Choosing Our Work

Some years ago I chose to be a yoga teacher/entrepreneur. I was already an entrepreneur, something I had learned from my dad, something I was 'swimming in' as I grew up. I love 'creating from nothing', and I am grateful that through Yoga Yoga I have had the opportunity to apply my skills to something that has brought me, and many others so much joy and satisfaction. I often am challenged (mostly internally) to explain the nature of my choices - a particular level of income, working with a particular group of people, and in a particular level of 'local', human-to-human sort of work.

This article, from the NYTimes, The Case for Working With Your Hands, by Matthew B. Crawford is a jewel to read with these questions in mind. Matt's writing is skilled and easy to follow, and he does an exceptional job making the case for choosing our work by considering the affect of that work on our overall life experience rather than simply the economic expectation of that choice.

In addition to the article in the times, you might also read this one by Michael Agger in Slate. He apparently has also had a preview copy of Matt's book to review.

Matt's book, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work, comes out shortly, and these articles provide some insight into the book and his thinking. This discussion in our culture about the nature of work tends to get trivialized too easily, and Matt clearly does not fall into that trap. He apparenly provides new thinking, in a broad way about the issues we all face in finding both sustainable economic return and gratification from our work.

He quotes the Princeton economist Alan Blinder about how the labor market of the next decades won't necessarily be divided between the highly educated and the less-educated:

"The critical divide in the future may instead be between those types of work that are easily deliverable through a wire (or via wireless connections) with little or no diminution in quality and those that are not."

As yoga teachers, we know that the personal human connection is vital, yet we struggle to make the economics work. What is not obvious as we do this is the wholistic, personal choices we must make ...deep spiritual choices about the nature of work, the relationship we will choose to have with money, our sense of safety in our society as we age (will we be able to care for ourselves, have medical care, etc?), what value can we place on personal gratification in our work, in the context of our beliefs and the information available to us?

This next quote eloquently expresses a critical point about this dynamic in a 'meta' way....I am grateful for his skill in illuminating this so clearly.

"We in the West have arranged our institutions to prevent the concentration of political power. … But we have failed utterly to prevent the concentration of economic power, or take account of how such concentration damages the conditions under which full human flourishing becomes possible (it is never guaranteed)."

I have chosen to teach yoga and be a yoga entrepreneur to do work I enjoy that provides a service to our world. I have chosen to grapple day after day with the issues that are critical to this choice....issues like enterprise scale, fairness in compensation, organization structure, sustainability. I am grateful to Matthew Crawford for apparently engaging with his life and his work in a way that clearly will help illuminate these issues for me and my life. I look forward to reading his book shortly.

Rich

Choosing Our Work

Some years ago I chose to be a yoga teacher/entrepreneur. I was already an entrepreneur, something I had learned from my dad, something I was 'swimming in' as I grew up. I love 'creating from nothing', and I am grateful that through Yoga Yoga I have had the opportunity to apply my skills to something that has brought me, and many others so much joy and satisfaction. I often am challenged (mostly internally) to explain the nature of my choices - a particular level of income, working with a particular group of people, and in a particular level of 'local', human-to-human sort of work.

This article, from the NYTimes, The Case for Working With Your Hands, by Matthew B. Crawford is a jewel to read with these questions in mind. Matt's writing is skilled and easy to follow, and he does an exceptional job making the case for choosing our work by considering the affect of that work on our overall life experience rather than simply the economic expectation of that choice.

In addition to the article in the times, you might also read this one by Michael Agger in Slate. He apparently has also had a preview copy of Matt's book to review.

Matt's book, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work, comes out shortly, and these articles provide some insight into the book and his thinking. This discussion in our culture about the nature of work tends to get trivialized too easily, and Matt clearly does not fall into that trap. He apparenly provides new thinking, in a broad way about the issues we all face in finding both sustainable economic return and gratification from our work.

He quotes the Princeton economist Alan Blinder about how the labor market of the next decades won't necessarily be divided between the highly educated and the less-educated:

"The critical divide in the future may instead be between those types of work that are easily deliverable through a wire (or via wireless connections) with little or no diminution in quality and those that are not."

As yoga teachers, we know that the personal human connection is vital, yet we struggle to make the economics work. What is not obvious as we do this is the wholistic, personal choices we must make ...deep spiritual choices about the nature of work, the relationship we will choose to have with money, our sense of safety in our society as we age (will we be able to care for ourselves, have medical care, etc?), what value can we place on personal gratification in our work, in the context of our beliefs and the information available to us?

This next quote eloquently expresses a critical point about this dynamic in a 'meta' way....I am grateful for his skill in illuminating this so clearly.

"We in the West have arranged our institutions to prevent the concentration of political power. … But we have failed utterly to prevent the concentration of economic power, or take account of how such concentration damages the conditions under which full human flourishing becomes possible (it is never guaranteed)."

I have chosen to teach yoga and be a yoga entrepreneur to do work I enjoy that provides a service to our world. I have chosen to grapple day after day with the issues that are critical to this choice....issues like enterprise scale, fairness in compensation, organization structure, sustainability. I am grateful to Matthew Crawford for apparently engaging with his life and his work in a way that clearly will help illuminate these issues for me and my life. I look forward to reading his book shortly.

Rich

Choosing Our Work

Some years ago I chose to be a yoga teacher/entrepreneur. I was already an entrepreneur, something I had learned from my dad, something I was 'swimming in' as I grew up. I love 'creating from nothing', and I am grateful that through Yoga Yoga I have had the opportunity to apply my skills to something that has brought me, and many others so much joy and satisfaction. I often am challenged (mostly internally) to explain the nature of my choices - a particular level of income, working with a particular group of people, and in a particular level of 'local', human-to-human sort of work.

This article, from the NYTimes, The Case for Working With Your Hands, by Matthew B. Crawford is a jewel to read with these questions in mind. Matt's writing is skilled and easy to follow, and he does an exceptional job making the case for choosing our work by considering the affect of that work on our overall life experience rather than simply the economic expectation of that choice.

In addition to the article in the times, you might also read this one by Michael Agger in Slate. He apparently has also had a preview copy of Matt's book to review.

Matt's book, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work, comes out shortly, and these articles provide some insight into the book and his thinking. This discussion in our culture about the nature of work tends to get trivialized too easily, and Matt clearly does not fall into that trap. He apparenly provides new thinking, in a broad way about the issues we all face in finding both sustainable economic return and gratification from our work.

He quotes the Princeton economist Alan Blinder about how the labor market of the next decades won't necessarily be divided between the highly educated and the less-educated:

"The critical divide in the future may instead be between those types of work that are easily deliverable through a wire (or via wireless connections) with little or no diminution in quality and those that are not."

As yoga teachers, we know that the personal human connection is vital, yet we struggle to make the economics work. What is not obvious as we do this is the wholistic, personal choices we must make ...deep spiritual choices about the nature of work, the relationship we will choose to have with money, our sense of safety in our society as we age (will we be able to care for ourselves, have medical care, etc?), what value can we place on personal gratification in our work, in the context of our beliefs and the information available to us?

This next quote eloquently expresses a critical point about this dynamic in a 'meta' way....I am grateful for his skill in illuminating this so clearly.

"We in the West have arranged our institutions to prevent the concentration of political power. … But we have failed utterly to prevent the concentration of economic power, or take account of how such concentration damages the conditions under which full human flourishing becomes possible (it is never guaranteed)."

I have chosen to teach yoga and be a yoga entrepreneur to do work I enjoy that provides a service to our world. I have chosen to grapple day after day with the issues that are critical to this choice....issues like enterprise scale, fairness in compensation, organization structure, sustainability. I am grateful to Matthew Crawford for apparently engaging with his life and his work in a way that clearly will help illuminate these issues for me and my life. I look forward to reading his book shortly.

Rich

Transparency, Trust & Satisfaction as we Work Together

Each day, as the amazing group of folks working to manage, build, and sustain Yoga Yoga work through issue after issue, I keep coming back to the flow of money, the flow of energy, and how connected they all are. We struggle with doing what is right, with trying to figure out - in action in the world - what works for our organization (that means the staff, teachers, students, vendors, our community....all of us!)

I am constantly reminded how complex this all can be...how each of us relates to money, to work, to survival....and I work hard to stay grounded in my compassion as I engage all of this.....

One of the most useful things I can do is read John Bloom's writing. This month's newsletter from RSF is right here.

This month, John writes about Transparency & Trust.....he so eloquently scratches the surface of what has recently been revealed to our organization as at the heart of our relationships. Consider this...

In a way, there are three forms of trust that accompany financial transactions: trust in matter, or the observable; trust in others, their truth or integrity; and trust in spirit, or common intention. While transparency may on some levels feel like a right, as it is primarily treated in our current political debate on economics, it is also a vehicle for reaching trust in the three realms of matter, relationships, and common destiny. Thus the practice of transparency in finance, with full respect for the rights of privacy and safety, is an essential tool for transforming our economic future.

Trust is so vital to our safe, satisfying business transactions. Transparency is vital, and it requires work ...it is a practice!

Transparency, Trust & Satisfaction as we Work Together

Each day, as the amazing group of folks working to manage, build, and sustain Yoga Yoga work through issue after issue, I keep coming back to the flow of money, the flow of energy, and how connected they all are. We struggle with doing what is right, with trying to figure out - in action in the world - what works for our organization (that means the staff, teachers, students, vendors, our community....all of us!)

I am constantly reminded how complex this all can be...how each of us relates to money, to work, to survival....and I work hard to stay grounded in my compassion as I engage all of this.....

One of the most useful things I can do is read John Bloom's writing. This month's newsletter from RSF is right here.

This month, John writes about Transparency & Trust.....he so eloquently scratches the surface of what has recently been revealed to our organization as at the heart of our relationships. Consider this...

In a way, there are three forms of trust that accompany financial transactions: trust in matter, or the observable; trust in others, their truth or integrity; and trust in spirit, or common intention. While transparency may on some levels feel like a right, as it is primarily treated in our current political debate on economics, it is also a vehicle for reaching trust in the three realms of matter, relationships, and common destiny. Thus the practice of transparency in finance, with full respect for the rights of privacy and safety, is an essential tool for transforming our economic future.

Trust is so vital to our safe, satisfying business transactions. Transparency is vital, and it requires work ...it is a practice!

Transparency, Trust & Satisfaction as we Work Together

Each day, as the amazing group of folks working to manage, build, and sustain Yoga Yoga work through issue after issue, I keep coming back to the flow of money, the flow of energy, and how connected they all are. We struggle with doing what is right, with trying to figure out - in action in the world - what works for our organization (that means the staff, teachers, students, vendors, our community....all of us!)

I am constantly reminded how complex this all can be...how each of us relates to money, to work, to survival....and I work hard to stay grounded in my compassion as I engage all of this.....

One of the most useful things I can do is read John Bloom's writing. This month's newsletter from RSF is right here.

This month, John writes about Transparency & Trust.....he so eloquently scratches the surface of what has recently been revealed to our organization as at the heart of our relationships. Consider this...

In a way, there are three forms of trust that accompany financial transactions: trust in matter, or the observable; trust in others, their truth or integrity; and trust in spirit, or common intention. While transparency may on some levels feel like a right, as it is primarily treated in our current political debate on economics, it is also a vehicle for reaching trust in the three realms of matter, relationships, and common destiny. Thus the practice of transparency in finance, with full respect for the rights of privacy and safety, is an essential tool for transforming our economic future.

Trust is so vital to our safe, satisfying business transactions. Transparency is vital, and it requires work ...it is a practice!

Growth or Stability?

For some time now, my productive time has been very focused on the contrasting needs of growing or remaining stable. It does seem that growth and stability are intricately related. One way to consider the relationship is that they are mutually exclusive, but I am questioning that belief. Right now I am more inclined to explore the possibility of establishing a stable rate of growth, and 'owning up to' the inelegant transition I am experiencing personally and professionally as I transition in one area away from an unstable rate of growth into a more stable growth rate.

Rich Goldstein (Raghurai)

Growth or Stability?

For some time now, my productive time has been very focused on the contrasting needs of growing or remaining stable. It does seem that growth and stability are intricately related. One way to consider the relationship is that they are mutually exclusive, but I am questioning that belief. Right now I am more inclined to explore the possibility of establishing a stable rate of growth, and 'owning up to' the inelegant transition I am experiencing personally and professionally as I transition in one area away from an unstable rate of growth into a more stable growth rate.

Rich Goldstein (Raghurai)

Growth or Stability?

For some time now, my productive time has been very focused on the contrasting needs of growing or remaining stable. It does seem that growth and stability are intricately related. One way to consider the relationship is that they are mutually exclusive, but I am questioning that belief. Right now I am more inclined to explore the possibility of establishing a stable rate of growth, and 'owning up to' the inelegant transition I am experiencing personally and professionally as I transition in one area away from an unstable rate of growth into a more stable growth rate.

Rich Goldstein (Raghurai)

Blogging and Working - Balance, and a few links

Once again my enthusiasm for my work projects have slowed down my blogging efforts!

For the last month or so I have been 'caught up' in launching a new business endeavor - YogaSolve. YogaSolve is going to provide yoga instructors around the US with a greater capacity to become viable and to bring the benefits of yogic technology to our communities as they struggle to find a new balance for addressing health care on a societal level.

At Yoga Yoga we have started out the new year with a great team, great projects, and lots of folks doing yoga. Our new spa at 360 is finding its place with our students, and it is a great addition to our community here in Austin.

And speaking of Austin, here's a great article on the trends we might expect in the economy nationally as we move into the coming decade, post economic recovery plan. I am a believer that in order to be successful as a conscious entrepreneur it is vital to be skillful. Also it is vital to be informed. This sort of macro view can really help provide deep background for strategic thinking. Check out this map, too. It shows a great big, growing green circle for Austin!

Blogging and Working - Balance, and a few links

Once again my enthusiasm for my work projects have slowed down my blogging efforts!

For the last month or so I have been 'caught up' in launching a new business endeavor - YogaSolve. YogaSolve is going to provide yoga instructors around the US with a greater capacity to become viable and to bring the benefits of yogic technology to our communities as they struggle to find a new balance for addressing health care on a societal level.

At Yoga Yoga we have started out the new year with a great team, great projects, and lots of folks doing yoga. Our new spa at 360 is finding its place with our students, and it is a great addition to our community here in Austin.

And speaking of Austin, here's a great article on the trends we might expect in the economy nationally as we move into the coming decade, post economic recovery plan. I am a believer that in order to be successful as a conscious entrepreneur it is vital to be skillful. Also it is vital to be informed. This sort of macro view can really help provide deep background for strategic thinking. Check out this map, too. It shows a great big, growing green circle for Austin!

Blogging and Working - Balance, and a few links

Once again my enthusiasm for my work projects have slowed down my blogging efforts!

For the last month or so I have been 'caught up' in launching a new business endeavor - YogaSolve. YogaSolve is going to provide yoga instructors around the US with a greater capacity to become viable and to bring the benefits of yogic technology to our communities as they struggle to find a new balance for addressing health care on a societal level.

At Yoga Yoga we have started out the new year with a great team, great projects, and lots of folks doing yoga. Our new spa at 360 is finding its place with our students, and it is a great addition to our community here in Austin.

And speaking of Austin, here's a great article on the trends we might expect in the economy nationally as we move into the coming decade, post economic recovery plan. I am a believer that in order to be successful as a conscious entrepreneur it is vital to be skillful. Also it is vital to be informed. This sort of macro view can really help provide deep background for strategic thinking. Check out this map, too. It shows a great big, growing green circle for Austin!

Trends in Business - Transparency

One of the 'hallmarks' of a conscious business is the shift towards greater transparency. When hierarchy is limited, and information flows freely at all levels of the organization, it is much more likely that the organization will be high-performing.

We (like many organizations) struggle with reviews within the company. Being a small organization, we don't have the sort of structure imposed on us that many larger companies do, yet, we are certainly at the size where people need feedback in their work. That feedback is critical for enhancing and continuously improving, both from the company's and the individual's perspective. Without adequate feedback, even if a team member wants to get better at what they do, they have a hard time figuring out what to work on.

Here's an example about how transparency can be enhanced through technology. I haven't tried it out myself, but the approach seems really interesting. Rypple. Watch the movie!

Trends in Business - Transparency

One of the 'hallmarks' of a conscious business is the shift towards greater transparency. When hierarchy is limited, and information flows freely at all levels of the organization, it is much more likely that the organization will be high-performing.

We (like many organizations) struggle with reviews within the company. Being a small organization, we don't have the sort of structure imposed on us that many larger companies do, yet, we are certainly at the size where people need feedback in their work. That feedback is critical for enhancing and continuously improving, both from the company's and the individual's perspective. Without adequate feedback, even if a team member wants to get better at what they do, they have a hard time figuring out what to work on.

Here's an example about how transparency can be enhanced through technology. I haven't tried it out myself, but the approach seems really interesting. Rypple. Watch the movie!

Trends in Business - Transparency

One of the 'hallmarks' of a conscious business is the shift towards greater transparency. When hierarchy is limited, and information flows freely at all levels of the organization, it is much more likely that the organization will be high-performing.

We (like many organizations) struggle with reviews within the company. Being a small organization, we don't have the sort of structure imposed on us that many larger companies do, yet, we are certainly at the size where people need feedback in their work. That feedback is critical for enhancing and continuously improving, both from the company's and the individual's perspective. Without adequate feedback, even if a team member wants to get better at what they do, they have a hard time figuring out what to work on.

Here's an example about how transparency can be enhanced through technology. I haven't tried it out myself, but the approach seems really interesting. Rypple. Watch the movie!

Yoga Yoga Opens At Seton Good Health Commons

Starting January 5th Yoga Yoga is going to be providing yoga classes at Seton Williamson County Good Health Commons. Here's the write up in the Austin Business Journal, GoodHealth Commons partners with Yoga Yoga.

Yoga Yoga Opens At Seton Good Health Commons

Starting January 5th Yoga Yoga is going to be providing yoga classes at Seton Williamson County Good Health Commons. Here's the write up in the Austin Business Journal, GoodHealth Commons partners with Yoga Yoga.

Yoga Yoga Opens At Seton Good Health Commons

Starting January 5th Yoga Yoga is going to be providing yoga classes at Seton Williamson County Good Health Commons. Here's the write up in the Austin Business Journal, GoodHealth Commons partners with Yoga Yoga.

Social Capital.....The Trend Continues

Here's a post about social enterprise from Lucy Bernholz of Blueprint Research.

The trends in the economy are genuinely strong towards social entrepreneurship, conscious capitalism, and the development of social enterprise.

In just a few short paragraphs Lucy provides a fabulous series of links and connections which is going to be useful for those familiar with these terms and newcomers to the social enterprise arena.

Enjoy

Rich

Social Capital.....The Trend Continues

Here's a post about social enterprise from Lucy Bernholz of Blueprint Research.

The trends in the economy are genuinely strong towards social entrepreneurship, conscious capitalism, and the development of social enterprise.

In just a few short paragraphs Lucy provides a fabulous series of links and connections which is going to be useful for those familiar with these terms and newcomers to the social enterprise arena.

Enjoy

Rich

Social Capital.....The Trend Continues

Here's a post about social enterprise from Lucy Bernholz of Blueprint Research.

The trends in the economy are genuinely strong towards social entrepreneurship, conscious capitalism, and the development of social enterprise.

In just a few short paragraphs Lucy provides a fabulous series of links and connections which is going to be useful for those familiar with these terms and newcomers to the social enterprise arena.

Enjoy

Rich