Monthly Archives: May 2011

Blast from the past. Why your language sucks

Mia Joubert Botha of Writers Write posted a very interesting piece called The economy of words yesterday which struck a chord with me. Back when we started SALESGURU in South Africa, I was just a little bit horrified at the sort of language I used to hear every day. I mean stuff that really chilled [...]

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Fulfillment is for jerks! Make money your goal!

You can hear the mantra like a battle cry: Find what you love! Find your blue flame! Follow your dreams! It’s brilliant advice. It’s better than being bored to death in a dead-end job day-in and day-out. Or is it? I know a lot of rich people. I don’t know many who would define themselves [...]

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Why only the whiney whine about making choices

I’ve got to tell you, sometimes I embarrass myself. I’ve got a series of choices to make this week, and I’ve been working on a whole set of other choices last week as I plot the most alternately daring and sensible, exciting and stable new direction for all my energy over the next six months. [...]

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Why personal responsibility is the coolest thing ever invented, ever

I guess I am a semi-pseudo-wannabe-but-not-really-committed libertarian. I have always had a deep sense of personal responsibility which I don’t always live up to (often, I don’t even get close, to be completely honest) but which makes it increasingly difficult for me to accept excessive rules and regulations designed to prevent me from doing things [...]

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Obsessing about time. Tick Tock

Originally published on colinjbrowne.posterous.com on April 17. I’ve been obsessing lately with time. So many projects on the go and I’m so keen on about seven of them that it’s hard to prioritise. I say prioritise because I’ve become a disciple of a concept called My 168 Hours by a lady named Laura Vanderkam. I [...]

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Finger Dancing. Has to be seen to be understood

Sometimes you just come across things that you cannot explain without showing them. This is mesmerising and amazingly complex. Absolutely HAVE to share this …   Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Share on Linkedin Share on Posterous share via Reddit Subscribe to the comments on this post Bookmark in Browser Tell a [...]

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How we’re held back by untested assumptions

Originally published on colinjbrowne.posterous.com on April 17. Have you ever heard of Ramit Sethi? If not, you should look him up. He has a simple idea which I’ve been putting to the test lately with some startling and delightful results, and I really recommend you give it a go. He advises you to challenge your assumptions. [...]

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Forget the goal. Focus on the process

Originally published on colinjbrowne.posterous.com on April 15. They say failure is good. That if you try new things all the time, you’ll inevitably fail at some of them and therefore your failure is like a merit badge for your sense of get-up-and-go. Maybe so. But I heard something interesting today from a personal trainer at [...]

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On how to use your value system

Originally published on colinjbrowne.posterous.com on April 21. I was in my late-20s before I realised I had a value system. That isn’t to say I didn’t have one before. It’s just that I had never thought through the reasons why I was delighted or outraged at things. I just, sort of, was. Not realising your value [...]

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You can have it all, but how much do you want it?

Originally published on colinjbrowne.posterous.com on April 28. I’ve always been interested in what makes truly successful people tick. The category is broad, so there are massive differences between them, considering they are young and old, male and female, from countries and ethnic and cultural backgrounds all over the world and have achieved success in a wide [...]

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