“The best way to predict the future is to design it”
– Buckmister Fuller
This time last week I was in the middle of hosting annual retreat for leaders, which was all the more special because of the prolonged delay with the pandemic.
23 unsuspecting victims, I mean clients…,joined me for 3 days in the beautiful village of Carlingford. We hiked, talked, reflected, laughed, listened and learned.
While there is a structure to this retreat I’ve found that there is always an emergent property to the event – themes or ideas will emerge in the moment as the group deepens it’s connection. One of the recurring themes this year was around ‘including yourself in your success’ more.
One morning last week I was taking a walk by the sea and when I returned to my car and was about to move away, there was a knock on my window.
A guy in a beanie hat was staring me straight in the face and when I opened the door, he asked politely if I had jump cables because his car wasn’t starting.
So I moved my car and we tried to inject new life into his engine, but it didn’t work. He thought the starter was the problem, so he had to go to plan C and call his family for help.
Electricity or charge always amazes me. Indeed it still mystifies some of the smartest minds on the planet.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
“I’m too far down the road to change now. It’s just the way I am”
So said the smart, ambitious leader to me.
They were referring to why they thought it was impossible for them to change some of their behaviour and habits – especially mental ones.
On one level, at least they were honest in saying what they were thinking.
Over the last 2 weeks a few people who read this weekly post told me they hadn’t realised I have a podcast.
So this note is to let you know I have one… :)…. plus to give you a challenge.
It started as an experiment in February this year and has evolved into a weekly podcast that ranges in time from 8-15 minutes usually. (Details and link to the podcast are below)
So far it’s been an enjoyable learning curve and I really like the format.
The quote above is one I think is important as you get older. The greatest workshop of all is your life. Experimentation is key to ensuring vitality and aliveness, yet it’s so easy to fall into a non-experimentation way of living.
“Concentration is the key to economic results. No other principle of effectiveness is violated
as constantly today as the basic principle of concentration….
It crossed my mind recently that jobs lost seem to always get more airPlay than jobs created. So out of curiosity I did a scan to see what jobs were created in Ireland in May. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far: Merit medical. Galway. 200 jobs. Copper fasten technologies 37 jobs software SAP-…
“mindset” {noun} a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines ones behaviour, outlook and mental attitude. Over the past month I’ve spoken at three different events on How To Use Your Mind For Better Results in business and sport. One was for business people and 2 were for golfers. It’s amazing how…
I came across a great article on the Harvard Business Review website that I’d forgotten about. It’s a very strong read about measuring the true success of your life. If you’re up for the challenge and are looking for more fulfillment from your life this is a MUST READ. How Will You Measure Your Life?…
“Common sense is not so common”. – Voltaire So here are 10 Not So Common Nuggets to consider for this week: 1. Never look at email first thing in the morning. 2. Unusual thinking works well when you ‘physically’ go to somewhere different than normal. 3. Don’t use your diary just to schedule meetings –…
“Nothing is so dear and precious as time.” – French Proverb I was working with a client a few weeks ago when they pointed out that one of the changes we’d made to her working life had added 30 days of ‘High Value Focus’ to her business time. How? She listed the top 3 areas…
