Author: neil

It was a time of great tempest in my life. In hindsight, it was mostly self-inflicted, primarily through a series of poor choices and with no understanding of what living life with the long-term in mind meant.

Many wonderful things happened to me around that period. My now-wife & I decided to, and got married. I changed jobs and continents. I started seeing opportunities where others said none existed. I grabbed as many as I could, made more choices, and as the Richard Feynman quote I wrote out says, some days gave happiness, others experiences, some others lessons, and many memories.

These changes started with inspiration from Jim Rohn and Bob Proctor, two men I had never heard about until I heard their voices on a mp3. They were my constant companion in the car on my daily commute. I pondered on some of their ideas, immediately applied some, and downright rejected others. The idea of a life led by one’s own philosophy was captivating.  I started questioning my own philosophies in different aspects of my life. Where I had no idea, I borrowed from those two gents in my car. I started reading more books, better books. I listened to better talks. I met more people and remained open a little longer to the conversations. I cut out several toxic relationships. I started thinking about money differently.

A decade or so later, and as another trip around the sun completes, I marvel at how listening to those voices, and the small changes in choices have compounded in my life. Of course, I’ve made many ridiculous and downright stupid choices too along the way.  But those have not dampened, in my eyes at least, the effect of the compounding, better ones.

I’m truly grateful to the two people who shared that mp3 with me, and put me on a different trajectory.

A version of Jim Rohn’s talk is here

 

Channeling nervousness into enthusiasm is one of the best hacks I’ve learnt for doing a presentation.

It’s not easy, of course. The judge sitting in on all proceedings, the internal one, continually mutters criticisms and casts doubt. Distractions abound, particularly those I can’t do anything about in the moment (like the person who abruptly turns off their camera).  There’s a never-ending stream of ideas that pop up as I discover things about the audience I did not know when I started, all preparation aside.

Repeatedly putting myself in situations of discomfort – at every Toastmasters meeting, or team meetings, for example – has been good practice. In the relatively friendly environment, I can ask for and get honest feedback (evaluation specifically, rather than appreciation or coaching) on what caught any one person’s attention, or caused them to flinch in horror or disgust.  Hearing it immediately after the episode makes it easier to know what fine tuning, or radical surgery, is required. Over a period of time, the effort delivers compounded benefits.

 

 

The identity we build for ourselves is our fortress, and then our tomb.

That’s the thought that went through my mind as I sat in on a meeting today, watching a few people go through a major organisational transition announcement.

I know it’s easy to do this observation when it’s about other people. Very like, those very people I observed today were the ones doing the observation about other people going through that transition not so long ago.

Bruce Lee’s advice “be like water” comes to mind. Practising that idea every single day is a good idea, in preparation for the day that I too will be going through the same transition. I don’t know what will cause that transition or when it will happen. That transition might be life itself. The advice still holds, I think.

Be like water.

Flow like it does.

Adapt like it does.

I’ve come to fall in love with those three words, be like water. And I’m reminded of them almost every day lately.