notes
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Learn by Doing
A quick Easter Sunday thought to share: Did your kid learn to ride a bike by watching Youtube? Did your toddler to walk by reading a manual? why do you think you can be a better person by just reading a book, or to learn to sell by reading a best practices guide. Anything interesting… Read more
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Don’t Give Up, Don’t Ever Give Up
A little different post today but I had to share. I noticed that one of my favourite ever inspirational speeches was now 30 years old. So a good chance many of you might have never seen this or have forgotten it. Watch the video if you can. read it below if you prefer but take… Read more
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This Is a ‘Good’ Friday
I visit my beach holiday home easter weekends to do maintenance tasks and to prepare for the summer with anticipation and a little hope. Hope for warm days and pleasant nights with family and friends. You may also know I have a little beach hut by the sea in a town called Lancing. It is… Read more
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Success Is Subtraction Not Addition
As you get older and try and remain still relevant you are asked to do more coaching and buddy up with new young and energetic professionals as some kind of mentor or advisor. The question I get asked most often is: “What do I need to be successful” OR “What more do I need to… Read more
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Culture Club Part 2
I said from yesterday’s post that I would think about the behaviours the leaders need to model to create or encourage a good culture in an organisation. I thought it would be best to be super snappy today. To create a strong organizational culture, a leader must: lead by example Encourage open communication Foster a… Read more
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Starting a Culture Club
I have been thinking last week about a company or teams culture. What is it exactly? how do you put your finger on it or identify it? Can I write the definition down in a brief and succinct way that keeps my attention and yours? That is my assignment for this sunny Monday morning. A… Read more
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Anger: Why It’s a Choice, Not a Reaction
My Sunday post addresses a growth area for me or an area I am loathe to admit. I was and to a certain extent will always be an angry young man at heart. Angry when I see injustice, angry when I experience selfishness or ignorance, angry for some silly reasons which are I am not… Read more
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Earn Your Saturday
My Grandad used to say to me when I was complaining about a hard work week. “stop complaining, get on with good work and earn your Saturday”. I think I have earned this Saturday, I hope you have earned yours too. The part of the phrase he always used “earn your Saturday” always stuck with… Read more
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Stone vs Sand
As I start this new chapter in my professional career I am thinking more about learning and how one learns. Learning in all its stages: the disseminating information then the retaining and applying that knowledge. The way we approach learning can make a big difference in how much we retain and how long we remember… Read more
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110% Is for Idiots
I can’t abide the term overachiever, It’s not possible for people to rise above their level of competency. We are all in some way under achievers to varying degree. Have you ever been told to give 110% effort? It’s a common phrase used in motivational speeches and self-help books, but the truth is, it’s a… Read more
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Swing for the Fences
Swing for the fences is an idiom I first came across while spending more time in the USA. It means to put all one’s power into one’s swing while batting, so as to hit a home run. The idiom is used to explain or encourage a person to put the maximum amount of effort or… Read more
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This Too Shall Pass
This post is dedicated to all those readers who have had a situation over come them. Decisions made on your behalf. You gain the upper hand with seeking to control things in your control. The situation is not in your control but your reaction is. The following post is about how embracing ‘not knowing a… Read more
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Diving In
One of the most scary things you can do is diving into water from a distance. To stand there and to lean forward til there is no turning back. This is real life commitment in the making, right then. One minute, you’re standing still, staring at the water below, and then you’re fully committed to… Read more
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Learn by Doing & Quantity Has Its Own Quality
I spend just 30 minutes a day on learning to draw and sketch. I am not looking for perfection, I am looking for gradual improvements. I am looking for learning from errors. In it’s own way quantity will have therefore it’s own quality. Let me illustrate with a story I found in a self help… Read more
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Who Is to Be Blamed?
When you become a parent you sign yourself up to be many roles: Protector, provider, punisher, peacemaker to name just a few but it is the parental pep talk where I enter into my own domain. I lack confidence on many things but the ‘go getter’ pep talk I am the master at. The above… Read more
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Unsubscribe and Achieve Inbox Zen
Hello to you my fellow email enthusiasts! Is that what you call people who use email? no of course not because despite how long we spend in the dreaded email we do not enjoy it. What if we could make it a little more fun? or a little less stressed. Today, I want to share… Read more
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Trying to Do Better
I am surprised by the amount of traffic to the blog recently. Such wonderful encouragement and positive messages from readers. Thankyou, this is the power of never breaking the chain I guess. Keep writing every day, no matter how brief. As long as it is written with a simple curiosity. I watched Spider-Man over the… Read more
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28 Years of Partnership
My Grandad Dennis would tell me when I was just a young man “Who you marry is the most important decision you’ll ever make! so make sure you marry well” He married my Nan Elsie who was the most loving person ever so he knows what he was talking about. I am also very fortunate,… Read more
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Will Power Is the Only Real Super Power
People used to talk of ‘Will’ alot, not so much now they have chosen resilience more often to say now. For me though it is the will that is still most relevant today. The will to win is a crucial factor in achieving success in any endeavour. Whether it’s in sports, business, or personal development,… Read more
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Harry Was Right!
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. Harry S. truman How apt that President Truman would say these words. Harry S Truman is sometimes called the accidental president. There is nothing accidental about the quote above. The ‘truest’ words I have read in a long time.… Read more