Do You Want to Do Great Work?

"More than anything, I want to do mediocre work." Said no one, ever! Part of valuing yourself and what you offer in your work is that you want to do high quality, and even great, work.

And why not do great work? It's the most fulfilling, most meaningful, and usually the most productive in terms of your income and your contribution in the world. Great work is not only a good idea. It's an accessible reality for you in your business.

So how do you do great work? Skipping down the road to great work has its challenges, so here are 7 convergent features to get you on the path:

MASTERY - getting really good at what you do.

Mastery requires commitment to learning and growth, and being fully engaged in your process over an extended period of time. You develop the skills, the experience, and the expertise. You reach a point where the mechanics are not something you have to think about. Rather, you use the mechanics as tools to do something greater.

COMFORT WITH DISCOMFORT - to do great work, you are going to have to get uncomfortable.

There's no way around it. The good news is, once you embrace that, it gets easier. Check out more about this here.

COURAGE - doing great work takes courage.

It takes courage to move through the discomfort of doing unfamiliar things, into areas where you don't feel confident. It also takes courage to bring your authentic ideas to life, to put them out into the world, to stand behind your great work.

DISCIPLINE - building the emotional maturity to do what is necessary to realize great work.

Sometimes, doing great work is, well, work. That can mean doing things you don't love, or at least, finding ways to define and delegate what you don't love. It can also mean concentrated effort over time. Unlike one of the dictionary definitions of discipline, this is not a punishment! It's a part of your character that you can put into play to create what you want to create. Honing and building that character trait for your high purpose serves you and your business well.

PERSEVERANCE - tied right in with discipline is perseverance.

All great work has its challenges. Perseverance means you work through those challenges to find solutions that serve your higher purpose of great work. Another aspect of perseverance is focus. Questioning every day whether you are doing the right thing is counterproductive. Decide what you're going to do by breaking down your great work goal into individual concrete short-term goals. Start with the first one. Stick with it until that step is done. Then see where you are with your great work goal.

FAIL, AND FAIL AGAIN - all great work includes failure.

Creating great work is an exploration of you, your capabilities, and the work itself. That involves some trial and error. Do what you feel is best at the time. If it fails (and sometimes it will), feel what you feel around it, find the gifts and learning in it, and then move on. That last part is especially important. If you indulge too much in the feelings, you'll lose motivation and your energy will become bogged down. Keep your energy moving.

CREATIVITY - Great work results from the alchemy of your authentic energy with what you are being called to do.

Great work is creative in its essence. Nurturing your creativity to allow ideas to come into your awareness is key to the ongoing formation of great work. Leave space for ideas to come to you by stepping away from the everyday, being in nature, or being silent. Here are more ways.

I've had my own journey with great work. It's absorbing, stimulating, and at times, frustrating and challenging. When I am able to achieve it, it's a great joy, and totally worth it.

You have it in you to do great work. I wish you well on your own journey.