power

May 9, 2019

Creatives Are Coming

Mansfield Habits, Motivation create, creativity, dreams, lifehack, power 0

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will”. – George Bernard Shaw

Creatives, very important and pivotal to the advancement of the world. And being part of creatives I often ask myself. What is it you really want? Is it something you want to do, something you want to have, someone you’d like to be? What is it that really excites you when you think about it? (If you haven’t figured that part out yet, start by making a list of all the things you enjoy.)

One of the best gifts you get in life is to be creative. Without using your incredible imagination to dream dreams of wonderful events, careers, travel and vacation, and even helping other people you’re missing out on huge life benefits. This is the reason why creatives are needed.

The way your incredible brain is wired is to support you in setting goals, visualising and attaining them. In short, our brain is a goal-seeking missile. By using your creative imagination you can explore new territory you never thought possible. You learn a new musical instrument, take up a new hobby. Leave the corporate world and start your own business. My creativity led me to share what I learned in my personal journey to inspire other people to be better.

Why Dreams matter, dreams have no limits and dreams keep you motivated to work Click To Tweet

In 1998, when I first contemplated writing lyrics for songs all I knew was it seemed like a really cool thing to do. I just saw it as a great way to express yourself. I had no sense of meter and relied heavily on listening to other creatives make music. After mechanically working my way through my first few raps I started to get a feel for it and lyrics just flowed to me.

I had no idea when I started to write these lyrics that almost 20 years later it would lead to writing a book. And when my book World War You was published, I didn’t expect the momentum. If someone had asked me soon after it was published if I would write another one, my answer would have been “maybe”. Fast track to now and I’m working on a second one.

The process is preparing you to make your dream become your reality Click To Tweet

Now to give you some contest, when I decided to write the book I had no formal training or publishing team, just a passion for what I wanted to do and a message to share. I published this book because of my passion. The passion came from the vision I had created and the feeling it gave me when I thought about doing it. Very simple steps. At times it felt like it was manifesting quite slowly, but then you turn around one day and notice how much has happened and wonderful it is to have achieved your goal.

I know you have that one thing that gives you the same feeling. That one thing that wakes you up in the morning and you smile, (not your alarm).
If you are not sure just answer these few questions for me right now. Do you want to do something bigger? Something different? Something fun?
Now that you are there, get a clear picture in your mind of what you want (see it). Spend at least five minutes a day visualising what it is like to already have what you want (feel it). Now be in that moment and embrace your dream (be it).

If it’s a new house, imagine the way you’ll set up the furniture, the nice friendly neighbours next door, the beautiful flowers you will plant over the weekend. Literally, sit in your new kitchen and enjoy a cup of tea.
The beauty of creativity is it has no limits, no boundaries. Change the picture every day and add something new, keep making it better.

I do not know what your creative side is, and I do not know what you are working toward. What I do know is you have the ability to make it happen. I need you to see it, focus on it until it is so vivid that it pushes you to execute. Write that song, paint that picture, take that risk and make it happen.
Lastly, be thankful and express your gratitude in your visualisations for having achieved your desired goal. Now is that time and you are that person to do it. Keep dreaming and execute, you are manifesting your goal. The process is preparing you to make your dream become your reality.

Are you ready to be part of the creatives?

April 11, 2019

The Power Of Habits

Mansfield Leadership, Productivity, self growth bad, good, growth, habit, habits, life, lifehack, moments, power 0

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Prov. 22:6.

In my previous post, I quoted Confucius saying that the nature of men is always the same. It is their habits that separate them. This had me thinking that habits must be very powerful if they can separate our nature.

Good habits are not acquired simply by making good resolves, though the thought must precede the action. We develop good habits in the workshop of our daily lives. Great moments of test and trial do not build character, they simply display it. It is the often uneventful, commonplace routine of daily life that fashion the habits that direct our lives and form our character. Our habits are acquired by practice.

Good habits are not acquired simply by making good resolves, though the thought must precede the action. Click To Tweet

King Solomon taught, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” We may not always know what lies ahead, but we find strength and safety in good conduct. We need to organize our lives according to good principles and chart the right course as we journey in life.

Through life, we learn that good character-building habits mean everything. It is by such behaviour that we harness the real substance and value of life. The way we live outweigh any words we may profess to follow. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Man’s destined purpose is to conquer all habits, to overcome the evil in him and to restore good to its rightful place.” This echoes the importance or power of our habits.

Bad habits are a reflection of our thoughts and personalities, our behaviour and conduct. They are degrading to the choice qualities which are our God-given endowments of faith, honesty, integrity, and uprightness. This is where good habits begin. Someone has observed, “When a man boasts of his bad habits, you may rest assured they are the best he has.”

Habits are subject to change and improvement. Our environment and circumstances help in this process which means it is important to be in the right place. Our great challenge is to learn how to control ourselves. We must learn for ourselves and act for ourselves, being careful not to follow those doing wrong. Some may ask who sets the bar? When you engage in a bad habit, you know your habit is bad. You are just not willing to agree because you do not want to change it.

An ancient proverb states that good habits result from resisting temptation. Such resistance often takes the form of a persevering struggle. When bad habits become a part of our lives we need more than a desire to overcome them, we must ACT.
We should become so involved in acquiring good quality traits and participating in character-building activities that there is no time to engage in anything worthless or harmful. Our habits should be those that make us susceptible to growth and development.

The strengths that enable us to set aside the urge to do wrong are self-mastery, self-control, and self-discipline. It is a wonderful feeling to conquer wrong practices and to be free and unencumbered from their detrimental effects. When we have conquered our bad habits and replaced them with good ones, living as we should, then we are on our way to a fulfilled life.

Self-mastery, self-control, and self-discipline are required strengths that enable us to set aside the urge to do wrong. Click To Tweet

Ernest L. Wilkinson, speaking to the students of Brigham Young University, said: “Character … is not something to be obtained by ease and indolence or being socially agreeable. It cannot be acquired by absorption or by proxy or on the auction block. It is a reward derived from honest toil in overcoming difficulties. We grow by mastering tasks which others consider impossible.”

The right behaviour implies a strict adherence to moral principles and honesty of purpose. We need to ask ourselves, “Are my usual thoughts and present actions worthy of a good life? Am I setting my sights on positive goals and working to obtain them?” Anything short of our best isn’t good enough.

March 7, 2019

How To Own Your Power – Men

Mansfield Motivation, self growth life, life goals, life plan, now, personal growth, power 0

“There is nothing else than now. There is neither yesterday, certainly, nor is there any tomorrow. How old must you be before you know that?” – Ernest Hemingway

Changing a lifetime’s mental habits is an ongoing process, not a one-time quick fix. Our brains are built to reinforce behaviour that feels safe and comfortable, even when that behaviour hurts us more than helps us. Here are some tips that I’ve found helpful in the ongoing quest to harness your own power.

Our power lives in us, not outside of us. We do not have control over the outside world, but we do have control over what is inside of us. Click To Tweet

1.Look inward for reinforcement, not outward.
When you feel stress or anxiety, resist the urge to look for external reinforcement. External reinforcement is the sugar high of emotions; it comes in a quick blast and then fades, and then you need another hit. All those seemingly harmless behaviours—scrolling social media, reading news blurbs—are ways to distract you. They are ways of trying to get external reinforcement that this moment is okay.

Our power lives in us, not outside of us. We do not have control over the outside world, but we do have control over what is inside of us. When you feel the need for reassurance, remind yourself that all the resources you need to be present and at peace are inside you. Remember that they have always been there, and they will always be there.

2. Control your information stream.
Put your news consumption on a diet. Put your phone away. Regulate your use of external information for emotional support, especially from social media. Facebook, Twitter and the rest can be wonderful ways to connect with friends. But overuse them and they begin to make you feel disconnected instead and left out. It’s so easy to feel inadequate because of the controlled environments we expose ourselves to.

3. Write down your goals—and then throw them away.
Goal setting is a great way to prioritize what’s important to you. Just remember that goals are about the future. Once you’ve identified them, let them float away into the future, where they belong. The real rewards are not in attaining your final goals, but in working towards them. And that only happens in the present. Do not just write or talk, EXECUTE.

4. Embrace gratitude.
At regular intervals take a few moments out of your day and list five things you feel grateful for. Gratitude is an amazing weapon against anxiety, and it is a powerful way of reminding ourselves of the power and value of the present moment.

A great way to immerse yourself in gratitude is to perform acts that help other people. Volunteering and acts of kindness help us focus on others, rather than ourselves, and are an amazingly effective tool for living presently.

5. Practice mindfulness.
Develop a simple, repeatable mindfulness habit. If meditation is your thing, spend fifteen minutes each morning in quiet contemplation, simply being present. The core of my contemplative process is taking walks. It’s my way of burning out the noise and anxiety of the future and the past (which do not exist) and bringing my awareness back to the present moment. Experiment and figure out what works best for you, and then make it a habit.

We sometimes get so detached from the present moment that it seems like foreign territory, and lowering our defences to allow it in can seem scary. When we let go of the future and allow ourselves to be in the now, we are actually committing an act of bravery. Diving in may be hard, but it’s the only way to find the true richness of life.
Good Luck lads.

October 25, 2018

The Power Of 10

Mansfield Leadership, Productivity 10, decade, direction, life, longevity, power 0

“You can do less in one year than you think you can and more in ten years than you think you can.” – Rick Warren

Hope I find you all well, today I have an interesting topic. Think of your age right now and take off ten years. Perhaps stop for just a few seconds and say it out loud.

Feels great, doesn’t it!

Consider the changes you have navigated in that time. The adjustments you have made to your personal life, your career, your most personal relationships and your family (I had no children ten years ago, now I have one). Think about the things you have seen and experienced. Who you have met, where you have been and what you have learnt.

Consider what has happened in your city, has happened globally, politically and the ever-increasing pace of technological change. SO much has happened in the last ten years and every time I ask people to consider that time, they tell me it feels like time has passed fast and slow all at the same time.

Now humour me. No, really humour me.

Add ten years to your age. Say out loud the age you will be ten years from now. This time, say it with enthusiasm, real energy and real commitment!

Are we still friends?

I know, I know. It HURTS to say that number. Most people I have talked to about this hate the idea of saying that number out loud. The thought of being that age is something we dare not entertain. And yet, every day you wake up you’re on a relentless march to that number. It’s coming, ready or not. I’d rather be ready.

Ancient wisdom says, “Teach us to number our days so we can walk in wisdom.” On that basis, we have 3650 days to steward just before that number turns up. That number you just declared will turn up that’s for certain. The critical question that I asked in one of my blog posts is ‘who would you like to BE and what would you have liked to have DONE to be delighted to meet yourself.’

This week the bottom line is, That age WILL turn up, the question is who will you BE when it does and how will you get THERE?

I will be 34 years old in just under a month and I have been thinking about my next decade. What am I good at? What do others affirm in me? What do I naturally gravitate towards and whom? It seems so far away, and at times I question whether it is worth actually spending the time on this exercise. My main thrust though at this time has been to have a plan and clarity, I need to make sure my purpose is clearer, my confidence greater, my resolve deeper and my energy higher. Fundamentally I need to know where I’m going and what steps I must take to get there. Rick Warren is famously quoted as saying “You can do less in one year than you think you can and more in ten years than you think you can.” Rick is right. There are four steps to ensuring your next decade is your best ever. Just four. Direction, Collaboration, Responsibility and Progress. Next week these will be unpacked and applied to your next (and best) decade.

How far along into your future have you thought? Please share your journey with us in the comments section.