It was exactly like one of those films. Actually, that film.
A couple of hours at the airport, LHR T5 waiting for some family that had one of their suitcases go to the wrong carousel.
And waiting, and seeing all the hugs and excitement. A few irate parents of young kids. A paparazzi waiting for the famous people. But most of all, people happy to see family in time for Christmas. Lovely.
(And of course, Costa coffee making a lot of money out of waiting family members in the December cold.)
Coming to the end of the year, the inevitable introspection and retrospectives. Today I read about the two guiding questions, the two that you should ask every day.
It struck me that this simplicity is exactly right. Getting a little perspective on big decisions as well as the smaller things is hugely telling – and these questions seemed bang on.
Have pride in what you do. A nice lesson for us all.
There was an interesting debate on the radio about budget allocation – and asking whether we should be giving money for museums, as well as for international development. And constantly asking the question, “what’s in it for us”, why should we be budgeting money for this when we’re cutting funding on things like roads and social services.
I’ve got strong opinions on all of this, but what I found most confusing is that we seem to rarely ask the basic core question – why are we funding museums, why are we funding international development, why are we giving money to unemployed and disabled. The only conclusion that I can come to is political cycles and vested interest – that there are just too many reasons not to ask, too many vested interests in not questioning it all properly.
A real shame.
I came across this today, where a baby is dropped what seems to be around 15ft at something around the age of 2-5. Apparently it gives them strength and courage.
Wow, people do things differently. I’m sure that I shouldn’t judge. But where is it normal and right to drop a kid like that.
That said, as long as nobody’s getting hurt, my liberal values should allow this completely. And apparently nobody’s been hurt.
Rather like that mythical story of Richard Branson who was left to find his way home aged 4 from several miles away. Now seems almost barbaric, but I could see how something like this would have an instrumental part in his character.
Which leads to a very nice and intriguing question – what are the specific incidents that I can think about in my life aged 0-20 that have made me who I am. Hmm. More soon on that.
I like Tim Ferriss. I find his reading to be a bit like flicking through someone’s blog – that there’s a lot of different content that’s been given a very catchy title. That sounds insulting, but it’s not.
In fact, it’s the opposite. I read 4 Hour Body in about 2 weeks, and still (some 2 years later) use quite a lot of it in my daily habits (e.g. Sunday I walked 15k steps, my PB for the last 2 months). And that counting is 100% down to him.
He’s got a new book, 4 Hour Chef which I’ve not yet read. It’s got so many different hooks that I know I’m going to buy it soon, even though my list of books to read is currently pretty (err, very) long. In fact, the hooks go further into the territory of no-brainers – how on earth can I be normal and say I don’t want to learn a language more easily. Do I really not want to learn to hack my brain and how I think?
Impressive. And lots of learnings for anything that I’m trying to sell.
This is just lovely.
a) Excellent writing. I’m totally intrigued immediately about something so ridiculous as being a hero by eating something so cringe-worthy as a roach.
b) What a guy. A medic (i.e. already doing amazing things for people) and on top of that, realising that medicine isn’t everything.
c) What a story.
“Life’s greatest gift is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing.” – by Teddy Roosevelt
A brilliant line, quoted by the controversial General Petraeus as he resigns.
Couldn’t agree more.
This week, two specific events made me think a little: 1) Barack Obama speech; and 2) dinner with a senior commercial person from a newspaper. – Why are we fighting in Iraq?
– Why are we happy in the UK to pay for the BBC? And particularly the parts of the BBC where it’s competing with commercial organisations. BBC1, Radio5 live, BBCOnline – I’m looking at you guys.
– Why are racist slurs on a football pitch forgiven after a fine / few weeks off?
I can’t seem to get Iraq out of my head. I guess, in a democracy, that’s absolutely a good thing.
Tech has taught me in the last years that it’s all about the minimal viable product. That’s completely true, up to a point.
We’re now definitely in this world of excellence. Where you’ve got to be just awesome to dominate.
Where you’ve got to be so far beyond my expectations that I just need to have your product, your service, your approval.
When to scale, when to move from “I know there’s a market” to “I need to be awesome”.
Not sure, but a completely interesting question.
raam thakrar 