Well, it’s the end of another year and, for many of us, it’s that time when we reflect on the year just past and, more importantly, what we’d like to achieve in the one coming up.
I’ve been doing exactly that - considering all of the different goals I’d like to achieve and assessing what it will take to achieve them. This analysis - while hopeful in its intent - also brings up the inevitable:
In the last episode, I talked about how everyone has a platform and how that can be a good thing.
But having a platform isn't for everyone, as it comes with a set of responsibilities around what we say and how we say it. Today's show speaks to some of what I believe are the ground rules for establishing your own platform.
The thing about progress is that it isn’t always exciting.
It’s gradual, incremental and consistent in its progression. That doesn’t mean it’s constant, of course. There will be backs and forths, one step back every now and then, but the overall movement is forwards. Step by step, as the gains compound and we find ourselves closer to our goals.
I’ve been thinking about what “essential” in our lives truly means.
At the beginning of our lives, we need very little - a place to sleep, food to eat and little else. Everything else, we fill in with our imaginations. Late in our lives, it seems pretty similar.
It’s the stuff in-between that, I think, confuses us.
At first blush, it seems counterintuitive but achieving a Greater Good for a particular group requires a measure of selfishness amongst the members of that group.
But when you really think about it, there’s a sound logic to that idea.
It’s easy to lose our sense of playfulness. In fact, at some point in our adult lives, so many of us do. We don’t realize it in the process. We really only figure it out well after the fact (if at all).
We tend to put it down to ‘growing up’, to becoming an adult. Just a normal part of life, because life is serious business, and only kids can afford the luxury of play.
Many of us believe we have a message to share, in one domain or another, and many of us long to actually share it.
Today's episode speaks to the fact that we all now have a platform to say, write and otherwise communicate, anything we want. But wanting to and doing so are two different things, and the discussion today focuses on that inner dialogue.
Getting advice is important.
From a young age, we’re taught (or at least should be) that it’s OK to ask for help, that we don’t have to figure out everything on our own, and that there are others who’ve tread our path before. So it’s not a weakness to reach out and ask for guidance. It is, in fact, a strength. I wholeheartedly agree with that.
At the same time, not all advice is equal and it’s well worth remembering a few basic things.
Not far from where I live, there is an intersection where the traffic lights operate in different ways depending on whether you’re walking or driving.
What I mean by this is that if you’re driving, the lights work as you would expect. They change at specific time intervals in an automated fashion. But if you’re on foot and you want to cross the street, the “walk” sign will not display unless you’ve pressed the manual “change traffic signal” button on your side of the street.
Today's podcast focuses on the idea of owning our messages.
In any work we do, we're called upon to present our ideas and findings in front of an audience. Often, we feel compelled to "do what we're told" or to "follow a script". The reality is that we need to own what we present, no matter our level. In this podcast, I discuss how.
Non-Player Characters (NPCs) are those characters in video games that cannot be controlled and are driven by the program itself to deliver specific pre-defined lines or actions, either playing a very specific role or no role at all. They don’t participate in any meaningful way, can’t be directed and more often than not, are there to simply make up the numbers.
A brief post from me today as I’m afraid I’m still feeling the effects of a more than abundant Thanksgiving Day feast.
Someone once said that “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” You know, we see this in all walks of our lives, from work to personal ones.
Today's episode focuses on doing the things we want to do, but don't - either because we're concerned what others will say, or we overthink our own ability to be successful at it.
Sometimes, this thought process is helpful, but more often than not, it gets in our way. Better to focus on what we want and just do.
When I was in my teens and learning to play the guitar, there was a guy I knew who had been playing for a few years and was really quite good. He knew how to play all the cool songs I wanted to learn to play, knew all the cool riffs and could play by ear. But he wasn’t interested in sharing any of his knowledge.
I specifically remember him playing Stairway To Heaven, a song I was trying to learn.
Back in the 80’s, my dad bought our first personal computer, a thing of beauty at the time that would now be viewed as a hulking monstrosity. I don’t remember the brand and have only a rough memory of the specs - either an Intel 286 or 386 microprocessor, probably about 512KB of RAM and a 20 MB hard disk.
Today's episode recounts a decision I made many years ago that, in the grand scheme of things, was relatively minor. It was my decision to get - and then remove - my earring before I went to Business School.
Not a huge decision in most contexts, but it was definitely one that taught me about why we make the choices we make - and WHY we should make the choices we make.
I think we spend so much of the “post-teen” part of our lives trying to be accepted, to fit in and be seen as a grown up, that we consciously decide to “put away childish things”. We see this as an essential act so that we’re regarded as an adult and hence accepted as a serious contributor to whatever work or social contract we’re engaged in. (In fact, most of us do so and don’t even give it a second thought.)
But at some point, many of us realize that…
Lack of patience isn’t a helpful trait at the best of times. But in sales, it pretty much kills your ability to be effective.
It tends to manifest itself in the desire to close the deal yesterday i.e. a not-so-subconscious need to convert discussions into Dollars by the end of the call or meeting, no matter how little conversation has actually taken place.
Today's episode is a reflection on Bono, U2's legendary frontman. It's based on a post I wrote shortly after watching them perform The Joshua Tree live in Chicago.
Bono represents the ideal when it comes to achievement. He does what he loves, has achieved tremendous success and uses this fame and success to do more for others. It's an ideal worth us pursuing in our own ways.
