The Breakthrough 52

1. When you help someone you don’t weaken yourself. You don’t give away your power. You become a better version of you. Try it.
2. The stuff you might currently think is simply weird such as giving up much TV, having alcohol-free days and doing Tai Chi will seem b**ody obvious to you in a couple of years when you have gained unstoppable focus, amazing energy and relentless creativity.  So, why not start now and get the benefits earlier?
3. Doing the minimum to ‘get by’ is only apparently easier. Long-term it makes it harder and it’s certainly not helping your brand (that’s what people say about you when you are not in the room).
4. You need to ask. She can only say no and that’s her loss. Right time, right place etc.
5. Our society is now way mis-matched to our body design. So our body has to learn to say no to excess food having historically been wired to eat everything it came across, just in case there wasn’t another ‘kill’ by the tribe for a few weeks. Tough? Yes. Possible? Yes. Vital? Yes.
6. Sir Paul McCartney has never been lost in the wilderness as some commentators claim. He just had to get the genius of the Beatles out of his system so he could do some of his own stuff. Imagine having three mates who understood and could anticipate your every thought plus shared your love of music, girls and chip butties.  It takes time to get over that paradise.
7. He’d like it if you txted more often. You’d like it if he replied more often.
8. When you own the consequences of your actions you are finally liberated.
9. It’s incredible fun doing something brilliantly.
10. There isn’t so much you need to ask permission for.
11. The sound bite weakens any message. Learn how to really do it from Churchill.  I have, myself , full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for year, if necessary alone.  Winston Churchill, House of Commons, 4^th June 1940. Notice all the ‘qualification’.  Does it weaken? No, it makes more powerful. There’s no problem with long. But there’s a problem with lack of integrity.
12. The new pension plan=love your work+maintain your health+keep working part-time in your later years which in itself maintains your health. Easy.
13. The brain must be exercised just like the body. And just like the body without use it deteriorates. Unlike the body it needs no sweaty gym kit. Just a couple  of good books a week could open up whole new parts of the lobe.
14. Pepsi never actually brought anyone ‘alive’.
15. One more time. PPT doesn’t explain. You explain.
16. True productivity isn’t a system, it’s a philosophy.
17. MBA courses do too little on design as a differentiator. In a busy, busy complex world anything which makes our Life easier has edge. Great design has edge.
18. Qualifications used to get you the job. Now they might get you to the interview. Real work experience plus great mental attitude are the new differentiators. Be awesome on both and you will get the job.
19. Who loves you? Are you taking them for granted?
20. You can do anything but you can’t do everything. Trying for the latter just causes frustration which causes a low mood which means you can’t do anything. Daft, really.
21. People don’t have your genes. That's why they see thing differently.
22. MBA courses don’t do enough about scale. Elephants can’t fly and need thick legs. That’s a scale factor. There comes a point where organisations start falling apart and need to re-invent at a different scale. It’s not a product nor a strategy thing. It’s simply a fact of business scale.
23. Italian coffee simply doesn’t need so much milk. Ditch the coffee-flavoured hot milkshake and try a doppio espresso. Wow. Told you Life would be better. And think of the calories and cash saved.
24. Parenting is the toughest leadership job on the planet. And when we have more data, probably the universe.
25. Selling isn’t just meeting needs. It isn’t just creating needs. It’s actually getting people to want to fulfil those needs. Like, now.
26. Little is fixed. You can reinvent at any time. Just decide and start today. A year from now the total 100% transformation of you, your fitness, your brand and new business could be complete. And certainly don’t wait for 1^st January. Ditch the delaying (New Year’s Resolution) rituals and get on with it.
27. Real Italian cafés are meant to have flickering fluorescent tubes.
28. Consider seriously reducing the screen time your children watch and notice their creativity and imagination and reading blossom.
29. If The Navy Seals were having a meeting: would they be late? Would they make excuses why they failed on the mission? Would someone leave after 5 minutes to get doughnuts? Would they wait an extra 12 minutes because Sally has got some personal problems and is running late? I don’t think so.  So why the f*ck do we do it? .
30. This is a great time to be on this planet: there’s so much to be done. You’re needed, really needed. Are you up for the job? One Planet: To Be Saved. From Idiocy.
31. There is always a fresh angle. Always. Your book, article, presentation needs to find it.
32. Every Beatles song is a saga in a few minutes. It’s one of the many reasons we can call them geniuses. It’s a cool skill to learn: rapid saga-telling.
33. There is always a way. Always.
34. You’re going to have to make a few enemies. That’s what happens on the bell-curve of Life when you decide to change to world. That is your mission isn’t it?
35. Love has many aspects. One is encouragement. One isn’t judgement.
36. Make everyone you meet every day feel better. Their positive return vibes will flood your body. You’ll never get a cold nor sore throat again. Ever.
37. Time isn’t really the question. To get the change you want, how much discomfort are you willing to go through? For your novel: how many mornings at 5am can you sit with a blanket around your shoulders trying to hit your word target before the kids need porridge and walking to school.
38. Read to your children. It helps you connect. They love stories and the great stories distil the wisdom of the ages so effortless for them.  Once upon a time, there lived ….
39. Always have a notebook. Use the phone of your camera. Capture and reflect.
40. Write a couple of poems. You don’t need to show them to anyone.
41. Happiness isn’t about extra choices. We have more choice than ever. Happiness requires us to know what is important and value it. That requires some thought. That requires us to stop Blackberry picking.
42. If she is truly gorgeous she may well be late to the restaurant. But if she is truly, truly gorgeous she’ll make up for it later.
43. Less is generally more.
44. The moon is worth staring at for many reasons. But one is to think: bl*ody hell: we have been there , stood on it and got back even when all the dials were analogue. We human beings can be SO cool at times. Be more cool more often.
45. Children need loads of love. Especially when they are a pain in the butt.
46. Stop when you are still feeling good. At the gym. Sorting your finances. Then you will return to it tomorrow.
47. Organisations are now so flat you can go from tea-boy to CEO easily if you have some oomph. And of course deliver the tea on time. But perhaps not make the tea too well.
48. Young kids absolutely love playing with cardboard boxes. There is no limit to their imagination.
49. If something isn’t working try again and again and again. Then try something different. But the thing is to try.
50. They’re not listening because they have their own worries. You have got to stop them in their tracks. No waffle, no melodrama. What’s the silver bullet to penetrate their distraction?
51. All superheroes have a weakness. Otherwise they would be totally dull. That’s why we all have a few. Some of us have a lot. Makes us damn interesting.
52. You could address one of these each week and totally transform your Life from regular awesome to awesome cubed. November 2010: Awesome Cubed. Phew!