Space

We have just entered a new year. Something that for me at least passed without fanfare or fireworks, for the first time I can remember. I was in bed by 10, and only woke a few hours ago.

Space, what does that mean to you? For some people, it simply refers to the wide expose in the heavens, ‘the undiscovered country’ as James T Kirk called it. For others, it represents the area in witch you take stock of your surroundings, and re evaluate your functions and actions that brought you to this point.

The new year gives us a chance to do exactly that, re evaluate, re structure, and re focus. New Years day itself, a public holiday in many countries, is a perfect time to do this. Thats exactly what Im going to be doing. Re Evaluate. Re Structure, and Re Focus.

I leave you with a question. Answers on a postcard, or below, if you prefer.

What does it take to be the best you can be?

Pattern Matching

Haven’t blogged in a while ‘real life’ has been getting in the way, but this is something thats been rolling round my head.

Patterns are everwhere we look  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Isn’t it amazing? A newborn baby knows how to cry, to suck, to smile, to follow the eyes of its primary care giver?

A child has an incredibly flexible ability to learn whatever language it starts to hear, and, indeed, multiple languages if exposed to them?

It’s somehow ‘in there’, a part of the genetic inheritance we are all endowed with, developed over millions of years of evolution. It seems that we have the ability to connect up what is inside of us with what is outside of us.

We are also very adaptable and flexible. It is as though we have templates or patterns within us that allow us to make an interpretation of the reality outside of us. We ‘pattern-match’ to the expectations we have and make a connection. A baby will suck on a nipple or a feeding bottle or a dummy or a thumb or a nose. The message inside is something like ‘suck on anything that approximates to a nipple and it might feed you’.

Pattern matching carries on throughout or lives. I guess education works like this. Is it that we connect up that which is outside of us with what is inside of us? But of course as we progress we accumulate a whole lot more inside of us, new skills, experiences, memories that can be retrieved. Sometimes this is where things get tricky. Our flexible, adaptive, pattern matching mind/brains can get us into bother at times.

Opening the fridge….

Remember that tame old joke?

Q. How do you get an elephant into your fridge?
…I don’t know how do you?
A. Open the door and put it inside.

Very corny I know but it always reminds me that in order to get something seemingly impossible done we need to change our thinking.

And remember that rejoinder…
Q. How do you get a tiger in your fridge?

…Open the door and put it inside?
A. No. Open the door. Take out the elephant and put the tiger in.

So every time you open your fridge door, you can choose to change the way you think and see things a whole lot differently.

Kicking this off!

This time of year I always think about stretching a little. Maybe it’s because that’s what children are doing when they start a new year in school or maybe it’s because some church’s do something called “fall kick off” where they invite like crazy and take our services to the next level.

I think that’s part of the secret to not becoming stale or falling into a rut.

This got me thinking. Where else can I take it up a notch?

What can I do to take my writing up a notch? What can I do to improve my relationships? How can I get better at the work I do? How can I get closer to God?

I’m a big fan of small changes over time creating big success, so that’s what I plan on doing, making small positive changes.

Here’s the thing, I need to do it now, not later, not tomorrow, not next week. I don’t get credit for planning on spending more time with my partner. It only works if I do what I say.

So, how are you going to take it up a notch today, before your head hits the pillow? Let me know.

And Relax….

“Work. Don’t Think. Relax.”, Such a simple idea. Many of us go through our working weeks doing just that, working. I myself, am more then a little guilty of it, it just seems natural doesn’t it? We are on autopilot, ‘just doing it’ to borrow from Nike.

However, this past weekend, I was offered the rare chance to actually relax. Thats right, on Saturday morning, my partner and I packed our bags, and went on a adventure.

Tips for great customer service on Twitter

This is becoming the fastest and most cost-efficient way to build a significant customer service experience. Customers have already used social media for customer service issues, including both positive and negative feedback. Turning a potential negative situation into visible positive sentiment is social media’s biggest potential advantage. Timing is everything in customer service satisfaction. With traditional channels, customers expect a response within 24 hours, but social media is bringing immediacy to interactions that cannot be ignored. 

Audience Building

I was asked recently how to be successful, with blogging. Now I admit I am no specialist, but I have gathered a few tips that  you need to build—and continue to grow–an audience. So here are seven tried-and-true methods for increasing your blog’s traffic, whether this is just a hobby or something you want to do for income.

Recipe for Tasty Fish Pie

Here’s a quick recipe for a fish pie

Ingredients:

• Smoked Fish Pack (Salmon, Haddock, Cod, what ever you can get you hands on)
• Prawns, Frozen
• Soy Sauce
• Milk (about 1/4 of a pint, enough to cover the fish, but not smother it.)
• Pepper
• Mashed Potato
• Butter

Eat, Pray, Love

 

Todays Question, “If your day to day responsibilities were taken care of and you could throw yourself completely behind a cause, what would it be?”

 

First, let me apologies for not doing this for a while, its been a bit crazy as of late, so my focus has been a little scatterbrained.

Humor, your a funny man!

Only the serious know how to truly laugh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Todays topic, Humor.

Do you consider yourself funny? What role does humor play in your life? Who’s the funniest person you know?

I’ve never really considered my self a funny person. Don’t get me wrong, I come out with the occasional one liner, that could put even the greatest stand up’s to shame, but over all, I’m not that funny. Makes me think though, what makes someone funny? What is humor?