Three Minute Leadership – Dancing on the Edge of Finished

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

The job is never done for great leaders.  There is always that endless, passionate pursuit of something more – a dare, a challenge of the seemingly impossible, an obstacle, a hurtle. Seth Godin captures this chase poignantly in his article,Dancing on the Edge of Finished.

Before, when your shift was done, you were finished. When the inbox was empty, when the forms were processed, you could stop.  Now, of course, there’s always one more tweet to make, post to write, words with friends move to complete. There’s one more bit of email, one more lens you can construct, one more comment you can respond to. If you want to, you can be never finished.

And that’s the dance. Facing a sea of infinity, it’s easy to despair, sure that you will never reach dry land, never have the sense of accomplishment of saying, “I’m done.” At the same time, to be finished, done, complete–this is a bit like being dead. The silence and the feeling that maybe that’s all.

For the marketer, the freelancer and the entrepreneur, the challenge is to level set, to be comfortable with the undone, with the cycle of never-ending. We were trained to finish our homework, our peas and our chores. Today, we’re never finished, and that’s okay.

It’s a dance, not an endless grind.

The idea of never finished in not a burden that haunts the daily pursuits of great leaders.  Their passionate pursuit of what they love to do and choose to be in life has transformed their view of the world.  Their voices joyfully echo the words: “It’s a dance, not an endless grind.”  And for that beautiful dance of their life, they write their own scintillating music – with its moments of high pitch and whirling excitement, magnificent solos, refrains that bring emphasis and importance to their lyrics, bridges that highlight and link the parts of their music  and solemn notes for the special parts of their life.  Their choice of their partners in  dance is highly selective – ones who give them energy, inspire them and are faithful, trusted companions and friends on their magnificent journey. It is all so beautiful.

Find joyous, wondrous rapture in your dance.  As William Purkey, author writes: “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth.”  Add to that thought the words from an anonymous author:  “Dancing with the feet is one thing, but dancing with the heart is another.”  Have fun doing it!  Life is so very beautiful.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

Mike