I took Seth Godin's 'The Marketing Seminar' last year. It's an online course where you answer prompts in an open forum and all the other students can see your answers and interrogate you (but in a friendly helpful way). It turns out that my fellow classmates could ask really tough questions, repeatedly. So I wanted … Continue reading TED talk or talking to Ted →

I think you have mastered your fear of judgement when you can deliver a presentation without stress. To present, to set yourself up for judgement, without losing a wink of sleep is the dream. Of course there will be some sort of nerves bouncing around your body but to know in advance and be unfazed … Continue reading Presenting without stress →

I'm in a difficult situation. I need to have a tough conversation. The trouble is I don't want to offend the other party. So I've been avoiding the talk and this has resulted in more anxiety. If I could display a small bit of courage then I would be rid of the anxiety. I don't … Continue reading Courage to remove anxiety →

Watching Michael Jordan play basketball makes me want to play basketball. Watching a Christopher Nolan movie makes me want to try filmmaking. Listening to Seth Godin talk makes me want to talk just like him. Firstly I don't think I am alone in this desire. Secondly I think the common thread is we can't help … Continue reading Watching masters at work →

I loath last minute projects. I detest needless anxiety. I hate staying up all night, rushing around madly and making reckless decisions just to submit on time. I think this stress is unnecessary. I think the panic can be avoided. I think John Cleese summarised it beautifully with the following short sentence: "Get your panic … Continue reading Early panic →

The trouble with the rumour mill is that it's subjective. Instead of facts you're getting worldviews. "Watch out for Derek, he is absolutely livid" "Really? I just bumped into him and he seemed fine" If in doubt I find there is validation in numbers. If all 12 people at the meeting said Derek was in … Continue reading Truth in numbers →

It’s truly astonishing how many ads are flying around desperate to interrupt as many consumers as possible these days. In reaction to these amazing volumes of messages I think consumers are becoming more and more adept at ignoring unwanted messages. I believe the only solution for brands is to align messages with their target audience’s … Continue reading Aligning interests →

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path" Morpheus And the difference is bravery, discipline, grit and perseverance to name a few. It's easy to figure out that exercise is the way to stay healthy, it's hard to maintain a diet and workout schedule. It's not difficult to come to the … Continue reading Knowing and walking →

"You already know what you're going to do" That's what the counsellor in Fleabag kept repeating to the main character. "You already know what you're going to do" And I think there's something to that. Despite coming up with perfectly rational reasons not to, have you ever felt drawn to a course of action? I … Continue reading Already know →

If you are struggling to get through your workload, one handy hack I have found is to sort by effort required (after sorting by deadline of course). For example writing an one thousand word blog post requires a lot more time and effort than a copy and paste job. So, for me, my most productive … Continue reading Sort by effort required →