Is it money, fame, and glory? This can be true to varying degrees for many people, but if you are not one of those people, what is your real motivation for doing what you do? I watched one of my favourite films ‘Sideways’ last night. Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it! At the very end of the film and after having made several mistakes … Continue reading Why Do You Do What You Do?
According to my taxi driver this morning, a change is as good as a rest. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had my coffee yet, but I started wondering if that was really true. What are the benefits of change? Is change really restful? I often find that people see change as quite a stressful experience. The unfamiliar ‘chaos’ can be hugely challenging and quite … Continue reading Is The Grass Always Greener?
If you’re setting up your own business, working for somebody else, writing a book, creating your own art or whatever it may be, what do you want to say that makes you different to everybody else? How will people notice you over the white noise of the world? Maybe you’re writing a novel for love, for money or both, but does the world really need … Continue reading What Do You Really Stand For?
Nothing’s perfect. Nobody’s perfect. Nowhere is perfect. Perfection is a myth. Imperfection is the reality of our lives. Whatever ideas the media may try to sell us with seemingly perfect families and bodies among other things, there is no such thing as perfection. We give ourselves such a hard time trying to be ‘perfect’ that we forget that being imperfect is who we are as … Continue reading Perfection is a Myth and the Enemy of Productivity
I’m a big fan of using to-do lists to help me get things done and may even be a little dependent on them. However, I recently saw this quote on one of my favourite websites which made me think about them differently: “Life isn’t a big to-do list.” Leo Babauta (Zen Habits) Of course, it’s a very simple idea and yet it can be a … Continue reading How Sitting Still Can Make You Stronger And More Productive
My favourite coffee in Spain is a cortado, which is kind of like an espresso with a dash of milk. I’ve been living here for 5 years now and I’ve probably had at least two cortados every day since then, so I’ve had more than three thousand of them in that time, which also means I’ve asked for them more than three thousand times too … Continue reading Big Egos Have Little Ears
Puede ser difícil ser quien eres. A veces eres tú que es tu peor enemigo o mayormente, la gente a tu alrededor de ti, como tu familia o tus amigos, aunque te digan que te quieren. Tal vez tengas sueños en los que quieres renunciar a tu trabajo para viajar por el mundo o empezar otro trabajo. No importa qué sea. La verdad es que … Continue reading Encuentra Tu Gente
A friend was recently telling me about their plans for setting up their own business. They’d been thinking about it on and off for years and things were such in their life that now seemed like the perfect opportunity to make it happen. But strangely, although she was clearly passionate about this idea, all I could hear her say was ‘But what if it goes … Continue reading What If It Goes Right?
I have been a fan of Q (English music magazine) for many years and in the latest issue, I was reading an interview with a band called Royal Blood. Now I’m not really a rock fan but every now and again a band comes through that I really like and Royal Blood are currently and pleasantly deafening me with both their albums. But why am … Continue reading Can What’s Missing Be Your Strength?
Perhaps this is something we don’t like admitting, but although we may want to get things done as soon as possible, sometimes it will just take longer. And that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I’ve just managed to get a Spanish driving licence for a friend. It’s been a process which started a few months ago and as is the case in … Continue reading How Bruce Lee Helped Me Get A Spanish Driving Licence
“Sometimes I want to go home and stay out of sight for a long time” This is a lyric from a song called ‘Van Occupanther’ by one of my favourite bands, Midlake which gets me every time. On listening to it today, it got me thinking especially about how it feels to ‘sometimes want go home and stay out of sight for a long … Continue reading Permission To Not Be Positive
I’m sitting on a lovely, ever-so-slightly battered brown sofa in my favourite bar (Cafe Cyrano) in Almería, my recently adopted ‘big city’, listening to my new favourite album (‘Hey Mr Ferryman’ by Mark Eitzel) with a cortado coffee and an orange juice. I’ve just put my car in for a service. Not a big deal for most people, but not having owned a car until recently, … Continue reading Nothing Like A Coffee And Some Time
Away From The Noise 