Juggling Life

I really enjoy Ian Sanders' manifesto (source: http://changethis.com/55.01.JuggleLife) about juggling life. I might read it a little differently than Ian intended though: I interpret it as how to redefine your life, not how to juggle our conventional lives.

The 14 points below are direct exerpts from his manifesto. They aren't a surprise to read......yet they are completely unconventional. He's explaining that we must challenge conventional consumption as part of juggling our lives.

I believe we do need to redefine our personal currency. When I read Ian's work, it listed as a who's who of idea shifting actions.

What if I were to change my personal currency to only accomplish the following two things:

(1) Make life better for people of the future
(2) Make life experiences better for myself, my family and my friends

Think about the things that do not fall into those categories: plasma televions, vehicle, abundance of furniture and living space, etc.

All of those things provide me some satisfaction but they don't exclusively fit those categories for my personal currency. They only somewhat do.......why would I waste my hard earned resources on them?

Things that don't meet the explicit needs of those two categories are short term thrills. They'll be disposable within months in most cases.

On the other hand, consider things that do fit into those two categories: buying experiences- taking a friend to an unexpected event (local collegiate sports game, young persons theatre), helping future generations- volunteering, donating to a good cause, helping young people find meaningful work, consuming less than everyone else, finding new ways to share great ideas.

I think its time to start taking some of Ian's manifesto to heart. Read it and tell me what it means to you........but to me, it means that its time to rethink my personal currency. In order to do so, I'll need to do alot of the other things listed below.


1 Forget Specialism, discover the value of being across more than one discipline. Sticking to just one thing limits your potential, Place no limits on what you do and become more fulfilled.
2 Be passionate about all you do. Let your passions and desires inform and shape your work life.
3 Be adept at gear-shifting, from segueing from the huge to the tiny, from work to play.
4 Make time for play. Being a successful juggler is about working hard but also mixing up
work and play, and using playtime as your inspiration and stimulation.
5 Be a chameleon, flexible and adaptable. Re-think all you do, be happy to change the rules
again and again. Don’t stay entrenched in rigid ideas of how things should be done.
6 The best plan is a non-plan. Success in the knowledge economy is about making it up
as you go along. Be The Accidental Executive or The Accidental Entrepreneur.
7 Use your instinct (every time); in making decisions, in deciding what to do, and what not to do.
8 Re-define personal success not by a salary package alone but by more important currency, such as: did you get to see your kid’s sports day, do you work with a decent bunch of people, did you take enough holiday this year?
9 Go beyond a job title and carve out a unique You-role. Take control, do it your way, be authentic.
10 Develop a personal brand to unite and communicate your strengths.
11 Work hard, but work smart. Whilst success relies on you working hard, it’s also doing what you love; and when you do what you love, it doesn’t feel so much like work.
12 Have lots of self-belief and self-confidence. You must have a positive outlook,be an optimist.
13 Be a pioneer, with no fear of the unknown. Be happy to learn new stuff and embrace new ideas.
14 Have purpose in all you do. Focus on making a difference and leaving a legacy.