Editor’s note: Patrick Ewers is a leading Executive Coach and start-up Advisor. We have asked Patrick to share his wisdom with the about.me community in a series of posts designed to help professionals develop a sense of sustained fulfillment in their work.
My life themes are very simple to explain. One of the beautiful things about life themes is they’re usually very simple and very clear. In my case, I have four.
Optimizing
I’ve always enjoyed optimizing and it’s something I’ve always done, even as a small child. When I was young, if I was given five hours to solve a problem, I was the type that would spend four hours figuring out the best way to solve the problem, and only one hour get it done.
There are only two ways to optimize: Through designing Process and leveraging Technology
My passion for problem-solving and process analysis is why I enjoy coming up with best practices and work flows. Because I enjoy it so much, I’ve become very good at it.
I’m also a huge tech geek and find that utilizing technology to optimize processes can greatly enhance workflows. That’s why, I suspect, I ended up living in the Silicon Valley.
Wisdom
The next theme was the realization that I always received a great sense of fulfillment and satisfaction after having offered valuable advice. I’ve always enjoyed when people glean meaningful insights from my shared thoughts and it helps them create powerful change. Payday for me is when they let me know how impactful my influence on them was.
People
I’ve always been intrigued by people and I love listening to them as well. I enjoy trying to understand people and what motivates them. There is a reason they say: “One each gravestone lies a world history.” Leading a more fulfilled life and navigating the paths to reach your full potential can sometimes present puzzling challenges. I love learning about fundamental human condition and using that knowledge to solve those puzzles.
Entertaining
This is probably the simplest and most enjoyable theme. I enjoy entertaining people. As a high school student, I always threw parties and would DJ to provide the entertainment. Chills ran down my back when I managed to get the dance floor packed with people having a good time. Today, I love giving speeches and presentations to a crowded room, especially when that crowd walks out inspired and ready to change their lives for the better.
Mindmavin and Network Relationship Management
What all this meant was I had to go back to San Francisco and get a job that had most, if not all, of my life’s themes represented in it. You can probably already imagine what happened. As I looked through the available options, not a single position or opportunity allowed me to engage in all the things I desired at the same time. I quickly came to the realization that I had to bravely take the step of creating that ideal job myself – and that insight led directly to the creation of Mindmavin and the practice of Network Relationship Management.
It’s been more than six years since I decided to let go and take that leap. In hindsight, that decision was the third best decision I’ve ever made in my life. (I’ll let you guess what my first and second best decisions were.) It allowed me to firmly grab hold of my future and begin climbing the heights of my full potential.
How to Define Your Life’s Themes
The good news for you is, you don’t need to journey to Thailand to get into a meditative state in order to figure out your life’s themes. There are simpler techniques and ways to identify what your driving influences are and how to harness them. Here’s a link to a recent blog post I’ve written that can help you. Enjoy!
