Curiosity

Playforce Principles

People within a startup community and organizations throughout an entrepreneurial ecosystem often discuss the “future of work” together. As leaders transition today’s workforce into tomorrow’s playforce, the CIRKA equation helps us talk less and do more.

Curiosity is what drives us to appreciate what goes into the answers. It keeps us asking how and why. Curiosity has always driven ingenuity, but as knowledge and solutions become so easy to find, it will be the curious who avoid mediocrity by exploring the edges.

Initiative is a signal that shows you care. It’s showing up, raising our hand, keeping a promise, and sticking with it. The earlier initiative is shown, the faster trust builds. This allows initiative to stack, which increases impact over time.

Real Skills help us all connect, communicate, and collaborate. First curated by Seth Godin, this evolving encyclopedia is an expansive list of modern credentials that go beyond our natural talents. Real skills shine through self control, productivity, wisdom, perception, and influence.

Knowledge is foundational, specific proficiency required to do the work. For example, DJs need to know what knobs to turn, while doctors must understand human anatomy. Vocational knowledge may require formal education, but autodidacticism (being self-taught) is also an assessable path to transform anyone’s personal interests into know-how.

Adaptability is knowing how to learn. It keeps us nimble, even when systems try to force rigidity. When change is constant, adaptability is what helps leaders remain versatile and relevant while also avoiding the pull toward mediocre.

EXTRA SHOT

Life is too short not to enjoy our time.

Unquantifiable depth in each of these variables power the simplicity of the CIRKA equation. Energy guided by these playforce principles move us beyond loops that limit progress and ignite action on the timeline of now.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Linear

We use linear thinking in an exponential universe.

From a blade of grass on the football field, how can one imagine gaining a single yard? The first down marker feels distant at best, a touchdown seems impossible, and winning the game is barely comprehensible. A season championship? Yeah, that’s not even a glimmer in our mind’s eye. Trying to win all at once makes movement daunting, but staying consistent builds confidence and unlocks efficiencies. When space from this efficiency is used to stay innovative, what’s working is fortified as wormholes connect new levels of momentum.

We all know this.
Let’s dig deeper.

If a linear thinking is status quo, opportunity awaits those who augment their work through a cosmic perspective. As signals of product-market-fit emerge, understanding how each part effects the system will optimize what must work. This awareness leads to stability, which tempts most to coast along a linear path. People like us know that while it’s important to respect past success, such nostalgia does not guarantee the same results within a neon future characterized by constant change.

Yes, paving an exponential path takes endless energy, but we play for 80 hours to avoid working 40 and your creative eagerness can be nourished by a peculiar lack of routine. The goal is not more of the same. That will lead to similar, linear results. Instead, maintain what works, then keep increase the curve’s trajectory by feeding new ideas, talent, collisions, and action into the system.

You knew this was coming, but as always, an easy way to go beyond our linear capabilities is found in community. Community allows us all to do more with less. Curiosity, initiative, and adaptability activates diversified trust channels. Fresh feedback rewards a willingness to experiment and when integrity to follow up is applied, variables can be added to a more exponential equation.

Extra Shot

“Getting rich is about knowing what to do, who to do it with, and when to do it. It is much more about understanding than purely hard work.” –Naval Ravikant

Like the opening analogy reminds us, converting a slope of work from linear to exponential is not done all at once. The Headline Trap is distracting and we often assume it takes luck, but we make our own luck with every action.

As we leverage our own community-driven exploration, we uncover ways to earn more with our mind, not our time. The farther we separate time and money, the less we rent our most precious resources. Each time we find that next gear, the system unfolds and the rising slope of your impact, personal bandwidth, sense of peace, and happiness is set free to rapidly ascend.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Goodnight Moon

I crashed my first star party!

Most people have never heard of a star party, so let me set the scene. The Iowa Star Party is a weekend gathering of people all curious about the cosmos. Dark skies improve long range visibility, so to avoid light pollution, the middle of nowhere is ideal. As I arrived to the Whiterock Conservancy Star Field, there were different camp sites lined up, each with 1-3 telescopes setup. The astronomy equipment ranged from homemade to expensive and I enjoyed learning more about astrophotography. It was nice having a friendly host (Cheers Sinclair!) who had our camp on point, excellent equipment, and knew how to effectively lock into endless celestial objects. During the afternoon, you could tell everyone was just waiting for the evening sky to roll around. We sipped on some brews, went on a hike, listened to a talk from an astronomy professor, won the raffle prize, and then the heavenly show began!

Extra Shot

Welcome back to school! This week’s episode of You Don’t Need This Podcast features a caffeinated conversation with a special guest who spent 20 years in the classroom and is now redefining retirement. Enjoy!

Our first stop was a setting crescent moon. It’s hard to align a smartphone’s three lens camera into the sensitive eye piece of a telescope, but it’s not impossible. Objects are a kabillion miles away and everything is always moving so the photos aren’t great, but I enjoy trying to trap time in creative ways. I also captured nightlapse footage and while it may be amateur hour, my short highlight video is entertaining and it leads me to my first observation. Different people enjoy the moment in different ways, but when content creation is habitual, extending an experience becomes an option. Capturing those photos/video is required, but the extra effort shines through a willingness to review, edit, and stitch things together so it can be enjoyed and not just lost in a mountain of media.

My second observation is that we are all weird. Not an alienating type of weird, but a weird that challenged the status quo and what it means to be normal. Normal is boring and as I listened to the experience and passion of veteran star gazers, I’m reminded how easy it is to find a tribe of people who care about almost anything. This level of nerdery is inspiring and can be found no matter the focus, so never stop exploring.

The third observation is through the lens of pure wonder. It’s hard not to be astonished by countless stars surrounding you. I’ve enjoyed many cosmic experiences, such as this trip to Lowell Observatory in Arizona, but I had never felt the spherical movement in our night’s sky or seen the nebulosity of our Milky Way. Along with staring up into the seemingly infinite universe, looking through a telescope never got old. I saw Saturn’s rings, multiple moons and colored bands of Jupiter, meteors, satellite trains, binary stars, globular clusters like M13, and distance galaxies that blur like eraser marks on speckled black paper.

I thought I’d feel more spiritual throughout the evening’s exploration, but it was more fun, relaxing, creative, and scientific. While I have more thoughts on many fronts and I look forward to doing this again, my last observation is more of a hypothesis. Space is for everyone and I believe almost anyone would enjoy an experience like this.

Extra Shot

Forget the social media facade that is Threads. My first BlueSky post (web3) landed while I was at this star party, right before we crashed at 3AM.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Future of Work

Nancy Mwirotsi is a nationally recognized wayfinder who inspired students to lead by outfitting them with skills in technology and innovation. Over the past 10 years, Pi515 has promoted diversity in STEM careers and graduated hundreds of students, with free programs geared toward refugees, young women, and people of color.

The real skills we talk about in this episode of #YDNTP defines the future of work and empower students to thrive through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Have fun!

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By Ben McDougal, ago