Believe in something

Recently, I have felt a growing desire to write an article that I'm passionate about. Something of substance, that captures a few of the thoughts I’ve been having recently about the world - inspired by the likes of Christopher Hitchens (Hitch), Stephen Fry and Sam Harris.

I’m sure you will find these topics relatable as they are nothing really new, merely a reminder and something that I will try to keep at the forefront of my mind every day. 

So…

1) Speaking your mind and the importance of free speech;

Believing in something is better than believing in nothing, however, it’s what you do with these beliefs that really matter. Love him or hate him, ‘Hitch’ was a modern-day ‘Socrates’, a genius, who stood up for what he believed in, expressing his views through various public channels/digital platforms, ultimately passing away leaving a legacy of what I believe embodies the notion of free speech. We need more people like Hitch! To be clear, this isn't about his beliefs, more about what he represents.

The point is this. Speak your mind and don’t be afraid of what other people might think.

What’s the worst that could happen? You might offend someone? Big deal. As long as you are respectful! 

I find that far too often, at work especially, people don’t say what they really think - so if there’s one piece of advice I could give to our next generation of superstars, it’s to believe in something you’re passionate about, be considered and speak your mind, no matter who is in the room - I think you’ll find that the results are positive and will give you an overwhelming sense of empowerment. I would go as far as to say that not speaking up is career limiting – so take a deep breath, think it through and speak out loud.

2) Staying focussed on what’s important;

A while ago, I read an article where the Founder of this particular start-up was talking about how he plans his week ahead on a Sunday evening – essentially, writing down his top ten priorities, then chunking them into 2 buckets, which were – a) the two big-ticket items that had to get done to make a big impact, and b) everything else. If at the end of the week, the two items in bucket a) were achieved, it was classed as a successful week. Whilst it’s simple, I think it’s a good strategy.

There is so much distraction in life, that knowing what to focus on, and executing it well, can be a real challenge, so as Rumi said, ‘the art of knowing is knowing what to ignore’. That includes the mindless scrolling down my Instagram page...

In some ways, I feel this is related to ‘getting the right balance’ whether that’s the relationships we have with co-workers, family, friends, environmental commitments, mastering a new skill, mental health, remembering people’s names - whatever it is, do it well and find the balance, or don’t do it at all.

I hope you enjoyed the short read and feel free to leave any comments

Cheers,

Gavin.