The Golden Spruce

Grant Hadwin got a chainsaw and did something terrible. Originally posted on The New Yorker There was only one giant golden spruce in the world, and, until a man named Grant Hadwin took a chainsaw to it, in 1997, it had stood for more than three hundred years in a steadily shrinking patch of […]

Into The Wild

Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, […]

8 Rules

Find a balance Is it remarkable? Rest when you’re dead Don’t be a sheep Change the rules Most clients are risk averse That little bit extra The work is everything

Looking after yourself

It’s not rocket science, although we seem to forget this one a lot. Look after yourself. You should not have to rip yourself into pieces to keep others whole.

We are responsible for who we become

Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

Silent mode

I see people drop everything when their phone rings. They could be talking to a loved one, buying a new car, out for dinner, spending time with friends they’ve not seen in months… By and large, they stop everything. Quick to the phone they go. And why? It’s probably a PPI claim or a spot […]

Charge your batteries

I love walking in the woods, on the trails, along the beaches. I love being part of nature. I love walking alone. It is therapy. One needs to be alone, to recharge one’s batteries. Grace Kelly

Go Outside

In is hot, stuffy, stifling, claustrophobic, getting the boiler fixed, spending valuable time painting skirting boards, trying to get a nail in a supporting wall but only getting as far as mutilating it under the pressure of a swift claw hammer blow, 771 channels and nothing to watch, being bored, burned toast, `I wish they’d […]

Smart people ignore advertising

Most smart people ignore most advertising because most advertising ignores smart people. Bill Bernbach

The Latte Factor? Bullshit.

Buying coffee on the street instead of in a Starbucks is the poor man’s way to get rich. […] you will never get rich by scratching out ten cents from your dollar. People save 10 cents on a coffee and then….overpay $100,000 for a house and then do reconstruction on it. Or they save 10 cents […]

King Lear: Act 1, Scene 4

Have more than you show, Speak less than you know. William Shakespeare

A big TV

We got sidetracked and diverted into these boxes, these cubicles in offices. So instead of investing your time in a passion, you’ve sold your life to work for an uncaring machine that doesn’t understand you. That’s the problem with our society. And what’s the reward? Go home and get a big TV. Joe Rogan […]

Narrow standards of success

The time has come, to broaden our notion of the spectrum of talents. The single most important contribution education can make to a child’s development is to help him toward a field where his talents best suit him, where he will be satisfied and competent. We’ve completely lost sight of that. Instead we subject everyone […]

Giving Up vs Growing Up

Giving up something that no longer serves a purpose, or protects you, or helps you, isn’t giving up at all, it’s growing up. Laurell K. Hamilton

Do they really care?

It took me a while to recognize the difference between someone who genuinely cares about you and welcomes your company and someone who’s just interested in your life’s latest development. Tracey Coretta

Swearing

We cannot help but judge others on the basis of their speech. Unfortunately, when it comes to taboo language, it is a common assumption that people who swear frequently are lazy, do not have an adequate vocabulary, lack education, or simply cannot control themselves. The overall finding of this set of studies, that taboo fluency […]

There is no app for this

We are so immersed in the modern digital world inside. Put the phone down, better yet – turn it off. Rediscover the simple joys of spending time outdoors.

Social Media Guru

A term used to assign imaginary expertise in a nascent communications field to an individual with little to no real world business experience and the professional integrity of a bowl of banana pudding. Synonyms: Social Media Douchebag, Personal Branding Expert, Conversation Strategist, Social Media Speaker, Best-Selling Social Media Author. Olivier Blanchard

Lazy fucking ad-men

Seriously, is this the best you could come up with. Even with your endless supplies of coffee, facial hair, Aeron chairs and white walls full of post-its… it’s lazy. Really fucking lazy. Let’s take a look at some personal highlights all following the same dire formula. Let’s start with this bag of shite The […]

Paper Pushers

Roger from the council visited. Gervais offers wisdom. Pilkington tells it how it is. Brilliant.

Gym Bunny

Let’s have a moment of silence for all those who are stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride stationary bicycles.

People today

Wake me when I'm famous

Hard Work

Everybody has a hard job. All real work is hard. My work happened also to be undoable. Morning after morning for 50 years, I faced the next page defenceless and unprepared. Writing for me was a feat of self-preservation. If I did not do it, I would die. So I did it. Obstinacy, not talent, […]

It’s good to be ignored

I spent a great deal of my life being ignored. I was always very happy that way. Being ignored is a great privilege. That is how I think I learnt to see what others do not see and to react to situations differently. I simply looked at the world, not really prepared for anything. Saul […]

Are you angry?

angry

Peter Pan

I think childhood is something you don’t appreciate until it’s been taken from you. Now I understand why Peter Pan didn’t want to grow up.

Japanese Philosophy

Customer Experience

Contrary to what they told you on your ‘Customer Engagement Day’… Not everyone wants a friend. This one links back to The Latte Factor. Just give me what I want and move on. Read the situation, act accordingly.