Lead a vivid life that does good

Category: Life Lessons (Page 1 of 8)

3 Steps to get Motivated

Motivation is something you doI didn’t want to run. Not a single bone in my body felt like venturing out into the dark cold winters morning to exercise.

Luckily, I have some well-rehearsed steps to get me motivated:

  • Get what I need | I get dressed and lace up my running shoes.
  • Step Out | I step out the door.
  • Take Steps | I take steps in the right direction and repeat.
  • Finish | And eventually and after a few thousand steps I finish! And the soak, not in sweat, but in the sweet high of endorphins that comes from finishing.

Clearly, this is not really a post about running.

It’s about motivation.

It’s about that task or project you have been putting off.

Often the times we least feel like it, are the very times that we need create motivation.

Get what you need.

Step out.

And take the first small slow step.

Motivation is not something you have, or feel.

Motivation is something you create.

Motivation is something you do.

Choosing your response

we always get a choice about how we respondLife can never be lived perfectly.

It won’t always go the way you planned.

At times it can be frustrating, annoying, disappointing and painful all at the same time.

And when our world is spinning out of control we can feel our choices are limited.

But … we always get a choice … about how we respond…

Choose…

Kindly.

Boldly.

Vividly.

Lovingly.

Magically.

Graciously.

Beautifully.

Authentically.

It’s easy to become frustrated or beat ourselves up when things aren’t going well. We can feel justified in the way we feel, vindicated even.

That is, until we remember that we always have a choice in how we respond.

When we choose to take a different position, when we step into different actions, then

life

begins

to

brighten

again!

10 great tips when applying for jobs online.

The future of jobs is changing and so is the way you apply for those jobs.

6 years ago (a lifetime in technology) I wrote 14 tips to stand out when applying for a job. Well the way we apply for jobs and big data is changing the whole job seeker experience so here’s my latest tips:

Help the machines10 great tips when applying for jobs online

Computers and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are now doing a lot more of the screening and recommendations to companies of who they should employ.

  1. Create your ‘Machine CV’ | In the olden days when people used to spend 10 seconds skim reading CV’s it was all about standing out. Now almost every platform scrapes your CV and converts it to text so that AI can work its magic (Seek, TradeMe, coHired and most recruitment technologies do it.) Sadly your beautifully crafted, multi-column CV with info-graphics is not that helpful to AI.  The Solution: Have a Machine CV;
    • A well formatted single column CV in Word format (which currently gets the best results)
    • AI loves data, so time to add back in some of those words you’ve been deleting over the last few years. Particularly around the experience and responsibilities you’ve had. It will help you rank higher.
    • Keep pictures and images to a minimum.
  2. Answer Questions Honestly | More organisational science is being mixed with AI in the form of questions that are asked. If you want a job you love, answer them honestly. If AI thinks you are someone different to who you are, it will recommend you for jobs that won’t suit you.
  3. Respond Quickly | AI will process your information as soon as it is completed, no more waiting for a human. The sooner you get the information in, the quicker you will pop to the top of the list.
  4. Reference Checks | Your old managers are time poor and more reference checks are being done electronically. It’s now important to have both their email address and phone numbers. And AI is pretty good at spotting if you have provided dodgy referees by looking at IP addresses and domain names.
  5. Video Interviews | Both automated and human video interviews will continue to increase. Be prepared for them by making sure you are in a quiet space free from distraction. If it’s a 1 on 1 video call, make sure you are logged in and ready to go 5 mins early, so that you know the technology is working and you start relaxed.

Take advantage of Technology

Companies are using technology like crazy. You can too.

  1. LinkedIn Marketing | Is an opportunity to market yourself and to reach past technology directly to hiring managers. It’s never been easier to find out who key people are in an organisation to reach out and find out more about jobs. But be warned, find a relevant person in a relevant location and connect and ask some great questions. Reaching out to the CEO of Microsoft is not likely to get a result.
  2. Social Media Privacy | Public in social media means public. I personally can’t be bothered looking at your Facebook page, but many recruiters do, and more often technology grabs that data. So make conscious decisions about what is public and private across your social accounts.
  3. Job Data Privacy | You also get to control what happens to your data on job boards like Seek, Indeed, and Trade Me Jobs. Review it often if you are actively hunting for work and remove permissions when you are not.

Stay Human

You are human. You are beautifully uniquely you. Make sure you take every opportunity to show that.

  1. Create your ‘Human CV’ | Yes I know, I told you to have a Machine CV, but eventually you will meet a human, so have a great well-presented CV that appeals to them. They are great for making an impact by email or at interviews or even as supporting docs on platforms.
  2. Personalise your application | Take the time to investigate the company you are applying to. And craft your application specifically for the role and advert. Always put your best foot forward. When a human reviews what AI is suggesting they notice if you have put in the effort and personalised for their role and company. That goes a long way to making an impression pre-interview.

Will machines completely replace humans in the recruitment process? Yes & No

Yes – Some big companies already have systems that fully automate the process.
No – Most companies will have a bunch of tools that help automate the process and real humans talking with real humans.

The big question: If a company dehumanizes me in the recruitment process, will they genuinely care about me as a human being when I get the job?

 


PS: Agoge and coHired are amazing places to work. We love technology and love people. Check us out!

Hindsight gifts insights, that improves foresight.

Hindsight gifts insights, that improves foresight.Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we are already one month into 2019.

So how are those goals, ambitions, dreams and resolutions going?

If you are struggling, maybe it’s because you aren’t using hindsight well.

 

Hindsight offers 20:20 vision

It is fair to say that last year did not all go as planned for me.

So at the end of the year I sat and reflected on each month, making as many notes as possible about what happened. I was reminded of some big wins, all the learning, and the amazing people I met. And of course I got to see what didn’t go that well.

I then looked for insights (ah-ha moments) and asked questions like “What did I do that made the biggest difference?” and “What do I need to tweak to help me achieve my goals?”

One thing I noticed was that changes late in the year meant I had fallen into a pattern of managing individuals rather than leading teams (which is not great for a CEO). Using hindsight helped me notice it and make changes to protect this year.

Hindsight if we take the time, actually helps us see and live into the future better.

Hindsight gifts insights, that improves foresight.

We often think about hindsight as … “If I knew then, what I know today, I would’ve done things differently.

Which is different from 20:20 hindsight which is …“What will I do differently today, from what I learnt from then?”

You have a fixed mindset and here’s how to fix it.

Growth comes from the edgesI was attending a conference recently where the keynote speaker was talking about fixed and growth mindsets. He asked everyone who had a fixed mindset to raise their hand and naturally I did.

I was the only one!

Which is crazy because we all have a fixed mindset. In fact the majority of our beliefs and attention are focused on supporting our current world view.

Don’t believe me? Consider these topics… Climate change; immunisation; diversity; feminism; evolution; the government; raising kids; your boss; or even what AI will do to your job. I guarantee you, like me, that you have a fixed mindset in most of these areas. Which is OK, because we can’t be growing in every area, at all times.

So how do we transition from fixed to growth in an area of strong belief?

Learn at the edges.

Take an area where your mindset is fixed and learn or read or consider the complete opposite edge of your current view. Or if your belief is middle of the road, read at the extreme edges of both points of view. As you approach the edges with openness, your views and beliefs will shift. Often not to the edge, but almost certainly from where it was.

Growth doesn’t come from focusing our attention narrowly.

Growth comes at the edges.

I wonder if the fact that I was the only person to raise my hand about having a fixed mindset, means that I was the only one who actually had a true growth mindset.

Because knowing where our mindset is fixed, is the foundation of true growth.

It’s not a priority if there are more than ONE

It’s not a priority if there are more than 1It was only in the 1900’s that it became possible to use the word ‘priorities’.

For the preceding 500 years it was simply ‘priority’.

It was singular.

It meant the very first thing.

Something that must happen immediately prior.

Do you ever have those days where you have so much to do, and you end up working on so many things that you never really get any of them done?

Try setting a #1 priority for each day.

Make it one thing you can hit out of the park. Something that will move your dream forward. Something that will give you a moment of pride when you complete it.

Then do that FIRST.

 

 

[NB it takes effort to think about your priority every day, and more discipline to do it, but the pay back is incredible. Do give it a try]

It is better to be present than give presents.

It is better to be present than give presents. Thank you to the many people I’ve connected with this year, who gave me an unimaginable gift.

Thank you for the irreplaceable gift of your time.

As I head off for a short break tomorrow and I didn’t want to leave without saying Thank You!

Thank you for meeting, talking, messaging, listening, reading, coffee’ing and connecting with me. Thank you for encouraging, challenging, stimulating and evoking me.

My life is honestly so much richer because of you! And I wish I could list you all!

You were present.

You gave me the gift of your time.

Thank you!

And as we head towards time with friends and family and then into 2018 it reminds me…

It is better to be present than give presents.

May we be ‘present’ this Christmas!

Aroha Nui

Could you fail 39 times?

Would you give up on the 39th AttemptI learnt recently that WD-40 stands for “Water Displacement 40”. The 40 means it was his 40th attempt at developing the product.

The  inventor Norm Larsen had tried 39 times to find a way to displace water to stop rusting in the aerospace industry.

When he finally succeeded on his 40th attempt he created a product that has far more uses that just the problem he was seeking to solve.

WD-40 would not exist if he & his team of three had given up on their 31st attempt.

I love that each time I use this product, the name itself, will be a reminder that sometimes failure upon failure is needed before success can occur.

How to rewire your brain

How to rewire your brainMy neighbour’s bach (holiday home) sits on the sand dunes a short distance from the beach. The walking track from the bach to the beach sort of dog-legs through the sand dunes. It doubles back, and makes the walk longer than it could be. But while the path is longer, it is considerably easier and faster than trying to force a new path where one doesn’t exist.

Which is how our brains function.

Over the years we form habits, good and bad, that create neuro-pathways in our minds. These paths make it faster and easier to do things and they eventually become habitual. They become automatic. And the more you use the path, the faster and easier it becomes.

Which is why it is so hard to break old habits. Because the path already exists and has become the default pathway. New habits, like trying to make a new track to the beach, means creating a new path which takes an incredible amount of hard work.

But, you can create new paths. You just need to walk the new track over and over again.

That’s great news!

Our brains are plastic.

Our behaviours are changeable.

You

can

change!

Recently I was making my morning cup of tea and without thinking I added sugar. I haven’t had sugar in my tea for years, but while my mind was somewhere else, my brain chose the old neuro-pathway.

My brain spotted the mistake before I added water, and it reminded me how established the old paths are.

When we are trying to break old, lifelong behaviours, often they will pop up when we least expect it.

That’s OK.

It takes a long time for the old path to become overgrown.

Just keep walking the new path.

Re-framing Failure

What have you learnt from the gift of failure this week

“I hate the word failure and wish it never existed,” I stated as strongly as I could as we reflected on some past experiences.

I shared that the problem with failure is its opposite seems to be pass.

The problem with pass is it has a strong mental connection to school or uni, where you pass or fail.

If you didn’t pass.

You failed.

You were a failure.

Nowadays, particularly in start-ups, ‘failing often’ or ‘failing fast’ is seen as a badge of honour. Because you can learn so much from failure.

Which is why I love how schools are trying their hardest to re-frame the word failure.

My friend who I was sharing all this with said that each Friday, his daughter is asked at her primary school, “What have you learnt from the gift of failure this week?”

Isn’t that a great question! Take another look.

What have you learnt from the gift of failure this week?

I realised in that conversation that I need to intentionally re-frame the word ‘failure’. To stop hating on it.

It should no longer be linked to pass or fail. Rather it should be linked to all the successes I have had as a result of learning from my failure.

Failure can be a gift.

If you learn from it.

 

What have you learnt from the gift of failure this week?

[pause]

[reflect]

Have you learnt anything?

Because if you haven’t, maybe your stuck in your comfort zone again.

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