You're probably doing this one thing wrong-- fixing it changes everything (really)

The every-kind-of-leadership superpower that comes from an unexpected place

Welcome to the new subscribers— and a special thank you to the recent paid subscribers over on Substack! You help make this continued good work possible.

What you’ll find below:

1. You’re probably doing this wrong— but it’s easy to fix
2. What I’m reading, what I’m watching
3. Teddy Roosevelt’s thoughts on today’s newsletter
4. A special deal for marketers, solopreneurs and other people who want to do a little less on social

Put yourself back into high school English class. What is one of the most important lessons you learn to make your writing stronger? Get rid of the adverbs they made you use in junior high, all those -ly words. And focus on the most important words in the sentence— the verbs.

Here’s the mistake we make— for so many reasons. We want a thing— an outcome, an identity— and we think of it as a noun. Anything that matters has to be a verb.

This past week, I spoke about the Polaris Principle (more on this later) at the Ikigai Summit in Seattle. If you are one of the lucky people who has been through Paths to Purpose (now Purpose Built) at The Grit Institute, you know that the real Japanese Ikigai is a part of our work (and that Ikigai is NOT the Venn diagram) Founder Sam Ushio is doing interesting work, and while we didn’t coordinate content in advance, it could not have been better aligned. His takeaway in the morning? Ikigai is a verb. I couldn’t agree more.

Looking ahead to gifts? I’m grateful for our partners at Monk Manual and Big Life Journal, both of whose missions and products align perfectly with the work at The Grit Institute. Monk Manual is the only planner I’ve stuck with, and truly enjoy using to plan and to consider— even to journal (enjoy 15% off your quarterly planner using the code SHANNONHPOLSON)!

Want to be a writer? Write. Want to have more love? Love— be more loving. Want to be a leader? Lead— be a leader.

In the purpose training we do at The Grit Institute, we drill down to specific and unique values that you hold individually— and then put them into action.

What I’m reading (links to my Bookshop):

1. The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. My grandmother gave this to our whole family years ago before she died. I read and heavily underlines my copy, and am revisiting it now as I saw it mentioned in William Damon’s research.
2. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Reading along with our ninth grader for school.
3. Salt, a History, by Mark Kurlansky. Fascinating and readable history of this common condiment, in myth and reality. I wanted to write this book— and discovered it had been written! Highly recommend.

This is what integrity looks like. Not only speaking to things, but doing those things. It’s the same reason that a leader isn’t defined by his or her rank or position, by a title or a P&L; a leader is defined by somebody willing to do the hard and often lonely and often unacknowledged work of leadership.

Another benefit to this. Action leads to outcomes, and action also quells anxiety.

The past few weeks, I’ve talked to a lot of people who are deeply anxious about the state of our nation and the world— deeply, viscerally disturbed to the point of paralysis and depression. If this is you, at any level, what can you do? Do what you can do, where you are.

What is bothering you today about work? About your life? About the world? Don’t wait for the perfect plan, or the most thought out action (that can come later). Start with something, anything.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. – Teddy Roosevelt

The action does three things. First, it creates identity. You become a person who does this thing. Second, it creates momentum. And third, it decreases friction, or resistance.

This waterfall of positive outcome opens up new possibilities. You’ve taken the first steps to be something by doing something, and now there are other things that now become possible.

What do you want in the world?

Make it a verb.

Love,

Shannon

PS: What I’m watching: Leonardo da Vinci, the new documentary by Ken Burns on PBS.

PSS: who needs to know that anything that matters is a verb? Forward it on, or share on your favorite platform!

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