Don't think about it, do it!

I was a bit shocked to find today that I hadn't posted an article to my LinkedIn profile for six months.

This is kind of understandable since I started the whole project as a means to demonstrate my abilities to potential employers because I didn't have a job.

Now, I have one...thanks Elena and all at GAM, I probably need to spend more time doing what I'm employed to do and less on using LinkedIn as a dumping ground for blogging.

But, folks, it is far more sinister than that...deep down inside I understandably feel that I don't have as much time to spend researching and writing articles as I did when I was unemployed. Some of that stuff I wrote was really good (I hope) and why should anybody wish to read my everyday meanderings, put together in a fraction of the time?

In other words, I am not worthy.

But, when I look back on my professional career, all the meaningful things I have said and done have been nurtured in the heat of the moment, because that is when we step out of our comfort zone and shine, because we simply don't have the comfort blanket of deliberating for hours.

Back in 2006, I was presenting to an audience of Scandinavian intermediaries on Asian Special Situations, when a guy piped up 'What is your view on Brazil?'

Frankly, I didn't have a view on Brazil but I worked with some very brilliant people that did. In an environment in which I could have either run off the stage or front up the question, I chose to front up the question.

Similarly, I presented a videoconference to an audience in Tokyo on investing in Europe because somebody had to cover for a colleague who was off sick. It was incredibly laboured because everything I said was translated into Japanese by an interpreter.

At the very end of the Q&A, I received a question from the floor along the lines of 'I know you're an expert on Europe (ha, ha - hardly!) but what is your view on Japan?'

Again, I answered off the cuff because the alternative was unthinkable...and even the Japanese appeared impressed.

The point about all this is that we must remind ourselves how brilliant we are (without resorting to arrogance) and recognise our ability to swim rather than sink.

We are blessed as human beings and you only need to look at the wildlife around us to know that we are ALL far from ordinary.

When we think too much, we can't allow ourselves to demonstrate that genius for fear of looking stupid. But, when we allow ourselves to be the brilliant people we were always supposed to be, we can!

I set myself the challenge to not think about what I was writing at all at the beginning of this exercise.

The outcome may be less than perfect but at least I didn't 'think' myself out of writing it. Please be inspired!