A Little Late But This Means A Lot To Me.
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Evening Friends,
What’s new with me:
📻 Have got quite heavily into a podcast called We Study Billionaires which interviews and studies famous financial billionaires including Warren Buffet & Howard Marks.
☕️ Been visiting a new coffee house in my local area called Press Cafe; I wasn’t sure we needed another coffee shop (we have 7 already) but they do make good coffee so will visit again.
🔈 Really enjoying this little beauty of a speaker! The Bose SoundLink Micro Speaker in a vibrant orange is a must for anyone travelling or going on holiday. Cracking sound from a little bluetooth speaker!
This week has been a complete blur.
In fact it’s been a really busy couple of weeks at work.
Firstly with being in Jersey to see my family and my little brother flying over with his Fiancee and secondly, everything seems to be going off at work.
I’m pretty resilient but even the best of us can be ground down when everything is going on at once.
That said, having some down time becomes even more important and is honestly the reason why this is hitting your inbox later than normal.
We’ve been out all day at our God Daughter’s Christening fulfilling our God Parent duties. It started early dodging the queues for the petrol stations but was a lovely day in South West London.
Coming home late this evening and turning on the TV to see Europe getting stuffed in the Ryder Cup is not the end to the weekend I was hoping for.
Let’s just gloss over the boxing with Anthony Joshua last night too…
Lightbulb Moment
I think I’ve had this lightbulb moment before but it’s worth retelling as it was a powerful one this week.
Every couple of weeks on a Friday, I speak with an ex-colleague who is fast becoming a great friend. It started out as us just wanting to stay in touch but has become a growing friendship.
What makes this friendship different is that we both know each other from a working context. This means we know the how each other operate and the people we interact with.
The reason this is important is that we are both reasonably senior in our respective organisations.
That in itself is not unusual.
What is unusual is that we are both vulnerable with each other. That’s not meant to sound touchy-feely or overly emotion, rather we can be honest.
Having someone who you can lean on and be honest with is important but becomes even more important the higher up the corporate ladder you get.
The closer to the top you are, the more you are expected to know the answers; the more you are meant to know everything.
But what happens if you don’t?
It can lead to self-doubt, uncertainty and possibly imposter syndrome. You may not experience these but I definitely have.
By having someone you can turn to and say, “I don’t know what to do” means you are willing to learn. You are open to growing. You are being vulnerable.
- No it’s not macho.
- No it’s not widely publicised.
- But yes it’s immensely valuable.
My lightbulb moment was that during a meeting with a peer, I had to admit I didn’t know what to a particular aspect that was in my remit. I umm’d and arrr’d over whether I should style it out (read: bullsh*t my way through) but I decided it against.
My heart was beating hard in my chest.
My palms had gone a little sweaty.
My mouth a little dry.
But I committed and uttered the words that clarified I didn’t know what it was about.
It was a watershed moment for me. I overcame my fear that I would look like an idiot (in my head that’s what I thought he would think at least) and felt a wash of relief flow through my body.
My comments were received well and I was actually complimented for being honest and brave enough to say so.
You may think I’m overplaying the importance of this experience but I don’t believe so.
The higher up the ladder you go, the more of an echo chamber you can be a part of. Acknowledging this is the first part, but doing something about it is the second.
Book Of The Week
What did you want to be when you grew up? A train driver? Astronaut? Professional Sportsman/woman?
The chances are what you wanted to be and where you are now will be different. That’s not because you have failed but because life throws opportunities and challenges at us.
I know how that feels after having had career breaks, changing jobs and what is now known as a ‘Portfolio Career’.
This book written by Helen Tupper & Sarah Ellis is a fantastic example of why not following the path well travelled is absolutely fine. In fact, I would say it’s positively encouraged.
Squiggly Careers talks about how leaving the traditional career ladder can lead to opportunities and designing your own career route is now much more common.
I can identify with the learnings so strongly that feel as if the book were written about me!
If you want to understand more about breaking free from the traditional career route, then this is the book to read. Full of knowledge bombs and actionable tips, it is well worth having on your bookshelf.
Quote Of The Week
“Of all the hazards, fear is the worst.” ~ Sam Snead
This Week’s YouTube Video
Have you ever dreamed about having a superpower?
If I had the choice, I would like to be like Thor. Not just for being built like a God but also having Mjollnir (the Hammer) would be immense.
Sadly, I wasn’t cast as Thor nor do I have God like powers. But what I do have the ability to use analogies to explain often complex situations. This is my superpower.
I’m able to envisage in my mind the situation and use images to quickly create an analogy I can use in the discussion. Some are better than others but in my moments of need, I know I can create a powerful analogy.
Being able to use analogies is a really good skill to learn and if they don’t come to you quite as easily as me, I would encourage watching the video above where I talk about how to create and explain analogies.
It’s worth a watch even if to hear my favourite ones!
With that, I’m off to dream about being Thor…
-Bren
