Three Minute Leadership: Trying Something New Every Thirty Days

To:  The Great Leaders Who Have a Passion for Continuous Learning

In a recent TED talk Matt Cutts, shares and exciting invitation to Try Something New for Thirty Days.  He encourages great leaders to add a new approach to their arsenal of powerful tools that will enables them to more efficiently and effectively add continued depth, breadth and richness to their life.    Here is Matt’s story (the video is above):

“A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American philosopher, Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days. The idea is actually pretty simple. Think about something you’ve always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days. It turns out, 30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit — like watching the news — from your life.

There’s a few things I learned while doing these 30-day challenges. The first was, instead of the months flying by, forgotten, the time was much more memorable. This was part of a challenge I did to take a picture every day for a month. And I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing that day. I also noticed that as I started to do more and harder 30-day challenges, my self-confidence grew. I went from desk-dwelling computer nerd to the kind of guy who bikes to work — for fun. Even last year, I ended up hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. I would never have been that adventurous before I started my 30-day challenges.

I also figured out that if you really want something badly enough, you can do anything for 30 days. Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Every November, tens of thousands of people try to write their own 50,000 word novel from scratch in 30 days. It turns out, all you have to do is write 1,667 words a day for a month. So I did. By the way, the secret is not to go to sleep until you’ve written your words for the day. You might be sleep-deprived, but you’ll finish your novel. Now is my book the next great American novel? No. I wrote it in a month. It’s awful. But for the rest of my life, if I meet john Hodgman at a TED party, I don’t have to say, “I’m a computer scientist.” No, no, if I want to I can say, “I’m a novelist.”

So here’s one last thing I’d like to mention. I learned that when I made small, sustainable changes, things I could keep doing, they were more likely to stick. There’s nothing wrong with big, crazy challenges. In fact, they’re a ton of fun. But they’re less likely to stick. When I gave up sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked like this (a hug bowl of candy).

So here’s my question to you: What are you waiting for? I guarantee you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days.”

Matt’s words have a strong message: we are in control of our journey: of the joy, beauty and excitement that we choose to bring to our life.  Great leaders all have their “bucket lists” of the dreams that they will someday do, of the beauties they will someday experience, of the person who they someday will be.  So why not seize the ‘try something new for 30 days” approach to start working on it now.  As Matt says, “I guarantee you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days.”

Roman poet, Horace, wrote:  “Life’s short span forbids us to enter on far reaching hopes.”  With this new way of approaching the things of which we dream, challenge his words, reach and surpass your hopes, and be more than you ever dreamed you could be.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

Mike