Category: Uncategorized

Where have you been in the past 80 days?
Have you been around the world?

Not me. Not this year.
Definitely not in the past 2 months and 22 days.

I used to get the itch to travel.
To see and experience something else, something new.
Those days are long gone.
I have grown old.
I no longer need to escape from reality.
I stay where I am.
To savor the gift of today.

To be me and no one else.
To enjoy the time to myself.
To enjoy the kindness from friends, family and strangers.
To enjoy the mundane harvest from average life.

I’ve been exploring myself in the past 80 days.
I’ve been around the world of my own creations.

Freedom to speak up against government dissent is the surest way to maintain democracy. Prevent dictatorship. Hold people accountable.

Nothing is free. Freedom is not free. Freedom is not without costs.

We get what we pay for. Paywalls used to annoy me. Now I subscribe to my favorite news outlet. I just made a once off donation of 10 pounds to the Guardian. I wish I could do more. Give more.

The press is made up of people like us. They have bills to pay.
They need to eat. They have families.

Will you join me in supporting the press and safeguarding our freedom of speech?
Will you donate to a reputable news house of your choice? Pay for monthly subscription?

Writing has become a way of life.
Words consume me.
Words breathe life back into my soul.
I laugh out loud.
Why am I laughing?
No particular reason.
I feel happy to be me.
To be alive.
I laugh out loud.
No one can hear me.
I laugh out loud to myself and for myself.

It’s Friday.
I work late; having fun excavating and putting meaning to overlooked items. My perspective has changed. I’m not a management consultant, but I can relate to their way of working.

I’ve been programmed to add value from packaging the “so what” in ways that makes sense. How long it will take us to get from here to there. Compare the time on the watch to the rest of clocks in the office. Why is the watch slower/faster than the rest? Why is the watch worn on the wrist? Is this why the sales team always late? What is the pattern?

I don’t talk to everyone. Scanning and diving with select group that will add the most value. Ignoring the skeptics but getting them on board by asking the right questions before giving an answer. Packaging just the right information for the right people in the shortest time.

Understanding the question is the most difficult part.

The planner in me grows uneasy. I have no plans for the year.

I tried to break down my daily hours to get as much done as possible.
I refrained from my usual self after a friend advised me to not  sign up for anything new.
She’s right. Life’s about to get very hectic.

I feel like I’m wasting time. I should be doing more. I could be doing more!
For now, I’ll live with this discomfort.
Discomfort means friction.
Friction means movement.
I hope I’m moving forward.

You have to live with yourself. Do what feels right. You know the answer. You know what to do. If you want to be good at something, practice.

Elevator pitch? Walking through your resume? Practice out loud. Talk to your reflection. Record yourself. By hearing your own voice, you’ll find natural ways to refine your pitch. When you play back the recording, you’ll pick up how you should vary your voice, pitch and volume to make a better story.

It sounds strange? It should. Ideas in your head are for you and you only; living in self-contained vacuum; uncontaminated. Unreal.

Ideas come to life in black and white, said out loud or performed through your body. A figment of your imagination co-mingles with the world. Ideas must survive alongside external forces.

Imagine yourself in front of a crowd and wonder how your message will be consumed. What seemed like a great idea in your head may sound strange, forcing you to refine or rewrite the story altogether.

Be clear on the story. What is it that you’re trying to sell? What you will do for them. Why they should care! Communicate in tangible and plain language. Demonstrate how you’ve tried to walk a mile in their shoes. Help them get to their next goal post.
It’s about them.
It should be a win-win for all, not a zero-sum game.

Smile. Make eye contact. Be human.

We try to emulate those in power and people we respect. We imitate those who wow us, hoping to extract the secret elixir that makes them so great.

Sure, it’s admirable to aspire to be more like someone we respect and adore… but we’re not cut from the same fabric. We can never become who we aren’t meant to be. We can only be the best versions of ourselves. Most importantly, what works for them won’t work for us.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but the biggest sin to ourselves in dulling the uniqueness that makes us like no other.

We follow the path we avoid the most.
We surround ourselves with people we can’t stand

The more we fight, the more we’re forced to deal with the past…most of us refusing to see the purpose of the lessons left behind.

We let people in to activate our past.
Once or twice is never enough.
Multiple iterations required before we let ourselves see kaleidoscopic patterns.
Accept. Deny. Act. Repeat.
We see what we must.
We can move on only when we create new patterns.

There are no short cuts.
None, whatsoever.
Why do we try to fight the inevitable?