Steve Jobs once said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
I read a blog by Seth Godin recently where he talks about how the procedures, responsibilities and meetings at work get in the way of actually adding value.
I like to go into my local bookshop once a month and look for my next read.
What’s striking are the amount of self-help books available today. It’s really noticeable how that part of the shop has expanded over the past year.
Now this may be the owner has a particular liking for this type of stuff or that these are the books to stock if you want to grow your independent book business.
Stay positive. How many times have you heard that? How many times has someone said that to you? The thing is, you tend to get that advice when things aren’t going so well. It’s rare, that when everyone is happy, you’re succeeding in life and all is falling into place perfectly, that someone tells you to stay positive. Those two words tend to come when times are hard.
So what are we supposed to do with that advice?
» Read more about: Stay positive? Getting a YES depends on it. »
It’s been proven that likeable people are more successful. They get promoted and rewarded more, compared to those who are less likeable. For example, in sales they sell more, they get more people to agree with them, they just get so much more out of life. How come?
Well maybe you are already one of these people. But maybe you wish you could be like these people. Well guess what, you can! Being likeable is not a gift,
» Read more about: Do you have to be likeable to be successful? »
I woke up really early this morning and pulled the quilt just that little higher up the bed, you know when you just want to have those last few minutes. As I did so, my hand slipped off the quilt and I punched myself in the face. Great I thought, it’s going to one of those days.
How often does that happen? Not necessarily punching yourself in the face, but things going wrong and you immediately think that you’re going to have a bad day.
What is it about Mondays that people just don’t like? I can only assume that it’s because it’s the first day back at work after the weekend. Two days of doing things with friends and family, not having to set an alarm clock, not having to go to work full stop.
It does make me wonder though, how much of Sunday is affected by people counting down the hours till the dreaded Monday.
There’s no doubting that some sports stars get paid an incredible amount of money to do what they do. In comparison to the average person it is indeed truly staggering amounts. If you believe the reports in media, some weekly wages exceed what some people can earn in 10 years.
As with anything, opinion divides. There are some who believe that these salaries are obscene, others believe they are deserved. Let’s remember though that we are talking about high profile,
I just had a quick look on Amazon at the Leadership books. In various formats there are 32,000. If I read them all it would take me roughly 10 years. It made me wonder just how many books, articles, blogs have been written on the subject of Leadership. It’s a subject that so many people strive to learn. They want to become great Leaders, it has such an enormous impact. I mean it’s even got me typing a capital L every time I type Leadership!
There has so much been said about change, so much written, discussed and commented upon. One thing’s for certain, Change impacts different people in different ways.
Change doesn’t seem to have a uniform size or impact. A small Change can impact someone in a big way, a big Change can have no impact on an individual at all. Strange really.
As well as size not being predictable on impact, the very notion of Change can have a greater impact than if there’s actually Change in motion.
Surely there cannot be anything more gratifying than helping someone. Whether it be lending them something, doing a favour, giving advice or just being there for someone, it must be one of the most rewarding things we can do as human beings. It could be the single most selfless act there is.
What though, when someone wants you help and you don’t know what to do? Not if you help them or not,
» Read more about: How do you help when you don’t know what to do? »
We all have things we take for granted don’t we? It’s not that we don’t care or that they don’t interest us, it’s just that they always happen, we don’t need to think about them, they’re like night and day.
The problem is when the things that we expect don’t happen. I think it’s more of a shock than if we didn’t expect them in the first place. It can seriously impact your mood and ruin your day.
Have you ever spent time explaining something to someone? You know, you talk them through it in detail, explain what you’d like to happen, ask them if they understand. Then they go away and do something. Unfortunately that something has very little resemblance to the something you expected! Happens quite often doesn’t it.
The thing is how often do you then feel annoyed? The time and effort you put into explaining it, you even asked them if they understood,
» Read more about: If you want to be understood, then you have to understand »
Have you ever been ask to do something or presented with an opportunity and your initial reaction was one of apathy? Maybe you think it’s going to be boring, a gigantic waste of your time. Maybe you don’t really want to take time out of your busy day to do something that you believe will add no value to your life at all. Maybe you think that the idea is an absolute non starter anyway and why are you stringing this idea along?
When was the last time you behaved in a way that you were less then proud of? We’ve all been there haven’t we, snapped at someone, made a decision so that we benefited at the expense of someone else, broke a promise, the list could go on. Let me say I am coming from the assumption that we didn’t do these things out of malice, we did them in a moment of weakness, that our negative emotions were winning.
I’ve seen lots of articles, tweet and blogs asking people what their super power would be. Often the responses are predictable, like flying, invisibility and mind reading. It’s funny that we often get drawn to those things that we read in comics or watch on movies, we associate super powers with super hero’s and unless you wear your pants outside your trousers, you’re not going to fly on your own! It is the pants that do it isn’t it?
There’s always a moment isn’t there. You know, that point just before that decision, before that thing you say, before that thing you do. It’s so quick, hardly measurable, but it’s there. The moment. We bet you know what we’re talking about too. The problem is, you’re probably aware of it because straight after the moment, things went wrong. What were you thinking?! Why did you say that, to them, in that way?! You always notice the moment when things go wrong.
Whenever you do something for the first time it’s always a mixture of emotions isn’t it? Excited yet nervous, eager yet jumpy, thrilled yet on edge. The thing is, your overall experience will be absolutely determined by which of those emotions takes control. So, as I sit here writing our first Fabric Learning blog post, I’m really conscious of what my emotions are and I’m happy to say that the great ones are in control!
» Read more about: When was the last time you did something for the first time? »