…get yourself a mentor. We’re not just talking about someone who can provide neutral third party advice and act as a sounding board for your ideas. Although this can be a critical part of the…
Category: contribution
7 practical tips of persistence
Tip #1: Start small One thing at a time, ‘Φασούλι φασούλι γεμίζει το σάκούλι’. Affect change where you can, immediately, progressively, and iteratively – this stuff is easy if all you need to worry about is making a change to…
My story of persistence: Part #6
I know this story has been dragging on for some time so I’m going to try and wrap it up as quickly as I can, maybe even in this post…let’s see how we go…thanks for…
My story of persistence: Part #5
As you do when looking for work, especially when you know its time to move on, you look for anything and everything that looks remotely interesting. You don’t really put all your eggs in one…
My story of persistence: Part #4
There is something very reassuring about mail. I reckon it’s a key indicator of a modern, functioning civilisation (along with safe and efficient garbage disposal but that’s a story for another day). Almost without exception…
My story of persistence: Part #3
There are some professional service vocations that require practitioners to maintain a certain level of competence by obtaining what’s called continuing professional development points. The goal is 10 points in a 12 month period. You…
My story of persistence: Part #2
So the job situation was by no means dire. I had a good boss who understood me and how I worked. The pay was satisfactory for my level of qualifications at the time and given…
My story of persistence: Part #1
About three years ago, I started on a journey that would take me to a destination that I had decided I needed to reach. I’m making some head way and I want to share my story with you.…
It’s all about Valume
Yesterday, I had the privilege of hearing Adrian Fittolani introduce me to the concept of valume. Now there is no way I will be able to convey the message with anywhere near as much heart…
#EpicCollaboration
Firstly I want to thank everyone involved at #EpicCollaboration. I had the pleasure of attending a strategy session the other night with a group of honest, intelligent, compassionate, creative and committed collaborators. I appreciate you…
With intention
Know real Now matters Open honest Without hesitation Live deliberately Extend boundaries Do what matters Grow and contribute Eclecticism
I’ve been launching…
Firstly there’s Knowledge Work: honest, friendly and highly beneficial mentoring for young professionals. Then there’s the launch of something that is truly beyond words. Unequivocally remarkable. Those of you who know me know what I’m talking about…for those…
Keep on…
Keep on running. Keep on learning. Keep on exploring. Keep on giving. Keep on receiving. Keep on wondering. Keep on asking. Keep on trying. Keep on living. That is the meaning of life. Keep on…
Learning from strangers
All our lives we are taught by strangers. We are told to listen, respect and learn from their teachings. It’s been a long since teaches actually taught us something worth learning though and that’s the…
Public Domain Dedication
“Public Domain Dedication” sounds like the type of thing you do when you’re about to ask your life-long partner to marry you in front of tens of thousands of people at a New York Yankees…
Shady
There are so many shady people out there it’s easy to forget that honest and genuine people exist. The shadiness isn’t always obvious. It’s not as if these people are necessarily rude or obnoxious or…
Creatively connected
We live in a connected community. Linguistic and geographical boundaries exist no longer. Lets us creatively.collaborate; creatively.communicate; creatively.connect with creatively.committed and creatively.compassionate individuals. A better world will evolve as we move beyond solving problems and begin to…
Making time
You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it. Charles Buxton I always try putting in place a few measures to ensure I get exposure to challenging and confronting…
Working with your hands
In this day and age intellectual property rules but there’s something to be said about working with your hands. Going to university, getting a degree and landing that sweet desk job is the aspiration of…
The whole is great
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Aristotle It’s true also that each part is painstakingly engineered and crafted to serve its own purpose. We are each individually capable of anything but…
The journey continues
As we all see the end of another year that our Gregorian calendars number 2013, what better time to reflect and celebrate the year that was. I sincerely hope that those reading this have had…
Community
What does community mean? How do we define who is in our community and who isn’t? Geographical parameters work…well sort of…but what about online communities? Do online communities exist by virtue of a username and…
Illusion of scarcity
Our consumerist existence operates on the concept of scarcity. We are made to believe that the things we have become obsolete, that the sales on offer are for a limited time, that the goods we…
Whether
Not the heat or the cold or anything meteorological but the choice we make in our minds about whether to do or think in a particular way. Whether you think you can, or you think…
Artistic expression
Some of us write. We all probably photograph. Drawing was something we did as kids [at least for most of us]. By writing, photographing and drawing we communicate to those who care to notice. Some…
The Horse and His Trainer
The following is my adaption of one of Aesop’s fables: A horse trainer took the utmost pains with his charger. As long as the Spring carnival lasted, he looked upon him as his fellow-helper in…
Seriously…
Don’t take this life so seriously. Be free. Enjoy. You have only one go at it. Why waste it?
Eggs will hatch
You may have heard the saying: Don’t count your chickens before your eggs hatch The basic premise is self explanatory. We have so many chickens and yet we still insist on counting our eggs. Instead of…
Recognise amazing
Calling someone out for their brilliance or in recognition of their amazingness is not a frequent enough occurrence. We should all strive to point out a huge effort, to give credit when and where credit…
Juggling
The ability to juggle is said to make you smarter, more attentive and agile. I wonder whether juggling the responsibilities of life counts… We all have so much going on that juggling competing priorities, things…
The Estyn Curve
The theory illustrated in the Estyn Curve was developed by a small group of undergraduates (including yours truly and a guy named Estyn who’s idea it was in the first place) whilst procrastinating instead of…
Building
Working with your hands, learning a trade, building something you can see before your very own eyes is a wonderful thing. Like the intangible effort, building something with your hands requires skill, concentration and effort. Little is left to chance. Unlike the intangible effort…
Mastering
Getting to know something like the back of your hand takes time, dedication, commitment and above all sacrifice. To master an art is to choose this art over all others. Most fall into vocations that…
Contentment
Contentment is a word often used out of context. It has the connotation of being mediocre and settling for whatever when in fact it is the acknowledgement and satisfaction of reaching your capacity. In other…
Stand up
Stand up for progress. Stand up for change. Stand up to brief. Stand up to debrief. Stand up to sprint. Stand up to retrospect. Stand up to scrum. Stand up to iterate. Stand up to…
Human being
Human Prejudiced, Futile Vulnerable, Doubtful, Euphoric Connected in existence, Freedom from honesty Knowledge, Experience, Change Growth, Contribution Being
Frequency
We’re all on a different wavelength but even so there’s significant overlap within our range…unless of course you’re a tuba and you have to deal with a piccolo. But that’s rare. Most of the time…
Mapping the world
The good people over at Maptia are collecting stories from all over the world from every country, every culture, and every background. I’m very excited to be a part of the community as a founding storyteller…
Tune in
Every now and then stop and tune in to what is happening around you, be conscious of your place. How does what you are doing [or not doing] relate to everybody else around you? What…
Adding value
Where do you think you add value? It’s a question I ask myself often…it’s like looking yourself in the eye and asking what your purpose is…it’s a tough one. To answer the question you could…
Terms and conditions
We live in a world of terms and conditions. Almost everything we do and almost everything we own are all subject to terms and conditions. From the toaster we use to the cars we…
Misanthropy
Misanthropy is the general hatred, distrust or disdain of the human species or human nature. The word’s origin is from Greek words μῖσος (misos, “hatred”) and ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos, “human”). Not to be mistaken with its…
Automatons
The only thing that now separates us humans from robots is self awareness. There are probably still a few things we can do a little better than a well oiled, software driven, precision built machine,…
Illusion of choice
We are constantly faced with decisions, hundreds of times a day. What to eat, what to wear, how to travel, who to speak to, what to say, how to say it etc etc. Choices. Decisions.…
On edge
Long days at work, lack of sleep and never finding time for yourself can drive the best of us to the edge. We begin to feel frustrated over the little things that would usually go…
Meaningful relationships
Our interaction with others is what defines us. It is our relationships that make our lives meaningful. Our contribution to others is why we exist. If there is someone you care about; if there is…
Random acts of kindness
We all have something to learn from each other. No matter who you are, what you do or what you’re about. Even Emmanuel, the homeless man you see pictured, was a source of invaluable information…
Responsibility
We have an insatiable want to own things, whether it be an item or a situation, we want to know we’re in control, that we’re completely responsible for it and that no one else has…