Henry Cho: Finding a niche with "Clean Comedy"

What's impressive about Henry Cho's comedy is that it is so different than the rest of his competition.  He summarizes, "Do you know why I make money?  Because there's a market for it." Cho is in the unique position where he is paid not despite but because his personal ideals are in line with his business practice.  

Application:

1.  Looking ahead, what values do you want to define and direct your work life?

2.  Are there any ways that you feel your work stifles or stamps out these core values?  What ways can you hold onto those values while still performing your job?  

3.  Try brainstorming for 1 minute as quickly as possible on a blank sheet of paper for ways you can bring more of who you are to the work you do. 

Steve Jobs: Looking inside to look ahead to 2012

In his biography, Jobs recalls two disconcerting discoveries as a young child:
1.  Being smarter than his parents (knowing that he was special)
2.  Being adopted (knowing that he had once been abandoned)

These themes formed Jobs' early personality and persisted through the rest of his adult life


Lance Armstrong, in his own autobiography, talks about how the most competitive athletes not only had but required personal demons to motivate them to the highest level of performance.  (Armstrong grew up in a single parent household with limited income.) 

Taking the time to understand where we come from helps us understand why we are the way we are--and what we can do to be better. 

Application:
1.  Take five minutes to list some of the most powerful memories, experiences in your life.
2.  How can you connect or thread those events together to the present day?
3.  Are there areas that you wish you could forget or never experience?  What can you do this year to forgive yourself/others and live in a way that is healthy and productive in 2012?
4.  How can understanding the powerful themes in your life help make difficult decisions this year?