I have noticed a selfishness of late, a reluctance to spend time talking about ideas. That is a shame, that is my lifeblood, it’s my passion, I can’t exist without discussion and discourse on ideas. Is it the lack of time, too busy, or you see your ideas as special sauce? I hope that isContinue reading “No one ever got dumber sharing an idea”
Category Archives: Life Lessons
Be curious not judgemental
The title of this post is a quote by Walt Whitman. I think it might be my most favourite quote and how I try and live my life. It is a lot easier to be mean than to be curious. So mean people, on top of being jerks, are also lazy and uninventive. Try andContinue reading “Be curious not judgemental”
Go offline if you can
Before the covid changed the world. I used to love being in the air and unavailable to the world for half the day when travelling to the USA. I would write a letter, draw, write my thoughts down. Write slowly and plan, jot diagrams and concepts, all with a good old pen and paper. MoreContinue reading “Go offline if you can”
The dash in between is how you are remembered
I copied this down from a documentary I watched 12 years ago. I found it in an old notebook last night. It’s is inspiring and haunting at the same time. Enjoy! When you die, there’s going to be a tombstone. It’s going to have your name, it’s going to have the year you were born,Continue reading “The dash in between is how you are remembered”
7 invisible barriers to success
I have had a good run of mentoring new Veeva employees this year and a theme started to form from their challenges. When we got onto the subject of what is holding them back from doing what they want to do, or making progress in their projects/accounts. A surprisingly regular list of what I callContinue reading “7 invisible barriers to success”
Presenting with humour
I love watching anyone at the top of their game. Sir Ken Robinson delivered a barn storming Ted Talks years ago which I return to time and time again to be inspired If you get a moment watch him in this youtube clip notice how he uses humour to soften you and to help makeContinue reading “Presenting with humour”
You are not in traffic, you are traffic
When I look at my schedule and it is full of meetings, other people are wasting my time! When I am queueing in a shop and I am in a hurry I am cursing the people in front of me When I come back from a holiday to a mountain of emails, how can theseContinue reading “You are not in traffic, you are traffic”
Looking for motivation
I have started so many diaries, journals and blogs in 20 years. I struggled searching for regular writing motivation. This year that changed, I realised that motivation is an excuse. I no longer wait for motivation to arrive, I just sit down in a space and write. Most of what I write is awful, someContinue reading “Looking for motivation”
Asking for feedback
You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes or the most emotionally aware person to know who your fans are, those people who will give you positive feedback, that think you are great – Your colleagues, family and friends are hardwired to say nice things about you. Are you as good as they might say youContinue reading “Asking for feedback”
The art of the follow up
I learned a lot from my colleagues in sales and wanted to apply that when I worked in sales a couple of years ago. It was the time in my life when I was meeting so many new people on a regular basis. I kept finding myself in need of a workflow. Needing a repeatableContinue reading “The art of the follow up”
Lead like a conductor
There is a quote: “if you want to lead the orchestra you must turn your back on the crowd”. It is often used by people as a justification for ignoring the criticisms of the many to focus on a task or mission. The quote is about leadership and the lone figure of a conductor standingContinue reading “Lead like a conductor”
Put the work in
When you aspire to excellence you must aspire to a level of effort which goes unnoticed consciously by most people, you should accept that excellence disappears easily into the background when its done properly. An example I can easily explain is in the movies. There is a lot of thought that goes into every detail,Continue reading “Put the work in”
Team of rivals
I am reading several books on the history of the USA at the moment and I just realised that George Washington’s cabinet makes every other cabinet look pathetic! His cabinet had Knox, Hamilton and Jefferson! If you have not read ‘team of rivals’ I would recommend it. To fill a team of smart challenging individualsContinue reading “Team of rivals”
Who cares?
I was enjoying a zoom lunch with a colleague the other day and they asked. “What do you get out of posting a two minute read everyday? Is it worth it?” I like this colleague, I consider them a friend so I gave this question some serious thought. I told them I would write itContinue reading “Who cares?”
My favourite teacher story
As my son is a school teacher now and I am a very proud father I have started to collect or notice teacher stories. This one below is one of my favourites, enjoy: A school teacher ran a test that had several sections, each of which contained three questions. He told the students to chooseContinue reading “My favourite teacher story”
Where the focus goes the energy flows
Today I build on one of my most popular posts ‘Got to do, get to do’ I often hear people say “I’ve got to do this or that” as a complaint. They don’t realize the negative energy that flows from their words. I’ve got to wash the dishes I’ve got to get up this morningContinue reading “Where the focus goes the energy flows”
Mentoring can be magic
Mentorship works, Socrates mentored young Plato, who in turn mentored Aristotle. Aristotle mentored a youth called Alexander, who ‘over achieved’ that young man went on to conquer the known world as Alexander the Great. I heard about this great example: Great Ormand Street Hospital (GOSH) Doctors and nurses needed to model moves of master handoverers,Continue reading “Mentoring can be magic”
Chess lessons for life also
I have always loved Chess since I was a child, it is a game which tests strategic thinking. It requires concentration, and an ability to cope with change. Here are 5 life lessons I draw from Chess: 1. You have to move, thinking for too long is bad To play better you need to playContinue reading “Chess lessons for life also”
Forget the scoreboard
As the coach of football teams I would always tell my players to always play like it’s 0-0. I wanted the players to not let the current state of play impact the game plan and their actions. I would then apply that philosophy to the entire season. If you want to extend your winning streak,Continue reading “Forget the scoreboard”
A story I paid a homeless guy $5 for, enjoy
I was sitting on a bench outside a hotel in Indiana 12 years ago and a homeless guy sat by me and posed me a bet.” If I can tell you a story that makes you think, will you spare me a couple of bucks?” Of course I took his challenge and this is myContinue reading “A story I paid a homeless guy $5 for, enjoy”
Sea's The Day 