Category: lead vividly (Page 3 of 18)

Is today your favourite day?

15 September 2016 / Andrew

“What day is it?” asked Pooh.

“It’s Today.” squeaked Piglet.

“My Favorite day.” said Pooh.

Is today your favourite day? Or are you caught up in the frustrations of yesterday or concerns for tomorrow.

Maybe today is the biggest scariest day you’ve had in a while. Don’t let that stop you looking for moments that make today special.

Pause.

Listen.

Marvel.

Breathe.

Laugh.

Make today “your favourite day.”

∴

As I type it’s raining and bleak, there is pressure at work and meetings ahead I don’t know the outcome of. It could be any other day really.

But it’s the only today I get to live in. So at some point I’ll pause to laugh, or steal some time back to take a stroll, or simply pause to look around and marvel at the world, or all of the above.

If today is to be a favourite, we need to choose to make it so.

Enjoying the moment

16 August 2016 / Andrew

I’ve sat in this cafe at least a dozen times over the last year or so and never noticed how diverse the lights. They are different sizes, shapes and strength.

If I’m honest, the only reason I haven’t noticed the lights before, is because I have never been fully present in this cafe. I’ve never taken the time to sit and just absorb my surroundings and let the sights and sounds connect me in the moment.

As a futurist most of my thoughts are in the future. I know others who spend most of their thought life in the past.

And of course there are a few lucky people who are incredibly good at being present. At noticing. Engaging. Connecting. Absorbing. And ultimately enjoying the moment.

The past is behind us, the future is coming. Only now can we live fully in this moment.

∴

One of my weaknesses is being present.

I’m certainly not saying we shouldn’t review the past, or think of the future. But if our thoughts and conversations are always somewhere other than here, in this moment, then in a way we are missing out on living.

Choosing to be colourful

31 July 2016 / Andrew

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?

∴

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.

Are you trying to spread what you don’t have?

21 July 2016 / Andrew

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.

To spread something, you’ve got to have it to spread.

To spread happiness, you’ve got to have happiness.

To spread excellence,

Generosity,

Ideas,

Courage,

Faith,

Hope,

Or even love.

You first need to have some to spread.

And the more you have, the more you can give.

∴

We can’t spread these things if we are fully empty.

If you find yourself scraping the bottom of the barrel, maybe it’s time you take a break, refresh, or just get near people who have it.

Replenish, so that you can provide all that goodness, that people around you are longing for.

When to settle for good enough

1 July 2016 / Andrew

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.

As a young guy I was good at coding, and this knowledge allowed me to learn new skills coding in Visual Basic as I got a real job. However when I compare myself to our IT team I’m a good amateur at best.

I have in the past really enjoyed coding (I like creating new things), and right up to last year I’ve dreamed of teaching myself the latest technologies.

Then I realised, in a moment of brilliance, that it’s a ridiculous idea. To be the leader I need to be, I don’t need to be a better coder.

Good enough is fine.

Good enough is perfect for me.

And realising I’m good enough at something, is incredibly liberating.

∴

Obviously I’m not saying you shouldn’t get better at things. I never want to stop being a better leader of leaders.

Choosing what will really make you the person you want to be is essential for letting go of what’s not.

Getting to a point where you can say ‘I’m good enough at this’, not only allows others to be better than you, but frees you from some dream which may be more of a subconscious burden than you realise.

What are somethings you’ve always wanted to be better at?

Maybe, good enough is fine.

Will it matter in 5 years time?

23 June 2016 / Andrew

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.

Prior Place (No Exit).

Apart from smiling and wondering who named the street Prior Place, it made me think of prior places I have been. Not houses or streets as such, but situations.

Places where I felt like the world was caving in. Prior times when the pressure was unbearable. Anxious places that I thought had no exit, and wouldn’t end.

But they did end.

And there was a way out.

Life, as they say, went on.

It reminded me that the worry and stress and anxiety we face today, will seem insignificant in a few years’ time.

It reminded me that I need to do my best today, and not worry so much about tomorrow.

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself”

∴

The not worrying about tomorrow doesn’t mean we don’t plan to do things in the future to fix our problem.

It does mean we don’t burn mental energy stressing about what we can’t fix today.

If you’re struggling with worry and stress about things at the moment. A great question to ask is this…

‘Will it matter in 5 years time?’

Effectively, when we look back at this prior place, will all this stress and worry be worth the energy I am pouring into it.

I can tell you from personal experience, that it almost always wont.

Getting past the first time

14 May 2016 / Andrew

The first time you …

… ride a bike,

… parallel park,

… write a blog,

… own a project,

… shape clay,

… read a non-fiction book,

… run 2km,

Is almost always the hardest.

That’s because learning to become a better version of you is risky and takes courage. You might fail.

Not a single person in the world, got better at something they never tried!

∴

Is there something you have always wanted to try? More importantly is there something you know you need to try?

Don’t let a moment of fear stop you, from embarking on a journey that could change your life.

Why memories exist in the now.

10 May 2016 / Andrew

Photo of actual sunset from the bridge.

And so it came to be that I was standing with my daughter on the walk bridge, in the now, watching as the sun slowly inched below the horizon. As twilight took hold a memory was locked away. A memory of being present, being here, being in the now.

And I could have missed it.

A few minutes earlier I had been driving home, noticing the sun as New Zealand rotated away from its radiant light. I decided to call my daughter and told her to meet me outside in a few minutes, and just minutes after that we watch the sun set for another day.

It was exciting.

Beautiful.

Memorable. (Memories are only made in the now!)

Fun.

And all it took was a simple choice, to disconnect and enjoy the moment. To be in the now.

∴

My mind is always active. It’s so active that often I miss what is happening around me.

I miss the smell of flowers as I enter the room.

I miss the popping sounds as I walk along an estuary.

I miss the opportunity to engage with the person in front of me because I’m thinking of what’s coming up.

I miss the now.

Do you?

Learning to read changed my life.

28 April 2016 / Andrew

With the exception of primary school, the first book I ever read cover to cover was when I was 27 years old. It was a Tom Clancy novel. The first business book I ever read was in my early 30’s, ‘The One Minute Manager’.

My journey with reading really took off as the founder of Agoge. I realised that no one else was easily going to teach me, push my thinking, or challenge the status-quo. So I decided I learn to read, so that I could learn to learn.

Nowadays, words and me still don’t get on very well. I’m terrible at spelling and I’ve learnt more about phonic spelling from my kids, than I ever did at school. But I’m learning.

I read, 30+ books a year.

I write blogs, ever thankful for spell checker.

I talk, using big words, that sometimes even mean what I intended.

I lead, I learn, I grow, I educate, I grow wiser, and even love people more, all because of books.

Reading has changed my life.

∴

A book is a bargain. An absolute bargain.

Where else to you get to access knowledge and ideas from experts in-depth, and get to learn from them for just a few dollars?

Where else do you get ideas that can truly shape your life?

For those who struggle to read, it’s worth the struggle. (Message me if you’d like some tips)

For everyone else, I can honestly say, by not reading you are missing out on the opportunity to learn, and experience, and develop, in ways you never dreamed of.

You are missing out on learning to be a better you.

Category: lead vividly (Page 3 of 18)

Is today your favourite day?

∴

Enjoying the moment

∴

Choosing to be colourful

∴

Are you trying to spread what you don’t have?

∴

When to settle for good enough

∴

Will it matter in 5 years time?

∴

Getting past the first time

∴

Why memories exist in the now.

∴

Learning to read changed my life.

∴

Subscribe

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories