Dialing It Up

“Is life not a hundred times too short for us to stifle ourselves?”   

- Friedrich Nietzsche

“Sometimes something worth doing is worth overdoing.”  

 - David Letterman

I read a quote yesterday that caught my eye: “You have to come up with an idea and make it big,” Anthony Todd, designer and art director. In talking about his New York event projects, Todd sees his responsibility to his clients as not simply coming up with great ideas, but going big. As I thought about Todd’s statement, several others came to mind:

• Famous Chicago architect, Daniel Burnham, said, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized."
  
• Thomas Leonard, early pioneer in the field of personal and professional coaching, advised clients to “Build a superreserve in every area.” The idea is to not live in a miserly way. To get yourself out of scarcity thinking. To take actions that begin to shift that habit of thinking—like going to Costco and buying an over-supply of something that’s easy to run out of, such as paper towels.
  
• Gretchen Rubin, author of New York Times bestseller, The Happiness Project, has “Twelve Personal Commandments.” One is to “spend out.” By spending out she’s thinking along the lines of Thomas Leonard—rather than hoarding and over-saving, to use what you have with joy and boldness.
  

A designer, an architect, a coach, a writer. All honing in on this idea of living Big. Bold. Full.

Have you been playing small? Have you been miserly in some way? Have you been saving or putting off things for too long—

• possessions
  
• ideas
  
• activities
  
• talents
  

Whatever comes to mind, dial it up this week. In your mind's eye, see your hand turning the dial...way up.

I have a couple of ways I’ll be applying this in my life this week. A very simple one is...sleep! Arianna Huffington gave a Ted Talk in January in which she spoke of the power of sleep, how there’s a snobbery around getting limited sleep, and what it costs us in our ability to work well and make sound decisions. This week, contrary to my habit of cheating myself out of full rest, I’m going to get plenty of sleep.

What will you dial up this week?