To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. ¬¬
____Ralph Waldo Emerson
I am conscious that, so far, my musings have been disparate and quite personal – in a sense I have been putting down on paper what is in my mind at that moment. There has been little structure to things, particularly when compared to a book where there is a linear progression: introduction, middle and end. If I am going to engage with YOU and YOU and YOU then YOU need to understand what it is that I am trying to convey and the value of my thinking. Hence the reference to Tribe or more likely in my case a set of mini-Tribes. It is no good having an awesome message for personal development if: (a) no one hears you or (b) worse still, no one gets IT. In starting my blog, I was not expecting from the outset to formulate a series of universal precepts that could be packaged and then pushed out over the internet as “Formula XYZ” for success – heck, there is enough of that already. I am not saying this with any note of disdain for those people who do or have done that – the very best to them. Apart from not having the learning or adaptation, I think the points that I want to make have probably been said (over the last 100 years) many times before, but rather it is connectivity with a Tribe that is going to make the difference for me. By this I don’t mean going for the universal “I have got all the answers” but rather looking to work with similar or like minded people who believe that they have more to offer and are not fulfilling their potential – whether that be around work, family or spiritual. I would like to feel that we are all starting out on a similar, awesome journey and the destination is presently unknown but the path is simply to live life to the full. I have set out above the best definition I have come across on success. I am not sure if you agree with the definition – in a sense that is not the point – but I simply ask that you hang on for the ride. I promise you that I will not simply off load a reconstituted version of some other guru’s version of events but come up with some critical thinking that makes you move from the message, to adaptation, to the application. I know from my own upbringing that it is possible to become a better, more focused individual and not get caught in the trap of assuming that this is all there is or will ever be. What I aim to do is establish a number of critical ideas and strategies that can be adapted into both the personal and business world with the key message being “You only have one life; how do you set about making the most of it?” I do not wish to be prescriptive about the key points but rather set people on the path to self-enlightenment so they are able to deeply absorb the techniques and concepts and make them part of their daily lives for the betterment of all. I am not the least bit interested in people learning something for learning’s sake – it all comes down to how that information is utilised; moving from theory to (dedicated) practice. Or to put it in more colloquial terms: USE IT OR LOSE IT. How many times do you see programmes, sometimes very expensive and lengthy, talking about goal setting, working smarter, time management, business development or brand building but where do you see courses that ask the simple question: “Did X course make a difference? If so, how? And have the concepts been life-changing and in what way?” I am interested in learning. In fact at the moment it is all I want to do (my informal degree I like to call it) but believe me when I say that I have seen so much training in my time to know that it is not training we lack (or even coaching or mentoring for that matter) but what we lack is the inertia, drive and self-discipline to persistently and consistently keep applying what we have learnt. That’s it then: the key to my Tribe is to find a way of learning that others can follow that makes a (daily) difference in their lives. Here we go then … 17/ii/2010