Tuesday, March 7, 2017

PUNCH THROUGH TO THE FUTURE WITH LIFE HACKS

‘It is not the last dog left in the fight, but the one that has many fights left in it.’

The future holds many uncertainties.  We can predict with certainty that changes will happen without disruption.

We have to be versatile to stay relevant; even semi-retired and retired people must seek some form of activity and busy-ness. We must continue to re-invent ourselves to stay employable, stay in business, and even to stay put.
Stasis, or inactivity, merely invites trouble if you are not prepared to face the challenges that come at us.

‘Offence may be the best defence!’ to quote from X-Men: The Last Stand’. We must attack the future with confidence and fervor. Waiting for things to happen, procrastination, and being hopeful (without action) is ‘blind’.

Here are some Life Hacks for your future consideration.

1)   Ask yourself this: How seriously and importantly do I want to stay in employment?
2)   Which are the professions you will enjoy working in, in the long-run? What are you doing to ensure that?
3)   To seek new employment, identify these 3 questions: What do you know? (KNOW WHAT/HOW). Who do you know? (KNOW WHO) Who knows you?
4)   Examine your options: Seek employment, self-employment, be in a business, or up-skill/re-skill yourself.
5)   Do a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities  & Threats). Be honest about yourself, your abilities, expertise, and capabilities.
6)   Complete your SWOT Analysis, and seek three people who can give genuine and honest feedback about your Strengths and Weaknesses. Strengths include wisdom, skills, work experience, working knowledge, expertise, achievements, areas of mastery, attitude, and character.
7)   From your Weaknesses, identify which skills, experiences, knowledge, relationships, and certification will you need to learn and develop within the next six months? Next 12 months? Next 1-3 years?
8)   Which of your skills will become redundant? What will you need to learn stay employable? (Writing, presentation, relational, transactional, accounting, promotional, educational, and more)
9)   Who can you seek to guide you in your profession, business, and career? Who are your mentors, teachers and coaches?

10)                   Review your attitude and mindset towards people, life, work, recreation, and your lifestyle. Lifestyle is how you ‘style your life’.

Monday, March 6, 2017

Why Do We Race?

To complete?
Training to be our best.
To compete?
Moving past the rest.

Go fast or go slow,
Race your own race.
Go along with your flow,
Progress at your pace.

There is no disgrace,
For struggling and succumbing.
For this is your race,
Complete it even when stumbling.

One foot forward,
One pedal around.
The finishing-line is reward,
Where euphoria abounds.

A battered body the next few days,
A painful fate we will face.
Therefrom, recovery it will replace,

A hunger for the next race.