Friday, 28 January 2011

Om Shivay








Are you ready for the video?


Or - just enjoy the music and the images.

I wish you internal calm and happiness.


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Wednesday, 12 January 2011

How Life Purpose Works

After reading my article on life purpose, Mark asks: I am very interested in the idea of articulating a life purpose.  The question I have at this stage is whether a person could have a mixture of the examples that you gave e.g. related to planet, discovery, helping others, creating new things, showing the way etc?
Hello Mark,

The Life Purpose process is all about extracting a single statement of purpose which underpins the various aspects of a life. That doesn't mean it covers every single thing you want to do with your life, but it will cover a lot of it.

For example, my purpose is "I make things better", and I do that through my work in coaching. I've done it in my previous career as a manager. It's why I get fed up with poor customer service and complacency in public services. It's why I'm frustrated with how easily we accept a dismal status quo as inevitable. This purpose also drives my desire to improve myself. But - it probably doesn't have much to do with my salsa dancing nor my allotment.

So your life can be rich and complex and some of it will not seem to tie in with your purpose, but - when you find your purpose - you'll find that much of what you've done in life and want to do in life in the future - will align with your purpose. Furthermore, you'll see ways to be happier by removing or alleviating those life areas which are not serving your life purpose.

Best Wishes,

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Tuesday, 4 January 2011

Self Help Drivel

You know - there's so much drivel written in the area of self-help.

I stay keyed in to a lot of newsletters and other professionals' stuff, so I know what the market's doing and what I need to compete with, and because of that I, perhaps like you, am getting a flush of it now, hoping to tap into the new year marketplace.

Common failure mechanisms are:

1. To entertain without educating - you spend some time amused, but you walk away as you were

2. To ignore external realities - all you have to do is tell your family to go to hell and you'll be free

3. To ignore internal realities - "first, you have to stop drinking and smoking". Great - well, what next??

A rule of thumb I always use is, having read some alleged pearl of wisdom, I ask myself:
"Exactly what can I see myself doing, now, to apply this lesson to my own life?"
If I can't find the answer, then the pearl could well qualify as drivvel. I call this my where's the meat? rule.

Let me show you what I mean with some examples.

Yesterday I was reading some new commandments and they were things like:

"People are stupid, self-centred and sometimes cruel - love them anyway".

- Well, I agree with the sentiment, and I can see the value of having done it, but how do I do it? Where's the meat? How do I bury or dissolve the apparently-natural tendencies I have to resent those tendencies in others? Presenting such a lofty goal without a how-to just leaves people feeling inadequate. Now some of them will buy the book, thinking some adequacy will rub off on them, but you know - it won't.

Another snippet in this morning's IN BOX is based around the revelation that I am, it seems, remarkable. Apparently, everything will be OK if I'm simply me. Really, what a crock! What if the ME I am prefers to sit on the sofa watching TV eating Quavers all day (have I said too much?)? I WON'T BE OK!!!

So - rant over, but I Counsel caution when taking up with these people. Don't be tied to the past by your own pessimism, but don't be sold a false future through blind hope either. How will you know? Ask the magic question:

"Yes, but - where's the meat?"

Oh, Happy New Year!

Yours, Mr Meat :o)

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