Holding life lightly

In the absence of blogging life has been teaching me a fair few tricks, hints, and lessons. I’ve been relentlessly applying to jobs, setting objectives, goals and doing everything I can to move towards them, whilst being party planner and bridesmaid to a lifelong friend.

I find every day is different in someway, with one challenge, or another; but above the confusion, toil and turmoil I have come to understand that to achieve success in any area of life it is good to hold life lightly.

If you hold on to a career, a relationship, or even something as materialistic as a car, then you run the risk of loosening the very thing you desire. Most of the motivational and leadership chat that I’ve heard seems to be focused on pushing people up a hill, but I want to suggest that there is not one reason for failure, but many. Most of the motivational and leadership chat that I’ve heard seems to be focused on pushing people up a hill,You can do nothing, and get nothing, or you can do everything and still get nothing. How is this possible? Well, obsession to always achieve, or win is equally bad as doing nothing to obtain the dream in your heart. Many hands make light work, but much work make light hands. In other words, the more you fill your time with stuff the weaker you become. People mistake busyness as a sign of strength, or achievement; but it’s not. It is only when we strike balance between hard work, and margin do we find ourselves in the slip stream of life.

Whatever you do today, make sure you take a moment to stop and enjoy what you have in your hand. It’s good to take stock, and don’t lose sight of what you do have on the way to where you’re going.

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.  

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!

My chocolate affair

After weeks of forming a relationship with chocolate. White chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate; I have decided that it’s time to part ways. I know it may be hard. Especially with my newly found heavenly combination of white chocolate with peanut butter, and 70% dark chocolate – which I am told is good for the brain. However, it’s for the good of my health, and I’m sticking too it.

I’m just letting you all know that this chick is no longer a slave to Marks and Spencers white chocolate wheels. This love affair is OVER!!

…She says after one more chocolate wheel.

 

 

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!

Pain + Passion

Life will hand us something today, and we will choose what we will take out of it. Will we choose to see opportunity, sharpened faith, or hurt, bitterness and disappointment? We are a product of the thoughts we think… Watch this:

If you walk into a dark room, you automatically think where is the light? Your brain is programmed to find possible solutions, so you start to feel the wall beside the door, where your brain has learnt ‘that’s where light switches are usually kept‘.

Where the mind thinks, the man follows. Get your mind going in the right direction, and you will open up the door to dreams being achieved, goals being reached, health being restored. There may still be challenge, and pain, but like any athlete or mother has experienced that when you push through the pain, there is victory on the other side. #thisisourseason

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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..?

Opportunities come to those who are ready

If you don’t do your homework, how do you expect to pass the test?

It all starts with a thought, a decision, to go after something. In order for a woman to deliver a baby she has to conceive, and to conceive there is first a thought, then a whole host of action kicks in.

A note to make here is that before that all takes place, there has to be two people in a certain place at a certain time. In other words, your environment matters; and opportunity comes to those who are ready for whatever it is they are trying birth into reality.

 

It’s a new day

Do something different today. Take a walk on the wild side, and go a different route to work – even take a different street, if you walk.

Today is a brand new day? What will you do that’s different to yesterday? Of course we all have experienced the seemingly mundane moments in life, and often life is a sequence of  them. No famous person just arrives on our screen, no book just arrives on the book shelf. There is a process, and it starts with one person’s decision to do something different each day.

It doesn’t need to be huge, but even the smallest change can have the biggest effect. What does that look like for you today?

P.S This can be applied to every area of life.