All tagged Believe in Yourself
This month kicks off 2021 with a few thoughts on mindset - and specifically getting our heads straight as we look forward to our goals and what we want to get done over the next 12 months.
In today's episode, I share a brief story about an interaction I had with a friend many years ago. The lessons from that story speaks to the constraints we put on ourselves about the things we aspire to do and who we want to be.
One of the things I love about kids is their ability to just go after something they want.
Put a paintbrush in their hand and they create. Give them an instrument and they play without reservation. Ask them to tell you a story and they simply do it. They don’t worry about their technique, or their current skill level, or how their artistic choices will be perceived by the world.
This month's podcasts focuses on the mental aspect of how we work - on the why we get started, how we get caught in ourselves and the mental mindset needed to succeed.
In this episode, I talk about confidence, how it's difficult to gain but easy to lose. I also spell out the key behaviors, thought processes and tactics we should deploy to get it back. Our futures depend on it.
This month's podcasts draw lessons from the world around us, specifically the sports and entertainment arenas. I focus on specific games or movies or entertainers and the lessons we can draw from what they've done or experienced or said.
Today's podcast discusses that day in 1965 when Bob Dylan went electric and changed the course of his career. But he also gave us a lesson in how we need to do what we believe in and be who we want to be, regardless of what anyone else thinks or says.
Episode 20 of the podcast is now available and today’s episode focuses on the importance of standing your ground when working with a customer. We like to say that the customer is always right, but sometimes, a little tough love goes a long way, even if it puts us at commercial risk.
One of the most common refrains I hear from business professionals - both young and old - is that the achievements of ‘celebrities’, in any walk of life, are the result of luck, or great timing, or some other reason that’s preordained.
In others words, their smarts and hard work were contributors but not drivers of their success. They rationalize that what drove that person’s success isn’t accessible to them, that they’re disproportionately benefitting from forces outside of their control.
One of the things that I love about the Montessori education system is its focus on developing independence and confidence and instilling self-esteem in children.
In fact, one of the central tenets of that system is Valorization. I was reminded of this in a recent video from the RPMS school (which is where my kids went). Valorization is about:
There’s a bit of a con in any risk we take on, be it creating a new business, starting a major assignment that hasn’t been done before or embarking on a journey that has never been attempted.
The con is perceived, and it is that we can make it (whatever it is). That we can get ourselves across the line and do what it is that we’ve set out to do.
"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." (Lao Tzu)
We love stories. We love telling them. We love listening to them. We love creating them. We love being part of them. Stories define our lives and our experiences. They remind us of who we have been and help make us who we are. They also shape who we want to be.
This is freedom. This is love for what you do. This is where your work is your art.
Thom Yorke’s performance is open and honest. He’s immersed in his art, his work. He’s not afraid of being vulnerable.
So, as anyone who follows English football knows, my team, Arsenal, is going through a pretty bad patch right now. There are a host of contributing factors to this, which I won't get into, but they've all culminated in a lack of belief within the team when they're on the field.
In sport, as in life, the safe play won't make you a champion.
It might help you avoid a loss, maybe even get you the odd win here or there, but it won't propel you to the top of the league.
Think. Plan. Commit. Work hard. Assess. Evaluate. Redirect.
We're taught that if we want to achieve success, those are the essential steps we need to follow. That if are to be successful, we must be methodical, diligent and direct. That it's all down to us.
