72 Hacks & Beliefs to Live & Work on Your Terms – from People Actually Doing it (World Domination Summit Recap)

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.

World Domination Summit

“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

 

pam leo danielle jodi

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!

Karen Mondo John Jason Kim

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.

Laura Jonathan Jonathan Chris

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.

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Photos courtesy of Armosa Studio

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