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- Steal These Thoughts 27.12.22 | 2022 Lessons
Steal These Thoughts 27.12.22 | 2022 Lessons
7 Lessons From 2022
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The big thought: 7 Lessons From 2022
Here we're again, folks. The end of another year.One minute, it was a hot summer's day. But now, I find myself next to a stupidly large tree filled with enough lights to burn my eyes whilst watching home alone for the billionth time.Life has a way of creeping up on you.The festive season is also a reflective season. How can you know how far you've come (or in some cases, haven't come) if you don't take time to reflect?Here's 7 things I learnt over these last 365 days.
1/ Health is real wealth
Nothing is scarier than a blow to your health.No matter if it’s physical or mental or both. We truly have nothing without our health.I think of it like a pyramid. Without solid foundations (our health) the rest would fall apart. So, doing the basics first is what leads to doing the most incredible things.
2/ You can grow slowly and still go far
In an age of high-speed delivery, it’s easy to feel insignificant. Everyone seems to be in such a rush these days. But is it not the journey we enjoy more than the destination? I find we always get that mixed up.You focus on the end so badly that you miss the good stuff on the way.Hitting your target is still hitting your target.No matter if it takes 5 months or 5 years. Slow growth is not something to hate. It’s something we should embrace.How many stories have we seen in the past few years of people and companies that have gone so fast to only fall in a matter of days?An old mentor used to tell me “Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will you”.We can't forget the old fable of the tortoise and the hare either, can we? We all know how that turned out (Google it if you don’t).
3/ Find your niche and sub-niche
The big revelation for me this year.Trying to focus too broadly was killing me. It’s the classic jack of all trades and semi-ok in all scenarios. Yes, I edited that a bit.The lesson here is you can work in a broad field but you’ll only find success and impact if you niche down to 2-3 things. Again, another old fable of less is more applies here.I’m pushing this into 2023 too. Instead of doing 20 things ok. I’m doing 3 things that I can really deliver value in.4/ Doing everything for everybody = doing nothing for nobodyAnother big slap to my face in the last 12 months.Similar to the above. Trying to please and capture everyone's attention is a one-way ticket to not just failure but burnout. This is the biggest mistake I see in so many professions now.Crazy to think I’ve never given this much time before.Another quote I now have in my office to keep me focused on this:"I can't give you a formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time" - Herbert Byard Swope5/ Life is a game, we have many ways to play itPeople often get pissed when I say life and careers are a game.I’m not sure why, as a board game exists called The Game Of Life.But, I digress.I’m an avid videogame nerd so this is an analogy that works for me. I’ve also seen and heard it used by more people in the last 6 months, so I could be onto something - who knows!Like any game, you have different ways to play.I feel the quicker people realise this, the better. We’re biologically programmed to compare ourselves to each other. The problem is we’re all playing the game in different ways.Some want to hit level 100, whilst others are thriving at level 27.We all play the game, but we choose to play in our own way.I feel so passionately about this that I’ve turned all my knowledge from the last 15 years in this space into a playbook.The How To Win In The Careerverse Playbook was born from this realisation.If you want to get your copy, join us here.6/ Small things lead to big thingsI finally got around to reading Atomic Habit by James Clear.Whilst I wasn't blown away by it like some of its cult-like followers were. It did reinforce the thought of doing small things consistently to accomplish big things.This is often the mistake made when setting goals.We focus too much on the HUGE end goal and forget the little steps it needs to get there.Too many are crippled by that. That is how millions of goals die.7/ Compounding is a superpower - money, skills and expertiseI was introduced to the term compounding in the world of finance. Yet, I’ve found it has applicability in so many areas.Banks talk about compound interest on our cash.I’ve been looking at compound interest in my skills and experiences. Basically, I make a deposit to my suite of accounts every month and watch them compound across the year.2022 has seen this firmly accelerate in my writing.I’ve geeked out on 4 resources (a combo of books and courses) that have given me at least a 60% increase in what I had when the year began.I find looking at my ongoing activities as compounding ‘x’ has greatly helped me keep focused.That’s me, folks.I hope useful for you and I’d love to hear from you too.What’s the biggest lesson you learned in the last 365 days?
Final thoughts
Before we go, folks.I want to say a HUGE thank you to each of you who read my words and support my work. Without you, I wouldn't be able to do all the things I do.I hope you and yours have a great rest of the festive celebrations.I'll talk with you next week (we're going to dive into actions for growth in 2023, FYI).
Content that has caught my attention and might interest you too.
This system might help you make that a thing of the past. I'm currently experimenting with this method myself.
I'm partway through this talk with Epic Games' Celia Hodent.It covers fun facts about the brain to help designers increase the chance of their audience experiencing the intended design of their game.
That's it for this week. Please do share your thoughts with me on these pieces or anything I share on the Twitterverse and LinkedIn. Chat to you soon.Don't forget to visit my website for more content.
If you're curious, here's two ways I can help you 👇
1/ My L&D toolkit stack with 20 free tools.2/ My How To Win In The Careerverse playbook where you can learn the tools and tactics to navigate the game of careers.
"The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency you have" Jim Carrey
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