Ideas Without Action Is Just Disillusionment

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Hello Friends,

What’s new with me:

📺 It is ALL the rage but Squid Game on Netflix is my weekly binge. I don’t watch a great deal of series but this one got me hooked! Crazy, brutal, thought provoking… check it out.

🍫 Was only recently introduced to Tony’s Chocolonely but oh my word. Where has it been all my life?! This is right up there with peanut butter as my ultimate nemesis. Do yourself a favour and get some in your life too here!

📖 I’m a data geek at heart although I try to hide it where-ever possible. This week, however, I released it through Amazon as I bought the Chief Data Officer’s Playbook. Written by Caroline Carruthers and Peter Jackson, they delve into a world I’m familiar with. It’s a good book to have at arms reach.

I’m on a little bit of a go slow today hence the delayed sending of this newsletter.

The reason you ask?

I woke up at 4am to watch the trilogy fight between Tyson Fury & Deontay Wilder 🥊. As a huge sports fan, boxing is one of my favourites to watch but the US time zones are a complete b*tch for most fights.

This one though, was potentially too good to miss.

So after going out for dinner & roughly 4 hours after putting my head down on the pillow, the alarm shrieked signally it was time to get up. I would be lying if the thought of switching it off, rolling over and going back to sleep didn’t cross my mind.

But that would mean missing it live and I didn’t want that FOMO.

I’m usually pretty good at not suffering FOMO, but this one caught me.

So with a heavy and tired eyes, I dragged myself out of bed, closed the door so not to wake the Lady of the Manor, and put the kettle on.

I mean, who doesn’t watch boxing at 04:30 without a cup of tea??

I don’t want to ruin it the result (in case you haven’t seen it) but it was DEFINITELY worth getting up for.

11 rounds of utter exhilaration (well for me at least). Both men knocked down, both men getting back up until the result decided in the penultimate round.

If you want to see some highlights, I added 60 seconds worth to my Instagram and you can see them here.

As the clock ticked over to 6am with darkness outside, I climbed back into bed for a few more hours sleep.

I did chuckle to myself as I drifted off back to the land of nod, the things we do for the things we love.

Waking up at 4am to watch 2 men punch each other in a different country and time zone?

Crackers.

But I love it.

Lightbulb Moment

This week’s lightbulb moment was one of my most harsh & I would be lying if I didn’t say it rocked me.

And I don’t say this lightly.

I have always been a dreamer; someone who looks at the possibilities in life and aims big — perhaps too big but that’s what excites me.

I think life is there to be explored and challenge ourselves.

I have done this a number of ways, most obviously in the endurance world through events such as IRONMAN triathlon’s, marathons up mountains and cycling across countries.

But outside of the sports world, I am constantly having business ideas.

The endless pursuit of an idea that will benefit others, bring me success and ultimately financial freedom. I truly love talking about how ideas could solve problems. Many an hour has been spent with friends and colleagues about how an idea could change the world.

This is one of my happy places for sure.

I also have a folder full of scribbles that outline numerous business ideas. Having flicked through them recently, some are great (I do believe this) but there are also some absolute stinkers!

Anyone for a tie subscription model whereby you can effectively rent your ties so you can rotate / change your look without restricting yourself to just one tie? (Think Love Film — remember that?? — but for ties)

When we were all in the office, I thought this was a cracking idea.

With the need to wear a tie being less and less, it made sense to me. Perhaps, less so now, but do you get the picture?

Viewing the world through the lens of ‘what are the problems we encounter?’ and how could I tackle them, really gets my juices flowing.

It is a shift from a consumer to a creator. Switching to documenting and then creating rather than just using.

Once you’ve taken the red pill, there is no going back (watch The Matrix if you don’t get this reference).

That’s why, when I listening to a podcast about personal development, I literally had to stand still and stop what I was doing.

How does a phrase do this to me?

The phrase in question was:

“Ideas without action is just disillusionment.”

My immediate reaction? F*ck.

That’s me. I have ideas but don’t fully act on them. Quite frankly I don’t want to be disillusioned. And it scared the sh*t out of me.

I heard my other half and mother’s words in my head, that I have my head in clouds most of the time. Thereby not living in reality.

I don’t believe this is true but then again, why did this phrase have such an impact?

Reflecting on it now, is because it exposed the harsh true that I was being disillusioned.

By believing that I will somehow change the world with ideas alone, this was a one way ticket to a world of disappointment.

The reason for telling you about the ideas folder is important, as I am currently working on a barbell idea.

Having scribbled down the outline for the product, sense checking it with my best mate from uni, I then bought some floral foam to build a 1st prototype.

But that’s as far as it went.

For 9 months, the foam sat in the delivery box in the spare room gathering dust.

So after hearing this phrase, I decided I would act that evening. I would open the box and build my first prototype.

Did I know what I was doing? No not really.

Did I get floral foam all over the place and make a complete mess? Yes absolutely.

Do I now have a simple prototype of the product? YES!!

If you are interested in seeing a photo of the prototype, REPLY back and I’ll share it.

Now I’m not disillusioned to believe I have done enough, far from it.

But I have started.

I took action.

Small action, but it was action nonetheless.

And that’s what I want to pass on as this week’s lightbulb moment. We all have ideas, dreams and ambitions. But if we don’t act on them, they will stay in the dream cupboard forever.

I firmly believe people are capable of more than they realise. To achieve this, accountability is needed but so too is action.

It could be losing 5kg, getting a new job or learning a new skill. Whatever it is, by doing nothing, nothing will change.

Remember that.

So if there is anything you take away from this week’s lightbulb moment, please let it be this:

If it matters to you, take action.

Doesn’t matter how big or small, just take some tangible, real life, definitive action.

Whilst it may not be easy, I promise you it will be worth it.

Quote Of The Week

“There are plenty of good ideas, if only they can be backed with the power of action.” ~ Winston Churchill

Book Of The Week

Every now and again, I book comes along which takes you by surprise. This is most definitely one of those books!

Ben Mezrich is one of my favourite authors and also a writer & co-producer for the HBO Show Billions. He was the author behind ‘Bringing Down The House’ which was turned into the movie 21.

In his latest book AntiSocial Network, Ben takes us through the roller coaster journey that was GameStop and Robinhood. Following individuals who started in Wall Street Bets on Reddit only to take on one of the world’s largest Hedge Funds, this is a brilliant read.

The fact that it’s a true story too makes it even more mind blowing.

Oh and read it if only for the chapter about Elon Musk!!

This Week’s YouTube Video

In a world which is becoming even more demanding on our attention, having time to take a step back is super important. That’s why this week, I’m talking about how leaders use silence.

It’s not only leaders that use silence to great effect, but also Life Coaches. Giving clients space to think, be vulnerable and reflect, silence is the key to unlocking a situation.

The problem is silence is uncomfortable.

It makes us fill the space and more often than not, give away more than we wanted to. In negotiation, this is a very powerful technique.

But it’s not a dark art any more.

Have a watch and let me know if you agree with one or all of the 6 reasons.

With that, time for a little spot of reflection and a walk in the fresh air. Enjoy Sunday my friends.

-Bren