Dan Cumberland wants to share how to be yourself in your work, so you know longer feel like you have to be someone you’re not.

He’s a photographer, an entrepreneur and the founder of The Meaning Movement, a blog, podcast and courses to help you find your path toward your calling.

Lot of great lessons in our conversation including:

How he discovered he no longer wanted to do the work he was “supposed to do”.
Ask yourself, “Who told you to be “X”?”
Explore how you receive and give attention.
How Dan defines what it means to “be yourself”.
Make a list of areas of your life where you feel out of alignment.
Advice on how to be yourself in your work.

Dan and I are doing a two-part lesson on how to be yourself, so head on over to his podcast The Meaning Movement where I share how to create work in alignment with yourself.

Life Skills That Matter In This Episode

Self-awareness.
Embrace discomfort.
Tell your story.

How Dan Works and Thinks

Wake up time: 5:00 am
Currently funded by: His photography business, an online course through The Meaning Movement, Airbnb/real estate investing, and running an online sales agency.
Manages very different businesses by: Optimizing for different things at different times to have one focus at a time and then thinking about where he is at the time and where wants to move toward.
Ideal work environment: A clean space that is quiet, with uninterrupted time, but sometimes he needs people around to help clarify his thinking verbally.

Inspirational Quotes

“In all of these moments, in this or that moment, I showed up in a way that I feel good about.”

“If there is something showing up where something doesn’t feel right, I think that’s the place to start wondering, what is it that doesn’t feel right? And where is that coming from?”

“Words have power and when we put words to these things, it begins to decrease their power and give us agency.”

“Social networks work like a puzzle: everybody has their shape of their puzzle piece and if you change your puzzle piece, then all the pieces that your puzzle piece touches, they have to change a little bit, too, and that can be uncomfortable.”

“I really think about business from a portfolio standpoint.”

Coaching Advice

Want to work for yourself and still in the messy process of figuring yourself out? Dan suggested this action to figure out the work that’s right for you:

1) Take a look back at the work you have done and do an audit.

2) Make a timeline: Draw a line across a piece of paper. Think about all the work you’ve done, and put the moments that align with who you are above the line. Put down negative work moments below the line.

3) Go back and look for the themes that connect all those positive moments considering the 4 Ps: the people, the process, the product and the profit.