Nicholas Bate

22 Essentials for Thriving in the 21C Urban Jungle

1. It may be the 21C but you still have the body of a Hunter-Gatherer. Don't allow mis-match (your amazing body vs. a sedentary environment) to mess you up.
2. Use technology. Don't let it abuse you. Not just off; lose it for a while.
3. You run your own business, even if they pay you a salary. Make sure you are the one they call on when things get tough: offer the very best value. And ensure they realise that doesn't come cheap.
4. Never let a bad mood distract you. Sort your music to manage your moods.
5. Never let anyone spoil your day. Planet Earth is too precious to waste a minute in a badly-run conference call. 
6. Get fit. Get well. Be unstoppable.
7. Get focused.
8. Could you live from just the contents of a back-pack? Maybe not. But is all your stuff slowing you down?...Read Goodbye Things.
9. Chase quality of life, not standard of living. The former for most people is quite simple: time, love, doing something of worth. The latter is another gadget to go wrong.
10. Politics is fascinating, addictive and at times truly scary. Just remember it is something occurring through a worm-hole into an alternate universe.
11. Carry and use a decent note-book and a quality propelling pencil. Capture your thoughts; work them up. Execute the best.
12. Read your contract: you are allowed breaks. Take them: stand, stretch and go outside and play ball for a while. Your muscles and internal organs will appreciate it.
13. How much is enough? See 9: you need less money than you think if you break the 'do what everybody else is doing paradigm'.  Stop killing yourself at work.
14. Decide to Be Bold. Read the book daily.
15. Take more drugs.
16. Let your kids see you reading books not just watching HBO, baking bread not just eating pizza, hiking the wilderness not just booking Disney.
17. Never let a week go by without returning to the mountains, the coast, the forest, the bare earth.
18. Learn something every day, starting with 1, 3, 5, 12,18, 20 and 22 being on the critical path.
19. Wake up, get going and come up with fresh ideas.
20. Realise The Cubicle can only be temporary.
21. Stay wild.
22. Think for yourself, believe in yourself and never lose your sense of humour.

Bonus 1: Hunter-Gatherer 21 Century, Two Score & Ten

Bonus 2: 22 Things to do on Planet Earth

Bonus 3: 22 Ways to Feel Better, More of the Time.

Bonus 4: 22 Things They Still Don't Teach You at Business School

Bonus 5: 22 Stupid Things Large Organisations Do

Bonus 6: Slow 22

Bonus 7: 22 Reasons Your 2017 is Going To Be Awesome.

Bonus 8: The Fundamental Problems with Powerpoint. Still. 22

Bonus 9: 22 Ways to be an Awesome Conference Speaker

Bonus 10: Love Presenting Hate (Badly Used) PowerPoint

Bonus 11: The 22 Fundamental Errors Large Organisations Still Make.

Bonus 12: Brilliant at the Basics of Business

Bonus 13: Routes to Less Stress 22

Bonus 14: That Other F Word

Bonus 15: What's Wrong with The Typical Corporate Selling Machine, 11

Bonus 16: 22 Reasons 79% of any Workforce is Woefully Unproductive

Bonus 17: 22 Ways To Create a Small, Simple, Start-Up.

Bonus 18: 22 Ways to Get Better at Anything

Bonus 19: 22 Routes to Becoming Unstoppable.

Bonus 20: Re-boot 22

Bonus 21: 22 Ways to Better Results at the Gym

Bonus 22: 11 Ways to Fix that Presentation

Bonus 23: 22 Things to do on Vacation

Bonus 24: 11 Things to do in September

Bonus 25: 22 Things to do at Work

Bonus 26: 22 Ways to Reduce Stress

Bonus 27: 22 Things to Learn

Bonus 28: 22 Pretty Straightforward Productivity Boosters

Bonus 29: The 22 Steps to Getting What You Want in 2017

Bonus 30: The 22 Reasons Earth wins 'best planet ever, anywhere' award 2016.

Bonus 31: The Less of Eleven

Bonus 32: 11 Ways Any Company Can Really Impress The (Potential) Customer

Bonus 33: 22 Ways To Build Your personal Brand

Bonus 34: 11 Things To Write in your New Moleskine Notebook

Bonus 35: 11 Ways to Better Quality Sleep

Bonus 36: 11 Ways to get a Fresh Idea

Bonus 37: 22 High Value (but just 10 minute) activities

Bonus 38: 11 Helpful Contrasts

April 2017, Redux Ten

1. The Basics. From Coffee to Mindset, from Sales to Writing.
2. Observation.
3. Eleven Contrasts which Help
4. Small Wins. Fun, Analog and Corners.
5. Such is Life 7
6. Totally, Totally Global Inc. The Novel
7. Jagged Thoughts for Jagged Times, 214
8. Totally Free 7
9. 11 Ways to get a Fresh Idea.
10. Immersion 101

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: March 2017 Redux

Bonus 6: The Essential Posts of 2016

Bonus 7: The Essential Posts of 2015

Bonus 8: The Smart Bloggers 

Jagged Thoughts for Jagged Times, 216

You remember you kept saying 'at the weekend'?

It's arrived.....

Basics: Mindset 7

1. It's our personal operating system. Have we done all the upgrades?
2. Beliefs drive behaviours drive results.
3. So what are your beliefs?
4. Do they help? No failure, only feedback.
5. Or do they hinder? I'm not creative.
6. Start observing your thoughts.
7. Edit those which are unhelpful.

Basics: Wellness 7

Basics: Coffee 7

Basics: Presenting 7

Basics: Fitness 7

Basics: Productivity 7

Basics: Sales 7

Basics: Writing 7

Basics: Career 7

Basics: International Travel 7

Extra Bonus: You, Only Better

They Don't Make Thirteen-Year-Olds

like that any more.

Observation

Planet Earth (consistently voted The Greatest Planet in The Known Universe) only becomes better the more you observe it. Hikers and runners observe it in one way. Photographers another. Artists, gardeners and poets yet another. As we observe we note many aspects which we had missed as a child or a young adult or even as someone 'too busy'. The sheer mass and solidity of a rock formation. The abundance of the meadow. That awe-inspiring night sky.

Start with colour. Start with the Ancient Greeks (always a great place to start). What about a colour krokopeplos, the colour of saffron. Read more here.

Observe again.

Ten Fab Covers

of Beatles songs.

11 Contrasts Which Help

1. Build 15 seconds cold water into your morning shower.  It will enliven.
2. Dance when you say you 'don't dance'. You will feel better.
3. Stand 30% of your 'at desk' time. You will feel less tired at the end of the day and have fewer back problems.
4. Work very intensively intermittently at the gym: rowing, skipping....for a few minutes every so often in your workout. Notice the dramatic improvements. (tabata protocol)
5. Let it go. Really let it go. Then come back to it. You will be refreshed and re-focused on the challenge.
6. Try out the view you dislike. Lower prices? Seriously?  And as you try it out maybe you learn something...
7. The discomfort of change which leads to the brilliance of the new. Discomfort itself is not necessarily 'bad'. It can be a warning. It can be a transition. 
8. Shifting to hand-writing after prolonged typing.  Something about the kinaesthetics stimulates...
9. More outside less inside. Weather. Views. Perspective. Movement. You rarely get any of those in a cubicle.
10. Less rather than more. Is it beautiful, is it useful? If not: it can go. Free up your brain. Free up your wallet/purse.
11. More edge less mainstream.  It's where the ideas are bubbling.

Bonus 1: Hunter-Gatherer 21 Century, Two Score & Ten

Bonus 2: 22 Things to do on Planet Earth

Bonus 3: 22 Ways to Feel Better, More of the Time.

Bonus 4: 22 Things They Still Don't Teach You at Business School

Bonus 5: 22 Stupid Things Large Organisations Do

Bonus 6: Slow 22

Bonus 7: 22 Reasons Your 2017 is Going To Be Awesome.

Bonus 8: The Fundamental Problems with Powerpoint. Still. 22

Bonus 9: 22 Ways to be an Awesome Conference Speaker

Bonus 10: Love Presenting Hate (Badly Used) PowerPoint

Bonus 11: The 22 Fundamental Errors Large Organisations Still Make.

Bonus 12: Brilliant at the Basics of Business

Bonus 13: Routes to Less Stress 22

Bonus 14: That Other F Word

Bonus 15: What's Wrong with The Typical Corporate Selling Machine, 11

Bonus 16: 22 Reasons 79% of any Workforce is Woefully Unproductive

Bonus 17: 22 Ways To Create a Small, Simple, Start-Up.

Bonus 18: 22 Ways to Get Better at Anything

Bonus 19: 22 Routes to Becoming Unstoppable.

Bonus 20: Re-boot 22

Bonus 21: 22 Ways to Better Results at the Gym

Bonus 22: 11 Ways to Fix that Presentation

Bonus 23: 22 Things to do on Vacation

Bonus 24: 11 Things to do in September

Bonus 25: 22 Things to do at Work

Bonus 26: 22 Ways to Reduce Stress

Bonus 27: 22 Things to Learn

Bonus 28: 22 Pretty Straightforward Productivity Boosters

Bonus 29: The 22 Steps to Getting What You Want in 2017

Bonus 30: The 22 Reasons Earth wins 'best planet ever, anywhere' award 2016.

Bonus 31: The Less of Eleven

Bonus 32: 11 Ways Any Company Can Really Impress The (Potential) Customer

Bonus 33: 22 Ways To Build Your personal Brand

Bonus 34: 11 Things To Write in your New Moleskine Notebook

Bonus 35: 11 Ways to Better Quality Sleep

Bonus 36: 11 Ways to get a Fresh Idea

Bonus 37: 22 High Value (but just 10 minute) activities

Basics: Fitness 7

1. Fitness is a function of cardio, strength, nutrition and mental resilience. And deep, deep rest.
2. Cardio: seek regular high intensity through a variety of sources from running to kayaking.
3. Strength: google/bing 'body-weight' strength training. Create a sequence which is rapid and can be done at home, at work and in the hotel.
4. Nutrition: eat for health not simply calories. Vegetables are critical in the mix.
5. Mental resilience: take time out, get into nature, spend time with true friends, put aside the digital interrupt for lengthy chunks of time, breathe and walk tall.
6. Deep, deep rest: don't accept poor quality sleep. Go back to basics...the bedroom as sanctuary etc. Check out here.
7. Fitness is one of the simplest, cheapest and most reliable way to improve your quality of life. 

Basics: Wellness 7

Basics: Coffee 7

Basics: Presenting 7

Basics: Productivity 7

Basics: Sales 7

Basics: Writing 7

Basics: Career 7

Basics: International Travel

Extra Bonus: You, Only Better

Burning Pine

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