As a kid growing up we had a black and white TV in my parents room, and a colour TV in the lounge. As you can imagine the difference when switching between the two was stunning.
Equally as stunning is the difference in us when we are being black and white, compared to when we are colourful.
Black and white people say I’m either terrible at something or brilliant. Colourful is the middle possibility, I’m just fine.
Black and white people get locked in to one political view or vote based on what they want. Colourful seeks out what’s best for everyone.
Black and white people only read and learn to support and strengthen their existing view. Colourful causes them to read and learn at the edges.
Black and white leaders do what they’ve always done and believe they have the answers. Colourful leaders challenge others to push boundaries.
Colourful isn’t about abandoning everything you believe, rather it is about allowing it to be challenged.
Our world is not black & white. So why have black & white opinions?
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Think back at last week … did you become more black and white, or did you become more colourful?
Make it your goal this week to become more colourful.
You take your favourite jar of goodness out of the fridge. You open it. And it’s all but empty. Mildly frustrated you scrape and scrape the bottom of the container. And in the end, barely cover your toast.
A few months ago I ranted about a poor customer experience I was having. It attracted a fair amount of attention (and weirdly ‘likes’) and the company took ownership and resolved.
One of the first computer games I ever developed in my teens was a very simplistic helicopter game, where you would hunt out submarines and bomb them. It was simplistic for two reasons, the first of which I was learning to code, and the second because all games were clunky back then, which is what you would expect from home computers that you plugged into your TV screen.
If you have kids who play sports I’m sure you’ve experienced the challenges of finding a park close to the ground. On Saturday after finally parking ‘miles’ away from the fields, I was walking to watch the game and came across this street name.
I don’t understand how a person can be so broken, so full of hate, that they walk into a club and murder 49 people.
We were chatting with a friend last night who is doing a course in Distribution of all things. I say this purely because you wouldn’t have expected it. She was telling us how she is learning to drive a forklift and strap down a truck. She has also had to do numeracy & literacy assessments, that cause her to reach deep into the cobweb covered archives of her brain, and reignite her stored knowledge. And as she talks there is excitement in her voice. She is excited to be learning something new. Something outside her comfort zone.
As I open the door and step across the threshold, I’m struck by the sweet aroma of fresh coffee. The warmth inside contrasts the crisp air outside, as does the bustle and noise of a busy café. I glance around the café and take comfort from the fact I see no-one I know.
You know when you repaint a room a different colour, and the first coat of the new fresh paint doesn’t look quite as you expected. You’re pretty sure it will be OK, but until you get the rest of the paint on you won’t know.