Zachary flies solo in this episode and he takes a deep dive into planning, goal setting and looking ahead.
Links
The Productivity Show, Episode 2: Journaling
1. Who am I?
2. What do I want?
3. How can I create value using my unique skills and abilities?
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Hello Zachary,
Great solo podcast. You were very honest and inspiring!
Like Filipe, I would like to know more about those audiobooks…
Keep up the good work
Answered!
Hi,
You mentioned hearing audiobooks while you were trying to find yourself, can you name some that helped you get to the point you are today?
Great show! Keep it up.
To start, I read and took the StrenghtsFinder 2.0 test as well as the MyersBriggs Career personality test. If I were only to pick one, it would be Strengths Finder. The book and test help you discover your own strengths and gives you strategies for how you can start to focus your energy on what you do best and spend less time doing things you are not as good at. To give you a taste of what this looks like, my five strengths can be found on my about page: https://zacharysexton.com/about/
I also began a practice of daily meditation. Most were guided mediations. My favorite was one by Deepak Chopra called Desire and Destiny. This 21 day mediation series had a profound impact on me because it helped me ask the questions “Who am I? What do I want? and How can I best serve using my unique strengths and abilities?” Asking yourself these questions and seeing what bubbles up is extremely powerful because it allows you to start to take advantage of your subconscious intuition instead of relying on external factors like perceived security or status when choosing a career.
The best books I read or listened to include:
-$100 Start Up by Chris Guillebeau (gave me the confidence to start my own business)
– The 7 Habits of Highly Productive People (taught me to be more proactive, have a vision, prioritize, and maintain my P/PC balance – google that last one)
– Getting Things Done (dramatically reduced my anxiety and scatter shot approach to life by showing me how to create a trusted system were I have everything that I want to do or have to do in one place)
– 4 Hour Work Week (80/20 rule and more business inspiration)
– Spontaneous Happiness (vitamin D, fish oil, daily sunlight for the win)
– Walter Isaacson’s biographies of Ben Franklin and Albert Einstein (inspiration and an amazing stories)
– Mastery by Robert Greene (the steps need to master that thing you were born to do)
– Smart Passive Income podcast by Pat Flynn (practical small online business advice)
Things I found later but would have been helpful:
– War of Art by Steven Pressfield (the enemy is the resistance… know it, fight it)
– Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robins (power of emotions and emotional states)
– Live Your Legend website (great community that will help you find and do your thing)
– Unstuckable podcast (stories of how people get unstuck in their careers)
My list is a bit business oriented, but I knew (and personality tests confirmed) that is where my interest and strengths lie.
One last additional note, at the time, I was not doing great financially. If you are in the same place I was, take advantage of your public library. In addition to physical books, many libraries have audio and other digital content you can download straight to your phone though an app called OverDrive.