Punk Rock Your Business
Extraordinary Woman Adventure:
So ladies, I have to tell you, I've started a punk band. Some of you might know I was a folk rock singer for about a decade, but then had to scrap the music business because I was burning out. Well, my true dream since I was 16 years old has always been to be in a punk band. So my friend Sally and I have started one. It feels really good - like coming home and at the same time I'm having all kinds of new a-ha moments...The Thrill of The Raw:
One of the things I'm learning has to do with pure expression. Punk music is not an over-thinking kind of genre. You have a feeling, you spit it out. Now I certainly value processing and digging deep, but man oh man, there is something so delicious about not thinking too much and instead just feeling. The complicated, introspective lyrics that I used to write for my folk songs are suspicious characters in this context, getting in the way of the thrill of raw expression.For example, say you were writing a song about being attracted to someone in a crowded room - it would be the difference between saying,
"You're shifting your body, I'm twisting my hair, we're burning the boundaries, we're singeing the air"
OR
"You are so hot, let's make out."
I love the poetic value of the first set of lyrics, but I have to say there is a different kind of thrill and potency in the unhindered expression of the second.
What There Is For You To Know:
So what does this all have to do with running your business? It's a call to go punk rock in your work this week. Identify a place where your normal process is complicated and instead just spit it out. Notice where you are over-thinking and give yourself a thrill by dropping any complexity and just going with your gut. You may not end up with something "perfect", but punk music is not about doing things perfectly, it's about doing them raw and true. There is a life energy in that kind of expression that will turn you on and that will put a little oomph in your business day - for you and ultimately for your customers. In short, look for an opportunity to take your own breath away this week.By punk-rocking something in your business, you'll actually be flexing the muscle of your Inner Knowing. Us spirited go-getting types have fast brains that simultaneously do wonders for our businesses and at the same time trip them up. Punk-rocking in your business is one of many, many ways to bypass the complication your fast brain can create and instead cut to the chase of how you're wanting to express your business in the moment. And that's an example of your Inner Knowing - the raw and true feeling that is underneath all the hustle and bustle of too many thought vortices.
Play around with this and let me know how it goes!