Uninformed or Ignorant?

Uninformed is a temporary condition, fixed more easily than ever.

Ignorant, on the other hand, is the dangerous situation where someone making a decision is uninformed and either doesn't know or doesn't care about their lack of knowledge.

The internet lets us become informed, if we only are willing to put in the time and the effort. That's new - the ability to easily and confidently look it up, learn about it, process it and publish to see if you got it right.

Alas, the internet also creates an environment where it's possible to feel just fine about being ignorant. It's easier than ever to live in a silo where we are surrounded by others who think it's just great to not know.

"Ignorant" used to be a fairly vague epithet, one that we often misused to describe someone who disagreed with us. Today, because it represents a choice, the intentional act of not-knowing, it carries a lot more weight.

The more I think about this, the more I am aware of how ignorant I've chosen to be. A useful wake-up call.

The problems you have got left....

.... are probably the tough ones.

We would all like to find easy answers to our problems.

Organisations, governments and individuals prefer to find the solution that is guaranteed to work, takes little time and takes even less effort.

Of course, the problems that lend themselves to easy solutions have already been solved.

What we're left with are the problems that will take ridiculous amounts of effort, untold resources and the bravery to attempt something that probably will not work.

Knowing this before you start will help you allocate the right resources... or choose not to start at all - this problem, the one that will not be solved in a hurry, might not be worth the effort it is going to take.

If it is, then prepare yourself to pay the price.

Motivational Monday

Carpe Diem

You know that this is Latin for "seize the day," right?

No matter how yesterday went - whether you had great triumphs or whether you wish you had spent the whole day in bed, remember that every new day is a new opportunity.

You can't rest on yesterday's accomplishments and likewise you never have to repeat yesterday's mistakes.

Generosity Boomerang

Here is conventional wisdom:

Success makes you happy. Happiness permits you to be generous.

In fact, it actually works like this:

Generosity makes you happy. Happy people are more likely to be successful.

Cheering You On

Who is waiting at the finish line for you?

Who will be cheering for you even when you don't win? 

Especially when you don't win...

I'm not talking about the fair-weather fan who rewards the winner, or the logo-wearing fan who shows up when the team is in contention ... I'm wondering about the person that is in it for your effort and your passion and your tears.

For most of us it is not about the winning but exerting the effort, expressing our passion. So, who will be cheering you on?

Motivational Monday

Why Do I Succeed?

I succeed because I am willing to do the things you are not.


I will fight against the odds.


I will sacrifice.


I am not shackled by fear, insecurity or doubt.


I feel those emotions — drink them in and then swallow them away to the blackness of hell.


I am motivated by accomplishment, not pride.
 

Pride consumes the weak — kills their heart from within.


If I fall, I will get up. 

If I am beaten, I will return.


I will never stop getting better. 

I will never give up, ever.


That is why I succeed