Conor writes about Intentional Leadership and Building Self Belief in those around you
Be careful what you wish for… In the Zoo, the animals are safe in their cages, they are fed 3 meals a day, the fence keeps out predators and competition (isn’t that what Trump promised?).
We have to be careful what we wish for.
Freedom comes with a price, and that price is called responsibility. We need to practice the responsibility that allows us to deal with true freedom.
From Peter Drucker:
Freedom is not fun. It is not the same as individual happiness, nor is it security or peace or progress. It is a responsible choice. Freedom is not so much a a right as a duty. Real freedom is not freedom from something; that would be licence. It is freedom to choose between doing or not doing something, to act one way or another, to hold one belief or the opposite, It is not “fun” but the heaviest burden laid on man: to decide his own individual conduct as well as the conduct of society and to be responsible for both decisions.”
If you liked this, you will like reading Freedom is Not Fun.
I spoke with one of my mentors in Madrid this week. We spoke about success in business.
I share his answer in this video.
PS 99.9% of business (and life) success is due to Commitment, rather than Brilliant Ideas or Decisions
This video is from up in the French Pyrenees. It is about learning to ski.
It takes a few days of hard knocks to get to a level where you can even basically enjoy it.
The skills that turn out to be passions in your life, they will take time to develop. Many people give up after 1 day of frustration – they give up on skiing, they give up on speaking in public, they give up on learning a new language.
The easy stuff gets boring quickly. The harder skills can give a lifetime of enjoyment… if you can get through the initial pain.
If you liked this post, you will also like What is the hardest thing you ever had to work for? and Finding Purpose and Defining a Vision for your Life.
What skills are you working to improve in 2018? What areas of your life will you dedicate time and energy to make changes? I’d love to hear in the comments below…
“The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now”
Po from Kung Fu Panda
The number 2 film on my “all time most watched” list is Kung Fu Panda 2. It was my daughter’s favourite during many of our travels together over the last decade. It is a film that had something for a young girl and something for her father.
We begin with Po, the Kung Fu Panda, frustrated with his life and feeling lost. Over the course of 90 minutes, Po learns to accept who he is and find inner peace.
Any guesses on the film I have watched most in my entire life? Check out this comment on the blog post for the answer!
There is formula for changing people. Doctor Malik Mohammed shared this wisdom with the EO Global Leadership Academy last week in Washington, USA. If you are to change someone’s behaviour patterns, two things are necessary.
Learn more about Dr Malik Mohammed and watch Dr Malik Mohammed speaking.
Farmers understand the seasons – they don’t plant in autumn and try to reap a harvest in winter… they know that spring is for planting, summer is for nurturing and autumn is for reaping.
In our own lives we have these seasons. If you can recognise the seasons of your life, you can keep a better perspective and clarity about what you are seeking to achieve.
Stay strong… and remember: all winters come to an end and spring, the window of opportunity will come again.
I mentioned Brandon Dempsey’s blog post: How to cautiously and successfully reap the rewards of your hard work
I'd love you to leave a comment and tell me the answer to this question: Who is the most enthusiastic person that you know? Thanks, Conor
Last night, I asked a retired inspector of schools: “What makes a great school?”
His answer… “Music.”
He said that infallibly he would find a thriving musical scene in every great school that he had visited.
When you are surrounded by enthusiastic people, you are willing to take risks and learn; brave tries are celebrated. When you are surrounded by cynics and apathetic people you don’t take risks and any effort at bravery is laughed at and mocked.
On Friday I attended the YouTube Creators day in Barcelona. It struck me just how powerful a room full of enthusiastic people can be. There was no cynicism and no apathy. All efforts at Learning, trying and courage to take risks were celebrated.
PS My own answer is: Florian Mueck (http://www.florianmueck.com/florian/)
Last week, my 13 year old niece Natia asked me: “what is the most important lesson you have learnt in your life?”
Natia was clearly quite serious (and had thought about her own answer), so I took a few minutes before responding. The video below explains my answer to her question.
Leave it in the comments below 😉
Life is much better today than ever before. I guess the challenge is that we have improved all of the lower parts of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but lost a lot of the institutions and connections that helped people explore the higher elements of meaning, connection, significance and self-transcendence.
Thanks to my brother for sharing the infographic 😉
