“Life is an unforgiving laboratory.”
Interesting quote from the book “Be Exceptional” by Joe Navarro.
He mentions it tongue and cheek as he talks passionately about self-mastery. No further elaboration on why he thinks so, but I picked up on the term, and I love it.
We all have a superpower.
That’s my belief.
Something that makes this person stand out around the people around them.
Having a superpower is not exclusively for people with a high IQ. That’s an assumption some people have that could not be further from the truth. … Read the rest
You have one life!
That was, in essence, the core message of my last insight.
How you spend your life is totally up to you and nobody else. Please don’t come to me with the nonsense that how you live your life depends on others.
It doesn’t.
You decide.
When was your last tough love conversation?
What was tough about it?
When and how did the love part show its face?
Before I continue, I assume you’re familiar with the principle of tough Love.
Tough Love is the ability to be direct, constructive, specific, and to the point about someone’s behavior while balancing this with a general feeling of empathy, understanding, connection, and compassion.… Read the rest
Recently the world population reached 8 billion people.
That’s 8 billion people that are part of a worldwide community of human beings that need each other to grow, flourish, be happy, and create fulfillment in their lives.
Roughly (very roughly) 20% of those 8 billion are children. That leaves about 6 billion adults.… Read the rest
You love the work that you do. You’re learning and growing while contributing to the success of your business. You enjoy your life outside work. You have a great group of friends you love to spend time with. You’re able to get some regular exercise in.… Read the rest
This a common phrase when we play games with friends or family.
These words typically come out when we don’t pay attention and are somewhere else in our minds or are doing something else.
It’s your turn from the moment you’re born.… Read the rest
Half a second.
When we compare our time on this beautiful earth with the length of existence of earth itself, one year of earth compares to half a second of our lives.
Half a second.
One quick breath and we’re done.
Would you try to compress as many activities as you could in that short period of time, or would you instead take it all in and enjoy it?… Read the rest
Have you found your talent yet?
If I learned one thing (there were more lessons) from my fellow TED talk speaker Luk de Wulf, it would be that we all have a talent for something.
Luk’s point is that you can’t start early enough in life finding, building, and enjoying your talents.… Read the rest
There’s a 40% rule.
It’s been out there already for a long time, but I only heard about the 40% rule last week.
It comes out of a book about navy seals. I’m not a fan of navy seals, so books about navy seals don’t interest me that much.
When I think about navy seals, I imagine tough guys in the army, and then I can’t help to think about Jack Nicholson.… Read the rest
“The annexation of the four Ukrainian regions by Russia is unacceptable.”
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs
This is a quote from a Dutch politician from last week.
He addressed the Dutch press before he went ahead and summoned the Russian ambassador to the Netherlands to convey the same message.
He got the order wrong and should have talked to the ambassador first. … Read the rest
I love winning, and I hate losing.
Big words. Love and hate.
As usual, it triggers a memory.
In this case of a great song by Michael Kiwanuka that I listen to frequently.
Worth taking a short break and listening to the song.
“You can’t take me down.”
Michael Kiwanuka
Winning, to me, is related to sports and only sports. … Read the rest
I’ve said ‘Yes’ way too many times in my life.
For the record, I’m not talking here about getting married multiple times.
I mean saying Yes to projects, jobs, activities, fun suggestions, and things others thought I should be doing.
Initiatives that sounded good, were proposed by well-intended people and would undoubtedly create some good experiences and learning.… Read the rest
“Listen carefully!”
“Just like in communism, I can only talk to you and give you commands and information. You can’t reply or talk back. The good old times.”
Berlin tour guide
I think it still works in many companies precisely that way (remember Elon Musk), which is another sad story in itself.… Read the rest
Last weekend I went to see the sequel of Top Gun.
Before you decide not to read further, please don’t worry; I’m not going to reveal any of the plot or big scenes or how the movie ends.
You got to love those good old interview questions.
Last week I had a conversation about interview questions. The person I talked to shared her annoyance with questions like, “where do you want to be in five years from now.”
She shared with me that she didn’t see how that was relevant to someone landing a job right now.… Read the rest
You need a breather.
Seriously, when was the last time you consciously paid attention to your breathing?
When was the last time you sat with your breathing and paid full attention to you filling your lungs with air and then releasing the air from your lungs?
What’s your first reaction when you see this headline?
When I read this quote last week, my brain went into a pirouette that would have won gold at the most recent Olympic Games.
Meaning that for me there are different twists to this quote with both positive and negative implications.
While the author’s intentions were positive, it’s easy to point at the downsides of demonstrating vulnerability as well.… Read the rest
I love golf.
It’s one of the best sports out there. Golf is one of those sports that, when you believe you’ve mastered it, it throws you right back to a level where you feel like a beginner again.
Golf is about mastery.
It’s not just about mastering the technique of hitting a golf ball well, but it’s, even more, a battle of the mind.… Read the rest
I started writing this insight when the world still seemed to be sort of normal.
I have a folder with topics and draft posts that I regularly update when I get inspired by an interesting topic.
After I write my first sentences down, I continue if the words flow immediately or pause if I want the topic to evolve a little.… Read the rest
