Motivation Archives - Page 2 of 3

11th December 2015

Go Back and Read That Again

In the spirit of reflection as we get closer to the end of the year I want to suggest the following five-step ref… Just kidding!
I personally don’t like to do the lists and steps. I like to sit at my breakfast table and simply enjoy the satisfaction of pushing through a year of challenges, appreciating every free breath I can take and start imagining my preferred future for next year.

Perhaps, in short, you can say I like to sit and breathe, reflect and dream. That’s all. Nice and simple.

I would also like to share another idea that has kind off happened by itself over the last few weeks: I have gone back and read a number of the books that I have read over the last year or so. I don’t know about you but I am an avid reader of non-fiction. I don’t stop learning. I am curious and hungry for knowledge in order to open my eyes to different ways of being and, ultimately, growing. As the year entered the second half I realised that I have some really amazing books and many of the inspiring ideas and awesome information is worth revisiting.

Even more important is the way that I approached the books the second time around. Instead of reading for facts and looking to new horisons in business and society I applied meditative reading. Some books I started to read from the beginning again and others I looked to my notes and marks and contemplatively reread a paragraph or quote, pausing and thinking of how I have or have not incorporated it into my life.

Not only have I saved on buying new books but in many cases I have actually discovered new meaning as certain passages now make more sense as time has gone by.
I took in less but I took it in deeper.

…And this suits me just fine as I go towards the end of the year. I want to take it all in deeper, refresh and look forward to an amazing 2016.

I want to take from the challenges of 2015 and live and even deeper, calm and inspirational life in 2016. I want to learn from my survival moments and create life!

As I said, I am not one for specific reflection tools or tricks but I believe in appreciating what I have and learning from the past. How about you?

11th December 2015

Go Back and Read That Again

Perhaps, in short, you can say I like to sit and breathe, reflect and dream. That’s all. Nice and simple.

Not only have I saved on buying new books but in many cases I have actually discovered new meaning as certain passages now make more sense as time has gone by.
I took in less but I took it in deeper.

…And this suits me just fine as I go towards the end of the year. I want to take it all in deeper, refresh and look forward to an amazing 2016.

I want to take from the challenges of 2015 and live and even deeper, calm and inspirational life in 2016. I want to learn from my survival moments and create life!

As I said, I am not one for specific reflection tools or tricks but I believe in appreciating what I have and learning from the past. How about you?

4th December 2015

Applying Rule No. 6

Remember rule no. 6 from a few weeks ago? Here is how I sometimes feel:

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13th November 2015

Intensity = Creativity

I recently read an article that demonstrated how the level of intense emotions we experience correlates to the level of creativity we demonstrate. Whaaat?!
That means that most working environments (I have experienced) kills creativity because, in general, it is not acceptable to demonstrate intense emotion. Please, go ahead and argue that one…

Yes there are some positive changes in the working environments but in general we are expected to keep emotional stuff to ourselves, especially the intense kind. Emotions are in general still not welcome at work.

Off-stage it is a different approach. Normally our private lives are filled with drama, colour and EMOTION. When I am alone in my car I will turn up the music and sometimes resort to some shout therapy in order to experience intensity. I just want to feel the intensity of life. The ups or the downs, but just feel! Truth, beauty, boldness, rejuvenation; just feel and feel intensely.

I want to go from just surviving to feeling alive today!

Right now as I write this post it is an expression of INTENSE emotion and passion to see a world where we get out of self-imposes imprisonment, live authentically and feel with intensity. It demonstrates the catalyst for and the power of creativity. It is to look beyond and fully comprehend what I cannot see. To be motivated to encourage others to step out, take risks and lead.

In the article the author differentiates, for example, between pleasant (which is low intensity) and desire (which is high intensity). If you get a chance to read the article, great! If you don’t have the time to read the article, just think about that one example of pleasant vs. desire. What do you desire?
Okay, just be careful here, I am not saying that if you desire a heap of cash you should go rob a bank. Use your common sense here.

…But I think you know what I mean – what are the things that are actually fueling the fire in your belly but that you allow to get extinguished by the day-to-day mundane. Because let’s be honest, it is your responsibility to act upon it or develop the patience to act upon it later (but not let it die in the meantime – be wise).

Bottom line: Where is the emotional intensity that propels us to create? Isn’t that why we are here? Are we not fundamentally part of a Great Creative Force?

21st October 2015

Something Unexpected

Every now and again do something unexpected… Like an extra post during the week with a weird photo of something unexpected.

21st October 2015

Something Unexpected

Every now and again do something unexpected… Like an extra post during the week with a weird photo of something unexpected.

7th August 2015

The Danger of Empty Comparisons

Don’t we have a lovely world filled with big data, statistics, and, off course, comparisons! Everywhere we go we can see that we are not thin enough, pretty enough, successful enough or rich enough. Billboards, magazines and TV ads are jut a few of the wonderful sources we have that gives us the benchmark of the having-existence we need to conform to.

Once again, like last week, I ask what are you reading, listening to and watching? The global consumer economy is based on our willingness to compare ourselves to an irrelevant standard of having stuff that will seemingly make us deliriously happy.

I ask you to make only one comparison – Are you being the person you need to be in order to be you? What are the big things that you are avoiding on a daily basis – the quiet time you are skipping, the small thank you note you need to write to your loved one, the smile you need to wear when you are at the grocery store, the exercise routine that you finally need to incorporate in your LIFE.
Pick one and just do it!

It is a matter of urgency. Don’t tell yourself you can go without it for another day. Compare a life filled with joy, satisfaction, peace and abundance of spirit because you do things that matter vs. a life of postponement filled with empty things because you made the wrong comparison.

Go from survive to alive!

26th June 2015

From the Manifesto

Wars are started on assumptions. Assumptions are dangerous things that creep in during the night and that are left alone in the corner of your mind and heart. Assumptions like I am okay; you are okay.

Perhaps it’s time to question some assumptions like I am okay or you are okay. Just because you can walk and talk like the rest of us hardly means you are okay. We just assume people are okay when we pass them in the street and perhaps they assume the same about us.

The hard work lies within – we have to go from surviving (because we rarely dig deep) to truly living today!

Download the Alive Today! manifesto here

15th January 2015

It’s in Your Hand

In my work as lecturer, facilitator and consultant I meet a lot of people that are fairly miserable in their jobs or their business. At the heart of this blog there is the message that you cannot simply get by every day and settle for second best. You are not doing anyone any favours by being kind of good, half-alive or okay. The reality is if you are okay today you are probably going to be rather disappointed tomorrow. …The trend doesn’t get any better.

Have you spent some time wondering about passion? Have you been frustrated enough in whatever you do to identify something that you are willing to stand up for – a conviction? Have you wondered about getting your dream job? I have been asked these questions a number of times by young and old alike. The answer is quite simple: It is in your hand. Instead of seeking the answer in the big things beyond your reach, start with your own dream. What can you see for yourself? It can be a year from now or fifty years from now. Heck! It can be a week from now…

Got it? Great! Now ask yourself what do you have right now that you have not yet explored 100% in order to make a move towards what you see? It could be a free course on Coursera or edX or the guidance of a mentor that is a phone call away. Perhaps it is a book that you bought but have not read yet. You will however find nothing if you believe there is nothing. Once you have identified a course, a friend, a mentor or a place to volunteer – whatever – jump in with everything you got and fully utilise the opportunity that you have identified. If it works out and it is what you should do, master it. If it doesn’t work out you have just learned about something in your life that you should probably stop doing and your dream has probably evolved and matured into something better. Get back on the horse and try the next thing.

If you master that specific job, task, opportunity, etc. and you are not dead yet repeat the process whenever you find yourself frustrated and continue with the journey until you breathe your last breath. Up until your expiry date you are still good to go and should let your curiosity evolve into a desire. Let your desire evolve into a dream. Let your dream fuel your motivation!

The point is that it is much more difficult to see any opportunity if you are looking too far ahead. Take the dream and connect the dots all the way back to where you are now. In this way you make a dream a reality and you use what is already there and perhaps easier to access. I have used this approach over the last fifteen years and through it I have worked across various industries and careers, consulted and facilitated to start-ups and corporates, moved to a different city, moved back again and with every change gained greater insight into who I am and the dream that guides me.

Here is the down-side and why few people attempt this: fear of failure. And now to put all of you at ease, yes, there is a fair chance that you could fail at some point, but you will be more alive than ever before. It is only through failure that our dreams can take shape and become real. In other words, if you have a dream but take no action in order to reach it, your dream in fact remains a fantasy. If you do take action and risk failure you take a step towards your dream and the closer you are to your dream the clearer it becomes. Experience is what successful people call their failure – on the path your dream leads you failure is your teacher.

Go from survive to alive!

23rd April 2014

I’m Back!

After months of glorious introspection, reflection and redirection I am glad to say that I am gradually getting back into the blogging saddle. More than ever I am aware that writing is important. I believe it is important because I enjoy it, but it is also important because it has served as a platform where the unheard voices are united.

It has not only been an online conversation, but primarily I have experienced individuals speaking to me directly which has been inspiring.

This blog is all about living a life that is testimony to being alive and not merely breathing. Surviving is the same old routine every day. Surviving is never facing your fears. Surviving is doing what is safe and expected. Surviving is never fully committing to relationships. Surviving is taking, being busy and ‘me’. Surviving is command-and-control. Surviving is the majority.

Living is facing your fears. Living is accepting the challenge and laying another down. Living is doing things different, new and better today even if it means you will fail. Living is being, giving and ‘us’. Living is connecting and collaborating. Living is the minority.

This is the blog for the minority. This is where the real voice of meaning is heard. Its message is one of bravery, creativity, innovation and change. This blog is a challenge for better, every day!

The journey always starts with ourselves. If we think we can change the world without doing the hard work of facing ourselves in the mirror, we have already lost the battle.

So here is the warning: Don’t read or reply to these posts if you are not serious about seeing through the change in society that frees us from ourselves; that frees us from sheepwalking.

Likewise, here is the mandate that comes with this blog: Read very carefully and REFLECT! …Then partake in the discussion and pass it on to others with the same instruction.

Life is not too short; it is exactly long enough for us to do what we have to. Get going!