All in Personal Codes
I'm not one for poetry. It doesn't usually move me in the way it does for some people. I'm not one for Bollywood movies, either. They're usually too long for my taste, filled with a bit too much song and dance, often a bit too predictable.
But, literally by chance, I caught one recently on a flight between Dubai and London that I thought was very good (despite the two song and dance numbers in it!).
At what point is what we do ever enough?
I don’t mean this from the standpoint of others not being satisfied with what we’ve done or them questioning our ability to do things for them. I'm not asking it from the standpoint of exasperation we have with others in specific situations ("Gosh, when is it ever enough for him/her?").
I saw this sign on the seatback of a British Rail train. An appropriate message - some would say pretty obvious even - but it’s the line close to the end that’s the most interesting:
Last Friday, I woke up and flipped open my email to a thunderbolt of a message from my colleague and fellow Gooner, Gavin:
BREAKING NEWS: WENGER LEAVING AT END OF SEASON
I've spoken before about 'meeting madness' and how consistently stacking day after day with meeting after meeting is a practice that should be outlawed in the modern business world. A similar, related issue is our compulsive need to fill out and block our schedules with "essential activities" every minute of the day.
In the movie, "The Matrix", Neo's (Keanu Reeves' character) education - his understanding, acceptance of, as well as his ability to fulfill his true potential - is centered around belief. Belief that the world as he has known it has been defined by someone else's rules. Belief that these rules are there for a specific purpose, and that this purpose is not only serving someone else's goals, they are limiting his true potential.
When I was 16, I decided to move from Hong Kong to Karachi to study for a business degree. It was a decision borne of economics more than anything else, but it seemed to make sense at the time, given the reputation of the school and my family ties there.
"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.
My friend, Jane, shared a fantastic quote from Brené Brown on Facebook recently:
''I think midlife is when the universe gently places her hands upon your shoulders, pulls you close, and whispers in your ear: I’m not screwing around. It’s time...
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.
I came across this video on Quartz, about a question posed by Mark Zuckerberg to Bill and Melinda Gates during the launch event of Bill and Melinda Gates’ 2018 Annual Letter, back in February.
There's a great scene in the TV show, Mad Men, where Don Draper stands his ground with a client who is stuck in his old ways, clinging to a set of ideas that may have once made his company successful but now leaves them trailing the competition.
The year was 1984. Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA album had just come out and I was doing my best to wear out the cassette on my Sony Walkman.
I remember sitting by the window in the tiny bedroom that I shared with my two older brothers in Hong Kong. Eyes closed, headphones on, volume on 10.
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.
The point of protest is to make you uncomfortable. It's about upsetting the status quo. About changing the (perceived) complacency, inadequacy, inappropriateness of the current situation. It isn't meant to be pleasant. It isn't meant to be accommodating. It sure as fuck isn't meant to be polite.
Nature or Nurture?
Karma or Free Will?
Which do you believe in?
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.
If there is a truism in each and every one of our lives, it is that we will all suffer setbacks. Whether personally or professionally, something (at times, many things) will not go as planned.
That's life.
When working with a team member, it's important to gauge whether the issue they're exhibiting is fixable or not. And the question to ask, in this regard, is whether it's a values-based problem or a content-based development issue?
