Colouring within the lines

As a kid, I loved to colour. Art was my game, and colouring was my name. I still remember my big cousin teaching me how to colour within the lines, and that was a real gulp shock horror moment, for me. ‘You want me to stay within the lines?’ How boring!

In retrospect, I guess it paid off a few years later when I was one of the few who scraped through Advanced Higher Art back in 2002 – much to EVERYONE’s surprise (including my own). There were some real talented artists in the room too. As it turns out that that was the first year of our new curriculum, and we later discovered that every teacher in the area had misinterpreted the course wrong! If the teacher doesn’t understand it, how on earth will the student? Okay I digress. The point that I am trying to make is that sometimes it’s good to experiment outside the ridged lines of other people’s perceptions and ideas, and express ourselves by painting something new. Something original.

What if the idea you have works? What if moving location turns out to be the best move for you and the company you go on to work for? Can you imagine being Walt Disney and told that you were a rubbish illustrator, and then years later laughed out of the bank for his proposal to build Disney World.

I have never been much of a colour within the lines kind of gal, creatively speaking of course, and to be truthful, I’m glad. Going against the grain is never easy, when you are a creative in an industrial society. However, as Henry Ford one said, ‘if you always do, what you’ve always done, you’ll always get, what you’ve always got.’

Someone, somewhere has to be willing to step out and take a calculated risk.

I have always felt that more companies should appreciate, and treasure the entrepreneurial spirit within their team, rather than squash it. Thankfully this is beginning to change. I believe that instead of being threatened by people who are better than we are in a particular area, we must learn to collaborate and make way so that collectively we can achieve success. However, if you find yourself torn between the voices that tell us to stay sit down, stay in line, then I challenge you to be true to your art and have ago.

Happy bank holiday weekend folks! Thank you to all who subscribe to this blog. I consider it an honour.

This was my final piece for advanced higher art. I’ve framed this and placed it on my desk to remind myself that sometimes we just have to take a risk, and paint.

The oyster and the pearl

I stumbled across a website called How Stuff Works, which explains how pearls are formed in the Oyster to produce the beautiful pearl that is etched onto our chains, earrings and bracelets. I have mentioned the story before, in brief, but being the curious kitten that I am I have delved a little deeper in my research, whilst going through some changes and circumstances in life. First, let me paint the background picture to this post.

“The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritates the mantle. It’s kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster’s natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The mantle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl. So a pearl is a foreign substance covered with layers of nacre. Most pearls that we see in jewelry stores are nicely rounded objects, which are the most valuable ones. Not all pearls turn out so well. Some pearls form in an uneven shape — these are called baroque pearls. Pearls, as you’ve probably noticed, come in a variety of various colors, including white, black, gray, red, blue and green. Most pearls can be found all over the world, but black pearls are indigenous to the South Pacific.”

Whilst growth takes place within, notice that it requires an external substance to influence and irritate the organ that produces change. 1. Growth is dependent on our environment 2. Growth is never comfortable Being the reflective soul that I am, and in the process of packing for London, I would like to share a few thoughts today about pearls, growth and change. It’s a bit of a deep topic today, but if you are growing a team, a business, or your own life, then hopefully you will find this useful. If not, come back again soon and I’ll muster you up something a little less meaty.

My good friend pointed out in a conversation that we  are a generation that when something doesn’t work, we throw it out, or trade it in and buy new. Where as the previous generation, baby boomers and above, grew up in a culture that when things didn’t work, they fixed them; she got me thinking…It’s easy to dismiss situations in life when things don’t go our way, or it turns out to look different from our preconceived idea. For example, a business venture that didn’t work, or a relationship that required work, or project that turned out different than what you anticipated.

It’s inevitable that in life we will experience change, and lots of it. When I think back to what it was like growing up through childhood in a rush to experience adulthood, celebrating every inch of growth with a competition between friends. The irony is that when we finally reach adulthood we often find that we don’t like the responsibilities that come with it. If we don’t allow our businesses, or our teams to adapt to the change in the market, or make room for our digital and tech savvy culture, then we limit our effect as a business.  If we wrap ourselves up in cotton wool, and never take a chance in life after listening the bad news reports all day, filling us with fear, then we would miss out on the beauty that life has to offer. Change is readily avoided and resisted by many human beings, and as a result they become stagnant and malnourished, when in fact change is an opportunity for growth.  

Imperfect Mondays

Here’s one I wrote this morning:

I woke up feeling a little groggy this morning, with grey sky and little, but a 65% rating on my sleep capacity – thanks to my new friendly app, Sleep Cycle. If you haven’t downloaded this already, then do it now! It has a funky alarm, and some disturbing sleep aids.

In spite of all of the fore mentioned challenges,  I am readily excited and expectant for a great week ahead – I refuse to accept anything different! …And you know I mean business when I wake up before my alarm; currently fighting the urge to stand up, in public, and shout; ‘BABY YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHING YET’ at the top of my voice. Not that I would EVER do that…

Hey, it’s Monday; and all I’m suggesting is let’s take this bad boy week, by storm!

OK, no more cheesy rock songs after this…

You’ve got talent; use it.

If you haven’t witnessed Jack Carroll yet, let me introduce you…

I love when he said; “In comedy, a lot of the time, you’re weaknesses are your strengths.” I believe this is true for many areas in life; that every hardship, difficulty, and disappointment in life can be turned to work itself back together for our good.

This got me thinking on how knowing your strengths as an individual, as a business, or even as a brand is crucial to achieving good success. Whilst good success is great, and many people subscribe to the dream of obtaining good success; very few are aware, or go after great success. There is a difference:

To obtain good success you must have some awareness of the value you hold, but to achieve great success you must understand how to use it, and use it effectively. …Just like Jack.

 

 

The tell tale signs of a girls diary

Being the writer that I am, I have many notepads, books, pens and a whole cupboard filled with diaries through-out my life. I am forever being mocked, and continue to this day being known for my stationery filled handbag – you never know when or where my next idea will strike, and I like to be prepared for all eventualities. The only discrediting thing here is that whilst I have a vivid and long record of my life up until this point. Through the countless number of pages about heartache, disappointments, dreams, and a lot of other exciting events. I am troubled that I rarely go back and revisit them, which probably tells me that I write to process my thoughts; but still, I am fully aware of gems that I will hold in these very pages. There must be at least five stories about boys that I’ve had crushes on, and the drama that followed when the boy didn’t like me back, or I couldn’t bring myself to tell him.

Come on, we’ve all had them!My point in sharing such a cringing fact is that I know there are lessons to be learnt from these pages, and I know that I have made similar mistakes before, which at the time seemed like a great idea… I just don’t understand why I don’t go back and read them.

Anyway, I digress. The reason for tonight’s post is to beg the question that whilst I seem to have an exceptional memory that doesn’t need reminding of past events, or lessons. There is the odd moment in time when I flick back through the overflowing pages of my pink papered diary – nearing the end of this month’s book – to notice only the change of pen colour, and sporadic re-occurrence of a certain someone who appears to have found his way into my diary? Huh? I’m shocked, and intrigued… and a little horrified! What does this mean? How on earth could he have slipped my security tight radar, and made it into this treasured book? Alarm bells ring, as I look up in shock. This… This must be monitored!

Don’t manage, lead.

Some recent events sparked the following thought, which led to the tonight’s blog. If you like the thought, or have something to add, leave a comment below and let’s get social. Don’t be a passive consumer! Let’s take the reins and lead together, or not. 

Why try to manage life, when you can lead. I’ve noticed there is often an emphasis on management in any of the companies I’ve worked for, (and I’ve worked for a few). In my opinion, to manage is to strive, or to push up a hill a weight that is often too big for anyone to carry. Life is more enjoyable, and accessible when we understand the value in the team around us, and in the opportunities we have at hand.

When we approach life from a leadership point of view, we will see the following:

1. Achieve greater results

2. Inspire others to follow

Just another random thought… I know it’s been a while since my last post. I’m editing my first fiction novel, at the moment, and taking my own advice (and the advice of Kid President) in Being A Light; and pursuing my dream with dedication, hard work and a lot of faith. Wish me luck!

 

Finding the treasure in your day

When your day doesn’t work out as planned and everything goes Pete Tong; there’s one thing you should keep in mind. Tomorrow is another day, and today is the day of new beginnings!

When you respond to a situation in a way you regret, when that business deal didn’t work, or the job interview you went for wasn’t successful, it’s easy to get discouraged. It’s easy to get disappointed about most things in life, but here is a thought we should all ponder on in those moments:

When one door closes, an even better door opens.

So why not start today fresh. Forget the disappointments of yesterday and push through for a greater day, today. There is a jewel to be found and treasured, in our lives, everyday …the question is are you seeing it?

#HappyWednesday folks!

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Hello all,

Hope this finds you well. It’s been a busy few weeks, and despite all efforts to stay on top of daily posts, I’ve clearly not. However, not all failure is bad. In fact, that leads me on to my thought for today. I’ve made some decisions this week. I’ve decided to take some of my own medicine and make a few changes to the sail of my ship –  called life. I won’t tell you what they are, because it’s irrelevant right now, but what I will state my favourite observation that making a change first starts in the mind. I don’t care who you are, or what you do every human decision passes through the central control station, otherwise known as brain. This is where we decide (create action) even of the smallest form. Sound patronising? Well I don’t mean to be, but it’s amazing how often we forget, or think we know something and really when it comes to it we don’t. It’s not that we don’t have knowledge, but how often can we say in today’s fast driven world that we truly know something, without jumping onto our smartphone, tablet, or laptop. I read an article a few years back that outlined a few concerns on how social media, and technology could in affect us in the future. It suggested that to be so relient on our computer to remember phone numbers, definition of words and all sorts was keep us dumb as we no longer need to revise, or hold information for any length of time – given the amount of information available online, on our mobile phones, and accessible at the click of a button, it’s evident that there has become a why bother attitude in and amongst today’s culture. I’ve even noticed certain areas in my own life that relies so heavily on information stored online. Gosh, we’ve become so busy that we can barely process what’s worth remembering and what’s not.  I believe it’s true that we  can’t change what we don’t know, but we can seek to know and make a change. Also, did you know that the slightest touch of a ships sail can set you on a completely different course?  Interesting isn’t it..?

Being a light

Being a light to the world requires action, requires energy, requires substance.

I could go on, and probably will in posts to come; however, today I thought I’d like this cool little fella share a word that if you press play will surely speak to you. Now it’s great to be inspired and encouraged, but go do something with it.

‘Create something that will make the world awesome!’ Are you doing so already? Well what can you change, what can you do to make your team, company, life, relationship better? Remember what is great today, will be good tomorrow if you let things go and don’t continue to invest in staying fresh.

#kidpresident

What does your environment say about you?

Today’s observation is again extracted from a personal experience. Two words:

Language

and

Environment

It astounds me how quickly we absorb the culture around us. Culture in our work place, in our peer group. We become who we are around.

Now this is not a newsflash to me, but knowing and understanding something are two very different things. To be honest, we need both to be successful.

Have you listened to those around you? There are certain buzz words that your peer group use that if someone, or a few from that group say them long enough, they become ingrained through-out that particular circle.

So if you want to know where your heading today in life. Stop and listen to the words, phrases and actions of your friends, colleagues and teammates.

Like what you hear? Don’t like what you hear? Do something to change it today. It’s not personal if you discover you need to make some changes to your environment. If you want to be an eagle, you can’t hang around with the chickens. If you want to speak French, you don’t go to Germany.

There is no shame in either, it’s simply a matter of choice to be who you are created to be.

To coin the phrase of a good friend; if we want to think outside of the box, we must first know where the box is.

Know who you are, be very careful what you listen to and what you say, and keep believing. A simple, but effective recipe.

Happy Burns Night to all my fellow Scots. 

Have a great weekend folks!