We recently connected with Carol Anth and have shared our conversation below.
Carol, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Would it sound pretentious if I said my purpose is finding my purpose? I say this because my life’s journey has involved so many forks in the road leading to a new destination, i.e. raison d’etres, that I have to conclude my purpose must be making what I do on each route meaningful and valuable as a “stand-alone’ experience. I did not come to this realization through some sort of epiphany, spiritual revelation or one-of-a- kind ‘Aha’ moment. The ‘how’ has revealed itself through years of starting over and reinventing myself to support the needs of whatever goals I have needed to accomplish and challenges I have needed to overcome successfully at any given time. Looking at each fork as a connecting branch of a lifetime mind map, my purpose might be identifying the purpose of each destination and how the experience of each destination made a difference for me as well as others. Some people might say it’s a purpose of many purposes that individually don’t amount to much, but for me, the value comes in what I have learned by pursuing as many purposes as possible and knowing that someone besides myself has been helped in my journey.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I find solutions to problems–solutions to real problems that have value in the real world. I don’t necessarily solve the problem myself, but I examine, analyze, report on, and compare what others have done toward solving a particular problem and then present a process for applying that solution to a similar problem you or anyone else might have to solve. Call it applied anthropology, if you need a name. It’s the science (and art) of problem solving that draws on all aspects of the human experience–biological, physical, ecological, historical, spiritual, geological, and so on. Some categories are more relevant than others. It depends on the nature and context of the problem. And say, my compilation of observations, analyses, interpretations, comparisons, etc lead to a viable, perhaps even exceptional solution to your problem, then that solution becomes a twig or maybe the stem of a branch of my mind map of life. It becomes part of my pathfinding mission–my purpose.
How do I actualize my work–my purpose? I have started a youtube channel ‘On the Anthelope Trail’. It evolved from a radio show I produced called ‘Barnstormers Cookbook’ on a local community radio station. The focus of Barnstormers was to share how other people had solved various (and usually difficult) problems in their disciplines and then present ways their solutions could be applied toward solving problems in other disciplines and contexts. Through the youtube channel, I hope to extend my outreach and capacity for potentially helping people figure out the problems that represent “twigs” on their life’s mind map, thereby facilitating their pathfinding journey.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
For me, the most valuable skills for problem solving have been 1) resourcefulness; 2) analytical or critical thinking, and 3) perserverance. These qualities are especially essential to complex problem solving where solutions do not necessarily follow a prescription or step by step recipe that can simply be replicated across different disciplines or contexts. Being resourceful cultivates the ability to use and scale the information and knowledge you have effectively to overcome challenges (i.e. problem solve). Being able to think critically (i.e. both logically and creatively) is essential to uncovering and applying from many different resources, useful and relevant content toward solving a problem. Finally, perserverance, not giving up is probably the most essential quality of a successful problem solver. Edison himself said: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Whether your life’s purpose involves the cultivation of any of these qualities specifically or not, developing or improving essential knowledge, skill or qualities for any purpose involves the ability to be stay focused as well as flexible and to believe in yourself and the value of what you believe is your purpose. If you don’t believe in prayer or the existence of a higher intelligence, then I recommend practicing Tai Chi or some form of meditation to further develop and improve what you need to effectively realize your purpose and find your path.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
My biggest challenge is a compulsion (even addiction) to overcommit, i.e. take on too many tasks to just to “fill” my schedule. These tasks are distractive, disruptive, or even destructive, and at the very least do not contribute to the essential actions needed to advance my purpose/path. Recently, I have engaged a few trusted colleagues and friends to serve as human GPS “recalculators” to get me back on track. No app beats human intervention and support.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rockingchairsrr.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rockingchairsstudios/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/cat-dion-918585170
Image Credits
These images are not copyrighted. I own the images. copyright 2019-2023: rockingchairsrr.com
