Since I moved to the big city of London, I’ve had countless opportunities to make such short moments make a difference, however small.
Modern Elder
Let us ask of others what they can do
Let us ask of others what they can do and ask of them to be brilliant at those thing.
Why do we retire?
Let us look at why we retire, why sometimes we can’t and then the question “why retire?”, for those who have the choice to continue…
A Good Day
Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you, and then it will really be a good day.
Wisdom Insurance – the NBA’s Modern Elder
From an earlier post: 6 Components of Wisdom Love this from Chip Conley (past guest on WhatComeNextLive here) on his Wisdom Well blog ..let me introduce you to the Miami Heat who recently got knocked out of the NBA playoffs. At 40 years old, Udonis Haslem makes $2.5...
Understand what you need
Understand what you need. Yesterday at 4 pm UK time (8 am on the West Coast), as we have done every week since returning from the Modern Elder Academy in April 2018, our cohort from that week met for a "Zoom circle". 4pm. Every Tuesday. For an hour. A circle simply...
Who’s Zoomin’ Who?
In my daily writing right now I am very much focussed on how I can help my audience of leaders in this current crisis. First a reminder to book a call with me anytime through the button on my site, I'm here to listen! I'm also now giving some granular tips, such as...
What needs to happen before you take a leap of faith?
I love the movie Inception, and one of the key scenes asks a character to take a leap of faith. In that story, the only way to escape the situation is to go beyond rationality and truly take a leap of faith. However, we live in the real world, not the movies, so we...
Are you embracing being an Elder?
Last Sunday I was Refereeing a swim meet in Cayman at this pool. As one heat was ready to start and the ten-year-old girls were in the pool ready to start their Backstroke race, the starter made an error and announced the race as a Breastroke event. Fast as you like,...
What is your singular gift?
"He simply picked us and joined us"Seth Godin on Chip Conley This week Chip Conley and his friend Seth Godin are collaborating on a series of mini-blogs on Chip's "Wisdom Well" site. This week I was also on a video call with a client who is looking to mine their...
Gratitude + Presence = Inspiration
Hugh McLeod, Gaping Void This morning as I am about to leave Cayman, I am sitting to write today's post and the word Gratitude comes to me, allied to being Present. I then searched my site for those terms and found a post called "Gratitude+Presence" from, similarly,...
Mentoring Stones
Rock balancing, February 2019, Baja Earlier this year I had the amazing experience of rock balancing in Baja at the Modern Elder Academy. My experience, was, odd as it may sound, the rocks taught me something, the value of having ever deeper Presence. Chip Conley puts...
What is your definition of wisdom?
My "long read" for you yesterday was on: "Transferring Enthusiasm", inspired by insight from a long conversation with a wise friend. Another wise friend is Chip Conley, author of "Wisdom and Work" and, like my friend who inspired yesterday's post, is both wise and...
Kilkenomics: Knowledge Speaks, Wisdom Listens
"Models are useful hypotheses guiding rough maps of the terrain"Paul Krugman Paul Krugman won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2008 for models and thinking on a particular field. He has also had a unique platform for an Economics professor in writing a twice-weekly...
Knowledge Speaks. Wisdom Listens.
One of the things that I admire the most about the inspiring Chip Conley is his ability to distil what he learns down to elegant simplicity. One such phrase is "Knowledge Speaks. Wisdom Listens". Recently Chip has started daily mini-blogging on what he calls "Wisdom...
Being More. Leading in our ambiguous world
"This idea of purity and you're never compromised...you should get over that quickly...the world is messy, there are ambiguities" President Barack Obama These words from President Obama in a recent talk that I tweeted about this week (read on for link to the tweet and...
What do you see? What do you not see?
What we see and do not see is a matter of our perspective. How many pillars are there? The answer is seven. Or, how many women can you see? Most see pillars, only some immediately see beyond to the women. This has me thinking about seeing what others don't see. This...
Saunter, don’t hike
John Muir I love hiking. I love walking for the purpose of exercise, of a heart rate over 100bpm for hours on end, of the feeling of walking fast and strongly for exercise. I also love to walk for a different reason, to walk to allow the process of walking to clear my...
Hone your message
One evening this week I had the privilege as a GlobalScot to attend a "pitch coaching" event in London to support some Scottish businesses in honing their "pitch", with a specific focus around the London market. Before we started, I asked them specifically what they...
Intelligence is both Fluid and Crystallised
British psychologist Raymond Cattell introduced the concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligence in the early 1940s. Over 45? Feeling increasingly irrelevant at work? I recently read a wonderful long essay in The Atlantic by Arthur Brooks entitled: "Your...
The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms
"The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms" ~ Socrates Yesterday I had a wonderful and inspiring two-hour lunch conversation which became an exploration of the definition of wisdom. The quote from Socrates came to mind, as there was much discussion around the...
Being a Vulnerable Visionary
"I think the best entrepreneurs are Vulnerable Visionaries. Its a combination of being vulnerable and having confidence." ~ Chip Conley I have referenced Chip Conley in my daily posts multiple times, with his concept of "Vulnerable Visionary" one learning I repeatedly...
Lust for…Responsibility?
A wonderful quote from one of my favourite books, "Dune", the 1965 science fiction masterpiece by Frank Herbert focussed around clans and corporations fighting for power, where power means control of a powerful (interesting that choice of descriptor!) drug that is...
Give no advice
Yesterday's post was called "Give less advice". My friend Bruce Peters read it, then emailed me: "Have you considered "no advice" Or advice is prohibited approach? Wisdom Circles in the Quaker tradition set an example, perhaps?" Sage man, that Bruce. If, as I often...
To speak with knowledge or listen with wisdom?
A few days ago I wrote "Presence and asking the right questions" and used this same image of rock balancing. Today the post title is a riff on a phrase Chip Conley uses in his book Wisdom at Work in encouraging us to listen more and talk less: "Knowledge talks, Wisdom...
Look for the spaces between
"Look for the spaces between" This week I am at the Modern Elder Academy in Baja. On the first day, one of the directors, Christine Sperber, took time to give us a "level set", positioning the week for us. One key phrase that resonated for me is that she encouraged...
Beautiful Leadership – Purpose and Herb Kelleher
Yesterday I wrote: "Purpose and the Corporation" and wrote: "I ask businesses I work with to consider a different type of triple bottom line: Purpose People Planet Yes, I always ask them to focus on the Profit they will make, yet Profit, to me, is the outcome of a...
Ed Percival – my greatest mentor in life
Ed Percival. Yoda, Obi-Wan, #BeMoreYou, Shaman, Discordian Pope. Last week Chip Conley posed a question to our Modern Elder group of: "What are the best qualities of a mentor and who's been your best mentor in life so far?" The second part of that question is easy for...
Antarctica for a conference? Hell Yeah !
Antarctica? Conference? Hell YEAH! I’m going. Absolutely. Hell YEAH! Why Hell Yeah though? To answer that, let me take you back to a trip I…
Modern Elder Academy – apply now !
Modern Elder Academy – apply now ! Join @chipconley and the faculty and be among the first leaders to experience this. Act now, space is…
Onlyness and Chip Conley
In the last year, I've had the opportunity to talk to several thought leaders, speakers, writers who I have very much admired and respected for many years. Two of those people are Nilofer Merchant and Chip Conley. Nilofer I just talked to for the first time recently,...
Trust that the dots will connect
“You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” ~ Steve Jobs Yesterday I wrote about "Commitment, Boldness and Magic" from a log cabin under majestic...
Writing I Love – Anthony Bourdain
Presence, Seneca, Emotional Equations, The Happiness Equation.
Smashing Paradigms – Why Be Humble?
Chapeau to Andrés Iniesta, Derek Jeter, Ed Percival and more. Let us all take endings seriously.
How do you build a movement? Patiently
Are you patient enough to lead transformative change slowly ? If not, I doubt you will succeed. Why ? read on.. and I’d love you…
Change your environment, change your outcomes
Nice view, wouldn't you say ? How about this eight second video to give you a fuller sense, including the sound of the surf on the beach. https://youtu.be/XFa71LH3r8A This stunning location is where this week I have had the awesome privilege to be part of the beta...