motivation

"The Guest House"

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Another one of my favourite poems is “The Guest House” by Rumi (13th century Persian poet). Rumi speaks about treating all our experiences, whether good or bad as honoured guests. Welcome and entertain them all, even if they are a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep our house of its furniture, still treat each guest honourably. Perhaps, this is clearing us out for a new delightful adventure.

“This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.”


This is to have succeeded

Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson by A.E. Smith (Getty Images)

Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson by A.E. Smith (Getty Images)

Success according to Ralph Waldo Emerson is:

· To laugh often and much. 

· To win respect of intelligent people and the affection of children.

· To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends.

· To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others.

· To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition.

· To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.


How to change everything?

The effects of Covid-19 and the measures put in place to combat it over the past 7 months have brought severe changes to all our lives. It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. The pandemic has shown me, almost instantly, that the path I had anticipated for 2020 was not going to materialize.


True curiosity is not simply the gathering of information, it’s the questioning of information gathered. I think we have to get better at asking our audience what they want from us, improve how we engage with consumers and re-evaluate our business models. You don’t need permission from people to lead them, they are waiting, we are are all waiting for you to show us where to go next.


How much is kindness worth to you?

To me, success is an ongoing process of striving to become more. It is the opportunity to continually grow emotionally, socially, spiritually, intellectually and financially while contributing in some positive way to others. I think the road to success is always under construction. 

I am always impressed and grateful when I meet smart people. In reality, what I admire most in people is kindness, humility, optimism, generosity and shared knowledge. Therefore, I think that no matter how educated, talented or rich you are, how you treat people will ultimately reveal all.

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Facts on Friday

This quote from Alfred D’Sousa has always been a favourite of mine: “For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life”. 

I think ife and work will always be messy, therefore, trouble shooting, firefighting and problem solving are how we spend a lot of our time so, let’s make sure we enjoy it.

Remember “Happiness is a journey not a destination and complaining is not a strategy.”

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Lonely, Frustrated or Bored

Image: Aman Dalal

Image: Aman Dalal

Yesterday morning, I was speaking to my elderly parents in London about whether they had changed their eating habits during the pandemic. Jared Diamond in his book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel”, studied why some cultures today are highly advanced and others are still living very primitive. One of the key factors was the difference between how they ate. Today, I reached out to the health expert and nutritional therapist, Thorbjörg Hafsteinsdottir for her opinion. Thorbjörg is the best selling author of “10 Years Younger in 10 Weeks” - As I wanted to know if Thorbjörg agreed with Jared Diamond prognosis?


We know that what we eat has a great impact on our health and how old we get. The “Blue Zones” are areas across the globe where people tend to live the longest and have remarkably low rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Research has shown that these cultures are different from each other and the diet is not the same, for example, in Okinawa (Japan) their diet consists of fish, plants, sea plants, bitter melon and meat, once or twice a month. In Sardinia (Italy) their diet consists of high protein pasta, olive oil, fish, meat and red wine, and the Hunza’s in north Pakistan eat beans, whole grain bread, some meat and vegetables. Although food choices vary from region to region, what they all have in common are that Blue Zone diets are primarily homemade from scratch, with no added sugar or bad hydrogenated oils and they all steer clear of processed foods. Communal eating with friends and family, high levels of physical activity, low-stress levels and a strong sense of purpose also plays a huge role in their long lives.

 Today, it is common knowledge that excessive sugar intake is extremely dangerous! Added sugar in starchy food, bread, cakes, pasta and other high glycemic food, interferes with the blood sugar balance and can make you insulin resistant, leading to obesity and inflammation, which is a part of almost all health problems and known medical diagnoses. 

 

In my opinion, everyone wants to be happy, healthy, wealthy and to have good personal and professional relationships. How would you define who you are and what you do?


Well, I am one of those in your vision group 😊. For the past 30 years or so, I have been teaching, inspiring and motivating people to take action on their health by taking better and healthier choices. I am doing my best to walk the talk.      

 

Currently, we are experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic and we are changing our behaviours and adopting new routines as the global lockdown continues. Everyone is speaking about a vaccine as the solution but I cannot help but think there must be an alternative and as the immune system is the operating system of the body. What role do you think strengthening our immune system could play?


Based on science there is no doubt that having a strong immune system is a good first defence against any germ, bacteria or virus. The elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic respiratory diseases, etc.) are, particularly at risk. There is so much we don't know about the coronavirus and how it behaves in the body. We know it attacks the lungs, and also that it is the immune system that fights this cytokine inflammation storm on the lungs. Due to the genetic range, it is quite normal that some people die from a viral disease while others do not even notice it. The bottom line is that there is no magic pill or a specific food guaranteed to bolster your immune system. I would recommend that you maintain a healthy diet, increase your daily vitamin D intake, improve your sleeping habits, reduce your stress levels and avoid excessive alcohol consumption.

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The coronavirus has had unprecedented impacts on the world and some say the worst is yet to come. I have hope for the future and understand that during these uncertain times, it’s more critical than ever to take command of your emotions and attitude. Can you tell me a little about your upcoming online course (in Danish) which starts on Monday 20th April?


The immune system is vital and crucial for our life, all systems in the body are connected to the immune system. On this course, I will take you through the many functions of the immune system - I will speak about blood sugar and insulin, inflammation and obesity, stress, stress factors and sleep. I will also talk about food and diet, advise on what to eat in order to maintain a balanced immune system, sharing plenty of good advice for everything!

This course will provide you with a basic platform - a forum for people to meet, be inspired, gain motivational tools and guidance during these strange times. The loneliness, the frustration of not knowing when this will pass or feeling bored can easily be used as an excuse to lose control and eat your way out of the "crisis". I am here to help prevent that happening, to support you and to support your body and mind.      

 

Thank you Thörbjorg 🙏🏽. I also know that good habits automatically transform our lives therefore I have signed up for your online course.

You can contact Thorbjörg via E: thorbjorg@thorbjorg.dk or T: (+45) 40 91 64 13 

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Your Dreams May Not Come True

Image: via standard.co.uk

Image: via standard.co.uk

I think that if your dreams are big enough they will not get completed during your lifetime. For some human beings the song in their heart will die if the situations around them does not work out the way they think it should happen.

Your inner experience should not be determined by what is happening around you. In the very nature of things, life is made in such a way that the outside will never happen 100% the way you want. And it should be that way, as if everything happened 100% your way - where do I go, where does everyone else go? Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it goes my way, sometimes it goes someone else’s way - everything is fine.

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What do you want for yourself could be either blissful or miserable!
Remember fundamentally everyone wants the same thing: Pleasantness within themselves and pleasantness around them. I think what you want for yourself is the highest level of pleasantness 100% clear - the highest level of pleasantness.

· If pleasantness happens in our body we call it health, and if it becomes very pleasant we call it pleasure.

· If our mind becomes pleasant we call it peace, and if it becomes very pleasant we call it joy.

· If our emotions becomes pleasant we call it love, and if it becomes very pleasant we call it compassion.

· If our life energies becomes pleasant we call it bliss, and if it becomes very pleasant we call it ecstasy.

· If our surroundings becomes pleasant we call it success and this is all that we want in our life.

The outside pleasantness is determined by many forces, not just by ourselves. And all of these forces must cooperate to create outside pleasantness, but to create inner pleasantness we do not need anybody’s cooperation, just ourself!
This one thing, if we can make it happen will enhance our dream in such a way that it could not be fulfilled in one lifetime. The fear of suffering is what is making people dream small, think small, work small because if I dream big and it doesn’t happen what will happen to me.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO NOW IF YOU KNEW THAT YOU COULD NOT FAIL?
How would you answer this question? You can share your answer here or you can keep it to yourself, but mostly I hope you do something about it.

The Same Old Cycle

The Same Old Cycle


Love Is A Dirty Word In Business

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For many, love is a dirty word in business. Bringing love into the workplace, it’s platonic, but it’s there. I love these people and I am going to support them doing great work and we are going to do this together. According to Richard Branson, “Customers should not be first, employees should be first because if you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your customers.”

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Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so!

Having a deep purpose to the why we do things, it’s not just a job, it’s not just a salary. I understand that these things are so important and people get caught up in working for organizations because they have obligations - but there is a choice about picking something that you are passionate about. And then the human connection, recognizing your own humility - I think Brené Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability Ted Talk from 2010 sums it up quite nicely.


Luxury Brands Ignoring Influencers is a Risky Business?

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Magazines are losing their power as the exclusive gatekeepers in fashion, as they used to be the brands’ best way to broadcast its message to an audience of potential customers. Now the internet and social media have changed that, and brands have to target small communities online in ways that speak to them.

Tribe Dynamics is a company that identifies influencers and estimates the “earned media value” of their activity around brands, eg. LVMH, as brands move more and more of their advertising spending online. Conor Begley (co-founder and president at Tribe Dynamics), gives an example below about the way influencers are shaping the images of luxury brands.

“I’m showing them a bunch of data on Chanel. The number one influencer for Chanel is a guy named Jeffree Star. For those of you that don’t know Jeffree Star, he has pink hair, he’s tattooed from like head to toe—and his neck too—he will routinely smoke weed in his videos […] We show them this data, and somebody from this luxury brand says, ‘Hey, we know this is really important, but we wouldn’t want Jeffree to be our number-one influencer.’ I talk about inclusivity versus exclusivity and not really controlling the conversation, etc. We go home, we look at the data; he was the number-one influencer for that brand as well, they just didn’t know it.”

Star is a make-up artist and social-media personality with a large following. Shortly after that meeting, Begley said, Star caused a stir by posting a YouTube video in which he cut up a $5,000 Chanel bag with a glowing-hot knife. Chanel doesn’t need to make Star the face of its brand, Begley pointed out, but it would probably be good for the label to create a relationship with him since he’s having an impact on how his many fans perceive Chanel. Gucci, in fact, has done just that and made custom products just for him.

Please note that magazine editors are now often influencer's themselves with their own personal followings separate from the companies they work for 😉.

Read the full Quartzy article here


Jack Ma at World Economic Forum (video)

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"We really need to pay attention to people who are 30 years old, to the next 30 years and to companies that have less than 30 employees. What are you most looking forward to and most scared off in the next 30 years?" Watch the full interview here


Do You Know How Your Customers R-A-T-E Your Business?

Ziglar, Inc., via Associated Press

Ziglar, Inc., via Associated Press

The American author and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar used the word R-A-T-E as a tool to assess how your customers are going to rate you.

R = Reliability, Recovery & Responsiveness
Customers understand that life is not perfect and mistakes will happen. However, this does not mean that your business is unreliable and frequently breaks its promises. Customers expect good businesses to be reliable and do what you say. On the rare occasions (they expect them to be rare) that you can’t then your customers expect you to make it up to them in another way, recover. How you make it up maybe as simple as an apology or some small compensation payment. They expect you to be responsive – i.e. quick to take action.

A = Assurance
Customers want to feel that their problem is being handled by an expert. Assure them that you know your business by demonstrating you understand their problems and the solution!

T = Tangibles
Your customers have an expectation of your brand and its appearance. From the staff and business setting to all of your on and off-line material. Your customers will judge you by your looks. Therefore part of meeting their expectations means making sure you look your best.

E = Empathy
Empathy is about connecting with your customers at an individual and personal level. Every customer wants to feel HUGged. That is Heard, Understood and Given incredible value. No one wants to feel like just another number or sale. You can HUG your customers by doing simple things like using their name when you address them, remembering specific details about their service needs/specifications that make it easy for them to buy from you. Show your customers that you care for them individually.

By really understanding the answers to these questions you will be able to set your customers’ expectations realistically and honestly. Customers tend to value honesty above everything. Setting expectations do not mean that you then can’t exceed them. It just establishes the baseline within the scope of your offer. For example, Richard Branson (Virgin), who has built an empire based on providing exceptional customer service explains it like this: “The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them — preferably in unexpected and helpful ways. Setting customer expectations at a level that is aligned with consistently deliverable levels of customer service require that your whole staff, from product development to marketing, works in harmony with your brand image.”

Are you interested in having a deeper dive?

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