We are all sharing the same planet, so if we are not here to make things better for the people we lead, the organisations we serve, and the communities we belong to, then what exactly are we here for?
““All my life I have found reassurance in the countryside; have found sorrows and anxieties benefitting from a walk through a meadow. Pleasant sights, sounds, smells, to take my mind off its particular worry, as refreshing and restoring as a cool drink on a hot day.” ”
In a world obsessed with hacks, for example, productivity hacks, fitness hacks, and time-saving tricks, one of life’s simplest and most transformative tools often gets overlooked: good manners. I think being nice and polite might just be the most powerful “hack” of all. Why? Because good manners are contagious.
A kind word, a polite gesture, a thoughtful pause before speaking, all set a tone. They ripple outward, shaping the energy of conversations, relationships, and even entire workplaces. When you say “please” and “thank you” regularly, you are not just following a social script; you are signaling respect, empathy, and intention.
“Manners are a sensitive awareness of feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.””
I am always trying to understand:
What are people looking for?
Why are things the way they are?
Why is the layout the way it is?
If it is not working on me, why is it working on other people?
What kind of world view would make this communication effective?
““If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.””
Dr Martin Luther King Jr. on this day 59 years ago delivered one of the greatest speeches of all time, the “March on Washington” at the Lincoln Memorial. It was one the largest single protest demonstration in American history and was organised for sweeping civil rights changes, unfortunately, this speech still has not aged well.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
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“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. ”
Those of us who are not so fast with our legs have to be faster in our heads. Most of us learn how to do, unfortunately, very few of us learn how to be. Obsession is always there at the start of learning. I think becoming obsessed with something is what allows you to learn, to develop a habit, turn it into a routine. Contact me via e-mail for an evaluation of your systems and processes.
“Process saves us from the poverty of our intentions.”
“Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost or you can accept that, and try to put together something that’s good. ”
“There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. - Nelson Mandela”
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. - Viktor Frankl”
““Once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in.” - Haruki Murakami”
“Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.””
““The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” - Albert Einstein”
This quote from Alfred D’Sousa has always been a favourite of mine: “For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life”.
I think ife and work will always be messy, therefore, trouble shooting, firefighting and problem solving are how we spend a lot of our time so, let’s make sure we enjoy it.
Remember “Happiness is a journey not a destination and complaining is not a strategy.”
