I took a Strengths Finder test a few years ago and it said that my number one strength was positivity. My number one strength! I couldn’t fucking believe it. I wasn’t very happy about this because it’s a bit lame really. Definitely not as cool or impressive as say your number one strength being ‘Strategy’. (That did actually come up as my fifth best strength.) Here’s the results I got: When someone asks you what your strengths are, you don’t really want to say positivity because what does that even mean?! Recently though, I’ve started to think differently about this. It comes up again and again. People often remark that I’m ‘always so positive’ or that I’m the ‘most positive person they’ve ever met’. So maybe I’m in the 98th percentile for positivity. That’s pretty good right? Maybe you can’t change your nature so maybe it’s time to embrace it. …[Read More]
Mind
Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday – key takeaways
Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday is the third book in my Book a Week Challenge. I must admit that I didn’t find this an easy read. Street Smarts was a page turner. Ego is the Enemy less so. That’s not to say that it’s not got an important message. It does. And it’s a message that you can apply to your own life. Key Takeaways Don’t let your Ego get in the way of proper progress I’ve been playing golf for since I was 13. That’s more than 20 years ago. I’m still a pretty poor player knocking around a 24 handicap. You’d think that in 20 years I might have improved. Even one shot better a year would have meant I’d be a single figure golfer by now. So why haven’t I improved. Holiday would say that my Ego has prevented me from improving. I think …[Read More]
How I became a morning person. Finally.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an insomniac. I remember being awake for a whole night before a 9am exam. I’ve punched the walls in frustration at not being able to sleep the night before an important interview. I’ve lain awake so often that for years on a Sunday night, I would pop downstairs at 3am for a glass of port and a sleeping tablet to help my mind relax and finally get some sleep. Not ideal I know. I’ve long dreamed of being able to sleep when I want to. I’ve dreamed of bouncing out of bed at 6am and going to the gym, reading a book and doing some writing. But I’ve never been able to do it. The snooze button was always too inviting. The pillow was too soft and too warm. Until now. I was in Hong Kong and Australia recently to celebrate …[Read More]
What I learned from watching the recent Supreme Court Article 50 case
I was absolutely blown away by the recent Supreme Court Article 50 hearing. Easily one of the best things I’ve ever watched. Here’s what I learned: 1) Some people are really, really incredibly clever The eleven justices are legal geniuses. As are the barristers who were representing the various parties ranging from the UK Government, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and private individuals. Each was marshalling several arguments, a huge range of facts and issues of generational importance. It’s reassuring that issues of this magnitude are being handled by big brains such as these. It makes Michael Gove’s now pilloried statement that the nation had ‘had enough of experts’ even more ridiculous. How could anyone but experts deal with enormous matters like this? 2) The mind needs to be exercised or it will atrophy Watching and listening to the arguments, I could feel my mind waking up, like a dry …[Read More]
My first experiences with Nootropics (Noopept) (Chaos and Pain Cannibal Genius)
I’m always on the look out for ways to improve. Particularly if they involve a shortcut or life-hack. I’d come across the the idea of nootropics from a lot of guys I follow online. Like Tim Ferriss. Dave Asprey Victor Pride More recently Dave Meredith and Chris Stoikos. What are nootropics? Nootropics are chemicals that improve mental performance. They were popularised in the film Limitless where the fictional drug NZT gave the main character access to his entire brain capacity, improving his mental performance massively. Whilst no such NZT exists in real life (I don’t think), there are are drugs that do have a tangible positive effect on mental performance. The most popular are Modifinal and Noopept. Modifinal was originally made for the military to combat narcolepsy. It kept pilots awake and alert for hours, like caffeine only without the jittery effects. My main draw towards nootropics was the reported ability …[Read More]