Archive for July, 2008
July 14, 2008 | General
As you can tell from my last proper blog, there have been a few situations and conversations recently that have really made me think about the massive influence that time has over our lives.
With my children's summer holiday's only a week away, I was feeling nostalgic about how my school summer holidays seemed to last forever when I was a kid, and now - how quickly they arrive after Christmas!!
Why does time go so much faster as you get into your 30's and 40's?
I just can't believe it. And, does it go even quicker as you get into your 50's and 60's? I suppose the answer to that would depend on what you are doing with your life.
Over the weekend, some friends that had emigrated to Australia two years ago, returned for a holiday - the first time that they have done so since they left. When their two boys arrived in our hallway, instantly it was like they had never been away. Yes they looked a little older but as they disappeared up to our son's bedroom, it seemed impossible that two years had passed by since we saw them last.
How could it have gone by so quickly and why has so little appear to have changed/happened in that time?
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July 13, 2008 | General
This is just a little bit of fun but can be very addictive - just what you need for a brief distraction in a busy day.
Test your geography by flying your plane to airports throughout Europe
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July 11, 2008 | General
You get a totally different perspective on time when you work at home in your own home based business.
Last night my wife said to me, "Thank goodness its Friday tomorrow", obviously meaning that it was getting near to the weekend. But only hours earlier I had honestly been thinking, "Oh no, its Friday tomorrow, I wish it was only Tuesday or Wednesday as I have so many things that I want to get done".
Now I hasten to add that she doesn't always think this way, it's just that she hasn't been feeling well this week - but I've met a lot of people in my life that do.
Where I used to work, one of the members of staff used to have to come and get her keys from one of the managers before starting work. If it was me that she found first I would ask her how she was that day, as I would out of habit and common courtesy to anyone that I spoke to during the day.
Almost without fail she would reply "I'll be much better at home time" or words to that effect and I used to think "Good God woman you've only just started your shift and you're wishing the day away". It used to really get to me sometimes. With some people you can tell that it is just a phrase that they have learnt and repeat as an almost unconscious response, but with her I wasn't so sure.
There are two sides to this that I see.
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July 5, 2008 | General
I have just found a copy of a post that I originally wrote in March and thought I had lost when I accidentally wiped clean my original blog a few months ago. There is a good chance that you have heard the story and seen the video but even if you have, it's power does not diminish by watching it again. Below is the exact blog of my feelings about it at the time.
One thing about working for yourself is how you motivate yourself to get things done. When you are in a job, it's easier. I'm not saying it is better but you usually have either accountability to your boss, pressure of deadlines, awareness of company standards, customer expectations, legal obligations etc etc to drive you on.
When you start your own Home Business you initially have to find a way to motivate and discipline yourself, especially when you suffer setbacks or if things aren't happening as quickly as you would like. Surprisingly having money to pay the bills doesn't always do it and in fact it can have exactly the opposite effect if you let it take over your whole thinking.
I get my motivation by knowing that I made the right decision in quitting my job, knowing that if I work hard in my chosen venture then I can be successful and from articles and reports on inspirational people.
People like Randy Pausch.
Randy is a 46 year old American College Professor who you will see delivering what is called "The Last Lecture" to his college students. This is an academic tradition whereby a professor delivers the very last lecture that he would ever give if he were hypothetically about to die, only in Randy's case it is not hypothetical....
But it is not about death, it is about life. Over 1.3 million people have watched the full lecture on the internet, this is a shortened version for the Oprah show. It is very moving and a message of inspiration for us all.
http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ithct48cqw
By way of a brief update, Randy is not well at the moment as he has recently had another session of Chemo therapy but he is still alive, 10 months after he was told that he had 3 - 6 months to live. You can follow his personal blog (which contains another inspiration message that he gave to the graduates of Carnegie Mellon University) at www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/
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