I was once late getting off a plane in New York as I was behind two Canadians in an argument. The argument was over a dollar that had been picked up off the floor. Both of them were insistent the other had dropped it. In what appeared to be a never ending game of ‘noContinue reading “Two Canadians and one dollar bill”
Author Archives: NCS
For the love of Reading and readers
I am not a doctor, I have no medicinal training. In no way I should be looked to for professional psychological, or well being advice. However, I can recommend you a book for your illness or Malady. There is a novel for every condition that a person may face. Reading is a particularly focussed activity,Continue reading “For the love of Reading and readers”
Email is fake work
We have all felt the compulsion to monitor our inbox for incoming high priority messages or actions. You can kid yourself that this is work but it is not. Not efficient impactful work anyway. It doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t require too much thought. You get that dopamine hit of doing something. But it isn’tContinue reading “Email is fake work”
Ace life advice to follow
I am somewhat of a ‘Self improvement addict’. That has to be contradiction of terms. Several of the podcasts and books I read recently kept mentioning this book called ‘Extraordinary Tennis for the Ordinary Player’ by Simon Ramo. So I gave it a read over the Christmas break. It was worth it even though IContinue reading “Ace life advice to follow”
The curse of expectation
I was watching an interview with Stephen King he said the following quote: “You know what talent is? The curse of expectation” it got me thinking about the kids I coached in football and the young consultants I have mentored in the last 20 years. I have learned to abhor the word ‘potential’ it isContinue reading “The curse of expectation”
People can face anything but reality
Watching the news there is a clearly a big gap between what people think and what they do; They are doing things despite knowing it to be immoral, wrong or stupid. Why? I ask. My psychologist daughter tells me this is called ‘cognitive dissonance’. This is when a persons actions are inconsistent with their beliefs.Continue reading “People can face anything but reality”
Know your market and flex
The story I am going to tell today is about understanding your market dynamics and flexing when necessary. The story begins 25 years ago. I was living in Croydon, South East London and commuted daily to my University in South West London Kingston. There was one bus that went from Croydon to London Heathrow andContinue reading “Know your market and flex”
Thinking on Democracy
I touched briefly on democracy in Friday’s post when I wrote Hate leads to fear I finished with a conclusion that democracy is a fragile political commitment. Winston Churchill is attributed for saying “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.” Democracy is fragile because itContinue reading “Thinking on Democracy”
An ordinary life is in the living
In a previous job we had an employee, he worked in the post room. This guy had been at the company for a longer than anyone could remember. I dropped by his retirement drinks. We had a small gathering of colleagues to see him off with his gold watch. During the send off he toldContinue reading “An ordinary life is in the living”
Hate leads to few, anger and jealousy
Hatred is a sentiment that leads to the extinction of values Ortega Y Gassey I am somewhat of an Americanophile, I have always been enamoured with ‘the bold experiment in democracy’, I have read everything written by the founding fathers and the giants of politics compared to almost all politicians today. I have travelled toContinue reading “Hate leads to few, anger and jealousy”
Everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody
I did not write this but read it recently and wanted to share. Hope you enjoy it. This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody didContinue reading “Everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody”
Charity sees the need, not the cause
I am feeling much better this morning, the migraine has gone and I can breathe better at least. The migraine stuck around a lot longer than they usually do. Today’s post is on charity. I always think more about charity on cold days. I know there are so many deserving charities but the needs ofContinue reading “Charity sees the need, not the cause”
Employees or crew (how many souls are aboard your boat?)
I had the worst migraine in ages last night. Health really is wealth and you never appreciate how wealthy you are until you are in pain. I think it’s sinus related as I can’t breathe well at all. I hope it will not effect the quality of the post today. I trained as a dayContinue reading “Employees or crew (how many souls are aboard your boat?)”
Make the right decisions, or make your decisions right
We make decisions everyday. Most are easy to call decisions which require very little energy. Some are key decisions that required your focus, energy and time to reflect. You know there is a BUT coming…. But those people that wait too long to make a decision don’t get far. A friend of mine from theContinue reading “Make the right decisions, or make your decisions right”
Putting things away, moving on
This weekend was an important weekend in our home, it is the weekend we put the Christmas decorations away and begin to think of returning to work/school. As much I love putting up the decorations, I have learned to love when it ends. You have to, if you want to achieve anything in life. SoContinue reading “Putting things away, moving on”
Just one book
My posts of late have had an air of self help about them. I want to mix things up a little in 2021. So today I was listening to the radio in the car and just caught someone asking a question, I never heard the answer, I switched channels and could not find my wayContinue reading “Just one book”
2021: Don’t be this person
So you want to lose weight, get fit, see some gain physically in 2021. You have been a member of a gym but its too far away, OR the equipment is too old OR you don’t like the staff. You learn of a gym closer to work, its has new equipment and the people lookContinue reading “2021: Don’t be this person”
Thanks and a Happy New Year
Happy New Year readers. I would like to use today’s post to say thank you. I have received a few Christmas gifts from readers who sent me some lovely reading/writing inspired gifts. I am humbled that you did this. I wanted to start putting out something daily and plucked up the courage to do so.Continue reading “Thanks and a Happy New Year”
2021: Just Ship It
New year resolutions are always so tedious, so self quickly and indulgently shared with the world on some platform or other, or in a facile conversation. If ‘The definition of insanity is repeating the same tasks over and over again expecting different results’ a new years resolution must be insanity on steroids. I don’t meanContinue reading “2021: Just Ship It”
Lessons from a street sweeper
Lessons can be learned from every experience and from every memory. My mother used to tell me when I was 7 years old “Nathan, watch that man”. She was referring to the street sweeper, a man with a broom and cart who would clean our street every week for years. “Watch that man and tellContinue reading “Lessons from a street sweeper”