Tag-Archive for » inspiration «

Go ahead, drink the Kool-Aid

24
Nov 2012

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There’s an art to belief, just ask doubting Thomas.

Everyday it gets harder and harder to believe what you hear. To comprehend that the stories you do come across, are not actually stories. That your reality is either a beautiful nightmare, or a really questionable dream.

And there’s a running contradiction. Spend less & save (but sign up for this credit-card), eat less (whilst we broadcast show after show about cooking and eating), live-green (whilst we get planning permission to expand airports) – the list goes on.

Sure, we get given the odd “hero” or “heroic” moment – & we’re grateful:

Until the media gets its claws in, tears it all down – & leaves us questioning our own love for these “heroes”:

And we don’t ask who deserves the credit, because we already know.

William James said:

“Belief creates the actual fact…” 

That, I believe.

Category: A Thought..., I'm Just Sayin'  Tags: belief, drink the kool-aid, inspiration, William James  

Taking the high road

19
Nov 2012

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And before you ask, it’s the only road.

Sure you’re tricked into thinking otherwise. That if the map has other options, easier routes – then that’s the path. But do that, and sooner or later you end up at a dead-end with questions and no answers.

By now I know you’re wondering what I’m talking about. Grudges, angst, the last word – whatever. Why bother?

The effort needed to care enough about a situation that you sit there annoying yourself about a million possible outcomes, is too much. It’s time wasted.

And you’ll run into similar conflicts every so often, personalities you clash with, conversations that irk you – but this time you’ll recognize the route…

“See everything, overlook a great deal, correct a little.” - Pope John XXIII

Category: A Thought..., I'm Just Sayin', Life Lessons  Tags: inspiration, Life Lessons, the high road  

False senses of security

07
Nov 2012

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There’s a danger in routine. The minute you break it you’re lost. However, you look just as lost roaming around carefree, without a cause.

It’s funny how we crave the same security we question; jobs, relationships, law enforcement – all things that make us feel safe. However the minute these things falter, we wonder whether they were ever any good to begin with.

And it takes a shock event to realise that there is no certainty. A bad presidential candidate to realise how much we need a better one, an amazing meal to realise the crap we’re usually served. But without those things we’re in the dark – and we’re happy there.

It’s clear as humanity, we’ll never be finished learning, but as long as we take the little we know and amplify it for the masses, you know – what the weather will be like tomorrow, what wine goes best with lamb and etc, we’ll be just fine…right?

“When nothing is sure, everything is possible.” - Margaret Drabble

Category: A Thought..., I'm Just Sayin'  Tags: inspiration, security  

Loyalty: an unacknowledged skill

05
Nov 2012

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We know nothing is ever straightforward and that there is always a smallprint – but we ignore it.

Like ticking the box that says we have read the terms and conditions, or taking the time to read every single ingredient in the list on our next snack – it’s time we want to waste elsewhere.

This is an “instant” world where loyalty is fleeting, where if our internet lags – we switch providers, or if our favourite brand takes too long to release the next trend – we jump ship.

But here’s the kick: Loyalty isn’t earnt over time, you either have it or you don’t.

And by “having it”, I don’t mean having loyalty pledged to you, I mean you doing the pledging. That alone is a skill.

An example:

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Just look at anyone with a mobile phone.

A lot of people rushed out and bought a Blackberry a few years ago because the advertising was snazzy and it was the “must have” thing.

This was despite the fact that Blackberries had limited internet strength, no “flash” software to access video, and were basically being sold based on their BBM service; a glorified text message.

RIM peaked for a moment, but that moment soon passed. Thereafter, they were reported to having experienced a decline in sales and were being referred to as a company that could maybe make a comeback.

In some cases, it would be stupid to be loyal. If something is bad, why should you subject yourself to it? – I love shoes, but if I try on a pair that really hurt my feet, favourite brand or not, I’m choosing a different style!

But there are cases where people have looked stupid at first, because they were loyal when most of us would have been dismissive. However they went on to prove their genius because they were able to pledge a kind of loyalty most of us can only admire.

And to think, Steve Jobs was fired from Apple and Bill Gates was a Harvard dropout with a failed first business - Yet I use an iPod, and a computer that runs on Microsoft.

And if you still think I’m referring to loyalty to a person, or to people, then I’ve lost you…

Category: A Thought...  Tags: inspiration, Loyalty, skill  

There are no ingredients in elbow grease

20
Oct 2012

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It’s interesting, most of us spend most of each day working and those who don’t work are encouraged to get a job.

We have jobs, we want a careers, we have careers we want different ones.

When you were a child, asked what you want to be when you grow up, you probably didn’t choose what it is you do now. Or if you did, you never imagined the work involved.

Most likely you were bogged down over the course of SAT’s, GCSE’s, and further education and couldn’t quite see the connection between maths and being say an athlete.

The 2012 olympics is over and the news is filled with how we should magic-up money for sports in schools, because of course that’s the saving grace now that we’ve hosted it. We’re totally manipulated by whatever the trend is – where was this great need for the next Jonathan Edwards a decade ago?

There are studies about how television programmes affect how we feel in society or even influence it which seems to confirm that the course of life itself is the determining factor in what you choose to work doing.

Sure, you can have a burning desire to be a dancer, a scientist or a chartered accountant – but how did you get there? What was the formula? What fuelled the desire? – Chances are outside of money and/or quality of life – it was some romantic idea you created that has nothing to do with the reality of the job at hand.

And if you’re there already, if you’re doing the work you absolutely love everyday, you are a rare kind, not because you love your work, but because you love it everyday.

That, is the dream…

Category: A Thought...  Tags: career, inspiration, work  

Too many, or too few?

14
Oct 2012

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A friend and I were talking about fashion, and never knowing what to wear with all the drastic seasonal changes. You know, how we flit from shoe to sneaker, jacket to windbreaker and beanie to ski hat, our only concern being that we should have chosen the other belt or that these gloves aren’t as snug as the others.

I started thinking about it. What’s more difficult: having too much, or not having enough?

People across the globe mention the downfalls of being successful, having more than the usual. That applies to us all, you have more than someone else, but you don’t feel like it when you think of the things you’d like that you don’t have.

Some leaders thought communism was the answer. Some still do.

I love our capitalist ways though. The earning potential of it all. If you forked out for 3 cars after scrimping and saving for three quarters of your life for them, why not?  - Collectible items? Go for it! It’s your money.

There’s a feeling though, of being in a grocery store with an empty trolley and a blank cheque, and leaving with nothing but chocolate & ice-cream. Making poor choices & effing it up.

It happens annually on Big Brother, that’s the beauty of watching it. The housemates get a few extra pounds for the shopping list after a weeks “famine”, and everyone goes crazy over sugar and peanut butter.

Truth is, too much, is too much. That’s why having options is so helpful. It narrows it down. Makes it easy.

We like easy.

Category: A Thought...  Tags: choice, gratitude, inspiration, options  

Never play without a heart…

14
Aug 2012

Category: A Thought..., Stuff I Like  Tags: Dreama, inspiration  

“Everything you can imagine is real….”

12
Jul 2012

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“Everything you can imagine is real…” – Pablo Picasso

Category: A Thought..., Stuff I Like  Tags: Dreama, inspiration, Pablo Piccaso  

Whatever the weather…

08
Jun 2012

Remember my recent post about there being no perfect anything? In case you missed it, I dedicated that thought to the general gist that we often do things wanting to get them right; which human and a good thing…but holding your breath waiting for the stars to align, isn’t.

It’s like planning a BBQ two sunny weeks in advance; and having torrential rainfall on the would be day. It’s also like spending hours organising your iTunes library…and having your hard-drive pack up on you…very, VERY annoying….but it happens (Trust me!)

Who want’s to know everything anyway? Like predict the future? That could be a very grim world you lived in…I recently went to see Men In Black 3 (in 3D of course!) – and without giving too much away, there was this character (the man in the middle above) who could predict alternate situations in the future.

First I thought it was awesome, until I saw that he was burdened with knowing  all the horrible things that could happen, and also knowing that he had know way to stop them…

I really think that life is about accidentally stepping in puddles in your new shoes when it rains and thanking people for doing something nice for you.

It’s also about bad days at work, finding random money in an old jacket pocket and finding out that you’ve ran out of cranberry sauce after you’ve cooked the roast & dished up! 8-O

In short – Enjoy the ride! ;-)

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Category: A Thought..., Random Chit-Chat  Tags: Dreama, inspiration, Men in Black 3, Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin  

It Doesn’t Matter

23
May 2012

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There is no “perfect” or “Ideal” anything.

  • Moment
  • Route
  • Salary
  • Meal
  • Relationship
  • Job
  • Day
  • Food
  • Weather
  • Outfit

I’ll tell you why. Opinion. Opinion means that even if it’s 30° in London in July, you have the day off from work, money in your pocket and the “perfect” plan and you are so happy it’s starting to hurt to smile…

…Someone else, a stranger might be sat indoors, staring at a sleigh, reminiscing about that winter of ’63 (the coldest winter the UK has ever had) – when they fell in love.

To someone, summer could be a constant reminder of everything they hate. London might be too busy a city for them and they might not have anything to smile about.

Now, frankly, I don’t want to meet the second person. They seem like a real downer! 8-O – But you get the point.

“Perfect” or “ideal” are based on opinion. What you think, like and agree with, I might not. Does that make me wrong, or you right?

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Category: A Thought...  Tags: inspiration, Life Lessons, the big freeze 1963, what is perfect  
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