Snakes & Ladders

Today was definitely a snake day,

Which means I took a slide in the wrong direction.

Sliding backwards and landing with a bump always hurts,

Especially in a world where we like to move forward.

Looking up isn't always such a bad thing :)

Although I might be a few squares further back on the board,

There's no lasting damage and tomorrow is a brand new day.

I've got a new bruise to help me avoid making the same mistake,

And I also learned this for a fact:

No matter how big the snake,

It never takes you back to square one,

And it always leaves new ladders in front of you.

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Have you ever had a snake day?

How did things start looking up for you?

Start a new conversation in a comment box below!

From the Ground Up

Birds and aeroplanes fly,

But they take off from the ground first.

Anyone who starts from 10,000ft already has a parachute,

You can bet your bottom dollar on that.

When you're going up, trust your foundations.

[Image courtesy of Eustaquio Santimano on Flickr]

Every successful career started somewhere.

True, some started a little higher up than others,

Some always had parachutes too.

But some careers also took off from the ground,

And some of these people flew as long and as high as anyone else ever did.

Thanks to these people, I know for a fact,

That not starting from 10,000ft and not having a parachute,

Doesn't have to keep anyone on the ground.

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Blowing Your Own Trumpet

The World Cup in South Africa is getting into its stride but there's a big noise not everyone is enjoying.

There's still talk about banning the Vuvuzela

But would that really make anyone happy?

Something for the nay-sayers to think about

[Image courtesy of Coca-Cola South Africa on Flickr]

There is always a choice to be made and we are free to choose one way or the other

On this issue and many others like it.

But there might also be an acid test, to help us see both sides of a debate like this.

I challenge anyone to pick up a Vuvuzela

- even the highest ranking FIFA official -

and not be tempted to give it a blow.

Coming Around

A career makes sense,

When we can see it through the little feelings of completion,

We all experience along the way.

Carrying on the World Cup Theme but this time in a partisan way...

Come on England!

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Warm, Soft Facts about Your Career

Why do we talk about the cold, hard facts?

Because they hurt when we get hit by them?

Because we need to feel pain in order to learn something?

I disagree, and if that separates me from the masochists then so be it, they will enjoy being rejected anyway.

Facts are facts. The only coldness or hardness is in the way we give or receive them and we can all do something about that.

Continuing the theme...This place is like a box of chocolates

[Image courtesy of Pablodda on Flickr]

Here are a few facts about work that lose nothing and gain everything when you take them warm and soft instead of cold and hard.

It's an inevitability that one day we will all retire from work. It's also an inevitability that at some point in our retirement we will look back and reflect on the work we have done, the people we did it with and so on. No matter how we divide it up or how many smaller parts we cut it into, we will ultimately package our working life as a whole. We'll do this because of our need to find something simple to define and make sense of our experiences, all the jobs we had, the different things we achieved and the struggles we went through.

If you haven't retired yet, here's a warm, soft fact for you. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing right now, you can remind yourself ahead of time that it's part of a much bigger story. Now that might not sound warm and soft if you're not working, or you're finding it hard to get a job or figure out what you want to do but, right now, whatever you are doing, it's still your career and one day you will know that to be true.

Warm, soft facts like this say to us, Why wait?

When you look back on your career from your future retirement, you'll remember all the moments that were tough to live through. Some of your memories may even give you a chill when you think about them but it's also possible for these moments to be a great source of personal satisfaction. Not just because you picked yourself up and found the energy to move beyond them and turn things around but also because they were the moments and the times that led to new things, that connected your experiences and your life in ways that were unique and special to you.

These times will have played their role in the much bigger story of your work and your life as a whole and they can give you a warm, soft feeling that beats its cold, hard cousin any day.

All the best for now (from a warm, soft place),

Paul

Work Happens to You

It's easy to be swayed by someone else's opinion,

Tempting to take an answer from somewhere or someone else.

But work always comes back to us, and our experience.

You're never somewhere else or someone else,

When work is happening to you.

OK, So there's a theme developing...

[Image courtesy of Shine 2010 - 2010 World Cup good news on Flickr]

All the best,

Paul

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What work is happening to you right now?