WEBVTT - Find your moonshot

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to find your moonshot. A really challenging

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<v Speaker 1>goal can help you structure your time, stay interested in learning,

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<v Speaker 1>and develop your capacities, and you just might accomplish it too,

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<v Speaker 1>which can change your whole life. A reasonable number of

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<v Speaker 1>companies in recent years have committed to what they call moonshots,

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<v Speaker 1>ambitious world changing goals. The original moonshot was, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>the actual moonshot. When President Kennedy famously committed the US

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<v Speaker 1>to putting a man on the moon and bringing him back,

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<v Speaker 1>he said that we choose to do things like go

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<v Speaker 1>to the moon not because they are easy, but because

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<v Speaker 1>they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize

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<v Speaker 1>and measure the best of our energies and skills. Perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>you have seen this in your own life. When you

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<v Speaker 1>commit to doing something big and challenging, you wind up

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<v Speaker 1>organizing your time and your energy towards those ends. Often

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<v Speaker 1>that focus has spill over benefits in all sorts of

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<v Speaker 1>other areas. You commit to running a marathon, and as

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<v Speaker 1>part of that, you wind up overhauling your eating you

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<v Speaker 1>learn to give yourself a bedtime, and you develop some

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<v Speaker 1>efficiencies at work and at home in order to free

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<v Speaker 1>up the space you commit to earning your m b a.

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<v Speaker 1>In night classes during a busy stretch of work and parenting,

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<v Speaker 1>And in doing so you figure out how to waste

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<v Speaker 1>less time on all sorts of things, and also how

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<v Speaker 1>to learn information quickly and present it convincingly, and other

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<v Speaker 1>such things that help in everything else you do. Now

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<v Speaker 1>to be sure, there is no reason to do something

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<v Speaker 1>hard just to do something hard. I have heard tales

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<v Speaker 1>of certain perfectionist types who, as college students, figured out

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<v Speaker 1>what the hardest major was at their schools and chose

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<v Speaker 1>to do that, even if they had little interest in

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<v Speaker 1>the topic. Some people seek out the manager known for

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<v Speaker 1>the most brutal hours by figuring if it is hard,

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<v Speaker 1>it must be the best, which is just not true.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no virtue in seeking out difficulty just for

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<v Speaker 1>difficulty's sake. Instead, if there is something you truly want

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<v Speaker 1>to do and it looks difficult, the difficulty itself should

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<v Speaker 1>not necessarily steer you away. Instead, think about whether a

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<v Speaker 1>compelling enough goal might motivate you to do things in

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<v Speaker 1>your life that seemed almost out of reach before. That's

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<v Speaker 1>one reason I am reading through all the works of

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<v Speaker 1>Shakespeare this year. Now that is a pretty big reading goal,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is also a doable goal with some work.

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<v Speaker 1>I spend a few minutes every day reading through my

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<v Speaker 1>schedule of plays and poems. I read commentaries to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure I understand what I am reading, and well, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>there are a few moments and Henry the Sixth Part two,

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<v Speaker 1>or I'm getting bogged down. For the most part, it

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<v Speaker 1>is good, and I am developing lots of skills as

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<v Speaker 1>a reader while doing this, skills that I am sure

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<v Speaker 1>will help me as a writer too. So think about

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<v Speaker 1>what your personal moon shop might be. Maybe it's running

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<v Speaker 1>for office, Maybe it's becoming fluent in Arabic. Maybe it

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<v Speaker 1>is finishing your degree or starting your business. When we

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<v Speaker 1>commit ourselves to pursuing something that seems really challenging but

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<v Speaker 1>is not actually impossible, we find that it is indeed possible.

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<v Speaker 1>We just might get it done, and as we do,

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<v Speaker 1>we develop habits of discipline, focus, and let's face it,

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<v Speaker 1>good time management. Anything important takes time to find the time.

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<v Speaker 1>We have to look at all of our time and

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<v Speaker 1>how we are spending it, but that is a good thing.

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<v Speaker 1>We probably have the space to do big stuff. We

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<v Speaker 1>just have to make wise choices. I would love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear about your moonshot aspirations and your progress toward them.

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<v Speaker 1>You can reach me at Laura at Laura vander Kim

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows. H