Here is your Five-Bullet Monday
A quote I am pondering:
"A leader is best when people barely know they exist. When their work is done, their aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." — Lao Tzu
This excellent leadership quote goes back around 2,600 years, and it is timeless. It marries well with the servant leadership principle, which says it is all about your followers, not you as the leader.
A question I am asking myself:
How can I learn to read people more accurately?
For someone who was a poor listener for much of my life, I had to first work on the "speak-far-less and listen-far-more" discipline. After that comes another, more challenging skill, and that is to read non-verbal communication accurately. It's taking quite some studying and practising, but I believe I am making some progress.
A book I am reading:
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen – Christopher McDougall
If you are a runner, this is a must-read or must-listen book. It's the incredible account of several American ultra-runners (like four marathons a day, people 😊) meeting the legendary Tarahumara Indians in Mexico. The Tarahumara's are known as the world's best ultra runners, and they live in almost unreachable mountain terrain deep in the Mexican outback. What you come away with from this book is a new love for running and, ahem, maybe dropping those expensive running shoes 😉.
My favourite podcast this week:
No podcasts this week, just Christmas carols. Here are my top ones this week:
· Little Drummer Boy – for King & Country
· O Come All Ye Faithful – Pentatonix
· Mary's Boy Child – Boney M
· O Holy Night – Jordan Smith
· A Grown-Up Christmas Wish – Amy Grant
· Little Town - Cliff Richard
· All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
Hugh-Tips
Get to work on your 2022 annual financial plan.
We all want to have a great 2022, not 2020 too (sorry, couldn't resist it 😊), and part of that is having a concrete financial plan for the year. That plan should include living within our means, putting our surpluses to work in the financial markets, businesses or properties, and ensuring that we end 2022 with our net worth higher (hopefully materially higher) than 2021. As the saying goes, if you aim for nowhere, you are bound to hit it, and this is true for personal finances. When next Christmas rolls around, wouldn't it be great if you could look back and be proud of your financial achievements in 2022 because you made a great plan and executed it?
My highlight this last week
Joining a new sports club just around the corner
After moving into my new place, I decided to join a members-only sports club within a few minutes drive from where I live. It's a pricey club that I have looked at several times over the last ten years and always decided against it because I couldn't justify the expense. Now that I am in a different stage of my life, I appreciate how much my health and happiness mean to me, so I finally took the plunge. A three-minute drive to a pool, gym, squash courts, indoor tennis courts and golf simulator has been heavenly. Now at least I feel more equipped for the battle of the Christmas bulge!
My challenge to you for this week
Make Christmas more special for someone who is not looking forward to it this year
There are many ways to do this, from charity donations to making a call on the day to a person you know who doesn't receive much love at Christmas or, better still, inviting a lonely person over on Christmas Day. If you can make one happy memory for someone in need this Christmas, that could be one of your best Christmas gifts.
Have a Merry Merry Christmas week, Ho Ho Ho
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