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This is the official discussion topic for our January Book.

On Thursday the 5th of January at 9pm EST we will be hosting our first webinar. January's author, Dr Bruce H. Jackson will be explaining what you need to do to win one of 12 personally autographed copies of his book, Finding Your Flow.

Register here to receive the webinar login details.

Jacob wrote: "On Thursday the 5th of January at 9pm EST we will be hosting our first webinar. January's author, Dr Bruce H. Jackson will be explaining what you need to do to win one of 12 personally autographed ..."

I am excited for tonight's webinar. Get ready to Find Your Flow!
Bruce H. Jackson

Just finished listening to the Webinar, I missed it Thursday. It was very interesting and I enjoyed the intro to the book. I just started it and am looking forward to reading it. Thank you.

I just listened to the webinar yesterday. I enjoyed it and have started reading the book. I also completed the online survey. I'm curious, how many people listened in and how many people have completed the survey?

I too am looking forward to reading the rest of the book...and to discussing it with others in the group.

About 50 people have watched the webinar.

I just finished reading about the X Factor on page s 14 & 15. This is the part I'm most excited about. Knowledge and skills are obviously important but we can separate ourselves by finding flow. Thinking about it makes me wonder how much flow can make up for a lack of knowledge and skills. I can think of times in my life when my skills may have been lacking but my flow might have closed the gap to high performance.

It's important to note that all of the tools of high performance will not compensate for a lack in technical ability. At the same time just focusing on technical ability rarely leads to exceptional performance. There must be a balance between the two.

How many people do you know who really know their stuff, only to be limited by their lack of vision, capacity to executive goals, manage themselves emotionally, are poorly dis-organized, etc...?

We see this all of the time. When you consider the X factor, remember the graphic in the book that shows the overlap of Technical and Flow knowledge. Both of these types of skills are under your control.

As everyone enters into the second week, make sure you have taken the time to complete the survey and more importantly write down the stories that surround your most profound flow moments.

I mentioned during the webinar that both your worst moments of performance and your very best have much to teach you (although it's more enjoyable to discuss your best moments).

As you think of these stories (and write them down) ask yourself the question: What are the principles at play here? What are the factors that are contributing to this experience?

As you begin to "Look Under the Hood of Your Ferrari" so to speak, you will start seeing important patterns taking place.

As we turn the corner and get a little further, we'll talk about a variety of principles and topics that rise to the top of the list for Finding Your Flow. We'll assess a current Meaningful LIfe Arena (MLA) and you will have a chance to sort out for yourself the most important elements.

Keep the questions coming and I'll jump into the site each day.

Although I'm only on page 34, one thing I notice is that we need to have "self-awareness" for our fist step toward change and that we should be engaged in activities for ourselves, correct? For someone doing for others so long, will the rest of the book hit on this? Because I always did for others, it almost seems selfish to forget everyone else and do for me.

Although I'm only on page 34, one thing I notice is that we need to have "self-awareness" for our fist step toward change and that we should be engaged in activities for ourselves, correct? For someone doing for others so long, will the rest of the book hit on this? Because I always did for others, it almost seems selfish to forget everyone else and do for me.

I really like the Skills Challenge Grid on page 7 of the additional information that Bruce Jackson added on the website:

Nikki13 wrote: "Although I'm only on page 34, one thing I notice is that we need to have "self-awareness" for our fist step toward change and that we should be engaged in activities for ourselves, correct? For som..."

A very important topic you bring up Nikki. Yes, in the beginning, this book is all about developing awareness. As I discuss early, all of us have some degree of "Unconscious Incompetence" that is we don't know what we don't know.

The only way to move out of this phase is to develop awareness.

When people want to improve their own performance they often don't know where to start. There are so many possible avenues to pursue, few people take the time to "look under the hood of their Ferrari" so to speak and really do the necessary work to "sort and value" the areas that will give them the greatest impact. That is the fundamental purpose of this book: to help generate this awareness, then to identify a clear course of action so as to make incremental improvement.

Now, to the core question you ask: Is this selfish? The answer is yes and no.

The purpose of this book is to help you discover the elements of flow and to learn how to use them in your chosen "Meaningful Life Arenas". That said, you will become aware, make new choices, develop new behaviors, and improve your own performance.

Ultimately this helps you serve others by:

1. Improving yourself so that you can apply these principles to the service of others. It will teach you how to be a better performer in social and personal spaces.

2. By increasing your awareness of these principles and practices personally, you are now in a position to be more aware of how those you serve can improve.

Perhaps you will be more aware of: intrinsic motivation, the power of vision, how to set goals, recognizing environmental factors that hinder performance, and many others...

By becoming more aware of these ideas, applying them to yourself, and having your own success, can now be a better coach to others and help them become aware of the things that will help them find more of their best selves.

Hope this helps...

Kathy wrote: "I really like the Skills Challenge Grid on page 7 of the additional information that Bruce Jackson added on the website:"

This grid is a proxy model for flow theory. It shows one (of many) key elements of the flow experience.

What is profound about this grid (originally created by Dr. Csikszentmihalyi back in the 1960's) is that is shows how anyone can find flow as well as what I call "anti-flow".

At the lower left part of the grid you see low skill and low challenge. This might be something as simple as sweeping the floor, doing simple math in your mind, solving easy problems, etc...

If the challenge becomes too great you move towards anxiety. We've all experienced this. Too much work and deadlines, too many problems that hit us at once, lacking the skills or experience we need to deal with a problem, etc...

For these types of situations it is important to learn how to "chunk down" problems into doable bits. You know the old metaphor: "How do you eat a 100 pound hamburger?" You got it: one bite at time!

By contrast, if you have an abundance of skill and the challenge is too low we can get bored and frustrated--which also leads to anxiety (we've all been there as well).

One of the key strategies here is learning to create challenge or build complexity out of the situation.

Let's say you volunteered to stack cans of food for 8 hours for your church. Pretty boring stuff. After a while your mind would wander and you would probably be looking for something else to do.

But what if you did this with a friend and you came up with a competition: stacking as many cans as possible in 5 minutes. Or, creating the most creative stacking pattern? Such a change in focus increases the energy and thus the movement towards flow.

What is important to remember about the skills/challenge grid is that you can find flow at any level of skill or challenge. Somebody sweeping the floor at the local diner can find flow just as can a nuclear scientist. It's all a matter of matching the skill and the challenge--and in both cases raising or lowering the challenge to get you highly focused.

I make the case in my workshops that if they can make Curling an Olympic sport, than anything in our lives can be an Olympic sport.

Just look at these folks doing "extreme ironing" (seriously, look this up on Google) and you'll recognize that you can find challenge in any aspect of our lives--if you study and understand the elements of flow. That is the purpose of this book.

Kathy and Kikki make some good observations. Thank you for those posts.

As we finish week 2 of Finding Your Flow you should be rather well acquainted with the experience and some of the core elements that contribute to flow. This is just the beginning. The 9 quadrant model that I use in the slides that were posted this week is a model that will help you recognize where all of the principles of flow reside.

It is now time for you to look at just one area of your life that you would like to assess--to see what elements of flow are working for you and what elements are working against you. this is what I call the 720 degree sweep.

By taking this assessment, you will grow in your personal awareness. You will increase your awareness of the many elements that may or may not be working for you. You will increasing your awareness--or what I discuss in the book at moving from "Unconscious Incompetence" to "Conscious Incompetence". While this sounds odd, it's a great place to be. From this place you can make new plans, make new choices, and start developing new strategies for "getting in the zone".

For those who do not yet have the book, I will provide this assessment on JP's site so you can download chapter 8 and do this assessment. I will then provide additional slides and tools that will help you discover your "one thing". You'll know what this is as you progress through chapter 8 and beyond.

As always, if you have questions, please post them here so everyone can listen in...

Wow. I am joining a little late, just now watched the webinar and bought the book. Had to jump in to the forum to say how impressed I am so far. The webinar was highly informative and a great intro to the topic. I'm looking forward to the rest of the discussion and events. Thanks so much Jacob, for organizing this series, and thanks Bruce for guiding us through your materials.

Well, Nikki, here's my humble opinion. Doing for others is wonderful and noble and you shouldn't stop. Rather, apply a similar financial strategy used for saving money to this situation in your life. If you want to amass savings, always pay yourself first, then, of course, pay all your bills. If you want a more fulfilled happier life, DO for yourself first, then do for others. So, don't stop doing for others, just balance it better, and, PUT YOURSELF FIRST. Rarely will anyone else.

Bruce wrote: "As everyone enters into the second week, make sure you have taken the time to complete the survey and more importantly write down the stories that surround your most profound flow moments.

I ment..."

Kathy wrote: "I really like the Skills Challenge Grid on page 7 of the additional information that Bruce Jackson added on the website:"



Nikki13 wrote: "Just finished listening to the Webinar, I missed it Thursday. It was very interesting and I enjoyed the intro to the book. I just started it and am looking forward to reading it. Thank you."

I participated in the webinar and survey. I think this is a really wonderful idea to interact with others on a book and a great idea to interact with the author.

The survey was very interesting.Trying to think of actual moments I was experiencing flow was hard at first and then after I took the survey I realized I am experiencing flow in many activities in my life and just not aware of it at the time.

A big thank you to everyone who took the "Finding Your Flow" survey that was announced in our webinar. If you haven't taken it yet, look for the link in the member section of our website. Bruce still has some special gifts available for people who take the survey.

Here are the 12 winners (actually 13 this month) of the signed copies of our January Book!

Darren Sampson - Normal IL
Kimberly Clement - Aitkin MN
Debbie Gorski - Sherman NY
Ashton Buswell - Chula Vista CA
Amy Schuett - Wayzata MN
Kathy Lang - WA
Kim Burwell - Kewanee IL
Adam Hinckley - Mesa AZ
Danielle Stevens - Albuquerque NM
Frank Zumpf - Pineview GA
Tom Apice - Trevose PA
Sue Christensen - West Valley City UT
Damon Thueson - Orem UT

If you are listed above we will be sending an email to confirm your shipping address.

Remember, keep involved in the discussion on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and check all of our emails to learn how you can win a signed copy of the book each month of this year!

Also, Bruce has uploaded chapter 8 of the book into our member section. Chapter 8 contains the 720 Degree Sweep Assessment. Download it now to take this personal flow assessment at no cost.

I'm excited to know I won a signed copy. I already bought the book but now can pass one on to someone else who's interested in flow...
Thanks.
Kathy

Thanks Jennifer, the main portion of my giving so to speak is to my family. I seem to want to make sure they are all taking care of first. I have three grown children and 4 grandchildren. I take care of one of the grandkids and may be getting another one to take care of. I am hoping that I can learn to better myself and as Bruce said I can therefore help others, especially my kids, take care of themselves. I think I deserve some me time. :)

Jennifer wrote: "Well, Nikki, here's my humble opinion. Doing for others is wonderful and noble and you shouldn't stop. Rather, apply a similar financial strategy used for saving money to this situation in your li..."

Lynn wrote: "Wow. I am joining a little late, just now watched the webinar and bought the book. Had to jump in to the forum to say how impressed I am so far. The webinar was highly informative and a great in..."

Lynn:

Thanks for jumping in. Please feel free to take the survey and share your story. If you have any questions please let me know.

Bruce

Nikki13 wrote: "Thanks Jennifer, the main portion of my giving so to speak is to my family. I seem to want to make sure they are all taking care of first. I have three grown children and 4 grandchildren. I take ca..."

Remember, when you are your very best "in your flow" everyone around you is benefited by it. You are a better person because of it. And a great example to top it off...

Greetings this 20th day of January.

Thanks to everyone who completed the survey and shared your stories and strategies. I've connected with a couple of our survey takers and asked them if I might share their flow stories. I was particularly interested in the following three:

1.
A couple of years ago my middle daughter asked me to make her wedding dress. The only problem was she lived in England and I live in New York state. There would not be an opportunity to do a fitting before the wedding. I made a sample based on measurements she took and expedited the dress sample. There is no such thing as express shipping between the US and England that I could afford. Anyway, the sample never got there. Three days before the wedding I arrived in England with my fingers crossed there would be minimal changes, but that wasn't the case. The entire top part of the dress didn't fit well at all. I made some adjustments and it was still a disaster. I was close to tears, extremely overwhelmed and I think I raised my blood pressure quite a bit as my ears were just ringing. For the first time in my long sewing career, I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. At one point, I even mentioned we may have to go buy a dress. My daughter was cool as a cucumber and said, "Oh mom, you will get it done in time, you always do." I experienced extreme doubt and questioned my skills as a seamstress. I was alone in the sewing room staring at the dress visualizing in my mind the dress on my daughter and the fitting problems and started manipulating in my brain, what might work (keep in my mind, I only brought minimal fabric to work with, no room for major mistakes). I pushed back the I can't do this mentality and it occured to me what I needed to do. So I took the back of the dress off completely and used my remaining lace fabric, called my daughter up to be the mannequin yet again and sewed for two days straight. I was in my flow. Someone could have bombed Cambridge and I would still be sewing, I was in a deep focused concentration. I finished late the evening before the wedding. It looked fabulous on her and I vowed I would never do another dress if someone lived too far away for a fitting. Whew!

2.
My most recent in zone time is a work in zone story. Its a monumental story for me personally, because it made me realize that when I am in the zone its got its high points and its low points so Im not sure if its really an in zone thing. I learned a lesson from it. Last October I decided after thinking for two months that I was going to give it all I had to come up with a great individual donor plan for the next year. I had been tossing ideas around, writing post it notes and hanging them all over the place at work, home on my bathroom mirror. then one friday I sat down and started to write, I began with a case statement and it just happened, my husband told me I would be typing away and next thing he knew I was outside walking around, I just zoned out, but by the end of the weekend my plan was complete and the next year layed out, it didnt stop there it just kept going and I did what I set out to do, I raised 20,000 in 8 weeks from individual donors and I had a cultivation plan to increase that over the next few years. This zone lasted 8 weeks, but I learned some lessons, the good lessons is that if I can get rid of the self doubt in regards to my abilities and lack of knowledge I get alot done, I learned Im really good at getting up on that balcony and seeing the big picture, Im a visionary. On the low note, I lose my self, the meditation aspect of my life was all important because I could not shut my mind down, I would work all day, come home and work and I would be up at 2 am and going to the office, this time it encompassed my whole being. when I reached my self imposed deadline, i was physically and brain tired to the point I couldnt do anything for a few days. Honestly I loved it, I like the feeling it gave me, the confidence it gave, the productiveness it gave me, but I have to find a way to control it, to keep it in check, to be able to go in and out at a moments notice. I need to remember to take care of me personally. I need to find a way to flow healthy and not compulsively. Realization, Im ready to go on to section two of your book. Probably more than you wanted to know.

3. I just finished leading 31 new employees through an intensive seven weeks of claims training and orientation. Due to a scheduling conflict, I found myself the only instructor available for the first week and was charged with preparing for all the learning sessions on my own. The average day included four or five sessions lasting eight hours with 3-4 hours of preparation each night. This was the challenge I faced and, not having taught much of this material before, had to rely upon my technical, coaching, planning, and interpersonal skills to be successful. Every day I woke chomping at the bit to get into the office to get the day started. The wide-eyed students clearly were looking to me to put them at ease, get focused, and to keep the energy level high. I found myself preparing effortlessly, engaging the students easily, and getting the kind of interaction and discussion going that every teacher dreams of. Each day passed in what seemed like moments and before I knew it, the week was over and 30-35 sessions were under our belts. At the time I was “swimming “as fast as I could to stay above water, but I loved every minute of it. Only after the week had passed and I had a day to think about it could I really appreciate how special the week had been for me. I had, in what seemed like no time, established credibility as a leader, developed relationships with my students, and kept the level of engagement in the academy at the highest levels. I also received feedback from the onsite leadership that they had already been hearing great things about my class. I was “high� on the whole experience. I was joined in the second week by two additional instructors so my workload decreased, thankfully. But, it felt expectations had been set for the students, and I was able to build on the success that I’d had in week one. This came to pass and the experience, hands down, has been one of the most rewarding I’ve had professionally.

These and other great stories begin to reveal the many principles that contribute to the flow experience. See in each story if you can tease out the "Principles at Play."

Enjoy these stories as you dig through Chapter 8 and the 720 Degree Sweep.

Remember, prior to answering the questions, be very clear about the life arena that you want to assess (all life arenas are very different so be focused with clear intent).

Be honest with the questions, let them raise your awareness. As we enter into next week we will start boiling down the process and I will help you discover the one or two core things you needs to focus on to find more flow.

Please be proactive and ask questions. The more questions the richer the read!

First, thanks for the copy of the book. I'll pay my copy forward. I'm in the middle of the 720 Degree Sweep and taking the work path analysis to heart. I'm starting a new job so the timing couldn't be better for serious introspection. On the heels of this 720, I'll be moving quickly to personal evaluation. To get the most out of my plan, I'm finding it challenging to be so self-critical on the 60 plus areas of focus. Brutal honesty is humbling but should yield the most clear path for me.

Looking into my moments in positive flow, it occurs to me that one of the core areas I'll be focusing on is establishing clear goals. I recognize that finding the best environment and ease of entry into flow is tied directly to having a clear goal. Now, back to the book....

Darren wrote: "First, thanks for the copy of the book. I'll pay my copy forward. I'm in the middle of the 720 Degree Sweep and taking the work path analysis to heart. I'm starting a new job so the timing couldn..."

Darren, this is good insight. I am about to really progress on my end too and I appreciate your honesty. Self evaluation is tough for me and it sounds like I need to really carve out some time to make this work!

Jacob

Darren wrote: "First, thanks for the copy of the book. I'll pay my copy forward. I'm in the middle of the 720 Degree Sweep and taking the work path analysis to heart. I'm starting a new job so the timing couldn..."

I'm excited that you are making sense of the different elements of focus. So many things take us out of our flow. At the same time, these same areas, when worked on, can become our Flow Assets. Knowing how to take a critical look at each of these elements and knowing how to develop and action plan "is" the main skill.

By this time everyone should be well through Chapter 8 and have taken the 720 sweep. During this week we will provide you with the exercises you will need to identify which of your Flow Assets and Liabilities that you want to work on.

Note that the 720 Sweep is an awareness tool--one to help you better understand the many elements that either help you find your flow or that keep you from it.

Recognize that this tool will push you think and think hard about your personal Flow Assets and Liabilities. Get through this process and we'll work on boiling this down in the next two days.

If you have completed Chapter 8 and the 720 degree sweep you'll want to use the tools that Jacob will post shortly.

The first is the personal Flow Assets and Liabilities analysis referenced on Pg. 115. The purpose of this exercise is for you to make a list of all of your most important Flow Assets (these are your 10's. If you have no 10's, then 9's). The other side of the list is to identify your Flow Liabilities (these are your 1's and 2's).

At this point you can take everything from 3-8 and simply keep as a parking lot list.

It's time to focus now only those things that are most relevant to you.

Now you can use the Personal Flow Formula exercise to identify which of your list makes it into the internal category and the external category. Do this same thing in the bottom of the formula.

By filling out this exercise you will have discovered your current Personal Flow Formula referenced in Pg. 119.

This is an important list. It is your essential "stuff". Our next goal will be to help you build a personal plan around only 1 or 2 things that will make the biggest difference in you finding your flow.

I will address this on Friday-Saturday. If you have any questions, please post.

Have a great evening...

I just finished reading the book. Thank you Bruce, both for the book and for the guidance this month. I'm excited to turn the process of personal discovery and execution into a habit of finding flow in all of my various MLAs. Further more I intend to make it a habit to share this book with others who I feel are searching for the "one thing." I will be writing a full review for you on my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ profile and on Amazon.

Thanks again and talk to you on our Tuesday webinar!

Jacob

If you have read through Chapter 8 (free download) and done your 720 degree sweep, you have discovered that there are many different ways to approach your flow. The secret is recognizing that your formula is unique and your own.

After making a list of Flow Assets and Flow Liabilities, then creating your own Formula, it's time to take your "one thing" and develop a personal plan around it.

The last main exercise of the the book is to narrow down your development focus and create a personal plan of action.

Tomorrow night, we will go through each of the main exercises of the book and make sure that you have narrowed down "your" personal development plan. Tune in and we'll answer any questions you might have.

For those wishing to take your performance to the next level, we are offering the full Principles of Personal Excellence course--the 25 essential skills of the high performer--on the web. Write me at: [email protected] for more details.

For those who seek a grand adventure, I am offering a special "friends and family" discount on our Peru Leadership Adventure. This 12 day adventure takes places in the Andes of Peru where we trek the Inca Trail and see the beauty of Peru--all while developing our leadership skills. Take a look at this year's itinerary at:



Anyone who mentions the 12 Books in 2012 will get the friends and family discount.