Grab Your Dream in 2018
Charles Caldwell
ESF Head of HR | My Ceiling is the Next Generation's Floor | Contributing Author to 2024 International Bestseller "Speechless" | HRO APAC HR Superstar 2020 | Top 100 Global HR Heroes 2019 linktr.ee/charlescaldwell
For 2017 I did something very strange. Building on the theme "My Ceiling is the Next Generation's Floor," I sent #AimHigh2017 motivational pictures and messages almost everyday of 2017. Each message contained a minimum two pictures. By the end of 2017 I sent hundreds of messages - well beyond one for each day. I published them using Snapchat, averaging about 15 to 20 views per post. i I also published the images to my Instagram account (mainly IG Story), Whatsaap and a limited degree to Facebook and WeChat.
The #AimHigh2017 theme lightly resonated everywhere, especially within my family. My daughter even bought me a box of Life Cereal with "#AimHigh" memes splattered across the outside. (Each time the box emptied we would refill it with more of our favourite cereal - Ezekiel.) I have no idea if the posts ever made much of a difference. I like to think they did. There were temporary moments of celebration, such as when the ESF Chairman's Awards Valedictorian spoke about the importance of graduates "aiming high." I thought to myself, "Hmmm... I wonder." But #AimHigh2017 was always time bound, because eventually 2017 would come to an end, the last post (Dreams, above) sent up on the 31st.
Several months ago it occurred to me that 500 plus motivational and inspirational messages (so many that my iPhone is bloated with them) only shared with a few dozen people was actually kinda stingy. Maybe others could benefit from these messages. Honestly, everyday I was immersed in the hunt for new inspirational messages that could only be a good thing if shared with a brief backstory of why selected. During 2017 I did consider posting these stirring messages to LinkedIn, but I am one of those who sits in the camp that memes on their own don't belong on LinkedIn. Accompanying a blog post or article, perhaps, but on their own, no. Take the idea of leadership and serving, for example. Flowing more and more into mainstream leadership practices is the concept that leadership is all about bottoms-up empowerment and serving the teams that one leads - not about dominating and controlling them. Sharing the backdrop for these ideas could only be a good thing and benefit others.
During the summer when work pressure alleviated and creative juices flowed, I thought about the 2018 theme. Somewhere on a train between two cities - perhaps Prague and Budapest - I tucked away a new 2018 theme that had come to me. A few months later I pulled the theme out of memory and contemplating sharing the motivational messages more widely during 2018. On a whim I created a new Instagram account, posting to the 2018 theme in anticipation of the new year, months in advance. The purpose mainly being to meet the next generation with ready material when 2018 hit.
The posts inspired me to think about my own dreams and aspirations for 2018. A dubious endeavour considering how poorly resolutions fair in this day and age. The statistics for New Year's resolutions are deeply stacked against people. A 2007 study from the University of Bristol revealed that 88 per cent of people who make New Year's resolutions fail. A 2015 UK study by Bupa echoed this statistic albeit a tad more positive. Bupa found that 63 per cent of people failed New Year's resolutions in 2015... almost half of the respondents lasted less than a month, 66% lasting a month or less and 80% abandoning their resolutions by the end of March. From that same year, U.S. News reported that approximately 80% of resolutions fail by the second week of February.
But stumbling short of achieving ones New Year's resolutions doesn't have to be the norm. The science of goal getting and achievement, backed by neuroscience, is undergoing a transformation. If you look for it, you can find evidence of this change everywhere, starting with my Instagram account and yes, I'll share these ideas more regularly on LinkedIn. That's my resolution - to be more generous with motivation and inspiration. Now more than ever the tools and ideas are available to disrupt traditional fixed mindsets about New Year's resolutions. So throw caution to the wind and Grab Your Dream in 2018.
What is your 2018 dream? Feel free to share them below in the comments section and if you enjoyed this post, please click the thumbs up icon (above or below) to let me know and pass it on. And of course you're welcome to follow the Instagram account. Thank you! #GrabYourDream2018
Educational Business Development Manager of HFM Looking for Partners, Traders, Fund Managers, Strategy Providers, Signal Service Providers, EA Providers, Trading Academies, Trading Mentors and Affiliates.
6 年Thank you! Your posts are a great source of motivation for me! :) Keep them coming! :)
Educational Business Development Manager of HFM Looking for Partners, Traders, Fund Managers, Strategy Providers, Signal Service Providers, EA Providers, Trading Academies, Trading Mentors and Affiliates.
6 年I am starting my own online company this year! :) Thank you for this great motivations Charles!
Authority Speaker ∞ Conflict Resolution & Harmony Expert ∞ Culture & Communication Coach ∞ Mediator, Concilator & Investigator.
6 年Please follow through Charles Caldwell on your resolution to be more generous with motivation and inspiration via LinkedIn in 2018. Looking forward to it.
photographer:Photos by Helen; author:"Hope Lives in a Garden", retired Anglican priest, retreat leader
6 年Food for thought, Charles. Keep at it.