I read a piece at the weekend in which the difference between being an amateur and professional was explained. An amateur loves practicing, working without pressure, and then suffers when he or she has to perform in the crucible. A professional suffers when she practices, and then enjoys going into the metaphorical battle, whether that… Continue reading Amateur or professional?
Category: Self Improvement
Learning to say “no”
After years of hustling and grinding in a wide range of businesses I am now in the enviable position of being able to turn away work. In fact, it is in my own interest, I believe, to say “no” and turn away work. Not out of arrogance or laziness or indolence or any other reason,… Continue reading Learning to say “no”
Making better videos
I spent a good bit of time at the weekend working on a video. It is a vlog type video covering the three days we have recently spent in the city of Istanbul. In the overall context of my business or my YouTube channel it is a video that will not move the needle. It… Continue reading Making better videos
Habits need to be kept under constant review-“what’s it for?”
I am a great advocate and proponent for the power of habit. I have significant personal experience of how habit can help and harm in the course of a person’s life. For example, the bad habit I had of smoking a great deal of strong cigarettes on a daily basis for many years. And the… Continue reading Habits need to be kept under constant review-“what’s it for?”
Developing the vital skill of saying no
Steve Jobs, I believe it was, who pointed out the necessity of being able to say ‘no’ to requests as a vital tool in your ability to get things done and work efficiently. There are almost certainly many more individuals who have made the same observation. You can be a busy fool and we all,… Continue reading Developing the vital skill of saying no
Why a gratitude journal is a good tool
There is only a couple of individuals from whom I welcome emails outside my area of work and business. One of these guys is in the North of England and is a small business, solo entrepreneur email marketing specialist. The other guy is a man of Irish extraction who is teaching in a business school… Continue reading Why a gratitude journal is a good tool
I’m no artist
I’ve never seen myself as artistic and would never claim to be an artist. I would have viewed myself as far too pragmatic and worldly for that type of thing. But now I am torn between a number of activities which I engage in as a type of hobby and you might consider them, whisper… Continue reading I’m no artist
The secret to the power of habit-making a decision once
I go for a run every evening when I come home from work. It would usually be between 5 pm and 6 pm and I am known to be brutally predictable and reliable in going for the run. Regardless of what the weather is like, I am going for my run. This week we had… Continue reading The secret to the power of habit-making a decision once
The power of habit, organisation, standard operating procedures and obsessive compulsive disorder
One of the girls in the office-Josephine-suggested not too long ago that I had obsessive compulsive disorder. She said it half-jokingly but like most ‘half joking’ remarks there was probably a grain of truth in the observation. My daughter, Lisa, is a primary school teacher and we have often discussed autism and ‘being on the… Continue reading The power of habit, organisation, standard operating procedures and obsessive compulsive disorder
I have started weight training
About three years ago myself and my wife went on the weight loss programme, “Operation Transformation”. And it was a spectacular success for both of us. I lost about three stones in a relatively short period of time by following the programme which involves a food consumption component and an exercise regime. As part of… Continue reading I have started weight training