Category Archives: Life Lessons

In nature we never repeat the same motion; in captivity (office, gym, commute, sports), life is just repetitive stress injury. No randomness. Nassim Taleb; bed of procrustes

I have a confession to make. between you and me, I travelled internationally last week. I travelled first to London, then to Bath and getting away with that I traveled to Florence, I walked those beautiful little streets and and then to top it off I roamed the Amalfi coast. Of course, you probably guessedContinue reading “Breaking Lockdown; Sneaking out to Florence”

Do you have difficulty saying no to people? We are all placed in positions where one person asks something of you. It could be a request for your money, or your time, the team’s time, a work reference or merely an introduction to a colleague. It is understandable if you struggle to say no sometimes,Continue reading “No is a complete sentence”

It has been one year since our first national lockdown. Marie Curie, the charity and 60 others are inviting us to join in a minutes silence at 12 noon and to also go outside at 8pm for a candle vigil (show of light). March in the UK at least is a windswept month which beginsContinue reading “A national day of reflection”

It’s my 26th wedding anniversary today so off work and planning to walk and read with my Wife Melanie. I did want to write a short post on helping people and not waiting to help. It was prompted after I had some mentoring sessions. A young consultant I mentor said they would love to helpContinue reading “Helping others; Don’t wait”

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 selfish, are also lazy and uninventive. Try andContinue reading “Be curious not judgemental”

The Friday evening started like any other we have spent in a national lockdown. I finish up my meetings, Melanie is making dinner and my daughter is setting the table. I walk in from the home office to the main house and I stop for a second, I have a text. “Have you ever readContinue reading “The stories we tell ourselves”

My favourite artist is Vincent van Gogh, the artist responsible for starry nights, sunflowers, and Irises. His whole life he was plagued with self doubt. He didn’t start drawing until he was 26, and didn’t pick up a paintbrush until he was 28. We all face moments of self doubt, some more than others, seldomContinue reading “Self doubt; and endless starry sky”

At the heart of every barrier we create for ourselves is self belief or more accurately lack there of. Unless you feel confident in your abilities you simply won’t be in the right frame of mind to chase a goal ambition. It’s natural to feel a little nervous when we take on a new challengeContinue reading “Self belief”

Worry is not trivial, its a silent killer and you need to be aware of it. Take a walk with me and let’s explore the ‘path of the worrier’. Let’s say you have a concern at work. Something maybe you kept to yourself, perhaps you are worrying about losing a big deal or a familyContinue reading “Worrying is killing us”

I was a poor student at school, I did better at college, I excelled at university. Early education and the prescriptive curricula was not for me. College allowed for self expression but I was not in the right head space to enjoy it. At university they expected self expression and I was ready to speak.Continue reading “To every thing there is a season”

Thirty years ago, a spacecraft, bound for the edges of the solar system, someone had the genius of turning back the camera and looking towards Earth. Turned back toward Earth it took a picture. The image it captured accompanying this post, came to be known as “Pale Blue Dot.” It was captured on February 14,Continue reading “The pale blue dot; The only home we have ever known”

“A stumble may prevent a fall” speaks to the enduring human spirit of trying and falling and then getting up and trying again. It speaks to the mistake you recently made and how it makes you wiser more stronger for the next time. My eldest child at university fell behind in his understanding of inorganicContinue reading “A stumble prevents a fall”

I have become interested in mental models. I am always trying to self improve and as much as I love reading, remembering the lessons can be difficult. Learning Mental models is my way of compartmentalising methods and lessons under the banner of mental models. Mental models are like software applications my mind can use forContinue reading “Problem solving and mental models”

I stumbled on a book by US politician John McCain it is called character is destiny. I discovered it a while ago in my loft. I was going through an old box of books I had ignored for too long. I had purchased the box of books from a car boot sale years before. IContinue reading “Character is destiny”

Last year I completed a short critical analysis course and one of my assignments was to analyse a piece of my favourite literature. I chose Moby Dick, no surprise to some of you who know my obsession with the white whale. I chose the opening paragraph and as most of you know starts: “Call meContinue reading “Call me Ishmael”

What is the greatest gift you received or the greatest gift you have given to someone? Did it cost much? As we get older we begin to appreciate that the value of a gift should not be measured by its price. The timeliness, the thoughtfulness, is it given out of love and or friendship orContinue reading “A true gift conveys part of the giver”

Everyone has fallen apart at sometime in their life. The more resilient can use every fall, every breakup and emotional damage, to grow stronger and keep moving on. We can try to hide these scars with bravado or false narratives. Or if we are brave enough we can wear them as badges of honour, evidenceContinue reading “We are all a little broken”