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Simplify Your Future

Simple Principles for Complicated Times
by Bruce Kasanoff

Free copies of this guide are available at
http://kasanoff.com/simplify-your-future/

Please pass the word.
















Copyright Bruce Kasanoff, 2013.
All rights reserved.
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Preface
This guide is the result of a simple question, How can my entire family best
navigate the future?
My kids are making hard choices about college, careers and what to do with
their lives. My wife and I are balancing our two very different careers with our
dreams for the future and our own personal interests. Just as you do, we face a
future that seems to be rushing at us.
First and foremost, I wrote this guide so that I can read it again and again, to
remind myself of the actions I can take to make a difference in the world, and to
accomplish the things that are most important to me.
Im sharing it with you because doing so is a way to follow the simple
principles described in the pages that follow.
You cant live by what you cant remember, so I built this guide around a
single sentence that anyone can remember:
Be generous and expert,
trustworthy and clear,
open-minded and adaptable,
persistent and present.
Generous means to help others long before and after you need their
help.
Expert means to be very competent in one or more areas that others value.
It also means that whenever you take on a new task, do your best.
Trustworthy means to take ownership of your words and actions, and
recognize that you live in a world in which they will increasingly be recorded,
remembered, analyzed, and replayed.
Clear means to know what you want and to be able to communicate it
effectively.
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Open-minded means no matter how expert or successful you become,
never stop listening and learning.
Adaptable means to keep your options open, so that when the world
surprises you, it wont be that surprising.
Persistent means to keep trying, even when times are tough and you are
tempted to quit.
Present means that although you should learn from the past and be
prepared for the future, you should pay close attention to the present moment as
it unfolds - otherwise, you will miss a great deal.
Lets get started

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Be generous
Generous acts strengthen the bond of friendship, and whats more, studies
show that your happiness is often boosted more by providing support to other
people than by receiving support yourself.
Gretchen Rubin

We all know someone like Fred, a former colleague of mine. When we worked
together, he wasnt that helpful. When I was looking for consulting clients, he
ignored all of my emails. But every time he needs a job - which is increasingly
often - he tries to renew the friendship we never had.
Its far too late to network with me, Im always tempted to write back. But to
be kind, I help him a little. Its hard to help him too much, because he doesnt live
by many of the principles I am urging you to adopt.
If you want to have a rewarding life, be a good networker, or accomplish
anything invest your time in helping other people. Think less about the people
who can help you, and more about the people you can best help.
Six degrees of separation is an accurate way to summarize how we all are
closely connected. That rumpled, seemingly confused, older person in front of
you in line might actually be the father of a famous movie executive, CEO, or
politician. He might know your soul mate, and introduce you. He might be the
wisest and most gracious person you ever meet, once you help him instead of
resent that he is slowing you down.
Look for connections that others miss. My wife, Kate, is superb at this. Many
years ago, she made friends on her daily train commute into Manhattan with a
quiet engineer. A few years later, another friend was talking about her sister, and
how the family didnt like her boyfriend. But the sister was always attracted to a
certain type of guy, quiet but interesting... a light bulb went off in Kates head.
The engineer and the sister should meet!
Kate introduced them, one thing led to another, and she was thrilled to be
invited to the ceremony when they married.
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Being generous isnt simply about work and business connections. Its about
who you are, and how you want to live.
A few months ago, driving to lunch, I heard President Obama speaking from
Staten Island, where he went to see the recovery efforts from Hurricane Sandy.
He spoke to the Moore family who tragically lost two sons in the storm. This is
part of what he said afterwards about them:
They, in particular, mentioned Lieutenant Kevin Gallagher of the NYPD,
who, when they knew that their sons were missing, Lieutenant Gallagher made
a point of staying with them and doing everything he could so they ultimately
knew what had happened with their boys and were able to recover their bodies
and has been with them as a source of support ever since.
Thats not in the job description of Lieutenant Gallagher. He did that
because thats what so many of our first responders do. They go above and
beyond the call of duty to respond to people in need. So I want to give a shout
out to Lieutenant Gallagher. But I also want to point out, the Moores, even in
their grief, asked me to mention Lieutenant Gallagher and that says something
about them as well.
Its easy to be slightly or occasionally generous. Doing so does not require
much sacrifice. But its difficult to be generous in a meaningful manner. That
requires canceling plans, going without things that you want, putting in extra
effort when you dont have much energy left.
The people who arent generous, who dont make sacrifices for others, they
operate under a misconception. They think that giving is a cost. Not true. Giving
is a benefit, to you.
Giving makes you feel better. Helping others in a meaningful way will light
up your life. It will sustain you. It will light up your life.
You dont just lose the time and money you invested in someone else. You
also increase your sense of meaning, purpose and joy.
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Being Generous Despite Yourself
Im pretty good at setting my mind to get the things I want, which is a nice
way of saying I can slip into mindsets that make me more concerned with what I
want than what other people need.
Shortly after moving to my town, it occurred to me that I wasnt doing
anything to help others in my community. Knowing my tendency to focus on
what I want, I volunteered to run for one of the boards in town, and ended up
getting elected to the planning and zoning commission. For four years, I was
committed to helping others. This took generosity out of the realm of daily
decisions and made it a single decision I lived with for nearly half a decade.
In other words, I acknowledged my own nature and forced my own hand.
Generosity comes in many forms: donating to charity, helping a colleague,
picking up a friends kids because you know she is overwhelmed, giving advice or
an introduction to job seekers.
Generosity is not a new virtue, but its role in our social media influenced
world may be evolving. We all are learning to navigate a world that is less
structured and more volatile. We depend more on seemingly random
introductions and connections; we can rely less on finding an employer and
working there for a few decades.

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Be expert
We tend to like and trust experts whose expertise is born of a real love for their
specialty instead of just a desire to be expert at something.
David Foster Wallace

Last month, I managed to ski 17 days in Vermont over three hours from
my house in Connecticut. 16 of these days, I skied as a coach for young kids.
Getting this much skiing in required a great deal of logistical effort and
creative juggling. I scheduled conference calls before or after skiing, depending
on the time zone of the other parties. I wrote articles and finished business plans
when others were sleeping. I used my vacation to coach kids over the Xmas
break.
Why? I love to ski.
When giving advice to a seven-year-old, there arent many skiing conditions I
havent experienced personally. Unable to get back up after falling in powder?
Check. Skiing down a trail 100% covered in ice? Check. Jumping over a stream
that goes straight across a trail? Check.
Power Mountain, Snowbird, Whistler, Stratton, Killington, Beaver Creek,
Alta, Wildcat, Heavenly, Sunapee, Crested Butte, Telluride Ive been there, and
many more.
Kate just shook her head when on January 1, my day off from coaching and
when the winds were blasting the mountain, I went skiing.
You cant fake this sort of passion, but you can discover it. Whether you love
carpentry or Lego, become an expert at something. In doing so, you will learn the
difference between going through the motions versus devouring every detail.
Heres the important part: then take this understanding, and apply it to all
the other things you do.
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If you are just out of college and in a training program, take every
opportunity to deliver expert work even if your assignments are deadly boring.
The fastest way out of boring assignments is to show so much expertise that the
people above you realize they are wasting your talents on grunt work.
As a freshman in college, I got a job on stage crew at the university's brand
new 2,000-seat theater. For the first year, I tried my best to do what I was told.
Near the end of that year, the stage manager stopped me and said, "If you
showed a little initiative, you could become a crew chief. Instead of waiting for
orders, look around and figure out what needs to be done."
This was the smartest thing anyone had ever said to me, or maybe it was the
first time I paid attention to intelligent career advice. I eventually became a crew
chief, one of only two students who held that role at the time.
If you accept a job, vow to become an expert at it. One of the first tasks I had
to master on stage crew was sweeping the stage, which sounds trivial until you
realize that the dancers of the Boston Ballet will be performing there and the
stage must be immaculate.
Even if you are a generalist, become an expert at certain functions that other
people value: negotiating, perhaps, or project management.
The hard reality of the years ahead is that if you're not the best at something,
you'll be underpaid or irrelevant.

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Be trustworthy
Do things right. Do the right thing. Proactively.
Don Peppers and Martha Rogers

Back in 1995, I read The One to One Future in my car outside the bookstore.
Don and Marthas book was that good, and it changed my life. A few months later
I found out the authors had started a company based in my town, and soon
thereafter I became a partner in that firm.
Last year, Don and Martha wrote an even better book, Extreme Trust. In the
context of companies operating in a world of social media, it talks about the
difference between being passively versus proactively trustworthy.
A company that bills you accurately for the exact monthly fee you agreed to
pay is passively trustworthy. But they fail to mention the fact that their records
indicate you havent used their web-based service in 27 months. In contrast, that
same firm could send you a note asking if there is a problem. Thats being
proactively trustworthy.
One is more profitable in the short run, the other more profitable in the long
run.
I always cringe when the son or daughter of a family friend posts on
Facebook something to the effect of, Still drunk. Blew off work. They might as
well buy a billboard in Times Square that says, I am not trustworthy. Dont hire
me.
One of the other lessons Don and Martha taught me is that, increasingly,
memory is everywhere. Every interaction through a digital device leaves a trace.
This means that every time you use your phone, tablet, laptop, and even your car,
doing so creates a history of your life.
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Living in the midst of this sort of pervasive memory changes how much we
know about each other. Its safe to assume that pretty much anybody can find out
what you paid for your house, where you went on your summer vacation, how
long youve been employed or unemployed, and when you flamed someone on a
public web site.
And we havent seen anything yet. Over the next five years, sensors will
spread from your phone (it is already jam-packed with sensors) to pretty much
everything else you own or use. You wont be able to escape the truth about your
life and your actions.
You will either be trustworthy, or not. Not will be a very difficult place to
succeed.
Most of us have experienced some variation of the theme when either you or
your child got a bad grade at school and failed to mention it. When this became
obvious and the word lie was mentioned, the student protests that he just
forgot, and thats not lying.
This grey area will disappear. Trust in a transparent society requires
proactive actions, because other people will discover the truth about you, and to
protect your reputation and interests, you will need to tell them first.



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Be clear
What do you want from life? Well, you cant have that, but if youre an
American citizen you are entitled to: a heated kidney shaped pool, a microwave
oven dont watch the food cook, a Dyna-Gym...
Bill Spooner and Michael Evans

Talk, write and think with clarity.
As the parent of three, Ive observed a trend: no teenager wants to write a
second draft, but none figure out what they really want to say until at least
the end of the first draft.
The same goes for me. When I was young, I could get pretty good grades on
my first draft. Today, I make five to ten passes through everything that I write. In
some cases, my final piece bears no resemblance to my first draft, but when this
happens, I am thrilled, because the ideas contained in the final piece soundly beat
my original thoughts.
Take this book, for example. I spend most of my time working as a
ghostwriter for entrepreneurs and executives. But this book idea has been trying
to get my attention for months, so I decided to start 2013 by investing a week in
writing a short ebook for people, like me, who could use a simple reminder how
to successfully navigate the future.
Even though Im writing this book quickly, Ill do my best to edit each
sentence, to proof it, and to promote it. Clarity matters. (At this point, I am so
hoping that you do not find a typo.)
Be clear about what you believe, and about what you are doing. If you want a
summer job, an internship, or a new career tell everyone. If you have an ethical
problem with your current situation admit it, and fix it.
When you write, write clearly. When you speak, speak clearly. Even if it takes
a long time to choose precisely the right words.

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Be open-minded
"It always has to be said that Bill Clinton was one of the most gifted American
political figures in modern times. Trust me. I learned this the hard way. ... But
one of the great blessings is the way one-time political adversaries have the
tendency to become friends, and I feel such is certainly the case between
President Clinton and me."
President George H. W. Bush

The more you feel it has to be your way, or else... the greater the chances that
your way will end in tragedy.
Our world has become far too complex for one idea or one set of principles to
work every time. We need blended solutions that take into account a range of
diverse ideas and beliefs. This is true in politics, business, the arts, science and
education.
I'd like to suggest that you keep two thoughts in mind:
1. Be open-minded to the ideas of others, because none of us are always
right.
2. Look for win/win outcomes, not because you are selfless, but because
you are selfish.
Let's face facts: none of us fully understands the big picture. I can't name one
person - myself included - who understands in detail how to design, code,
package, market, sell, and service a complex product. Each of us understands bits
and pieces, but it's easy to delude ourselves that we know enough to be 100% sure
our perspective is right.
Likewise, none of our politicians (or economists) understand how the
interplay between taxes, regulations, laws, and the economy really works. I
cannot comprehend how any among us can think with absolute certainty that
their ideas are best.
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The one thing school taught me was that human history is filled with societies
in which the leaders were convinced they knew everything about, say,
healthcare... and that bloodletting was the way to go. Or shock treatment. Or
burning witches at the stake.
It is okay to have strong opinions, and to have the courage of your
convictions as long as you often challenge your own convictions and open
yourself up to new ideas.
Even when it comes to self-insight, we can be dead wrong. I once took an
aptitude test that measured whether I work best alone or with other people. The
administrator asked me whether I wanted to guess the test result. I guessed
alone. The result was strongly in the other direction, with people.
Human beings are extremely complicated. You want to eat; you want to lose
weight. You want to take more chances; you are afraid of taking chances. Your
parents were unpredictable so you always try to be predictable; you are bored to
tears with how predictable your life has become.
We are doing our best. We are only human, and we make mistakes. We see
the world through our own biases and preconceptions; that is not going to
change. What can change is the degree to which we open ourselves to other ideas
and experiences.
Travel outside your country. Read books that argue a different perspective
than your own. Volunteer on a farm, or in an inner city. Attend lectures. Go to art
shows and exhibitions that make you a bit uncomfortable.
Or even better, just listen really listen when other people speak.

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Be adaptable
Adaptable leaders can flex their behavior and relate more effectively with
people who are different from them. They adjust more quickly to unfamiliar,
uncomfortable, and unpredictable situations.
Meena Surie Wilson

The one thing you can say for certain is that the world will not turn out the
way you expect.
Life surprises us in both directions. On Wall Street, portfolio managers are
paid a fortune to predict the financial markets, yet most fail to beat the market by
even a few percentage points. If highly paid executives with vast resources cant
predict the future, neither can the rest of us.
Just because your gut or father or teacher or boss or spouse tells you whats
going to happen, never bet everything that this is whats actually going to happen.
In other words, the more volatile the times, the more important it is to keep
your options open and be adaptable.
For example, you can keep your options open by renting instead of buying, or
by applying to five schools instead of just three. You can take a course at night to
broaden your skills, even though it would be easier to just watch TV.
You could be friendly to everyone at work, instead of just to your boss and
her boss. You could be respectful to all the other elected officials, instead of just
the ones in your own party.
Part of being adaptable is understanding the limits you place on your own
success, due to your own attitudes and beliefs.
I've delivered hundreds of training workshops, and it always amazes me how
many people say something to the effect of, "Wow. Technology is really going to
change my industry, but I'm too old to adapt."
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Most of those people were younger than me. Most of the people who have
actually profited from my workshops were no younger than the people who
claimed to be too old to change.
Some people will always perceive themselves to be too old, or too young, or
too something to succeed. Don't be one of them.
One of my professors from Wharton, Ken Smith, taught me an incredibly
valuable lesson. He argued that everyone perceives himself or herself to be stuck
in the middle. Middle managers feel stuck in the middles, yes, but CEOs feel
stuck between employees and the board, investors and analysts. Star actors feel
stuck between the studios, directors, and audience expectations. It goes on and
on.
Decide right here and now that you are never going to stop changing.
Always be ready to learn, to pivot, to experiment. If you do, you can be young
at 85 and ready to lead at 18.



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Be persistent
"People talk about mind over matter, and I believe in it, but you really have to
dig deep. It's not enough just to think. You have to work past your limits. I
actually don't think that people have any limitations.
Rosie Swale Pope, who ran around the world

The things that come too easy terrify me, like winning the lottery. I figure the
odds of winning the lottery are roughly the same as being killed by an engine that
falls off an airplane. I dont want any part of either.
Whats left is persistence. To be good at something, you have to work at it. To
maintain something you value, you have to take care of it.
This is true of your career, relationships, and health. It is true across the
board. Most of us know this to be true.
Theres just one problem. Its really hard.
Its hard to have three job interviews in a row that go south, or to have the
CEO yell at you, or to exercise at 8 pm after a long and frustrating day.
Its hard to practice the piano, or fill out yet another college application.
At present, I have two kids in college, but we have gone through the college
application process a total of four times. Both transferred from their original
college. Neither wanted to go through the stressful application process a second
time, but both are delighted they did.
Jim George, whose quote opens the next section, is one of the most talented
artists I know. Hes worked for Disney, has illustrated many books, and has
helped create numerous TV shows and movies. He is stunningly talented.
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Jims drawings look effortless, but even with his remarkable talent, each
requires immense effort. He is better than most not because of his God-given
abilities, but because he will keep working long after most others have settled for
less. For two years, I watched him draw every night from 8 pm to 4 am, while also
working during the day. Never once did he deliver sloppy or disappointing
artwork, but I am certain he discarded many drawings at 2 am, then started over
again.
The great thing about persistence is that you can control it. Someone else
may be naturally smarter or stronger than you, but you can decide to keep at it
long after they have quit. You can write another draft, do additional research,
keep at your diet, exercise more consistently, or simply never stop reminding
yourself of why you are working so hard.



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Be present
Now. Right now. When was the last time you were there? When was the last
time you werent busy remembering the past or mentally projecting yourself
into the future?
Jim George

Most of the sports I play skiing, squash and tennis require you to be fully
present. In squash, the ball comes at you so fast that if you are thinking about the
work project due tomorrow, you are going to lose.
Likewise, it is virtually impossible to think about anything while skiing
straight through a mogul field on a steep slope. Sometimes at the end of a run, I
almost have to remind myself to breathe.
These flow experiences are so remarkable in part because they are so rare.
Most of us find it difficult to fully immerse ourselves in whats happening right
now.
As a result, we dont hear what others try to tell us. We miss some obvious
opportunities, and fall into some obvious traps.
Its pretty easy to recognize this behavior in other people, like when you tell
your boss why you need another week to complete a project, and then you explain
all the steps you still need to do, and he responds by saying, So how much more
time do you need?
You may be frustrated when others start talking while you are in the middle
of a sentence, or when you notice that the other person is texting while you are
talking.
Unfortunately, it is very hard to understand all the ways in which you
personally are obsessed with the past and future. Most people think that they are
great at multitasking, that they can do two things at once, that they hear every
detail. This is not true.
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Just to be clear, Im not saying that its bad to plan ahead. You ought to set
aside time for planning, which I hope is what you are doing by reading this guide.
It is bad to think about the future when you should be focused on the present.
Think of your cute little niece proudly showing you how she can skip, while you
are worried about whether you can make the 7:15 pm train back into the city and
meet your friend for drinks. Do you really want to be the glassy-eyed adult who
nods absent-mindedly at this child?
Great athletes, performers, teachers and leaders know how to be fully
present. I sometimes attend yoga classes, and out of the 10+ instructors Ive had,
a woman named Megan stands out. Megan notices everything, and remembers.
Shes not necessarily better at poses than her colleagues, but she is far better at
noticing if you are doing a pose wrong, or if someone is struggling more than
normal.
Ive noticed that the best trainers and teachers focus on the people in the
room that are toughest to reach. In contrast, most teachers feel that if they can
reach 90% of the students, they are doing a great job. But the best teachers arent
happy until everyone feels included and involved. The only way to do this is to be
aware of whats happening, right now, in the room.
The first step to get what you really want from life is to be aware of what's
happening, right now, in your life.
Give it a try. Does this sentence describe who you want to be?
Be generous and expert,
trustworthy and clear,
open-minded and adaptable,
persistent and present.

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About the Author


Bruce Kasanoff helps companies with both employee engagement and
customer engagement. He is co-author of Smart Customers, Stupid Companies
and author of Making It Personal.

Bruces ideas have been featured across many outlets including LinkedIns
Influencer program, FastCompany, DigitalTrends and BusinessWeek. He is a
popular speaker on business success, customer experience and innovation.

You are welcome to send Bruce your ideas, examples, and questions. His email
address is bruce@nowpossible.com.

LINKS

Bruces company, Now Possible: http://www.nowpossible.com
Bruces personal site: http://www.kasanoff.com
Bruces LinkedIn articles: http://www.linkedin.com/influencer/36792


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Thank you


Thanks to Melissa Deakin for use of the cover image. She posts images on
Flickr under polkadotandplaid.

Thanks to everyone who posts comments on my LinkedIn articles. I read
every word, and your ideas inform and inspire me.