In my humble opinion, it is great and absolutely fascinating. I am tempted to say that some of the products and applications created as a result of the world becoming flatter, (namely Google, my GPS and my BlackBerry) are not just ‘great’, but essential to my life.  Although I know they truly aren’t, I often ponder how people lived without these things…? 

When Google was down yesterday for a couple hours, I felt like my brain was on hold.  OK, so perhaps I search the internet a lot, but it was still a weird feeling and totally proves my point. Our flattened world and increased competition has played a key role in globalization, opening the world market and expanding economies of previously suppressed countries.  Apply that to humans, and the competition encourages, or challenges, us to expand and become better.  With similar tools and resources available to all of us, it really eliminates excuses and leaves it up to our own selves to seek and use the knowledge to become better.  Heck, everyone else is.  But, how? All of this is very overwhelming- taking full responsibility is scary, leaving no one to blame, no fingers to point. What to do?

Master Something

Competence in many skills and becoming “well-rounded” is important, but excelling at something specific will set you apart.  Not everyone is going to be the best at everything; rarely are people the best at anything.  Find something you have the propensity to be the best at and go for it.  After you think you are the best, get better.  Chances are there’s someone out there that’s at the same skill level you are, or a little better.  Keep that in mind, not to discourage you, but to keep you on your toes.

Network

No need to increase your friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter just to feel cool and better about yourself.  If you don’t engage with your contacts with purpose, don’t expect to yield great results.  Network with an intention; find those that are at your same skill level, perhaps join forces and collaborate, but definitely seek those who surpass your skill level.  Learn from them, approach them with a genuine interest to find out how they got to where they are.  Finding role models can help you see your dreams in reality.

Appreciate New Technology

Keeping an eye out for new technology releases is almost too obvious to include in this list, however, it’s the ‘appreciation’ part I want to emphasize.  Really accept it and actually try out new things.  Having an open mind about technology seems natural to some, but just as natural for others to reject it. People are resistant to change and find that having to learn a new system, or a new anything, is time consuming, too hard, or come up with any excuse they can. As far as the next new application, you have been living without it for this long and have gotten by just fine, right? Wrong.  The guy sitting next to you has already figured out how to use it, has gotten really, really good at using it and is now making money with it.  You never know how new technology will impact you or your industry.

Embrace Ambiguity

Many people fear the unknown and find comfort in consistency.  The only thing in life that is consistent is change; oh the irony!  Don’t resist the inevitable unknown and change on the horizon.  I promise, the more resistant you are, the harder you are making things for yourself.  It’s your attitude and your mindset and last time I checked, you are the only one that can change your attitude, because it’s YOURS.  One of the biggest favors you will ever do for yourself is to take full responsibility for the way you feel.  Totally owning and controlling your feelings can empower you to change them whenever you want. Make the decision to see your obstacle as an opportunity.  Chose to believe that by overcoming a challenge, you will be better and stronger than if everything always worked out perfectly- because it doesn’t. At the risk of sounding cliche, make that lemonade when life serves you lemons.

We aren’t people any more, we are brands.  Brands that need to be managed and cultivated.  Our flattened world has given us the gift of increased competition has lead us to embrace the concept of managing ourselves as free agents.  If you don’t, who will?

And so what if they do? And what if “they” is hundreds and millions of people?  I don’t personally know what that feels like, but I have an idea of some folks that do:

Senator Arlen Specter

If you haven’t already heard, Specter had been a loyal Republican solider, serving the last 4+ years as a chairman and then a ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, and as of Tuesday, April 28th 2009, he is now a Democrat.  So his big change to the “other side” now presents Democrats with a possible 60th vote and the power to break Senate filibuster as they try to advance the Obama administration’s new agenda.   The announcement shocked and disappointed the Senate Republicans while giving the Democrats reason to raise their glasses. Talk about stirring the political pot!  His shift in action will definitely impact people well beyond his friends and family members.

Kirstie Alley

Most people’s weight fluctuates from time to time.  When our bodies change and we’re packing on a few more pounds than usual, we’re hoping no one notices; when we feel great, we all want to be seen.  Sounds pretty typical right?  Well,what if you became the spokesperson for Jenny Craig, went on Oprah in a bikini to show off your weight loss and then several months later, reappeared on Oprah to talk about how you gained it all back? Your changes would make headline news, just like Kirstie Alley’s have.  Granted, her changes are not making history like Senator Specter’s, but they are impacting people.  When she publicly bared her bod, she gave hope to women all over the globe.  Now, a few months later, she’s back to where she started. Originally inspiring story is now draining hope from over-eaters everywhere.

These are extreme cases, not to say your changes can impact the masses, but it’s important to remember who will feel the effects of your transformation.  Don’t leave them out in the process of your change, as they are dealing with getting used to the new you too.

Question: Who isn’t going to make tons of money by getting paid for what they love to do?

Answer: The people who don’t take the time to discover their natural abilities and capitalize on the things that ignite the fire in their gut.

Don’t let life live you, and trust me it will.  Days, months, years will pass whether you are making money and love what you are doing, whether you like it or not.  Un-numb yourself from the drone of life and allow your passion to lead you to success and happiness.  No one but yourself can know what you truly love, so take on that responsibility of figuring it out. Your passion = YOU.

So where should you begin?

Become Aware

It all begins with awareness.  Practice heightened sensitivity in regards to the way you feel, in other words,  get in touch with your feelings.  Now before all you macho men click out of here and start reading ESPN online, hear me out.  Let’s go back to basics.  Humans have emotions and emotions cause feelings.  Feelings are things you feel, hence where they get there name So take a minute and when you react, get excited or interested in something- make a mental note of what and why you feel the way you do.  This is also a great exercise to do when you are feeling negative emotions too.  At first, it may seem silly or fake, but over time, take it a step further to realize why and eventually you’ll know moves you.

Seek Inspiration

Once you have a better understanding of yourself and what excites you, get more of it.  Seek inspiration based off the things that you noticed you feel really good about.  Start by researching online, read books, etc. and do all you can to learn more about the things you love.  Educating yourself about the things that spark your interest will get your mind working and the gears turning.  Before you know it, you’ll generate money making ideas.  Ideas that only could have come from this level of exposure and interest.

Document Ideas

Write down any and every idea you have about ways you can be successful.  Some say you are 90% more inclined to implement an idea simply by writing it down.  Jot down everything and in time your idea will become a plan and your plan will become a project and your project will become whatever you want it to become.  Document what you hope to achieve and coupled inspired passion behind that idea, the sky is the limit.

Make Moves

The only one stopping you is yourself.   Stretch your potential and go to levels of success that you would never attain without the fire in your gut.  No excuses, start today, even if it’s something small.  Trust your passion to pump you up.