I met Jullien a few months ago for the first time at a seminar that was given by Defineum. We only spoke briefly but in that moment I knew that he was someone special. We recently re-connected and I had the chance to sit down and have a long chat and share our life stories, passions and what motivated each of us to pursue careers that were pretty unconventional. Jullien is an extremely impressive person. He is authentic and living true to his spirit and calling. He is also very driven for action, so if you want to work with someone who can make a commitment to your greatness, he is your man. Check out his website Jullien Gordon for more info on him, his books and more detail on his mission and work. Thanks Jullien for inspiring me and for playing a significant role in helping others be great. Here are his answers to my questions:
1.) What is your definition of being great?
Great is success according to your own dashboard. A lot of people are great based on other’s definition of greatness. Until we write down our own definition of greatness or success, we tend to adopt society’s dashboard which includes wealth, power, beauty, materials, and fame. Unfortunately, many people settle for good enough and never actually choose to pursue greatness. Greatness is a choice and that choice leads you down a path to self-mastery through the mastery of a subject or skill. Through my work, I’ve discovered that when asked, people have their personal definitions of success.
For me, greatness is defined by how many lives I’ve touched, how many people I’ve broken bread with physically and financially, and how aligned I am with my purpose at every given moment. I measure lives touched through my courses, speaking engagements, books, and blog subscribers. I measure bread broken through my potlucks, dinners and lunches, and value created for others. And I measure my alignment based on the moments of synchronicity and insight I experience which let me know that I’m on the right path.
My highest intention is to create the world’s most effective purpose-driven goal setting community (similar to Alcoholics Anonymous but focused on people’s dreams and goals rather than a problem). My books, The 8 Cylinders of Success and Good Excuse Goals, are motivation teaching tools that help people facilitate the 8 Cylinders of Success process and monthly goal setting process on their own. Through my courses, books, and motivation teaching I help people design the vehicles of their lives and increase their personal and professional velocity. I help others overcome underemployment, procrastination, and loneliness which are the symptoms of deferred dreams.
The premise of the Department of Motivated vehicles is that our lives are our vehicles to design, drive, and maintain, but a lot of people end up back seat driven through life or driving someone else’s vehicle without every getting in the driver’s seat of their own lives. My course, Driving School for Life, is a half-day experience designed to help people identify how and where they can make their highest contribution to the world through work. I think that underemployment—the state of employment where people aren’t utilizing their full potential—is the biggest problem our economy and world faces. It’s a bigger problem than unemployment because it effects more people—it hurts the employee, the company, and the customer. When a person can find or create a professional path that is in alignment with their purpose, they are more valuable to everyone.
3.) What is your process and what kind of person does this resonate the most with?
The two processes I create are the 8 Cylinders of Success and Good Excuse Goals. They help anyone dealing with any kind of life transition or crisis successfully navigate their journey. Transitions can be caused by career transitions, graduation, divorce, moving cities, children leaving, or substance abuse.
The 8 Cylinders of Success
The 8 Cylinders of Success is based on academic research and the in depth study of some of the world’s most successful people and companies to help individuals, teams, and organizations discover and align their lives with their purpose. The goal is to help you gain clarity on your life purpose, which is your personal GPS system that continuously guides you in the right direction throughout life. The process is as follows:
Part 1: Your Origin
Where am I?
1. Principles » Your dashboard
What beliefs equate to success to me?
2. Passions » Your keys
What do I love doing and why?
3. Problems » Your fuel
What social, scientific, technical, and/or personal problem do I want to solve?
4. People » Your motor
Whom do I want to serve and how?
Part 2: Your Destination
Where am I going?
5. Positioning » Your lane
What do I want to be #1 in the world at?
6. Pioneers » Your pace cars
Who are my models, mentors, and/or guides?
7. Picture » Your road map
What’s my vision for myself and my world?
8. Possibility » Your destination
What is possible in the world with me that would not be possible without me?
Good Excuse Goals
Good Excuse Goals (TM) is an event-based form of structured procrastination and also mitigates perfectionism. The premise is to set something in motion that:
1. Involves at least 3 other people who matter
2. Leads to a time-stamped event/presentation/celebration and
3. Has a clear “why” that means a lot to you personally
The old way of date-based goal setting says set a final due date and work towards completing the task at hand before that date. The problem with this form of goal setting is that if you miss the deadline, there is no accountability. You can keep procrastinating and pushing the date backward to whenever you feel like doing what you need to do.
Event-based goal setting says create a good excuse to complete the goal on time by creating an event (celebration, presentation, etc) that involves other people. For some reason, we’re comfortable disappointing ourselves. That’s why so many new year’s resolution go undone. But we hate disappointing other people, so event-based goal setting uses our desire to impress others to motivate us.
My greatest achievement is carving out my own career path as a PurposeFinder. In January 2009, amidst the greatest financial crisis the United States has had since the Great Depression, I was moved by Spirit to create something that I felt the world needed. Purpose and community became my focus to overcome the emptiness and loneliness I saw around me. Since January, I have helped 200+ people in 5 cities discover their purpose through my Driving School for Life course, published 2 books, The 8 Cylinders of Success & Good Excuse Goals, and I have built a personal brand that is starting to attract speaking engagements nationwide.
5.) What is your biggest challenge to being great that you are thinking about today?
Ego. Getting out of my own way and remembering that I am the vehicle while allowing Spirit to drive and fuel me. I also have be reminded that I have to continue to grow in order to continue helping those that trust in me grow. I’m simply setting the pace and sharing the wisdom I gain on the journey.