Month / April 2016

Friday

“Yay, it’s Friday.”

“TGIF”

Monday is shunned. Friday is celebrated. Friday heralds the start of the weekend, Monday bemoans its end.

And I understand. But I don’t like it. I don’t like it because of what it means. It means people don’t like their work. Not that you need to be told that.

If you don’t love your job enough that going in on Monday excites rather than depresses you, you need to change jobs. Find something that doesn’t make you fear the end of the weekend. If your weekends are great shouldn’t the other five days be just as good?

Don’t let the name of any day make you feel any happier than another.

by Colin Brosnan

Birth, Death?

Death and birth describe the same thing. That event you’re describing was either the start of something or the end of something. The only difference is perspective. The only difference is how you view it.

Your choice of description, death or birth, depends on how you see the event. If you see a good thing ending you see it die. If you see a good thing starting, you see it born. Death is not inherently evil, nor is birth inherently good. Both can be traumatic events or joyous. It simply depends on what that event is.

All events are both. Choose the perspective that helps you the most. Death or birth? Birth or death?

by Colin Brosnan

Revisit

Revisit your work. Don’t just finish it and ignore it.

Leave some time go by, then go back and look at it. Examine it. See it for what it is, flaws and all.

Your work, viewed from the distance of time passed, can educate you. It can show you how you’ve grown. What would you do differently now that you have grown in knowledge and skill since you completed that work? Your old work can inspire you. It can suggest new paths for your work. Paths you couldn’t travel down then because you were less equipped. Paths you couldn’t even see before are no longer hidden to your eyes.

Your past work is a resource. Revisit it. Use it.

by Colin Brosnan

Mingle

Life is better if you mingle. Don’t just stick to the same old formula. Mix it up.

Mingle and meet more people. It will help you meet more ideas, more thoughts, more opinions. The more different people and things you are introduced to, the richer your mind.

Find a way to mingle.

by Colin Brosnan

Opinions

It seems everyone has an opinion. About everything.

You can give your opinion about anything you like – even if you know nothing about it. But you don’t have to. You can’t know it all. And if you know nothing, keeping your mouth shut is often a good option.

Here’s the thing though, you can figure out what your opinion should be. Just educate yourself about the topic. Look at the information. Research it. Don’t just make assumptions. Don’t let others tell you what you should think. Take the time to figure it out and your opinion may not be the same as everyone else’s but it won’t be bullshit either.

Your opinion matters. Don’t waste it.

by Colin Brosnan

Bandwagon Brands

A celebrity dies and you see loads of brands tweet a tribute. And by “tribute” I mean the company has gone “let’s jump on this and see if we can get any coverage off it”.

Perhaps it was always the case and I’ve only started noticing it. Or perhaps it’s a byproduct of the social media era. Either way it doesn’t make the brand look good. It makes them appear like vultures.

No doubt it’s possible to do right. I just don’t remember ever seeing one done right.

by Colin Brosnan

Incomplete

If you don’t complete things you can’t claim them as done.

You can start all the projects you want but if you don’t finish them you’ve done nothing. If you’re working on a side project don’t move on to that new idea you’ve just had until you finish what you’re doing. Otherwise it’s incomplete.

If you’re going for a five mile run but only run four miles, it’s incomplete. You don’t get to tick it off your list of things to do. If you’re trying not to break the chain, you’ve failed, the task is incomplete and the chain is broken.

Don’t just start stuff, finish them.

by Colin Brosnan