Hard-won wisdom from 42 years on planet Earth
42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything, according to Douglas Adams in his book Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy. It is also the critical angle of light reflecting off glass and is also the value of the “Hubble Constant”, a measurement of how quickly objects in the universe are receding from each other. Thanks, science.
So when this mystical number became my age, I half expected some sort of enlightenment to descend upon me like magic dust falling from the sky, but alas I can confirm I remain slack-jawed and mostly clueless.
Ironically, one of the lessons…
Everything you ever wanted to know about Tony Robbins affiliated coaching but were too afraid to ask
Note: This article is also a YouTube video if you want to watch that.
That stupid advert kept popping up on Facebook. “Be the best you” or “Super power your life” or whatever it said.
It was one of those adverts where someone good looking smiles into the sunshine, dressed in smart-casual clothing with a smug expression on their face because their life is so fucking together.
I’m not sure how Facebook does it, but I’d been considering getting a life coach for a while and it had been throwing Tony Robbins Performance Coaching adverts at me – like an…
The online writing goldmine is only getting deeper
Ok, this article is about real, big money opportunities for indie writers.
But before we get into it, a necessary disclaimer; I’m a realist. I lost my job in March 2020 and leaned heavily on Medium and then latterly, Vocal, to give me a living wage from writing. That didn’t happen. I made money, sometimes more than expected, but not enough to live on as an exclusive income.
Yet, that was over year ago. Since then, the online writing goldmine has only got deeper, more lucrative. The gold rush continues for good reason.
For those who want to put in…
No, this isn’t about eating healthily and getting more sleep
Ever had a shithead boss? I have. The guy would scream and shout and found new ways to criticise me every day. I loathed him, he made me miserable and made my work life hell.
Now imagine that shithead boss is you talking to yourself.
Cool twist, huh?
You see, we talk to ourselves the worst, break our own promises and beat ourselves up more than anyone else on the planet.
Don’t think this is you?
Research conducted by the National Science Foundation found we have between 12,000–15,000 thoughts a day and 80% of those are negative. …
Buddhism primer
Start by stop trying to control everything
I worked as an IT project manager for 4 years and I never had a clue what was going on. It was hilarious, I didn’t even understand IT. I was convinced the day would come when someone would stand up in front of everyone else and say “Wait a minute, this guy is full of shit!”
It’s a funny predicament to hear about until you find yourself in it. Much like – and here’s the metaphorical gold – feeling confused about life.
No one really has a clue what’s going, life is about best guesses and learning from mistakes. …
His blog post about this went viral — twice
Scott Adams is a fascinating man. He was predominately known for his cartoon strip Dilbert — a satirical look at office culture and those stuck in it — until he shot to arguably greater fame (or perhaps, notoriety) when he predicated against all odds Trump would win the US election in 2016.
In the ensuing culture war, he became a bit of a political football and off the back of this newfound exposure released his book Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don’t Matter.
His general argument wasn’t that he was a fan of Trump, it was more…
Growth only comes from acknowledging and adapting to reality
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.” – Richard Feynman
There’s a reason why they call truth brutal, it’s because it hurts like hell. But personal growth only comes from acknowledging and adapting to reality.
“The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.” — David Foster Wallace
No one can dig themselves out of a hole they refuse to acknowledge they’re in. The more truthful you are with yourself the better you will become at creating a life you want.
Clarity creates breakthroughs.
With this…
You’re not going backwards, you’re levelling up
Self-transformation is messy and confusing. There is no linear growth and often no real markers along the way. It’s a process of faith as much as anything else.
This is why it’s important to be able to reflect on how far you’ve come.
The human brain is a funny old thing. Once you learn something new, it’s impossible to imagine not knowing it.
Therefore, we can’t look back accurately, only through the lens of everything we know now and that can make it feel like there hasn’t been growth at all.
This article is to remind you there has. You…
You’re not stuck, you’re scared, and that’s OK
Most of us bumble along in life believing things will just happen by themselves. This is especially true when young. We believe somehow, things will turn out the way we hoped, somehow our dreams will come true, somehow we will find happiness, love, money, that we will simply evolve into our best selves. Time will do the leg work for us.
Time doesn’t give you what you want, your choices do.
Sure, part of life is luck, but the luckiest people actively work at loading the dice in their favour. …
It’s about having skin in the game
“Wherever you are struggling is inevitably a programme in your subconscious that does not support that destination you’ve been looking for.” – Dr Bruce Lipton
Life is all about choices. Wherever you go, there are your choices —compounded, fully grown, they are the reality you live every day.
So it’s no hyperbole to say it’s fundamental you understand why you make the choices you make because waking up at 7am for work with a hangover and 3 hours of sleep under your belt makes you realise you don’t always choose wisely.
What stops us from creating the life we want?
…
Jamie Jackson
Between two skies and towards the night.
