Personal Bandwidth

Landing

Arriving at your destination took work, but the task is not complete until you stick the landing.

As I enjoyed the serenity of birding on a morning walk, I noticed how birds are quick to take off and fly around with ease, but there’s definitely a final moment of attention required to land.

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In the midst of a transition? Stay golden!

The excitement of new is easy to like. The forever dance of enjoying a hobby or building a business then takes persistence. As momentum creates ease, it can be easy for attention to slip. Whether it’s a small task or an epic exit, pushing toward a strong finish can actually be more challenging than everything leading up to it.

When it’s time to finish strong, make no assumptions. Stay detail oriented to complete the sequence. With another successful landing under your wings, let the experience inspire fresh vitality as you shift gears and remain open to next.

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Every moment is the end of something.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Recursion

The achievement of writing every week for two years has me considering the future of this ambitious frequency.

For most of us, the recurring year-end audit includes a look back on how we spent our time. I love how writing helps me coordinate, understand, and translate thoughts, but the contemplative time poured into Roasted Reflections has also required intentional, lasting dedication.

As I sip on The Holiday Walk, considering what’s next, I wonder if I should give myself a break? Reducing the frequency would add ease and would subscribers even notice? Increased personal bandwidth and self-doubt aside, I still really enjoy shipping this art and I love considering how my writings will help unfold a life well lived. Along with personal growth, hearing how these weekly jolts help people is deeply rewarding and I believe we collectively have more to share.

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Ready to write more? Let’s collaborate on a Caffeinated Contribution!

Recursion is a computer science term that describes the process of defining a problem in terms of itself. This form of problem solving divides a problem into smaller parts of the same type. I’m quick to encourage others to start/continue writing so I’ve decided, at least for now, to keep building. By writing, I will uncover why and what to keep writing. Expanding this web of thoughts will feed an intrinsic motivation toward perpetual learning and will remained brewed to keep you building as well.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Feng Shui

Welcoming the unpredictable forces of life, provides ease and creates space for energizing adaptation. Peace awaits those who appreciate all that is, without worrying so much about all that is not. That said, we know this doesn’t mean everything just falls into place. It takes initiative, consistency, awareness, and sacrifice to find your own version of equanimity.

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It’s not a rainy day. It’s free water.

As I felt the warm wind of this sunset cruise on a glass lake, Kid Cudi mentioned feng shui and got me thinking about this week’s writing. Similar to how one may setup the space of a home to harmonize with nature, we can connect elements of our own career portfolio to feel the universal benefits of feng shui.

The places you visit, the people you’re with, and the art you generously create all connect through you. Over a lifetime, you become an environment for others, and this becomes your legacy. If there’s passion, diversity, intellectual humility, and overall harmony within your environment, your impact on the universe can be serendipitous and my hope is that the way you spend your time, will add up in the end.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Ask For Help

I was raised to “go figure it out”.

This DIY mindset was reinforced through years of education and employment in traditional, corporate environments. If there was a problem that I didn’t have the answer to, I would naturally slide into problem solving mode to independently determine different ways to ensure progress. By and large, this mindset has served me well. It has taught me to be resilient in the face of challenges, even when it’s not the popular path forward. It’s left me with an open, achievement-oriented approach with less limitations, because I am a DIY business woman.

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This caffeinated contribution was written by Laurie Brown. I had the pleasure of collaborating with this operational savant through her work inside the Kauffman Foundation and with 1 Million Cups. Laurie is now helping fellow founders optimize their own business operations, so let me know if you’d like a warm introduction.

Lately, I’ve been re-thinking this approach. Perhaps my DIY mindset should include more asking for help?

Within a recent career transition, I’ve been exploring this new attitude through an experiment. On numerous occasions, I’ve encountered unknowns. In these moments of uncertainty, I’ve resisted my life-long instinct to figure out every answer on my own. Instead, I have started asking myself, who in my network might be able to help me learn?  As this experiment has unfolded, I have three key takeaways.

  1. Asking for help drives results. I can learn from others who have pioneered effective solutions, which saves me time (and pain) along the way.
  2. The collaboration from these exchanges go beyond the problem at hand. Many times it strengthens relationships, the fun of helping each other forms friendships, and mutual professional growth is a welcomed side effect.
  3. By leading the way to ask for help, I serve as a role model to my peers and open the door from them to ask me for help in return.

My DIY ways will continue to serve me well, but I’ve learned that an added dose of curiosity and willingness to listen can add fresh layers of potential. I’ll continue to carry forward my resilient, solution-driven approach, but plan to incorporate more inclusive problem solving and an “AFH attitude” within my engaged network. This will keep problems from staying problems, while also creating a new catalyst for prosperity.

By Ben McDougal, ago

Shifting Gears

Can you hear a distant motorcycle bolting into the night?

Hearing the sound of speed puts that wind in my face, but twas the night before we kicked off the 2022 class for Techstars Iowa Accelerator. This had me reflecting on the gear shifting that occurs in any growth process.

That first gear of any manual transmission is dedicated to initiating motion. It won’t get you very far, but as the red line arrives, a shift bring you into the next gear that builds on the momentum. As that next gear tops out, yet another shifts moves you further, with higher gears that eventually brings you to full speed.

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I owned a fast motorcycle in college. I treated the danger with redeeming respect, but after pushing this Yamaha FZR600 to 150mph, it was time to sell it…on eBay. In addition to speeding up, shifting gears also helps us slow down. Now I’m more of a convertible guy, cruising toward that wonderful wind in my face.

Any journey is a dance, but your destination would not have been reached without an ability to temporarily lose power in exchange for more lasting capacity.  Whether it’s personal or business growth, intellectual humility and recognizing when you’ve reached a limit, provides awareness required to drop the clutch.

By Ben McDougal, ago