Use your Passion & Talent to make the World a Little Better & Yourself a Lot Happier, Doing Work you Love…
The Problem (Why)
Work
Work should be Wow; yet for the majority of people, it isn't. A study by Gartner shows that 87% of all employees are not satisfied. People are bored, frustrated, burned out and often deeply unhappy.
World
The world should be Wow, yet for the majority of people it isn’t. Hunger, disease, pollution, repression are but a few of the problems millions of people experience everyday. And now even the world itself is under serious threat.
Companies
Companies face ever-growing problems in recruiting and binding the best people. Classic incentives (salary, corner offices, company cars) are no longer enough when the work itself is devoid of purpose and meaning (not Wow).
You?
For most of us, there’s a gap in our lives. As children we had big dreams for our future. As adults we learn to bury those dreams and “get real”. Fitting in and living the life you are supposed to, in stead of creating Wow.
The Gap in our livesQuote
"Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from." - Seth Godin
The Solution (What)
Too many people are doing work without purpose or meaning. Yet the world is full of problems that need to be solved.
We think the solution is really simple:
Start a Wow project!
Just start a project that makes your world a little better and yourself a lot happier.
Wow Projects…
- Make the world (a little) better - Make our hearts glow - Make use of our passion & talent - Help us grow and develop - Give us purpose and meaning - Are not primarily aimed at money
Happiness
Creating wow is the shortcut to happiness. Using your passion and talent, doing work you love AND serving something that’s bigger then yourself is scientifically proven the best route to happiness.
Quote
“Find passion, purpose, meaning & happiness, doing work you love" - Richard Stomp, founder of The Wow Project
Examples of Wow Projects
Jadav Molai Payeng (The Forest Man of India) has singlehandedly planted and tended trees on a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra turning it into a forest reserve, bigger then Central Park in New York.
Johan the sandwich man has been preparing packed lunches for children who go to school without food because their parents cannot afford it. "If you have money for only one meal a day, you will choose the warm one."
Sander van Bussel started Human Rights Tattoo a movement that sparks social change through the power of art, traveling around the world to tattoo the complete Universal Declaration of Human Rights onto the skins of 6.773 human beings.
Quote
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life" - Steve Jobs
WHO?
Who?
Anyone can start a Wow Project. You don’t need some extraspecial supertalent or a sophisticated education to become a Chief Wow Officer. You don’t need money or resources. Just use what you’ve got and start.
Small
Even the smallest of contributions can help to make our world a little better:
- Talk to a lonely neighbor
- Bring a bowl of soup to a sick friend
- Do the shopping for an elderly lady
Big
Of course you can make it as big as you want.
- clean up the oceans
- solve poverty
- eradicate illness
Ordinary people
History teaches us time and again that big things are accomplished by ordinary people. People like you and me, who became special by taking up an ambitious (Wow) project.
Anyone
The important message is that everybody can make a difference in the world.
Everybody can choose to become a Chief Wow Officer. Just change your mindset and take the first (little step)
Quote
"If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves." - Thomas Alva Edison
You? Do the test!
So how do you know if YOU should choose to become a Chief Wow Officer? The short answer: when you are not happy and fullfilled at your work...
When in doubt, fill in our checklist. Cross of the sign you recognize in your own life. And see how you score...
Your Score?
The more boxes you ticked, the more you need to start a Wow Project
The Matrix
Another way to determine if you’re in need of a wow project is our Work/Wow Matrix.
The Work/Wow MatrixQuote
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
HOW?
1. Change your mindset
The first and perhaps most important thing to do, is to change your mindset into that of a Chief Wow Officer. Change your beliefs, take on the right attitude and make it a habit to start doing as soon as possible.
Become a Chief Wow Officer2. Find your Cause
Pick a cause you want to work on. 1. A cause that really needs improving
- Something you really care about
How to find your cause3. Discover your superpowers
Find your superpower(s). Everybody has at least one thing that they are very good at. If you don’t know what your superpower is, start asking people you’ve worked with. They’ll know.
4. What do you love to DO?
Think back on all the things you’ve done in the past. Which of them really made you happy? What could you be doing for hours on end and would you have continued gladly even if you weren’t get paid for it.
5. Define your Wow Project
Once you’ve picked your cause, you should ask yourself what you will actually DO to improve it. What unique talents and competencies do do you own that can make a difference in the field you picked. What would you love to DO? What is the difference you are going to make.
Define your Wow ProjectShould I quit my job?6. Start
For many people, starting the most difficult thing to do. There are two very simple tricks to overcome this form of procrastination:
- Start Now with the smallest possible step.
- Keep taking small steps every day..
6. Make Wow a daily habit
Make sure you work on your Wow Project daily. Schedule it in your diary and keep working on it everyday.
Quote
“Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it.” - Steve Maraboli
Why you’re not making Wow yet…
As a child we have big dreams, when we grow up we settle into someone else’s definition of life. How come? The short answer: You got brainwashed.
We’re like elephants Baby elephants were traditionally trained by tying one of their front legs to a stake in the ground. Because the elephants are small, only a thin rope is required. When they grow up they are conditioned to believe the rope can still hold them so the never try to break free.
Schools put 'ropes around our leg': - "Don't follow your impulse" - "Listen to the teacher" - "Do what everybody else does" - "Forget about your passions" - "Always make the safe choice" - “ Do NOT make mistakes” When we grow up, the elephants in us still believe these limiting thoughts.
Society strengthens the ropes. We are greatly influenced by the world around us. We hear and see the same messages millions of times: - "Don't follow your impulse" - "Do what everybody else does" - "Forget about your passions" - "Always make the safe choice" - “Do NOT make mistakes”:
Companies strengthen the ropes At work we learn - to ‘fit in’. - to follow our job description - to forget about our passion - to ask permission - to avoid mistakes like the plague
Our fears are holding us back Everyone is afraid. All the time. Even the successfull people have to deal with their fears everyday. We are afraid to fail and we are afraid to lose face in front of other people. That social fear holds most of us back.
We prefer the Comfort Zone. Most of us are downright lazy. We prefer the comfortable life. Watching TV, clicking on social media posts, doing the easy stuff. Wow Project demand you to get out of your comfort zone, but the good news: that's where the magic lives.
Quote
“Life begins at the end of your Comfort Zone.” - Neal Donals Walsch
Is it Realistic?
Yes, It's realistic
Creating Wow is possible and realistic. But just like the elephants in he story above, we are conditioned to believe we can't.
Time and time again, people like you and me prove the rope can't really hold them back. They start a Wow Project and turn into the heroes they were meant to be.
The Best Time Ever
This is the best moment in time, to start a Wow Project. You are in a far better position then anyone in history. You have better tools then Julius Caesar, Mahadma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela had combined.
So, what's stopping you?
But What if I Fail?
Fear is the main reason most of us hold back. It's because growing up we've learned to avoid failure like the plague. But failure is our built-in superpower to learn new things. We fail-learn-fail-learn until we succeed. You will fail, and that's a good thing. Because it's your best chance to succeed.
Quote
"We are all capable of so much more than we know." - Steven Kotler
WHEN?
NOW!
The best time to start a wow project was 10 years ago. The second best time is Now. Unfortunately, most people choose to start “tomorrow”, or “next year”, or: “when I have enough time”.
Most of them will probably never do it.
Nobody has enough time to start a wow project. You have to Make Time. How?
- Stop doing things that don’t add value
- Block time every day for your Wow Project
- Make it a habit.
For many people, starting the most difficult thing to do. There are two very simple tricks to overcome this form of procrastination:
- Start Now with the smallest possible step.
- Keep taking small steps every day..
Quote
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." - Zig Ziglar
1.000 excuses
Most of us have 1.000 reasons why we won’t start. Almost all of them are not reasons, but excuses we use.
No Time
Excuse: I Don’t have the time. I’m too busy, I allready have more task then I can handle.
Reality:
Everyone has 24 hours in a day. It’s not the amount of time, it’s what you do with it. Create time by stopping things of no value. Use The Work/Wow Matrix
Not Yet
Excuse: I will do it, but not today. I’ll start tomorrow. Or next week. Or when the children have grown up.
Reality: Tomorrow will never come. You have to start right now, even if it’s the smallest possible step. It really is the only option.
Excuse: I Don’t have the time. I’m too busy, I allready have more task then I can handle.
Reality:
I’m not good enough
Excuse: I would love to start a Wow Project, but I’m not good enough / just an ordinary guy / nothing special.
Reality: The greatest things are accomplished by ordinary people, just like you and me, who became special by starting a Wow Project. You can do that too.
No Resources
Excuse: I would love to start a Wow Project, but I don’t have the resources (often: money).
Reality: You don’t need anything to get started and create Wow. If money is an issue, start small and figure out a way to create more. Remember: everything is figureoutable
Don’t know the steps
Excuse: I would love to start a Wow Project, but I don’t know all the steps I need to take.
Reality: You don’t have to know alle the steps it takes to create Wow. Just start and figure it out on the way.
Quote
“We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference." - Nelson Mandela
Tools to help you wow
Streetcombing: Find opportunities everywhere
Ideas and opportunities are all around us, but most of us can’t see them. Streetcombing is a simpel yet powerfull technique to make them visible and spot ideas and opportunities everywhere
Museum of Birdshit: Reframe problems and setbacks
Visit our International museum of birdshit and learn how to reframe “reality”. Once you’ve mastered this with birdshit, you’ll be able to find opportunities in all the setbacks you’ll experience on your way to wow.
SkipMeetings: Create time to wow
“I Don’t have the time”, is the most common excuse that’s keeping us from creating wow. Yet we all have the samen amount of time. The problem is not the time that’s available to us, the problem is what we do with that time. So stop things that don’t add value. Like (too many) meetings.
Inspiration
InspirationQuote
“You can’t let other people set your agenda in life.”
Our services
Keynote
Founder Richard Stomp takes you on an inspiring tour in a presentation that just might change your life.
Fill in the contact form below for more info
Workshop
Founder Richard Stomp helps you kickstart your Wow project in a very practical and inspiring way.
Fill in the contact form below for more info
Contact
Got Questions or feedback? Fill in the contact form below and we’ll get back to you asap.