We all have to deal with rejection in some form or other and probably many times during the span of our respective lives. In fact, in my case, any period of unconditional love and appreciation bestowed upon me was short-lived unfortunately – I just experienced this “being adored because I existed” outpouring of love and…
“Modern psychology has been co-opted by the disease model. We’ve become too preoccupied with repairing damage when our focus should be on building strength and resilience” (Martin Seligman, founder of the field of positive psychology) Employees, and many managers alike, often become stuck with limiting assumptions or debilitating paradigms – bonded to a story that…
Self-reflection of one’s career periodically engages the mind of most employees: “Am I on the right track? Is anything derailing my development? Is what I am doing now going to lead me to where I want to be? Why do I doubt the career decisions that I have made? Am I even making progress in…
Many people don’t ever reach their personal or professional dreams because they limit themselves – e.g. a limiting thought like “it’s not what you know, but who you know” possibly holds you back from placing yourself in a position where you intentionally look and apply for new opportunities. Limiting thoughts produce doubt and doubt retards…
One of the hallmarks of a good business manager is the ability to unlock creativity amongst other managers, supervisors and employees. There are many misconceptions about “creativity”. There is a body of people who believe that creativity is a loose form of self-expression, perhaps unrelated to anything going on in the business world. Some see…
“A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men” (Proverbs 18:16) On a number of occasions, I have heard the following words from employees as they explain the ‘pain’ of their respective work contexts to me: “Jonathan, I do what is required of me. I have done my duty to the…
I was lied to as a kid – my parents, teachers, sports coaches, etc. – not intentionally, of course, as I guess they were only trying to encourage my development, but they lied. They told me, even exhorted me that practice makes perfect: “The sky is the limit. You can achieve anything that you want…
Former colleague and close friend, Gerrit Cloete (owner of Productivity Pitstop), shared a true story with me last week, the same of which I, too, can’t resist telling you, especially as we bid farewell to one year and welcome another (as told by Jack Riemer of the Houston Chronicle): “Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on…
“Left to ourselves, we can no more find out the purpose of life than a man can pull himself up by his own shoe laces. What we need is for the meaning to be revealed to us from the outside” (Melvin Tinker, What Do You Expect?) Bernard Levin, infamous journalist who poked fun at British…
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken” (Oscar Wilde) Being “yourself” is not as easy as it sounds – the pressure, constantly, is on all of us to look better, be better, achieve more, succeed always, etc. The list is seemingly endless. Other’s expectations are real and the stakes are high. The world doesn’t make…
The history of Coca-Cola began in 1886 when the curiosity of an Atlanta pharmacist, Dr John S Pemberton, led him to create a distinctive tasting soft drink that could be sold at soda fountains. He created a flavoured syrup, took it to his neighbourhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water and deemed “excellent”…
“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance” (Bruce Barton) Most kids imagine becoming “super-heroes” – becoming invincible, being able to conquer evil, having the wit, wisdom and strength to outplay any adversary or the ability to overcome any obstacle that might…
