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Gary Neville – The Unassuming Leader

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I’ve been following Gary Neville as an entrepreneur since I watched his interview with Steven Bartlett on The Diary Of A CEO.

What I loved about Gary in this interview is his understanding of the importance of people and a strong people centric culture in business.

Gary Neville: From Football Legend To Building A Business Empire

I was thrilled to see Gary as a guest dragon on Dragons Den and even more thrilled to see his understanding of the importance of people transferred from the podcast to the den!

I was blown away by the traits of a people centric leader that Gary flawlessly portrayed.

I’m a big fan of Dragons Den and I think all the dragons are all super smart and inspirational. They all portray fabulous traits of leadership but something about Gary stood out to me.

For those who didn’t see this episode, the pitch was from Liam Browne for his product Full Power Cacao. Liam gave an excellent pitch which created much interest from all the dragons.

Below is the leadership traits I witnessed from Gary in just this one pitch in the den.

  • Personable and likeable – Gary has a likability factor. He was obviously a big football star and pundit but he seems to have a lovely down to earth nature about him.
  • Positive energy and vibes – Gary looked very comfortable in the den and seemed to make others at ease also. He brought a great sense of fun, positivity and laughter.
  • Encouraging – Gary listened tentatively to all the pitches and when it came to Liam Browne of Full Power Cacoa he was incredibly encouraging.

Pretty much all of the dragons emulate the above leadership traits but Gary brought something else!

Gary’s offer to Liam was all of the money sharing his investment with 10% for Peter, 10% for Steven and 5% for himself.

Below is what made Gary Neville stand out for me as a true people centric leader.

  • Humility – Gary was humble enough to not want all of the pie, to want what is best for everyone and not focus solely on making the most money. In all of the episodes I have watched of Dragons Den I have never seen a dragon ask for a lesser % than those dragons he was co-investing with.
  • Ability to bring others together – Because Gary wasn’t focused solely on making money he was able to think outside the box in terms of his offer. He brought in 3 dragons and took a lower % than the other 2 dragons – genius!
  • Understands the strengths of others – Gary highlighted the skills that Peter and Steven brought to the table and recognised how important they were which is why his offer was 10% for them and only 5% for himself
  • Understands his own strengths – Gary understood exactly what he brought tp the table for Liam Browne. He was offering his personal support, his local support, doing what he can for this business and his city. Gary’s offer had nothing to do with profits and making money, it was about supporting people and his city!

Lean leaders put people first.

By doing this they make different decisions to those who put profits first.

Leaders who put people first see opportunities through a different lens.

Gary Neville highlighted he was a leader who puts people first and so made an offer that no one else had thought of! Taking a lesser % than those dragons he was co-investing with may be a first for The Dragons Den, I don’t know!

I love to see leaders putting people first and getting the best out of everyone which in turns gets the best out of their business!

Well done Gary, a true unassuming leader!

Do you want to join my weekly newsletter?

If so download my free ebook  ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

x x

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Thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions

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What’s your thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions?

I used to set New Year’s Resolutions every year until I realised they didn’t work for me. My New Year’s Resolutions were vague, unmeasurable and I almost always broke them within a month of setting them. On speaking with others about New Year’s Resolutions, this seems to be a familiar pattern.

My New Year’s Resolutions were the same year on year which should have been a red flag to their effectiveness! 🚩

My New Year’s Resolutions went along the lines of – exercise more, eat more healthy, drink less alcohol, smoke less, spend less, save more, invest more, read more, write more….you get the gist.

Year after year I made these resolutions but they only made me feel like I was going around in circles, which I was!

Everything changed for the better when I forgot about New Year’s Resolutions, started setting annual goals and started using metrics to measure progress towards these annual  goals!

The difference is my annual goals were intentional, focused and measurable whereas my resolutions were wishy washy at best.

Whether you set New Year’s Resolutions or you set goals with metrics, I hope every step of your path in 2024 is enjoyable and paved with health and happiness ❤️

You can start preparing for 2024 goal setting TODAY by either buying a nice new notebook or downloading the Asana App.

WHY?

Because what gets written down gets done 😊

Henriette Anne Klauser’s book ​‘Write it Down, Make it Happen’​ outlines the science behind the principle that writing your goals down gives them a higher chance of success.

  • ​I use ​Moleskine journals ​for physically writing down goals. Moleskine journals are beautiful, hard wearing and in my humble opinion the best journals in the world!
  • The ​Asana App​ is my go to app for documenting and monitoring goals online. Asana is super easy to use and is also an excellent project management tool. I have been using the free version of Asana for years and it suits just perfect
  • I also use ​Google Suite​ for online documentation

​Want to read more about positive change?

Download your free e-book ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ and sign up to my Weekly Newsletter below.

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain 

x x

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Making Decisions Before You Need To Make Them 

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Would you call yourself a GOOD DECISION MAKER?

How do you know if you are a GOOD DECISION MAKER?

You are a good decision maker if your decisions are yielding the results you want.

To a certain point, which is different for all of us, we make good quality decisions, promptly and with confidence.

These decisions yield the results we want and we move forward with our lives & work.

Past a certain point, which again is different for all of us, we make poor quality decisions, are slow to make these decisions and make them with less confidence.

These decisions do not yield the results we want and we don’t move forward with our lives & work.

In early 2021, I was making quality decisions, promptly and with confidence. These decisions yielded the results I wanted and I was moving forward with my life and work. As the year progressed and I took on more & more and became busier & busier, my decision making reduced in quality, became slower and I made decisions with a lot less confidence.

These decisions yielded the results I did not want and I wasn’t moving forward with my life & work.

In hindsight I realised I had DECISION FATIGUE!

DECISION FATIGUE is when the number of decisions we need to make outweighs the capacity we have to make them and we feel like we cannot make  even one more decision – even the simple everyday decisions become difficult!

How do you know if you have DECISION FATIGUE?

If you say YES to more than 3 of these, chances are you have DECISION FATIGUE!

  1. Do you find it hard to make decisions?
  2. Are you slow to make decisions?
  3. Are you less confident than normal in making decisions?
  4. Have you been making decisions that yield results you don’t want?
  5. Do you feel fatigued when making decisions?
  6. Is your to do list becoming unmanageable & overwhelming?

The antidote to having decision fatigue is making EXCELLENT DECISIONS.

Why would you want to make EXCELLENT DECISIONS?

  • Decisions you make will be made quicker
  • Decisions you make will be made with more confidence
  • Decisions you make will be aligned to your vision for your life & work
  • You will be more mindful & intentional in your life & work
  • You will be less frustrated & overwhelmed
  • You will be utilising and saving time, energy & focus
  • Will be saving and making more money

So, the million dollar question is HOW do you AVOID DECISION FATIGUE and MAKE EXCELLENT DECISIONS?

YOU MAKE DECISIONS BEFORE YOU NEED TO MAKE THEM!

Here are the 3 steps to MAKE DECISIONS BEFORE YOU NEED TO MAKE THEM!

  1. START WITH STRATEGY

Strategy is one of my favourite things to do. 

If I were to sum up strategy in one word it would be DIRECTION!

Strategy whether it’s a personal or business strategy is all about having structure & systems that set your DIRECTION, support your desired DIRECTION and monitor progress towards your DIRECTION.

The following are the core elements of a stable strategy – Vision, Mission, Values, Goals, Metrics, Plans, Actions, Thinking, Learning, Improving, Reflection, Recognition & Celebration. 

When you have all of the above in your personal/business strategy, decision making becomes so QUICK, EASY & SIMPLE.

When faced with a decision, ask ‘Does this align with my strategy?’

If it does, then the answer is an ABSOLUTE YES.

If it doesn’t, then the answer is an ABSOLUTE NO. 

The above decisions are made when you create your strategy and plans at the beginning of the year, quarter, month, week and day hence,

MAKING DECISIONS BEFORE YOU NEED TO MAKE THEM!

  1. CREATE DAILY PLANS & DAILY DISCIPLINE

From your strategy, you will be making annual, quarterly, monthly & weekly plans.

From your weekly plans you will be making DAILY PLANS.

Ideally you will create your daily plans the day before which means you are making decisions about what you are going to do BEFORE YOUR DAY EVEN STARTS!

This is a huge part of MAKING DECISIONS BEFORE YOU NEED TO MAKE THEM!

Creating DAILY PLANS makes you focus on what is important and what absolutely has to get done the next day.

Everything else is a NO!

So that is a bit utopian, in that if it were that simple, DAILY PLANNING would be much more popular!

As well as DAILY PLANNING daily you will also need DAILY DISCIPLINE.

DAILY DISCIPLINE is the difference between keeping your daily plans and not keeping your daily plans.

Are you prioritising your DAILY PLANS & DAILY DISCIPLINE?

If so then you are MAKING DECISIONS BEFORE YOU NEED TO MAKE THEM!

  1. PRACTISE THE ART OF SAYING NO

Decision making is more about what you say NO to than what you say YES to.

DAILY PLANS mean you have made decisions about what you want to do each and every day.

Effective decision making is saying NO to everything else.

I get it, saying NO to everything that isn’t on your daily plan might work in an ideal world, but we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in a messy, unpredictable, busy world, where plans working out exactly how we planned them are almost an exception to the norm!

Even so, learning to say NO is a game changing skill to master.

Not only will learning to say NO make you a more effective decision maker, it will protect your time, focus & energy enabling you to move closer to your personal & professional goals.

I have 3 tips for you in terms of practising the art of saying NO,

I. Treat NO as your default

Most of us have YES as our default. We may say YES to requests and then if we realise we really wanted to say NO, we figure out a way to reverse our decisions.

In terms of decision making, this is highly ineffective, causes us much stress and  means we are not being honest with ourselves and others. 

Wouldn’t it be more effective to say NO when you want to?

How could you make NO your default?

II. Treat NO as a muscle to strengthen

Practising the art of saying NO is like building a muscle – the more you use it, the more it grows and the stronger it gets.

The more you say NO, the easier saying NO becomes, the more confident you become at saying NO, the more you will see the immense benefits that saying NO can bring and the more you say NO, the more you and your boundaries will be respected.

The more you say NO, the stronger this muscle becomes and the more you will enjoy using it.

iii. Learn to say NO like a small child

Have you ever watched how small children say NO to things?

A small child’s NO is a clear NO – nothing and no-one will change their minds.They don’t feel the need to tell you why and they certainly aren’t apologising for their NO!

This is because small children know what they want and they don’t have all the baggage relating to the word NO that adults have.

How can you learn to say NO with the same confidence and clarity as a small child?

I wish you super success with your decision making so that your decisions result in the life & business you want!

Would you like to join my weekly newsletter?

If so download my free ebook  ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below and you are all signed up! 

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

x x

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Annual Review 2023

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In the Lean world we carry out an Annual Hansei which is Japanese for annual self reflection.

Annual self reflection allows us to reflect on what has worked well in the past year so we can celebrate & build on the successes.

It also allows us to reflect on what didn’t work well in the past year so we can adjust & change direction.  

I will be happy to see the end of 2023.

2023 has by far been the hardest and most challenging year of my life.

My beloved and adored Dad was really ill in early 2023 and passed away on 6th August. Because of this immense loss, no challenging time before 2023 even came close to the heartache and sadness of 2023.​

I reached very few goals in 2023 which was similar to 2021 & 2022. This has made me realise that no matter how much we plan, the path that is meant for us will always be the path we travel.

This path is not necessarily what we plan for!

Whatever 2023 brought you, I hope you find time to reflect on your year, leave behind what doesn’t serve you and bring into 2024 everything that supports & nurtures you. 

I use the Wheel of Life below to categorise my life. The categories of my life are Sense of Self, Relationships, Health, Work, Finance, Recreation, Environment & Contribution.

When reflecting on your year, you can use these categories or create some of your own.

Here is my Annual Review for 2023.

1. Relationships:

My beloved Dad passed away on August 6th 2023. That day was the worst day of my life and every day since has been a real challenge. I miss Dad every minute of every day.

Dad was a great man, a great Dad, everything about him was just great. 

I got to spend a huge amount of time with my Dad in his last months and I was by his side during his illness. It’s hard to express just how grateful and blessed I am for this precious time, as well as the previous 49 years we had together. 

My awareness of how precious time is was heightened this year as I was reminded that our time is not finite, we don’t have a never ending supply of time.

One day our time with those we love runs out! One day our own time runs out!

Everything else in 2023 paled into insignificance for me. My priority was my Dad and now my priority is learning to live with his physical absence. 

The loss of a loved one changes everything.

I’m different, my world is different, my perspective on the world is different.

Everything is different.

 

2. Sense of Self: 

In 2023 I added ‘Sense of Self’ to the categories of my life.

In 2023 personal development which I had been doing for decades was no longer working for me. Personal strategy which I had been doing for over a decade was no longer working for me.

I knew I needed something more meaningful and impactful.

Sense of Self combines my story, spirituality, personal development, personal strategy and my relationship with myself.

This category is all about who I am, who I want to be, who I need to be to achieve my dreams and how I feel about myself and the world around me.

Here is where I also work on the concepts of self love, self worth, self esteem, self belief, self trust, self confidence, self assurance, self understanding, self respect, self awareness and self observation.

2023 was a very challenging year for me and I feel my Sense of Self was on shaky ground. This shaky ground probably started a few years ago but 2023 made it even more unstable. 

In saying that, the challenges of 2023 brought me immense personal growth & learnings. These learnings and personal growth have been very difficult and painful – the saying ‘no pain no gain’ comes to mind! 

 

3. Health: 

There is no truer saying than health is wealth, the quality of every area of our lives is totally dependant on our health.

I have always been aware of the importance of physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual health and over the past few years, for many reasons, this awareness has been brought to a deeper level. 

In 2022 & 2023 I watched loved ones deal with ill health which was really challenging and reinforced the importance of dedicating time & energy to learning about and improving our physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual health. 

2023 was challenging for me in all areas of my health and I didn’t reach any of the goals I set for myself. I actually went backwards in terms of most of my health goals. 

In March, I injured my back skiing and that injury stayed with me all year albeit improving bit by bit throughout the year.

The loss of my Dad greatly impacted my health. I don’t fully comprehend how but I am working to understand this. 

Improving our physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual health is a journey and just like any other journey, it’s important to keep learning & moving forward no matter the pace!!

 

4. Work:

I currently spend the least time in this category which is ironic as for 25 years it was where I spent the most time! 

Work has changed dramatically for me over the past few years. I left my day job in October 2021 and wanted to set up own business but life had other plans for me! 

I took time off and am still on time off! 

This time off work has been life changing.

No job, salary or money can compete with how precious this time has been. 

Having this time off work in 2023 meant I had a huge amount of time with my Dad during the last stage of his life – that time was the most precious gift of my entire life. 

One of my writing goals for 2023 was to improve my writing.

At the beginning of 2023 I had become unhappy and disillusioned with my writing and had written many blog posts & emails that will never see the light of day. They are my writing and my words but they did not align with who I am and with the type of writing I want to do.

My writing did not adequately reflect how my life has changed in the past few years and how I have evolved as a person.

  • I wanted my writing to be richer, deeper, more meaningful, and more impactful for me and for you, the reader
  • Also I wanted to write more from a place of transparency & openness to see where it takes me

My writing is definitely on it’s way to being richer, deeper, more meaningful, more transparent and more open but it is a journey, possibly one that will last as long as I continue to write. 

Another one of my writing goals for 2023 was to write more. 

I am for the first time in my life, writing more than I am sharing. This is a huge milestone for me and means because as I write more, I can write better!

This has been a dream of mine for a very long time.

In terms of work I  still want to set up my own business, I’m just not ready yet.  

At some stage I will need to think about how to balance my precious time off with the writing I want to do but for the moment I’m just going to continue to enjoy the balance I currently have.  

 

5. Finance: 

The more I learn about personal finance the more I wish personal finance was a subject I learned in school, it certainly would have saved me much trial and error. Just like health – finance is a journey of which learning & understanding are constant companions. 

In 2023 I changed much of my financial landscape. I wanted to simplify & streamline my finances to make them work better for me. 

Renovating and selling an investment property in 2023 will allow me to make more diverse financial decisions in 2024.

I completed a number of smaller financial projects which were all aimed at streamlining my finances and moving step by step towards financial freedom. 

My top 3 financial learnings of 2022 stand firm for 2023 also,

  • One of the most important elements of finance is mindset – one person can receive €100 and feel rich and another could receive €1,000,000 and feel it’s not enough. The difference has nothing to do with numbers, it’s money mindset. 

There are 2 types of money mindset – abundance and scarcity – both will dictate your relationship with money and how freely it flows in and out of your life and also how much you enjoy earning and spending money. 

  1. Abundance is not just about money – when I left my day job in October 2021 my income  dramatically reduced but I felt more abundant in so many other areas of my life. Abundance is also about love, time, health, freedom and everything else that money cannot buy. 

The abundance of love, time, health & freedom brings me more joy than any amount of money ever could! 

  1. Time is more valuable than money – this is not a learning but a teaching from Jim Rohn. Jim’s quote about time and money is one of my all time favourites. 

‘Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time’.

Every day I am learning the true essence of this quote. Now that I no longer trade my time for money, I see the true value of time which is priceless – absolutely priceless. 

 

6. Recreation:

This category could be combined with relationships as it is with those I love that I have the most fun times. No-one makes me laugh out loud more than those I love and those who love me – these people are food for my soul! 

I spent much time in 2023 with my Dad who always made me laugh. My Dad had a brilliant sense of humour which my brother’s and I each inherited some of.

My Dad and I and always laughed and joked when in each other’s company. Even through his illness and last days, he was smiling and joking and reminding us how important it is to laugh and keep things light! 

Mike and I also share the same sense of humour and so our home is always filled with much laughter of which I am immensely grateful for. 

I didn’t have much of a social life in 2023 which suited where my life was in 2023. Maybe I’ll be a little more social in 2024 – who knows! 

 

7. Environment:

For me, environment is about our planet on a global scale and our beautiful home on a personal level.

In 2022 I started decluttering our home using the techniques in Marie Kondo’s brilliant book ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up’. I continued with this in 2023 however implementing these techniques took way longer than I had thought and so it will continue well into 2024. 

I’m a minimalist in that I don’t have or need much stuff but I only realised how much stuff I actually have when I started to declutter it! 

 

8. Contribution: 

I continue to give to charities, albeit not at the level I would have when I was working.

In 2023 I became more aware of the contribution I make to the world in terms of my time & skills and the contributions I make which aren’t monetary. We all contribute to the world in so many ways that we don’t even notice, this has been an unexpected education for me!  

That’s it, my 2023 in review.

I am happy to say goodbye to 2023, it was a year of immense pain, heartache and loss.

Thank you for reading my blog posts and your kind words during 2023, I really appreciate your support. 

I hope whatever 2023 brought you that you can build on & learn from it. May 2024 bring you and your loved ones health, happiness, peace & prosperity. 

Thanks for reading, 

Siobhain 

x x x

If you want to carry out your own Annual Review, below is a list of blog posts to support you. 

5 Reasons To Prioritise Your Annual Review​​

3 Steps To Your Annual Review​  

This is the 11th year I have shared my Annual Review here on my blog, my previous Annual Reviews can be found here,

2013   2014   2015   2016   2017   2018   2019   2020  2021  2022

 

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The JOY of solitude

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Have you done Mel Robbins exercise yet?

Basically it’s an exercise to see where you can bring more HAPPINESS & JOY into your life. if you missed my blog post you can read the blog post here ‘What brings you JOY and what fills YOUR days’.

What’s your relationship with solitude?

Do you like spending time alone?

There will no doubt be two camps who answer this question very differently.

The introverts will say YES.

The extroverts will say? I don’t know what the extroverts will say, maybe you can tell me?

I know introverts will say YES as I am an introvert and one of my favourite things to do is spend time alone, solitude brings me much JOY.

Why does solitude bring me JOY?

Firstly, being an introvert solitude is how I recharge my batteries. Solitude is how I gain enough energy to be able to function when in other people’s company. Time in solitude for introverts is just as important as oxygen is!

Solitude gives me time to think. I have a very active mind (doesn’t everyone 🤔) and I need time alone to process things and clear my head.

I don’t know what the extroverts will say – that’s why I’m asking the question?

Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, do you like spending time in solitude?

Do you find JOY in solitude?

Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, much can be learned about yourself or the introverts in your life from Susan Cain’s brilliant book ‘Quiet’.

I’d love to know your thoughts.

Would you like to join my weekly newsletter?

If so download my free ebook  ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below and you are all signed up! 

Thanks for reading 🙏

Siobhain

x x

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The JOY of reading 📚

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In my blog post What brings you JOY and what fills YOUR days’ I wrote about the 2 lists that Mel Robbins suggests we create and whether those 2 lists align.​

Basically it’s an exercise to see where you can bring more HAPPINESS & JOY into your life.

I have much to be HAPPY & JOYFUL about but my days are filled with an overarching sense of sadness and loss.

There are glimpses of HAPPINESS & JOY but always tinged with sadness and loss.

That’s just my life at the moment and I’ll work through it. Some days it’s so hard but my Dad’s memory and the life he lived and gave to our family deserves to be honoured.

One of the JOYFUL activities in my life is reading.

The only thing I love more than reading is writing.

​The thing with reading (especially physical books) is that you need lots of time.​

Listening to audiobooks also takes time but you can listen to them while doing something else – driving, walking etc.

Getting the time to read physical books is a work in progress.

I don’t like reading a few pages at a time, I much prefer immersing myself in a physical book for hours at a time.

This makes creating the required time for reading difficult.

That said, it is totally worth it.

When I do dedicate the required time to reading I feel so JOYFUL & HAPPY and that JOY & HAPPINESS lasts well beyond when my reading finishes 📚

Over the past few years for many reasons, I haven’t been able to dedicate as much time to reading physical books as I would have liked.

I’m prioritising reading from now on – I want to be more JOYFUL and reading is an endless source of joy for me.

What could you prioritise that brings you HAPPINESS & JOY?

Does reading bring you JOY?

I have always wanted to create a blog post to share with you the books I have read and love. This will take me a while and isn’t something I can commit to this year but here is a list of some of my favourite books that I have previously shared with you.

Every single book on this list has changed my life for the better and can do the same for you.

​BOOKS & MENTORS.pdf ❤️

Would you like to join my weekly newsletter?

If so download my free ebook  ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below and you are all signed up! 

Thanks for reading 🙏

Siobhain

x x

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The JOY of Netflix ❤️

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What do you do to relax?

​​From the list of what brings me JOY one if the things I do to relax is watch Netflix.​

I arrived at the Netflix party late. Friends at work had been taking about Netflix for ages and as I didn’t have it I could only imagine the JOY they all shared from it.

When I left work in late 2021, I needed a break from all things work and so I looked for something to do that wasn’t work!

This was difficult for me.

Writing had become work, social media had become work, reading and listening to podcasts had become work as all I read and listened to was business books & podcasts.

My entire existence and everything I did had become work!

What could I focus on that wasn’t any of the above?

The answer was Netflix ❤️

The productivity & hustle culture are not fans of Netflix as they think watching Netflix isn’t time well spent.

I totally disagree with this.

I think watching Netflix is absolutely TIME SPENT VERY WELL!

Here are the many benefits of Netflix and why I think it’s a great way to spend your time and relax,

• Netflix is relaxing – you need to rest, recover and relax to function optimally

• Netflix is educational – there are some incredible documentaries on Netflix – some of the best I’ve seen are Downfall, Dope, Seaspiracy.

• Netflix is inspiring – there are some brilliant inspirational biography documentaries on Netflix which I love. Stultz is my favourite- if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

• Netflix combines genius writing with genius acting and genius cinematography. My favourite series include Breaking Bad (the best TV i have ever watched!), Ozark, Narcos, Narcos Mexico & The Queen’s Gambit.

• It’s mobile – you can watch Netflix anywhere at any time on your mobile phone – efficiency at it’s best

• Netflix is very affordable – Netflix is relatively cheap, the biggest cost is your time!

The documentary that inspired this email is ‘Human – the world within’.

​If you watch one thing on Netflix, let it be this! ‘Human – the world within’ is a most fascinating documentary series on the complexity, vastness and powerful machine we all inhabit – THE HUMAN BODY.

What do you do to relax that brings you JOY?

Have you found the JOY of Netflix?

Do you have any Netflix recommendations? I’m always looking for new things to watch!

Would you like to join my weekly newsletter?

If so download my free ebook  ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below and you are all signed up! 

Thanks for reading 🙏

Siobhain

x x

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What brings YOU joy and what fills YOUR days?

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I recently heard Mel Robbins talk about how to find the happiness you once had. 

Mel suggests you make two lists.

  • The first list is what brings you joy or what were you doing at a happier time in your life?
  • The second list is how do you currently spend your days?

You then compare the lists to see if your days are filled with what makes you happy and joyful or not!

If these lists align then great – you already have happy & joyful days.

If these lists don’t align you need to align them to bring more happiness & joy into your life.

Sounds simple right?

I followed Mel’s advice and made 2 lists.

What makes me happy & joyful or what was I doing at a happier time in my life?

That’s an easy list to make – time with loved ones, time alone, reading, writing, creating, learning, travelling, photography, exercise & relaxing.

Are my days filled with these activities?

The honest answer is not as much as I would like.

If I could spend my time doing all of the above my life would not just be joyful, it would be blissful! 

This tells me it’s time to make changes.

Ironically what used to bring me immense joy and made up most of my time before was work.

Work no longer brings me the joy it used to which highlights where we find joy can change as we grow and evolve.

I do want to work again in the future but it will be very different to how I worked before. 

  • What brings you happiness & joy or what were you doing at a happier time in your life?
  • How do you currently spend your days?
  • Are your lists aligned?

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Siobhain

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You Are ENOUGH!

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WE HAVE ENOUGH, WE DO ENOUGH AND WE ARE ENOUGH!

Movie star Jim Carrey is most widely known for his comedic genius. More recently he is known for sharing his spiritual path which is light years away from the movie star life he used to lead.

In a recent video Jim was talking about retiring. Three sentences he spoke really hit a chord with me and have become a mantra that I am happy to carry with me every day. 

​I HAVE ENOUGH

​I’VE DONE ENOUGH

I AM ENOUGH​

Imagine having such a sense of fulfilment and contentment within yourself that all you currently have is ENOUGH, all you have done is ENOUGH and all that you are is ENOUGH.

Watch the video here,

No matter where we are in our lives, starting from this baseline of having ENOUGH, having done ENOUGH and being ENOUGH is incredibly liberating.

Starting and finishing EVERY DAY with this realisation means that everything you get, everything you do and everything you become is then a BONUS!​

I HAVE ENOUGH TODAY

​I’VE DONE ENOUGH TODAY

I AM ENOUGH TODAY

​
​Having ENOUGH, having done ENOUGH and being ENOUGH doesn’t stop us from wanting to have more, wanting to do more and wanting to be more.

It does however, allow us to be happy with what we have, what we have done and what we are while we pursue all we want, want to do and want to be!

DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH TODAY?

​HAVE YOU DONE ENOUGH TODAY?

​ARE YOU ENOUGH TODAY?

Whatever you have, do and are – YOU ARE ENOUGH 😊

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Siobhain

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Less is More

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​I have always believed in a philosophy of LESS IS MORE. 

The underlying message in LESS IS MORE is that we don’t need more to be happy, we possibly need LESS. 

Before getting MORE, we first need to be happy with what we have

For the past few years all my goals centred around LESS IS MORE principles which has brought me so much peace, joy & happiness. 

Because of this I am continuing with these valuable LESS IS MORE principles but this year but I am going into them in more detail.

The underlying message in LESS IS MORE is that we don’t need MORE to be happy, we possibly need LESS.

Here are some of the LESS IS MORE principles that create the umbrella for my 2024 annual goals,

 

  • DO LESS, BE MORE

Sometimes I find life is just one big long to do list. 

This doesn’t bring me joy, it brings me anxiety! 

I want to DO LESS and enjoy BEING & LIVING more! 

 

  • WORK LESS, HAVE MORE TIME

I love working, I really love it. For 25 years I worked for large corporate companies which brought me much joy and a certain amount of wealth.

Working so many hours for other people no longer suits or interests me. 

Also working so many hours even if I was working for myself doesn’t suit me either. 

I want to work less and spend my precious time in other areas of my life that are important to me and that bring me immense joy.

 

  • LESS EARNING, MORE LEARNING

I struggled with writing this as who actually wants to earn less money?

Me – just for this year anyway!

Actually this will be my 3rd year in a row earning less money.

This reduction in earnings has resulted in abundance of another type. I have abundance in terms of time which brings me more joy than any amount of money ever could.

With this time, I plan to learn more this year. 

Learn more about myself, learn more the world around me, learn more about what I want from my life, learn more about the work I love to do etc.

These learnings will in time allow me to earn more.  

 

  • ACHIEVE LESS, ENJOY MORE

I was never a ladder clImber but I did love what I worked at and so any achievements I had were from the passion I had for my work and not necessarily ladder climbing of any sort.

In saying that I do have ambition – ambition to work towards and fulfill my dreams.

On this journey, ENJOYMENT is much more important to me than ACHIEVEMENT. 

I do want to ACHIEVE but not at the expense of ENJOYMENT!

 

  • LESS SPEED, MORE PROGRESS

In my 20s, 30s and early 40s I lived life at a fast pace – always going, always doing, always striving, moving at the speed of light. 

A few years ago this all changed and I started to slow down. 

The fast paced life no longer suited me and I started to enjoy the peace & bliss of a slower lifestyle.

This slower lifestyle brings me more peace, tranquility and bliss than any fast paced life ever could!

Ironically I seem to be getting more done. 

Dr Wayne Dyer’s quote comes to mind ‘Doing nothing yet getting it all done’!

 

  • LESS RESISTANCE, MORE ACCEPTANCE

Eckhart Tolle says ‘It may look like as if the situations in our life are creating the suffering but ultimately this is not so –  it is our resistance to the situations that causes the suffering’. 

 I find this has deep wisdom to it and I want to practice less resistance and more acceptance.

This is not an easy practice but is one that brings much peace. Another quote from Eckhart Tolle helps us cultivate less resistance and more acceptance – ‘What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to something that already is’.

 

  • LESS RUSHING, MORE RELAXING

I really dislike rushing – rushing makes me feel under pressure and stressed.

Feeling under pressure and stressed is not enjoyable for me. 

I love relaxing – relaxing makes me feel happy and peaceful. 

Feeling happy and peaceful is immensely enjoyable for me. 

 

  • LESS CONSUMING, MORE CREATING

For many years I spent much time consuming content –  reading physical books, listening to audiobooks, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos, reading emails I was subscribed to and scrolling social media. 

This amount of content consumption now makes my head hurt.

I still love consuming content in these ways, I just don’t love so much of it!

Consuming all of this content while working a full time job, trying to write & create content and start a business was a recipe for disaster that ended up in burnout. 

Going forward I want to consume less and create more. 

I want to write more, I want to have a deeper understanding of how to write, I want to develop more depth, meaning, openness and transparency in my writing.

 

  • BUY LESS, USE MORE 

I have enough of everything.

In terms of material things I don’t need anymore, what I have is plenty.

I used to love shopping for all sorts of things – clothes, make up, fancy toiletries, stuff for our home, books, stationary, the list goes on and on. 

The problem with this constant shopping is that I ended up with many things that I just dont use and eventually things that I no longer liked.

 

That’s it, my LESS IS MORE principles for 2024.

 

Ironically, with so much LESS comes so much MORE JOY, HAPPINESS, PEACE & CONTENTMENT.​

​What would your LESS IS MORE PRINCIPLES be?

Whatever your goals for 2024 are, I wish you success, love, peace, health and happiness.

Do you want to join my weekly newsletter?

If so download my free ebook  ‘The A-Z of Effective Change’ below 😀

Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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