Here is this week’s Five-Bullet Monday!
Two quotes I am pondering:
“Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken.” - Oscar Wilde
“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” - Malcolm Forbes
These quotes are pretty liberating because they encourage us to be ourselves, not copycats of others or what we think people around us may want or like. Those are no-win situations. Instead, we should focus on our strengths and qualities, what we bring to the relationship, the group, the conversation or the role. Don’t underestimate yourself – sometimes it is simply adding the self-belief to the qualities and strengths we already have that can help us move forward and take the steps necessary to achieve our next big thing.
A question I am asking myself:
How do I ramp up my creativity to increase my value?
Creativity is finding new ways of solving problems and approaching situations. We tend to think of artists, musicians or writers as creative, yet it is a valuable skill for us from all walks of life. I have committed myself to become more creative, and I challenge you to do the same. There are many ways to boost your creativity, like drawing, walking, journaling, reading and researching, brainstorming, mind mapping, taking a risk or two (see Morning Pages below). Each of us will have ways that work better than others, so I encourage you to explore the method that juices up your creativity.
A book I am reading:
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dream - Matthew Walker
I found this book incredibly interesting and informative about one of life’s most poorly understood miracles – sleep. Matthew Walker is probably the world’s leading expert on the subject, and in this book, he covers everything we need to know about sleep and how we make it work for us, not against us. After reading the book, I am determined to protect my sleep because it is the lifeblood of my life.
He has one quote in the book that perfectly sums it up:
“AMAZING BREAKTHROUGH! Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new treatment that makes you live longer. It enhances your memory and makes you more creative. It makes you look more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and the flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke, not to mention diabetes. You’ll even feel happier, less depressed, and less anxious. Are you interested?”
I highly highly recommend this book!
P.S. – for those that may be interested, I finally finished Atlas Shrugged last week – all 63 hours at 1.0 times speed, compared with the typical 10 hours for other audiobooks. So the price of six other books for this one masterpiece – was it worth it! Undeniably – Yes! It is one of the best books I have ever listened to and undeniably the best written.
Two highlights from the prior week
Launching the third and fourth editions of my personal finance training course, ‘Making Money Work’. The third class is a group of first and second-year university students, and the fourth class is some employees at Conuma who work directly or indirectly with Sustainability. I have put a copy of the flyer as an appendix below if you wanted to take a peak.
Taking Friday off to play golf and go fishing with my son, Ben, in Squamish. It might seem a trivial thing, but it was my first full vacation day since 2019. I found the joy of turning work off wholly (something I can do much more easily in my new role), and I didn’t even turn my computer on or do one email the whole day. The fish had a good day, too, totally evading Ben’s and my hooks. #Icantfish
My challenge to you for this week
Try Morning Pages – from Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”
I decided to give this a go after reading about it in Tools of Titans, where Tim Ferris said it was his number one recommendation to boost creativity.
As Julia Cameron puts it: Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages – they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page...and then do three more pages tomorrow.
I am a couple of days in and, apart from getting a sore hand, because I haven’t written for so long, I am enjoying it and have had a couple of good ideas already come to me.