A picture is worth a thousand words!

       The sky never ceases to amaze me! I could spend the rest of my life just capturing the many faces of the sky and with each image a different story unfolds...

 There are times when words in and of themselves are a stumbling block, a hindrance to achieving your goal, whatever it may be...It is a great skill I think (and one that many of us are yet to master) to be able to detect when it is best to speak and when it is better to act. A picture for the purpose of this reflection refers to action / activity / a way of living. 

In a world where we are constantly assessing people and being assessed for what we have, how we look, our education, our pedigree and indeed our beliefs; often our words can let us down if they are all we have to show for who we are and what we stand for. 

Have you ever met someone who is constantly promising and talking a good game? Many are very good story tellers (no relation to me honest!) but their words grow empty when there is no action to follow. It reminds me of a declaration of 'love' (rather the illusion of love) from a man to a woman. Many talk of how they love and how they are devoted and yet their actions tell a completely different story or rather paint an unrelated picture. The old adage, 'a picture is worth a thousand words' could not be more relevant for our 'cheap talking' generation. My interpretation of it is this; words have a short lifespan of relevance,  after which if they are not followed by a pictorial representation (action) became meaningless and invalid. This is not only true in the realm of romantic relationships, but also in a business context, in social interaction between people and probably most importantly in living out one's faith.

It is best illustrated I feel in the practice of the Christian faith. Being a Christian myself I find that there is a great need for this skill of detection  in determining when it is time to speak and when its time to act (for those of us who are not good at it, the Holy Spirit helps us out). I would add a third consideration; one needs to know when to be still and wait for God's direction. When it comes to practicing my faith, I have discovered that words alone can become quite empty without the enablement of the Holy Spirit and the action of love to follow. This is best exemplified by Jesus himself who healed the sick and gave instruction as well as spent time seeking God for direction in prayer. The three truly are inseparable and often its the combination that brings the desired result...  [ Link: What did Jesus say? ] 

Happy feet

New shoes are by far my favourite things to get ever! The occasion is always right for a new pair of shoes! Its like being introduced to someone new, its exciting and interesting and heralds new possibilities and potentially good partnerships (if you pick the right outfit!) 
 So shoes, happy feet, baby feet...what do they have in common? Its all about how we walk! (and no not literal walking but the path we choose in life). 


Every choice you make in life will direct you down a particular avenue which will change the course of your life, maybe temporarily, but usually permanently. So what and how we decide, determines our walk in life. Each decision alters our direction and ultimately our destiny. Sometimes we enter new frontiers and we take baby steps, unsteady, unsure but cautious in the unfamiliar... then we get comfortable and charge around like toddlers at Legoland without really paying attention to where we are going... Until one day we wake up and  we are all grown up but still at Legoland! 


In the workplace, we are appraised monthly, quarterly, half yearly and annually. Why? because we are there to meet 'SMART' (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) objectives. Our employers appraise us because they want to know that we are meeting our objectives which will result in success. This is a really good thing to do if you want to make sure your'e on track. I wonder how often people review their lives to see if the path they started out on to meet specific goals is still the course they are on now? Many people think over their day, their week, their month but not many people question the path they are walking on, why they are in that job, that town that relationship... if they are compromising their ideals and morals for something that may not even be what they set out to have... 


Happy feet are those that proceed with that 'first step' innocence and caution of a child learning to walk, allowing the excitement of a new pair of shoes to keep them optimistic about the future without getting lost in the Legoland of life's indecisions and red herrings that distract from the purpose we were born for.   
No retreat, no surrender!

Getting ahead

Head start - An early start that confers an advantage.

How does one get a head start in life?

Putting / sticking your head above the parapet is to be brave enough to state an opinion that might upset people and stand by what you believe (especially when its not popular!)

I am very opinionated and as a result I often get myself into trouble for saying or doing unpopular things. I guess it all stems from the fact that everyone is different and therefore the way we view life is going to be different too.

There is a school of thought that, ‘If you keep your head down (that is below the parapet) and conform, maintaining the status quo and work hard, then you will eventually get ahead…maybe…maybe not!

There is another school of thought, that of ‘putting your head above the parapet’, maybe it will be blown off! Maybe you’ll get a head start!

I have spent most of my adult life working ‘within the system’. It didn’t really work well for me because if I saw something I didn’t think was right, I didn’t like or thought could be done better, I spoke up and 9 out of 10 times I got my head blown off!

So I started to ask myself, ‘is it me?’ You know, ‘if one person calls you a horse ignore it, if three do buy a saddle? Well I went all out got new horse shoes, bits, saddle, the works! But it didn’t change the fact that I saw things differently, all it did was label me different and state that different is wrong!   

Well, I have made a discovery! Different in the right setting is great! Thinking outside the box opens your mind to a whole new world of possibilities! And if you can come up with ‘different’ ways to do things in today’s fast passed, quickly changing world with a lust for the latest big thing; then you have a head start in your career!  And maybe you may find that the rat race is not for you and you could discover a whole new world where you can work for yourself, reinvent yourself, even find yourself…

So putting your head above the parapet may not be so bad after all (so long as you pick your battles well and have something good to say!)

Out of the box

I heard this somewhere (can't quite remember who said it) and it rang so true even of society today;  


'If Karl Benz (inventor of first patented fueled car) had asked people in his day what they wanted for improved travel, they would have probably asked for faster horses!' I'm so glad he didn't ask!  :-) 


Being successful is not easy in a world where so much change is happening and everyone is constantly looking for the next big thing. Therefore being successful calls for more than education or individuality, but for one to think completely out of the box of social and intellectual norms and actually come up with a new way of seeing...
Design thinking is a great example of this! Design thinking is a process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result.It is the essential ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to meet user needs and drive business success... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_thinking  


My friend PJ introduced me to this concept and after watching talks by a couple of subject experts online and researching, I really think they are onto something here! Its brilliant really because it is based in creative thought and seeks to resolve issues that arise from our 'box' mentality of how things should be / work.  One of the things the design thinkers do is try out new ideas with kids. They do this because a child's way of seeing is not conformed to social and intellectual norms so they freely think and feel and express themselves 'out of the box' which makes for boarder challenging and redefining many acceptable practices and ideas which bring forth the innovative originality required to have the edge... what could be more interesting...