Hello, I’m NCS.
This is where I think out loud, mostly from the little yellow beach hut I built on Lancing beach. Notes on reading, work, life and lighthouses, written when something is worth writing down. More about me.
Latest from the collection
Lighthouse stamps and postcards, and the stories behind them. See all the postcards and stamps.
-
We’re all alone in this together
That is the way it has been since the beginning. We have never had more or less than each other, that’s it. We need to realise that we are a social species and that is why we a have survived. We might well want to be on our own and work on our own and… Read more
-
Confirmation bias
There is a joke that goes something like: A few days ago I learnt what confirmation bias meant. Now I see it everywhere OK maybe I stick to writing. Where was I? Oh yes, I have always felt people are more comfortable to feel a person was born with certain talents. They are comforted that… Read more
-
Desirable ends with available means
I have been in strategy for nearly three years now and it is the most interesting business area I have worked in. It has tested me more than any other role and still three years on I am learning things daily. ‘STRATEGY’ is however the most misused word I can recall, except maybe the word… Read more
-
Freedom or meaning
A book recommendation and a profound passage in the book is my subject for today to consider and reflect on. Swing Time by Zadie Smith is a story about friendship and music and stubborn roots, it is about how we are shaped by these things and how we can survive them. I enjoyed White Teeth… Read more
-
A rising tide lifts all boats
It seems some days there is not even enough time to manage your own workload without the idea of helping another but that is what I am suggesting you do this week. Reach out to someone and ask them how you can help them, helping can be as little as listening and offering advice. How… Read more
aphorism, Beach, beach huts, beaches, blog, Blue mind, books, carpe diem, hard work, just do it, just keep swimming, knowledge, lancing, lessons, life, mentoring, narrative, philosophy, quotes, Reading, Sea, seas, seaside, ships, Shoerham-by-sea, Shoreham-by-sea, storytelling, sussex, water, waves, wisdom, Writing -
When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen
My grandad Dennis use to say to me’ Nathan, God gave you two ears and one tongue so that you may listen twice as much as you talk. I later learned that he was repeating the words of Diogenes, first written in the lives of eminent philosophers. In a way though my grandad was my… Read more
-
Variation in nature; vs modern life’s repetition
I had a week off at the end of the summer. I spent the time at home walking, reading, laughing and relaxing. I spent more time with nature than I had in a long time. Walking and sitting and observing nature. No day was the same that week. I felt great that week. I returned… Read more
-
Three types of people
Xander (my 25 year old son) and I are at finals day. Or more accurately we are in a Hilton about to head off to Edgbaston to watch the cricket. All week I have been talking to folks about finals day and many will wish you luck or good wishes. So while I wait for… Read more
