A lovely coastal walk recently showed a couple of interesting landmarks. The first was a cairn, that someone had painstakingly created from the stones lying around the sand and water. The second was a monkey puzzle tree that had clearly been blown onto the coastal land and found a way of growing and thriving in… Continue reading Use What You’re Given
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Nature’s Excellence
We are what we repeatedly do, excellence is not an act, but a habit (Aristotle) Walking around Glen Feshie today, it was easy to see the excellence of the great old trees around the Uath Lochan. Every year, they withstand whatever winter throws at them, before they bloom in the spring. There is so much… Continue reading Nature’s Excellence
Rest and Be Thankful
When you love your work and are thankfully having lots of it to do, it’s tempting to think you don’t really need a holiday. But you do. Really, you do. I’m often told that my delivery style is energetic and people seem surprised when I tell them I’m 59. Curiousity, loving the work and creating… Continue reading Rest and Be Thankful
Comfort Zone
I had an interesting conversation recently. Someone asked me if I was doing face to face work again. I said ‘Not yet, though there’s some coming up later in the year.’ They then proceeded to tell me I was living in my ‘comfort zone’. ‘How come?’ was my response. I got a fairly unintelligible answer.… Continue reading Comfort Zone
Rolling with the Spring Haze
If you read Taleb’s work (well worth it, by the way), you’ll notice that he recommends a bit of chaos and disorder in our lives. Working through it makes us stronger and more agile. This week has seen the mild chaos of work inside the house, losing space, everything seemingly in a different place. And… Continue reading Rolling with the Spring Haze
Running Up That Hill
When I was even younger, I did a bit of distance/cross country running. The advice that stuck with me was to run harder up a hill, keep your momentum downhill, then speed up as you get to the bottom and kick on (this was 40+ years ago, mind!). Like in business, and life in general,… Continue reading Running Up That Hill
More Strings to Play
This week I got another instrument. This is my bouzouki, made in Romania, travelled up here from Yorkshire. Playing music has become so important to me over the last three years. It is so much fun, it offers a sense of progress and different processes to master. It allows you to be creative without any… Continue reading More Strings to Play
Another Year
I woke up this morning, a year older. I am now 59. Some might say that’s old, whatever that means. I say if you mix purpose with pleasure, throw in a bit of hard work, attitude and gratitude, you can enjoy whatever age you are. The list of people I want to thank for their… Continue reading Another Year
One Long Journey Leads to Another
This is my Baglama Saz. I heard someone playing one on YouTube and loved the sound, so I bought one. It arrived two years ago today. I followed its journey from Istanbul to Leipzig to East Midlands to Aberdeen, then to here. The second journey started with me slowly learning how to play an instrument… Continue reading One Long Journey Leads to Another
Spring Clean
In between working with some wonderfully curious people on presence, goal setting and impact, this week has seen a thorough spring clean. Old things cleared out to clear space for the new. My office has had a revamp, with the old sofa, beloved by much-missed dogs, replaced with a couple of bookshelves and more space.… Continue reading Spring Clean