Nicholas Bate

Immersion 101

What are the Secrets of Success? What are The Real Essentials? Sometimes you realise that if you just woke up, were intelligent, noticed the moments and were bold, had real grit, stopped thinking about escape hatches, and were resilient, perhaps things would become refreshingly different.After all, the totally tangible truths are simply priceless and remind you that whetever it takes in a Brave New World, there is no conspiracy maybe just simply one doppio espresso too many. After all, you say you want a revolution.  So be a superhero, take some time to pause and consider and realise that life is good: you just need The Simplest of Pleasures. And become truly wealthy by using the life tips. What if you were fearless and knew that you could solve any problem that you had? Reinvent. Be outrageous. Be professional. After all, AreYouSerious as genius often starts with quick wins, certainly avoiding nonsense, taking time to reflect, seeking answers and knowing what is to be done. Set your compass, do it and boost your productivity and hence wellness and hence creativity. Think Beatles, think blue Jeans, less PowerPoint. Write and be different. Grab your freedom and travel. Less marketing, more relaxing. Make that Parallel Universe happen: be more intelligent and let the good news happen. Remember: It Isn't Rocket Science.

March 2017 Redux 12

1. TotallyTotallyGlobalInc., The Novel
2. 11 Ways to Better Quality Sleep
3. 7 Things which Ground
4. Basics: Presenting.
5. Feel Better Saturday
6. Agility: The New Differentiator
7. 7 Things which Make Life Easier
8. Small Wins
9. It Isn't Rocket Science 101
10. Saturdays
11. Skip the Expensive Assessment Centre...
12. Thursday Thinking

Bonus 1: Deep Productivity 2017, The Fast-Track Seminar.

Bonus 2: You, Only Better

Bonus 3: January 2017 Redux.

Bonus 4: February 2017 Redux

Bonus 5: Goal-Building Resources 7, free

Bonus 6: Goal-Building Resources 7, budget

Bonus 7: The Essential Posts of 2016

Bonus 8: The Essential Posts of 2015

 

Bonus 9: The Smart Bloggers 

Basics: Presenting 7

1. Ask: what value am I offering this audience?
2. Realise: stories are memorable, bullets are forgettable.
3. Pace is critical.
4. Build in a decent Q&A to ensure clarity of message.
5. Start on time. Finish on time.
6. Rehearse for word flow.
7. Anything the same for too long: tone, slide style, an exercise is trance inducing. Change!

Bonus: Love Presenting, Hate (Badly Used) PowerPoint

Small Wins: Number 27

27: Learn 5 new words in the language you are studying: Spanish, Mandarin or Ancient Greek.

Small Win 1: Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Small Win 2: Read four pages of a classic novel every day.

Small Win 3: Have a Day of Rest.

Small Win 4: Keep your key personal goals visible. To you. Always.

Small Win 5: Accept graciously when the universe out-manoeuvres you. 

Small Win 6: Make every other beverage a drink of water, pure and simple. 

Small Win 7: Take a moment to walk barefoot on planet earth, every day. Yes, even when it's chilly. 

Small Win 8: Thank your barista, tip generously and wish them a lovely break.

Small Win 9: Par-cook the potatoes today for more effective roasting, tomorrow.

Small Win 10: Write with real paper and pen and post thank-you notes to the grand-parents.

Small Win 11: No more cake until February. Seriously.

Small Win 12: Take it one day at a time. 

Small Win 13: Re-boot a New Year's Resolution today. It's the doing not the date that is critical. 

Small Win 14: Have some fun. But don't spend any money.

Small Win 15: Eat a portion of green vegetables every day. Rain or shine.

Small Win 16: Find a piece of real, relevant news today.

Small Win 17: Don't read about the weather. Go experience it.

Small Win 18: Be on time. Every time.

Small Win 19: Enjoy More Analog, Less Digital Saturday

Small Win 20: Wash by hand your wool walking socks while listening to Bowie,Rebel, Rebel. What could be nicer?

Small Win 21: End the day with fewer e-mails in the in-box than when you started. Continue to zero.

Small Win 22: Write the opening sentence of your great novel. Now relax and continue tomorrow. 

Small Win 23: Write a list before you go into the supermarket. Stick to it. Save money.

Small Win 24: Create a corner where you can sit and write your poetry.

Small Win 25: Sharpen all your pencils for the day while coffee is brewing. Do a 1 minute sketch on the hour every hour. Anything.

Small Win 26: Tidy your top desk drawer.

Logan Melissa

the record and cover art.

Danny Gregory does

childhood smells

Enjoy Tanmay's Sketchnotes

here.

Totally, Totally Global Inc, The Novel: mini chapter 9

Previously on Totally, Totally, Global Inc. Sales are down. Morale is low. Strategy has been neglected. Jo has a breakthrough and develops a saga. Jo finds the first person to join his elite team. The 3 point plan. The Saga begins. Jo recruits Hemel. The plan unfolds.

---------------------------

Jo: It’s pretty high level at the moment. But by Monday I want a plan. I want to create a dedicated group. Dedicated space . New product to launch in 12 months from now. I imagine seven people: all areas of expertise covered. The energy and focus of a start-up.

Hemel: I don’t know much about product life cycle but that seems short?

Jo: partly the point: when sales need anything the company grinds to a halt to get it done. Let’s now get the company to focus on us and creating a winning, killing product.

Hemel: As I said Jo, I’ve always respected your thinking. And do I have any choice anyway. How far have you got? Is seven people enough?

Jo: this is Day 1 and you are person 2 after me. If you’ve finished eating let’s grab a coffee and head up to the roof terrace to talk some more. Seven are the experts, the drivers. Doesn’t stop us calling on more expertise. But for the moment: we need to be lean and mean: fully accountable to each other. A high performance team. With 7, I think we can address the areas of expertise.

Jo and Hemel stood in the queue for barista coffee. They conversed while most scanned their phones. Jo continued to outline his plan: out of the main building, a team who could hunker down who could resist the short-term pressures of the business, a team who could be brilliantly creative and yet who could hit the toughest of project milestones.

Hemel got it. Being pragmatic he didn’t really have another option anyhow. Jo was in full flight and just about to order his drink when a hand touched his arm. It was Mary.

Hey jo: are you taking a coffee break? May I join you? I got your mail and I think the answer is a definite yes but I need some clarification and perhaps assurances...….

Hey Mary of course. You obviously know Hemel: he’s in. Join us on the roof terrace and we can talk. Are you on tea or coffee?

---------------------------

TBC...

DID you miss mini chapters 1?, 2?, 3?, 4? , 5?, 6?, 7?, 8?

BONUS: MBA On The Go.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, the list completed.

91. Attention is your most powerful asset: place it fully, target it wisely.

92. Zero sugar. Zero in-box. Zero distractions.

93. You can re-invent any day and time you choose.

94. The saga in which you are a player is one of the greatest. Don't despair when the role gets tough and be willing to let go of the script and try improv.

95. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor even touched; they must be felt with the heart. Helen Keller.

96. What's true?

97. Shakespeare can normally give you the fresh perspective on the dilemma you have.

98. Dominos isn't about pieces, a game and number matching. It's about play, companionship and zero urgency.

99. As your career develops build your value, charge more for your time, work fewer hours, need fewer perks and help those more junior to find their place.

100. Love words, love numbers. Just avoid spreadsheets.

101. Now is the time.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 1-10, including Stand more than you sit; walk more than you stand.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 11-20, including Start. End. The brackets of excellence. 

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 21-30, including Being paid by time encourages longer hours. Being paid by value encourages excellence.  Switch to the latter ASAP.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 31-40, including Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime; give a man a phone as well and he'll be 'too busy' to cook simple nutritious food such as fish and far too inattentive to learn the skill of fishing. 

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 41-50, including Show the kids you love reading. And give them a book budget, a library card and their own set of shelves.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 51-60, including Become a great photographer with the camera on your phone. Then reward yourself with the expensive SLR.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 61-65, including School is not the best laboratory of what you are really good at. Try more stuff.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 66-70, including A plant in your cubicle will keep you sane as you nurture it and it reminds you of the critical nature of water and light.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 71-75, including You write for yourself. Publication is a distraction from your art. 

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 76-80, including Walking a deserted beach is to feel you have whole planet to yourself.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 81-85, including Varied, at times intense, exerciseplus excellent nutrition are simple routes to combat chronic diseases.

It Isn't Rocket Science 101, 86-90, including To run in open country, breathing hard, covering ground and keeping an eye on the horizon is to travel back in time to our earliest days on planet earth.

Bonus: How To Be Brilliant

Deep Productivity 2017: new date

On Thursday 22nd June of this year I'll be running my Deep Productivity 2017 seminar at Magdalen College, Oxford University.

I ran this brand new seminar for the first time last week and we had a great response from a fantastic audience who created some pragmatic action plans for change.

The Essence

Being productive, truly productive, has become harder than ever. We are encouraged to ‘get stuff done’ to ‘be and stay connected’ and simply ‘try harder’. But it doesn’t work; we run faster, we get stressed and we question the point of it all while still the ‘to do’ list lengthens and the in-box fills…

I have been teaching simple, powerful productivity principles for two decades; the ideas have evolved to deal with the ever–increasing demands of a digital, 24 by 7 and ‘no guarantees’ world of work. The ideas work and will give you the powerful combination most of us are seeking: success (as you define it) with freedom. If you would like to attend (or simply know more about) this seminar at a beautiful location in which to take some personal investment time and think about a fundamental practice for your life and work, drop me a mail and I'll send you fuller details and how to book a place.

Contact Me

[email protected]

The Goal

is to give you the thinking, knowledge and tools to become remarkably productive: defined as getting the RIGHT things done across all areas of your life including career, health, personal finance, relationships and fun.