Category: life
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How I Write
One of the regular readers of this blog Olivier Legris was kind enough to give me some good feedback on a recent post and as part of that happened to ask me about my process for writing. I'd never really thought it through before, but doing so made me realise that I definitely have a…
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Off The Grid
This chart published over on The Atlantic shows how out of kilter the US is in not requiring companies to give their staff paid annual leave. Almost worse than that is the fact that, according to a JetBlue/Harris Interactive study, no less than 57% of Americans ended up not using all the holiday time they were…
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Is The Average Age of Entrepreneurs Getting Older?
Steve Jobs once said: "It's rare that you see an artist in his thirties and forties able to really contribute something amazing". Yet in his forties and beyond he went on to reinvent the music industry model, mobile phones, computers (again) and books. When we think of entrepreneurs (and particularly tech entrepreneurs) we tend to…
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Observations From Two Years In The Wild
It's been nigh on two years since I made the leap from 20 years in corporate world to making a living for myself with little more than my MacBook Pro, what I know and who I know. It's been simultaneously challenging and exhilarating, but I'm fortunate in that it has grown into something bigger and filled…
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The Divided Brain
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant" Albert Einstein This latest RSA Animate by reknowned psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist (and the accompanying book) is a powerful evcoation of how the divergent, contradistinct nature of the thinking from the two hemispheres of our brain (and how they interelate) have…
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Tappety-Tap
My first job out of college was a telesales job in a small publishing company. After the comparatively easy-going atmosphere of education, I found myself in a busy, noisy office, filled with young people sat at desks with little more than a phone, a headset, a full ashtray (yes, it was that long ago), and…
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On Anxiety
This weekend I spent a bit of time with Andrew Zuckerman's work and (courtesy of Maria Popova) listened to this talk he gave at this year's 99% conference which contains a series of fantastic insights into his view on the creative process, wonderfully illustrated by soundbites from his work, most notably the Wisdom and Music projects.…
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Gone Fishing
My my. I think I must be witnessing the effects of the first and third laws of psychological time because this year seems to have flown by. So I'm off to slow down time a bit. Dead Fish is taking a well-earned Summer break for a couple of weeks but will be back before you…
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Slowing Down Time
Seeing Noah's post prompted me to re-read Steven Johnson's rather lovely piece that talks about his reasons for moving from his long-time home city of New York, across to the West coast and San Francisco. This kind of change, believes Johnson, is intrinsically good in itself because the changed context helps you see your old…
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Sunday Sermon
Ken Robinson on Passion from The School of Life on Vimeo. I saw Sir Ken Robinson talk about this in person a couple of years ago and it was one of the best talks I've ever been to. Sir Ken believes that everyone is born with tremendous capacities, yet somehow we often lose touch with…