Yearnings of the heart - why are we waiting?

Leo 2010

I don’t know about you, but there seems to an air of ‘waiting’. Waiting for my beans to ripen, waiting for the plumber to come, waiting for house prices to do something. But what? Waiting to get a government formed (we can now add Australia to the growing list). Desperately waiting to get food and shelter in Pakistan, waiting for things to get better in Haiti… waiting for someone else? Maybe it’s because many planets are at present backing up, but the universe seems to be holding its breath. Deciding to go left or right. We are definitely living in interesting and desperate times. Today as I write this, Saturn and Pluto cross swords, always worth a little trembling here on earth. The Pakistan Republic chart gets this hit full on, with Jupiter thrown into the mix. This alone is worthy of a blog.

Waiting for my beans.

I couldn’t do that

But I want to go further into our Leo theme. At the moment most of my clients are looking at what they really love to do. What they would be good at. What their talents are. What I find, is that although many clients actually recognise and know what they love to do, very few of them are actually doing it. Whatever age they are. There is a sort of unwritten norm that we have to fit in with the jobs being offered. And we believe that the job we would really love will never appear in an advertisement. So we carry on writing c.v.’s in the style asked, not daring to go outside the box to become our authentic selves. Or if we do, we start our own companies. Or we wait…

What for?

My philosophy is to encourage my clients to write a c.v. that reflects who they truly are. To highlight things that they are good at and enjoy. Funnily enough, many don’t do this. They take many of their talents for granted. “Can’t everyone do that?” they ask. But surprise surprise, the things they love doing often provide the best results. I try to convince my clients to hold their nerve and go for what they would enjoy even though I know this is a big ask in times of financial insecurity. But… good news…

Follow your heart – the science supports it

I was delighted to take another look at Daniel Pink. He was once the chief speech-writer for Al Gore and is now a best-selling author. This short video gives a glimpse of his original ideas.

Two questions that can change your life.

His latest book ‘Drive – The Surprising Truth about What Motivates us’, is the one I want to comment on. What he is saying is that companies have it all wrong. They go against scientific evidence when attempting to motivate staff. Paying staff bonuses or more money just doesn’t work as a motivator except for menial tasks. The carrot approach is a non-starter. So why on earth are banks and many others still using it? In fact it is a big de-motivator. In one way, he notes, money is a motivator but in a strange fashion – if you don’t pay enough it can become an issue. So you need to pay enough to your staff to, as he says, “get the issue off the table”.

Astrology matches the science

A horoscope can show what motivates you. I look at the Sun to talk about your vocation, what you love, and what you are good at. It stands for our calling, and where we want to be seen. Like the sign of Leo, it shows where and how we want to shine. Dan Pink uses other words, but we are saying the same thing. He says (and the science shows) that “autonomy, mastery and purpose” are the real motivators. I urge you to watch the short video given below. It’s a real eye-opener. We need to be master of our own lives. As we do things we love and get better at them, we achieve a sense of fulfilment. Although success is very difficult to define, I think that a sense of fulfilment gives us a feeling of success. One of the problems is that we take success as being defined by something or someone outside us. In our culture it mostly has to do with money. Material things.

The Sun in a dramatic sunset – photo taken from my roof

What is success anyway?

To me, someone who is happy is successful in life. Perhaps this is what achieving our purpose means. I was just listening to a discussion about our celebrity culture. Many young people want to be on television on shows like Big Brother for the fame it brings, or rather for the lifestyle of riches that goes with fame. The item was about whether the celebrity culture is destroying us. No-one really asked the question as to why everyone likes these shows. After all there is a market. It was assumed that people want to be on these shows because it’s an easy way to make money. That the ethic of hard work has gone.

But maybe that’s not true. Perhaps young people (or any of us) don’t want to follow someone else’s goals anymore. So we think, let’s just go for the easy option. Let’s just do a job to get some money and follow our heart on the weekend. Perhaps this is the hiatus that we are feeling. The gap between being free of others’ goals (that of the boss, the corporation, our parents…) and finding our own passion and purpose. Is this what we are waiting for?

The solution is indeed to hold your nerve.

For companies to define where their autonomy, purpose and mastery lies. For that to be defined and expressed. For us to do the same. And then maybe the match would be made more easily. We need to do the work though. We need to really discover what we love, what we are good at. Where we shine. According to science, if we are free to create, have fun, work at our own pace and do what we love, then we are more productive. Happier. Successful even? How can we not do it?

Faye Blake-Cossar

Showing off…

As it is Leo time, a little showing off might be in order. Although it’s not really me that got it right but astrology, I was pleased to see that what I said last time was validated. I talked of July 26th which was the final crossing of swords of Uranus and Saturn. Previously I discussed the themes that these planets represent, amongst other things; authority, responsibility, suddenness, breaks and honesty. Interesting then, that on this very day the director of BP was sidelined amidst much rebellion both in the UK and the US. And perhaps even more interesting was that this was the day the Wikileaked documents about the US in Afghanistan hit the internet. Rebellion against the government? Fear of telling the truth? It appears that Washington needs to show more honesty…

Interesting Websites of the Month

The surprising truth on what motivates us (10 minutes). A summary of the science and Dan’s views.

Dan Pink on TED talks (18 minutes) A very worthwhile watch – funny and informative.

Quotes of the month

“If fear is cultivated it will become stronger, if faith is cultivated it will achieve mastery.” John Paul Jones, Naval Officer, American Revolution (no not Led Zeppelin!)

“Just getting here, everything I had to do financially… to me the coolest thing is I followed my heart through thick and thin and everything worked out.” Tyler Jewell, olympic snowboarder.

And my favourite of course even if a bit lunar rather that solar…

“Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Brian Littrell, member of the Backstreet Boys.