inspired, even overwhelmed, with this unbelievable sense of accountability to something big. Bigger than myself. Bigger than the group. To a world where people dream big and live just as big. Where the road less traveled starts to look like the standard path.
I was in the right place.
Being the fear-I’ll-miss-a-word ridiculous note taker that I am, on the flight home I found myself with about 30 pages of possibilities, thoughts and ideas in my Moleskine.
Developing the perfect article to embody such a weekend seemed like not only an impossible task, but one that could never do those who inspired me proper justice. So instead, this is straight from the people living the life most dream of. They are not extraordinary in any way other than the fact that they want it more than the average and are willing to go through more fear and uncertainty to experience it.
I’m honored to have been among you all.
72 Hacks & Beliefs to Live Life on Your Terms
The uber-authentic Pam Slim of Escape from Cubicle Nation
1. Remember the anchor of who you are. Learn it. Live it.
2. Anytime you feel uncomfortable, no matter where you are, greet someone. Make a connection.
3. Your job is to teach them to be independent. From kids to consulting clients, it’s all the same.
4. When you find yourself looking to someone else for answers, it’s time to stop and reflect. You have all the answers you need.
5. Do things because you truly feel powerful, not because others actions tell you. Stop trying to keep up.
6. Track when you feel awesome and when feel terrible. Notice what causes each. Stop the later. Enhance the former.
The father of online simplicity and calm living, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits
7. You have to find the one or two things that really matter on your blog and simplify to focus only on that. As with life, as with a blog. Be ruthless.
8. Wake up in the morning and ask ‘what am I excited about’. Work on that and you’ll never lose motivation.
9. The questions are not how or if you can do it. We all know it’s possible. The question is what will you do and when?
The ultimate Fire Starter, Danielle Laporte of White Hot Truth
10. Be impeccably you. Boldness means pushing. Innovation’s messy. Enjoy it.
11. Ask why for everything. Don’t do anything without a good reason.
12. How do you want to feel when you accomplish a goal? We are after feelings, not check boxes. It’s the only way to really enjoy a victory.
13. If you trusted that your art would support your life, how would you live?
14. Things will not change, we will not find passion, until we show up as individuals.
15. Set a no matter what date. To be profitable. To quit. To make a change. Stick to in as if it’s life or death. Because it likely is.
16. Everything is progress.
17. This is not to get permission. Nothing is. The answer is yes. If you want it then do it.
18. Do what will make most money the fastest and then what makes most money. First think what can you make money from tomorrow. As that supports you, shift to what makes you most money over time.
19. It’s a risk. You could totally bomb. You could suck. But the fun makes it worth it.
20. Use your most precious gifts. Not just any gift. The most precious and uniquely yours.
21. Massively over-deliver.
22. Assume your audience is intelligent. Speak to them accordingly.
Lawyer (without a college degree) turned permanent traveler and no doubt most inspirational per vertical inch, Jodi Ettenberg of LegalNomads
23. The things you see as negative may turn out to be unique qualities. Own them.
24. Use your experience as a prism through which others could see their own life.
25. The story is KEY—make people aspire to want your life!
Author, photographer of beautiful faces and teacher of ‘difference = your superpower’, Karen Walrond
26. Comparing is worthless – when I compare myself to someone I compare my inside to their outside. Not fair.
27. Create your own story – not someone else’s.
28. Adventure occurs when we embrace possibility.
29. Inject cool into your life. Pick fun things to do each year for no other reason than because you want to.
30. There is so much more time. Whether you’re 20, 40, 60 or older, you likely have a lot of life left. Live it full out. Make it great.
Two best friends training the world to dream big, Jen Lemen and Andrew Scher of Mondo Beyondo
31. List your most wild things that could happen this year. You’re craziest dream and goals. Give them a chance to happen. Think Mondo Beyondo.
32. Your true purpose is to be ALIVE.
Rockstar artist and creator of the infamous Fire Bowl, and some hilarious stories, John Unger
33. The difference between disaster and opportunity is to decide to make it an opportunity.
34. How can we make everyone win?
35. Practice small disasters. Prepare yourself for the big ones you can’t avoid.
Energized couple turned professional speakers on a mission to remove stress, Kim and Jason
36. A passionate business exists at the intersection of what you like, what you’re really good at and what someone wants help with. Find yours.
37. Focus. For every comma after your name, you suck a little more.
Web training mogul and power team builder, hardly 25 years old, Laura Roeder
38. Access the collective wisdom. Find people who are brilliant at whatever you need for your business.
39. Stop doing everything yourself. Only do things you’re amazing at. There’s someone out there to do the rest.
40. The best way to not do something is to have no one do it. What can you flat out stop doing?
41. Always try to work yourself out of a job. Hire the right people to do the work so you can stick to what matters.
42. Think about the behaviors you’ve liked in those you’ve worked for. Embody these in your business and employees.
43. Be a mentor. Not a boss.
44. No one will care more than you but they can all care as much. Bring others into the vision.
45. Don’t micromanage. Constantly reinforce that you want others’ decisions. Give freedom.
46. It doesn’t matter what’s been done in the past. You get to run your business exactly how you want. You don’t have to follow anyone but yourself.
47. Trust your employees as much as you trust casual friends.
48. Always do flat fees. Hourly pay is a direct conflict – the owner wants it done as fast as possible and employee wants it done as slow as possible. Create the right incentives.
Day job killer who trains people to be who they are, Jonathan Mead
49. Every time I’ve hired someone, I’ve made more money. Focus on your core.
50. When problems come up, default to customer service. They will often do your work for free and are happy to help.
Career Renegade and author of Uncertainty, Jonathan Fields
51. Take bold consistent action against certainty. Everything worth doing requires uncertainty.
52. Uncertainty does not come natural for anyone. Face it anyway.
53. Find a way to ride the butterflies [in your stomach] instead of kill them.
54. Deliberately remove judgement and encourage experiments.
55. You can’t make forward progress without feedback.
56. Ritualize your creative process. Make a routine for getting in your zone.
57. Work in 30-45 min bursts. Our minds can’t handle anything more. Even if you’re on fire, pull yourself away and reflect for at least a few minutes.
58. Reframe the seemingly negative. Instead of asking “how could I possibly get myself to do this” ask “given all the possibility, how could I not?”
59. That feeling in your head and your body is a sign that what you’re doing actually matters. Don’t kill it. Embrace it.
60. Most experiences are worthless if you don’t learn something from them and do something as a result.
61. Learn to sit and be.
And from the wisdom of the crowd…
62. What do people thank you for? That’s where meaningful work starts.
63. The best way to attract a mentor is to serve everyone. The love and the learning is everywhere if you’re not looking in one specific place.
64. Blow people’s minds. You get paid when you solve a pain. Do that and making money becomes easy.
65. It’s all about the people all the time. Who’s yes can you be?
66. You can learn something from everyone you meet.
67. Tiny successes can be incredibly powerful.
68. You can’t replace doubt with courage and reality until you start to act.
69. Give yourself credit when you rock it. Pause. Take it in. Take it in some more. Then move on. It’s not about the next thing. It’s about right now.
70. When you pursue passion and adventure, it’s tiring but the excitement is worth every second of it.
71. Pursue adventure instead of normalcy.
72. Wake up.
Adopt greatness.
Jonathan Fields, one of the most inspiring authors and career contrarians I know, gave us the pleasure of the closing talk. I had the fortune of joining him for tea as well as a dinner over the weekend. He delivered with the passion and energy of a Tony Robbins and the calmness and centeredness of the Dalai Lama.
I kid you not, his talk trumped anything I can remember. His words left me a different person than when I sat down. He addressed the fear of uncertainty and the importance of taking action. Some of his final words gave me chills I can still feel days later:
“That feeling in your head and your body is a sign that what you’re doing actually matters. Don’t kill it. Embrace it.”
We’ve all had “that feeling”. What will you do with it next time it strikes?
Pick a practice.
Take another look at the list above. Pick something. Just one thing. Ideally the one that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Decide to embody that for all of tomorrow. Notice how it feels. Get addicted to butterflies. Love them. Any one of these can all make the difference between extraordinary and average. Decide to live one.
A weekend of greatness has the power to change a person. To make them better. To raise their standards.
We know it’s possible. The rest is on us.
Thank you all for the courage and reminding me what can be.
Which of the above 72 do you plan to embody? Let’s all pick just one and see what happens. Tell us yours in the comments. One sentence should suffice.
Please take two seconds to Tweet this and share it on Facebook using the links below. The authors above would greatly appreciate it. You’re awesome!
Liam Murphy
Posted at 00:19h, 09 JuneScott,
Great notes! Thanks for breaking down some incredible takeaways from your week. I’m already excited to put a few of these into place tomorrow. In fact, I might be too energized to fall asleep…
-Liam
Scott
Posted at 17:24h, 10 JuneBtw, I apologize to anyone who had trouble on the site the last day or so. Major hacker issue that I think is finally resolved. Thanks for bearing with me!
Scott
Posted at 00:29h, 09 JuneAwesome buddy! I know what you mean – maybe that’s why I’m still up at 12:30 when I planned to be in bed hours ago…
Gotta rest up from a massive weekend. 3hrs of sleep a night and constant ideas and energy, while a ton of fun, can be unbelievably exhausting!
Jason @ Stop & Breathe
Posted at 03:49h, 09 JuneWhat an inspiring post!
#62 really stood out for me… What do people thank you for? That’s where meaningful work starts. Over the past few years I did just that and was one of the most simple and effective ways for me to discover what work I truly wanted to be doing.
Jonathan’s passion sounds so inspiring, even in black and white. I can’t imagine how you must have felt walking away from your tea date with him. And I know just what you/he means when you say “that feeling”.
I could sit and review these points all day long, but as #72 says it’s time to Wake Up! so I’m going to take your advice, pick one thing and get to work.
Scott
Posted at 17:20h, 10 JuneNow we’re talking Jason! Jonathan was mind blowing indeed. It’s a dream of mind to be able to address an audience like that!
What do people thank you for? –that might have been the single most powerful line of the weekend.
That was going to be my whole post but I figured it was a bit too short 😉
Mirella
Posted at 05:05h, 09 JuneThanks so much for taking the time to put together this wonderfully powerful list.
Reading all the tweets about the WDS and living in Perth, Australia, made it all feel so far away and unreachable. But by writing this you’ve let us all partake in the inspiration and insight that moved you.
Scott
Posted at 17:21h, 10 JuneGlad you could at least be there virtually and in spirit! Wish I could say this list was all inclusive but that wouldn’t be near accurate… This was plenty to fill me up though! Have fun with it and hope you join next year.
Scott
Daniel Hayes
Posted at 06:07h, 09 JuneScott- I just tore up my notes from #WDS…you captured what I wanted to MUCH better than I could have! Thanks.
Scott
Posted at 17:21h, 10 JuneHaha! Glad my full moleskine served it’s purpose! Thanks Daniel.
Drew D'Agostino
Posted at 07:50h, 09 JuneYou killed it with this post – so many nuggets of wisdom. Saving this page right now for refocusing.
The important thing is to really let at least one of these set in, like you said. If we can’t do that, they’re just nice euphemisms.
Scott
Posted at 17:22h, 10 JuneSo true. That’s the toughest thing with inspiring words like all these folks put out there. They are not be simple read. They are to be LIVED!
Happy living…
Chris Guillebeau
Posted at 10:02h, 09 JuneAmazing wrap-up! Next year you should do 772. 🙂
Scott
Posted at 17:23h, 10 JuneThat say a lot coming from the General himself! You blew our minds this weekend Chris. I’m am really starting to dig your not so small army…
The power and limitations of focus | Kate Frishman
Posted at 10:52h, 09 June[…] Dinsmore of Reading for Success published an article today entitled “72 Life Hacks & Beliefs to Live & Work on Your Terms.” It’s a list of tips from the World Domination Summit held last weekend. It’s a fantastic […]
Kurt Swann
Posted at 18:18h, 10 JuneScott,
Okay, I have two that are related. #29 . . . Pick fun things to do and # 39 . . . only do things you’re amazing at. In April of this year I learned to fly a DC-3 which was a fun, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience! I’ll do more things like that . . .
Also, thanks for summary! My notes weren’t nearly that good 🙂 I got a chance to say hello on Sunday . . . nice to have met you. Keep up the good work!
Kurt
Scott
Posted at 15:19h, 16 JuneThanks Kurt. Glad we could connect although always too brief. The DC-3 sounds unreal! Nicely done.
Amar Raval
Posted at 22:24h, 10 JuneIt is an amazing summary of notes which indeed is required to live a life to the fullest for every individual & make this world a better place to live. Thank you very much for sharing such an important writeup. Looking forward for many more of them…God bless..
Scott
Posted at 15:19h, 16 JuneMy pleasure Amar. Glad it helped!
Rick Mulready
Posted at 22:48h, 10 JuneWow, Scott. I don’t think you missed a thing! What a great post, thanks for this. As you know, a lot on this list resonates with me, but a few particularly jump out at me. #s 10, 51, and 58 are of huge focus for me. The time is now for action! Thanks again for providing such great value.
Scott
Posted at 15:20h, 16 JuneCan’t wait to see what the action creates Rick!
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Posted at 01:34h, 11 Junethank u scoot its amazing
Scott
Posted at 15:21h, 16 JuneAwesome alaa. You got it.
Aaron
Posted at 09:47h, 11 JuneScott: This is a truly great list! The practice I plan to embrace is # 55 from Jonathan Fields, “You can’t make forward progress without feedback.” I recently undertook additional managerial responsibilities at my part time job. Needless to say, the few times I’ve taken on this new role, I’ve felt “lousy” with my results, to put it bluntly. The front end manager who supervises me as well as the others I work with, however, has not given me any feedback on how I’m doing so I’m curious to know what I’m doing wrong. I’m going to solicit some feedback this weekend from my front end manager and see what happens. Wish me luck, and thanks for sharing this!
Scott
Posted at 15:23h, 16 JuneFeedback is huge. Sometimes all it takes is asking and other times you have to pry a little (since people usually avoid saying things that aren’t positive–although all feedback, as long as it’s true, is positive). Hope you learning some useful things!
Creative self-enterprise: life is a work in progress
Posted at 03:43h, 12 June[…] it’s local or global, we need to be clear on this!) like the people in this video.Or the 70+ life and work hacks from career renegades, zen habitues, and cubicle escapees at Chris ”The Art of […]
Kat
Posted at 16:30h, 03 AugustHey! Just stumbled across this article… is it just me, or does it now start at #54? Thanks so much! 🙂
Nando
Posted at 16:29h, 04 AugustThe post is broken to me, is it to anyone else?
The text starts at hack number 54.
If anyone could help or say something, maybe I’m on an alternative URL? I don’t know. I’m using Chrome and the URL is:
https://liveyourlegend.net/72-hacks-beliefs-to-live-work-on-your-terms-from-people-actually-doing-it-world-domination-summit-recap/
Thanks.
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Posted at 21:14h, 07 AugustHi, I love what I can read, but am having the same problem…is there a link to the full list?
Thanks in advance!
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Posted at 10:41h, 07 AugustIm not sure if this is actually ethical but Heck, If its about having a good fulfilling life, im up for it!
Scott Dinsmore
Posted at 22:06h, 07 AugustSorry guys– Not sure what happened with this one. Really weird. Working on fixing it now. Thanks for the heads up!
-Scott
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Posted at 15:21h, 09 April[…] 72 Hacks & Beliefs to Live & Work on Your Terms – from People Actually Doing it (World Dom… The last four days have been a bit of a blur. Chris Guillebeau hosted over 500 of the most inspiring web entrepreneurs, freedom fighters and road less travelers from around the world at the World Domination Summit in Portland. They knocked it out of the park. What blew my mind was not just the dozen or so speakers who had kicked ass in life, but more importantly the same was the case for just about every person in the audience. In every corner, every lunch, every brewery (too many of those…), every interaction was full of passionate people . -Danielle Laporte […]
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Cary Fortin
Posted at 22:25h, 16 July“No one belongs here more than me. When in doubt of your surroundings, this is the mantra.”
I think that this might encapsulate most of my greatest fears: the fear of being alone, out of place, unworthy. I’m sticking this phrase on the cover of my daily planner so that I never forget!
Dave P
Posted at 17:35h, 18 OctoberThis is a great list from some very inspiring people. I especially love the whole aspect of embracing uncertainty. The only time you’re truly alive is when you face your fears head on. That’s when it’s impossible to keep sleepwalking. Keep up the great work!
Kristen
Posted at 23:59h, 12 NovemberI literally stopped eveerything I was doing to really think about my business and focus on what exactly I do. This is the sentence that changed it all for me:
37. Focus. For every comma after your name, you suck a little more.
Hilarious, but so, so, so true!
I’m heading to WDS in 2013 and I’m super stoked to meet all the amazing doers out there.
Tracy Smith
Posted at 23:58h, 03 DecemberIncredible list!! Thank you!!
I’ve been doing what I love for 14 years successfully, but lack the confidence to stand behind my reasoning. I’ve always felt flaky telling people why I do what I do. There were a lot of naysayers for the start of my career, people who ‘ignored me, then people who fought me, people who made fun of me….’ and finally I stopped communicating with the negative nelly’s and spend a lot of time alone, working alone, and the reasons for what I do don’t make a lot of sense to me, I do the work I do “because it’s pretty….because I like it and hopefully someone else will too, because I feel like it, because I CAN…because it feels like my hands are dancing, my tools are featherlight and my brain is ON.” and when I deliver an order, I love to watch peoples reactions, and to hear how my work inspires THEM, and it always does, to see passion in someone else’s eyes, when you know you were the one to light the spark – IS AN AMAZING thing. Yay! I love people and their love for life.:)
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Posted at 17:39h, 02 JanuaryThat’s the kind of post I like! Inspirational people, clear points, simple and effective!
I would have like to see that conference…
“Believe in something larger than yourself… get involved in the big ideas of your time.”
Barbara Bush
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Posted at 11:48h, 11 July[…] And in case you missed it, here’s my recap from the first two years: WDS 2012 and 2011. […]
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Rachel
Posted at 13:01h, 22 September62. What do people thank you for? That’s where meaningful work starts.
Yesterday when I sang one of my songs in church, I got so many reflections of gratitude and beauty and encouragement…. <3 When I teach, my students thank me in their trust, the openness in their eyes, the questions they ask, how they say "thank you!" and ask me to teach them more, and what specific things they want to know. They see that I can help them and they ask me for that. I resolve to thank myself, to allow myself to receive their trust and gratitude with grace and honour, rather than deflecting it away anymore. This week, I'm going to do this! and Thanks for your work, Scott! Peace, Rachel.
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