Think Straight

Ahead of a few days off from work for Easter I thought I would analyse the word CONTEMPLATION in its application to our daily busy business lives.

C - consistent thinking is very important, to ensure that you stay focused and keep your eye on the proverbial ball; we cannot afford in these treacherous times to be careless and oblivious to what is going on around us. Don't overthink every aspect because you could get bogged down by the details, but rather err on the side of more thought, than careless risk;

O - ongoingly we must be grateful for the opportunities we have and allow ourselves times to celebrate and appreciate what we have; no business can survive without a few good breaks and the appropriate celebrations which make the journey so worthwhile;

N - nervous people are usually people that are focused and are not happy to let things go, without checking or making sure of their facts; this can often in business be the difference to making a big mistake and checking things, despite the fact that they are done on a regular basis is a healthy practice;

T - time is the most precious commodity in life, because you cannot get it back, once it is gone; it is vital to make time for all aspects of life and to use the time you have, on this earth, for the things that truly matter; don't waste time on situations that cannot be changed, or people that take your time away for their own purposes and needs; make time for your self and guard your time wisely;

E - energy is something along with time that erodes over the years, so make sure that when you can expend it on positive activities, get into the habit of exercising your body and mind and you will see a huge difference in your energy levels; lazy people will never succeed because successful people all over the world have an amazing work ethic and mostly they are able to pour that energy into creative and beneficial tasks;

M - memories are precious and we need to make them and keep them because they are often the things that we look to when we are down  and unsure of what lies in our future; we can recall them and the way they made us feel gives us hope for a better future or a faster resolve to a nagging problem;

P - pacing ourselves is a very important aspect of life; much like when preparing for an ultra marathon you need to adjust your pace and realise that the race is not over the usual 10 or 21 km - we need to adjust our pace in life, to create a better balance, because running flat out can result in burn out, or that we just loose the passion before we get to the end

L - live your life to the full and love what you do; there is very little point to getting up every day if you have no love for what you do; life offers so many opportunities on a daily basis and taking even just a few and finding peace in your circumstances is a truly fulfilling experience, but life will 'suck' if you do not love the whole package and not just some aspects of your life;

A - attitude remains everything, because without the right attitude even the best looking job or opportunity will never make you happy.  It takes adjusting on a regular basis because no job is perfect or cool all the time, so the quicker we learn to adjust our heart and cope with even the worst of days the more good days we are likely to have;

T - trust the team you are in and the people closest to you, because finding people in business and life who can be trusted is getting harder every year; there are so many people that look promising and charming, but in general don't set too high expectations of people because they will inevitably disappoint you; but when you trust, trust completely because it adds so much value when the person knows that you have their back and you will not compromise on protecting and supporting them;

I - integrity is to me the essence of the way to run your business and something not worth compromising; I have seen too many people take decisions to manipulate, use and abuse others and exploit people to get their way and eventually it always comes back to them and then their integrity has been compromised for good; it is not something that you can easily get back, so hold onto it with all you have;

O - obstinacy can be a very good quality in business and in life when you are not willing to give up the right things, to pursue them relentlessly, even if your colleagues and industry goes in another direction; the best business men and women sometimes have to make the hardest decisions and stick to a plan or decision, even if it feels like you would rather be swallowed up.  Once you know the direction you want to take with your business and life, hang on to it kicking and screaming and you will arrive at your destination sooner than you think;

N - never give up, or you will never get to the goal and consequently never to the prize; there will be times when you feel you are all alone and times when the prize seems to be getting further from you, instead of closer, but that is the time to CONTEMPLATE all that is your life and resolve to continue to your dream or destiny.