Leadership

I want to talk about leadership today, and I want to do it in a way you might not have thought about it before.

Taking leadership is something I'm (slowly, some would say) learning these days, and it's challenging, and exhilarating, and powerful.

The way I define leadership is to tune in to your inner voice, and getting really clear on what you truly want, and then acting on that. Acting can be in the form or making a request or writing something or playing or sketching or drawing or whatever.

And what I'm realizing is that when I follow what I truly and deeply want, rather than being a burden on other people or imposing on others, I'm actually giving them a gift. Turns out my deepest desires are actually of service to others. Me connecting with those desires and expressing them and standing up for them is valuable to others. Who knew?

It's certainly not the messaging I got when growing up. I suspect it might not be for you, either. What I picked up was that my needs are a burden, an inconvenience, that I should learn to pack it in, suck it up, and just survive, hold my breath, and try to make it by without expressing my needs.

We learn that going after what we want is selfish. And it turns out, when you're most honestly, genuinely selfish, not in an egotistical way, but focusing on what's really true for you at a deeper level, your wants and desires will have value for others.

It's really incredible.

It can be big and small.

I have a deep desire to communicate what I've learned and am still learning while living life. Turns out a lot of people find value in that.

I have a desire to communicate through music. Not too many people have heard my music yet, but those that do tend to really be touched by it.

I want to organize my company a certain way, I want the people on my team to do certain things and play together in a certain way, and it's working out really well for everyone.

I created Simplero the way I wanted it to be, and a lot of people seem to find a lot of value in that.

One of the tricky things can be when you have a vision for how things could be that's far ahead of where they are. Think Martin Luther King. It's going to make a lot of people uncomfortable. Some people are going to have a reaction. The trick is to stay true to your vision, stick with it, stand up for it, protect it, and just let all the brouhaha roll off of you. Not wall off your heart, keep it soft and pliable, but don't let it affect your belief in yourself and your vision. Keep plugging ahead.

The beauty is how when you connect to your deepest desires, your truest vision, that's where you can contribute the most, the thing that's uniquely you, and the thing nobody thought to ask for, but a lot of people are going to really love and appreciate. Think Steve Jobs.

So don't think of your needs and wants and desires as a burden. They're a gift. They're the key to your true gift and contribution. Go get what you want, and be proud of it!

I'm Doing a Show Again

Gearing up to talk about all of the things I normally talk about here in the newsletter, but on video. 80% of it is going to be answering your questions, so ASK ME YOUR QUESTION NOW!

I prefer if you do it on Twitter, hashtagging with #askcalvinc. You can also reply to this email.

Also, I prefer a video, then we can include you in the show. But written will do, too.

It'll be super fun.

The show is all about being of service to YOU, using all of my talents and skills and experience and friends and wisdom and everything I have to offer. Simply deliver as much badass inspiration and insight as value as I possibly can.

Random Links from around the Interwebs

I love this. I definitely tend to over-apologize. Thanking feels so much better. (Via the inimitable Nick Gray.)

I did not know about the ROFLcopter. Makes me feel very not 1337.

Two articles on hacking US voting machines. It's been known for years just how vulnerable US election machines are to hacking, and it's crazy that nothing's being done about it. These machines absolutely need to (a) be open source, so everyone can help find and eliminate bugs, and verify the validity of the code base, and (b) have a paper trail, so you can go back and double-check that any messing with computerized election results can be easily caught and definitively proven. It's madness that it's not the case from the start.

Lots of love,
–Calvin