Motivation Hack with Business Cards
Wayyyyyy back when, Covey told us in the 7 HABITS that we should imagine our funeral. What would people be saying about us at that funeral? Morbid but useful, the exercise is meant to have us focus on what we hope the sum of our life would sound like coming out of a loved one’s mouth. Try that, but then, try this:
Business Card from Two Years From Now
Go to VistaPrint and get some of their “free” business cards (you pay for shipping and the like, but it’s a really good deal, and the ones I got look really good!). But here’s the hack: put your company name and job title down as if it’s two years out from now.
What will it say? Where will it be? Is this your own company? Your consulting card? Is this what represents you to a new future?
No, blow the $6 (USD) and buy these cards. Get them shipped to your house. Open up that box, and slip these cards into your pocket, your planner, your stuff you carry around. Tack one on the wall.
Want to really open this up? Hand them out to people. Tell them you’re going to be doing what it says on the card in two years, and to stay tuned.
There’s nothing like viewing your future in physical form. I’ve got cards in my pocket today that say what I will be doing next. They show my new, self-created title. They give me authority to dream, to think, to consider.
And, it’s a little nicer than a tombstone.
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Comments
Erica says on July 13th, 2006 at 10:02 am
That’s a good idea, add a bit of reality to the dream and suddenly it ain’t a dream any more. Plus you’d like to think people would take you seriously and give you more encouragement…
The Cranky Product Manager says on July 13th, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Egad, The Cranky Product Manager’s wild imagination pictures her accidentally handing out the faux cards in front of her boss. The Boss Man would not be so delighted to know she was angling for his job. He is annoyed enough by her propensity for referring to herself in the third person.
And come to think of it, if one of her underlings printed up such cards, the Cranky Product Manager would wonder if it was a sign her subordinate had a delusional mental illness. Time to call HR…!
Graeme says on July 14th, 2006 at 7:57 am
An first glance I dismissed this idea, but after dwelling on it for a while I actually think it has a lot of merit. I have ambitions of starting my own company, which I have named, although as yet have not decided what service it will provide :o)
Anyway, cards from vistaprint.ie will be winging their way to me shortly with my proposed company name on them. Hopefuly they will provide some much needed inspiration.
Jason Pettus says on July 14th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
I actually did do this for two years; not print out the business cards themselves, but rather present myself to others as the owner of an arts center that wouldn’t be opening for two years. And guess what? It’s two years later, and we’re open [ http://www.cclap.org ]. I cannot begin to emphasize how much all of this helped with getting there; of really picturing myself as the owner of this company the entire time, and presenting myself as the owner of a real company that simply didn’t yet exist. Doing such a thing helped me form a concrete, very real image in my head of what the center would eventually be like; and that of course started making me think about everything that could go wrong, resulting in a much more realistic plan for getting it actually open than existed before. I would’ve even printed business cards, too, like mentioned here, if I had thought of it; I HIGHLY encourage others thinking of a big career change to try this out.
Caro says on July 14th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
Love it!
I’m ordering today… its just what I need to get me over that hurdle between a great business idea and a great business :)
Caro
hgm says on July 15th, 2006 at 11:21 am
In creating real business cards (for now) I also found that really looking at all of the business cards I collected not only helped me thing through the card design but also made me think about the all the different businesses -the different ways to organize and set one up and what they were doing. I found it very motivational to think – what is one thing this person or business is doing that i would like to be doing? Every card tells a story and its pretty compelling to think about where yours might fit into the mix.
Joi says on July 15th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
Picturing myself where I want to be rather than picturing myself where I’m in no hurry to be works for me.
Unfortunately, the $$$ spent on having the cards sent to me could buy a Chai Tea Latte instead. So, how about this? I’ll go to the site, design the cards, then sit and ponder them over a Chai. Visualizing as I sip the drink of the gods.
Great post. Thanks!
Joi