I recently wrapped up a year long gig working with my long time friend Birket Foster at his company MB Foster. I was thinking about the challenges that we overcame in 2010 when along came the Top 10 HBR Blog Posts of 2010.
I find the Harvard Business Review a source of inspiration and information. A couple of the top 10 posts from 2010 (as measured by page views) stood out for me.
Tony Schwartz’s article Six Keys to Being Excellent At Anything shows us that no matter what age or stage of life we are at, we really can become excellent at anything we want to. Working with Kevin Lawrence for the past three years has taught me that I choose things to excel at that have a natural attraction for me. Schwartz’s first point is “Pursue what you love”. The challenge is clearing away the clutter so that those things you love naturually appear before you.
Having really enjoyed my iPad since purchasing it in June, I was curious about Peter Bregman’s article Why I Returned My iPad. Rather than talking about what is wrong with the iPad, Bregman provides a poignant story about how the iPad was filling all the quiet moments of his life and taking away from his creativity. Returning the iPad inspired him to spend an extra 15 minutes a day with his daughter so that they can lie together and “just talk.”
What inspires you? What passion drives you to excel?
