Thursday, November 4, 2010

What's Your Sentence?

MEMORIES, DREAMS, REFLECTIONS by Carl Jung

We all have something in common, whether we know it or not. We all live our lives with some kind of purpose. Some of us know that purpose and some of us (an awful lot of us) spend our entire lives trying to figure out what it is.

It is really hard to put something to words that has not yet been defined for us with a Eureka moment—that moment of truth when like a lightening bolt, we suddenly know what our mission is. Well, just because some of us have not been struck by a lightening bolt, or received a message from God, or a sign from the tea leaves, does not mean that we can not choose a mission or a purpose that helps us define if only for a moment (even if another, better purpose comes along) why we have been put on this planet and how we should dedicate our time, passion, enthusiasm and energy.

Daniel Pink, an author, big picture thinker, motivator and public speaker, has come up with an innovative idea that challenges us all to stop sitting around wondering who we are and what our life's purpose might be, and instead, forces us to stop, think and put it to a few words. Just one sentence to be exact. I think it is an excellent idea because nothing clarifies your purpose more than putting it to words and nothing makes people commit to something more than doing so in a public way. Here's what he is doing and it won't be hard to see why I think it is such a great idea...

Back in July he launched the "What's your sentence?" video project.

Drawing on an exercise in his book Drive, (The surprising truth about what motivates us) (see p. 154), he asked all of us to contribute a short video in which you are supposed to come up with and tell us all your sentence -- a single sentence that distills who you are and what you're about. He then proposed that he and his crew were going to make a short film compiling sentences that were submitted from around the world.

What an awesome idea. He received lots and lots of outstanding submissions -- some pretty extraordinary ones, actually. But as he looked them over, he realized that he could make this project even bigger and cooler -- and in the process create an ideavirus that could really spread.

So he has decided to extend the deadline for submissions until the end of this month to give you a chance to get in on the action. It really is a great opportunity and I hope that you give it a shot.

All you need to do is video yourself for about 15 seconds. Say your name, where you're from, and your sentence. This is an excellent opportunity to let the creative in you flow and a great chance to really let your passion and creativity shine. Break out the props, play some music, find an amazing setting, there is no right or wrong—whatever works for you. The more fun you have with it, the better (and more inspiring for the rest of us) the final result will be. Email the videoclip to Dan at dhp@danpink.com. (Alternatively, you can upload your video to YouTube and tag it with "mysentence". To make it easy, you can even record your video straight to YouTube with your webcam by clicking here.)

Everyone who sends in a clip will be entered into a random drawing to win a free book. Dan has purchased a few dozen copies of mhis favorite business books from the last year -- everything from Seth Godin's Linchpin to David Shenk's The Genius in All of Us to Tony Hsieh's Delivering Happiness.

Here is your big chance to not only to make a contribution to the world, but also to win a mind-altering book. If nothing else, you'll finally have a good answer when your friends ask you what you have been up to lately or when your parents ask "what are you going to do with your life?".

You can find a fuller explanation of what Daniel Pink is seeking and what he's doing in this this 2-minute video. And if you've forgotten what the whole sentence thing is, here's a video excerpt of Drive that can remind you.

Again, the project is all explained in this video. If you have questions, email Dan at dhp@danpink.com.

Good Luck. Now go find your sentence.

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