Category: LIFE

Readiness is key to learning something new. If we’re not ready to learn something… it will probably go straight in one ear and out the other.

That was a favourite phrase of parents and teachers alike – if we weren’t paying attention, they’d lay that line thicker than peanut butter on a slice of white bread. And, they weren’t wrong. When we were distracted, information went “straight through us” without taking seed. It was true when we were in school, and it’s even more applicable now as we engage in a daily onslaught of information dissemination.

Social media and news streams keep us engaged and entertained, but seldom do they leave us educated. This is why we keep making choices that we regret. If access to information were key in making healthy decisions, none of us would struggle with making the wrong ones!

It’s not the access to information that’s important; it’s the learning that’s important.

The best time to offer advice (a learning opportunity) is only, ONLY, when it’s requested. Essentially, this recognises that if we’re not ready for advice (not asking for it), there’s a good chance that we’re not ready for it – and it won’t stick.

In line with some recent blogs, this one offers four more thoughts on how we can leverage learning to make healthier decisions; for our money, relationships, career, and anything else that we value in life.

Embrace novel formats

When lockdowns and Coronavirus hit the world, it led to exceedingly tough times, but it also created an upswell of novel learning formats. Online learning platforms (free and paid-for), TEDTalks, YouTube channels and smaller community-centric groups all began to provide places to learn that, in many instances, were more effective than traditional structures of learning.

Practice mindfulness

A healthy mind is a powerful mind. In line with recognising how prolific and persistent the engagement of technology and social media is in our lives, setting aside time for mindfulness is profoundly grounding, healing and helpful. The gurus all recommend starting with just five minutes a day and building up from there. There are plenty of great apps to help you get started.

With a healthy mind, anything is possible.

School was simply the starting line

Graduation is about levelling up, not about completion. All lifelong learners recognise that school is nothing but the starting line of our true education. This is a simple paradigm shift, but once we internalize it, we’ll start doing things differently.

Play the long game

“The greatest riches in life – personal or professional – come from compound interest.” Sahil Bloom. The hardest element of benefiting from compound interest is that it takes time, lots and lots of time!

Lifelong learners play the long game; they know that lessons will continue to be learnt and that whilst the truth may not change, their perception of the truth will continue to deepen.

(All of these ideas were shared in a compilation by Sahil Bloom – @SahilBloom – on Twitter)

For many years the culture of all communication has been changing. Initially, many of us thought that the social media and digital branding space was merely a digital version of what we were doing in the real world.

But it’s not. It’s more complex and nuanced than we realise.

How we communicate with our family and friends has changed. And it also means that how we build our businesses has also changed. With a significant increase in businesses trying to engage more online since the global impact of COVID-19, understanding how to use social media to build a business brand and reach a larger paying audience is crucial.

Many clients have shared their stories of how they’re creating additional income streams and leveraging their social media networks to make these side-hustles viable. Single-income and even dual-income families find it even more challenging to cover expenses and manage their budgets. But starting a Facebook page just ahead of the festive season may not be enough to boost December sales. Launching an online sales platform in February may not break even until late July.

Social media is quick and relatively easy to set up. For the basics, it’s free, making it an attractive way to announce and promote your business. But despite the ease and speed of setting it up, it’s not a quick fix.

If you’re in this boat with your business or side gig, don’t give up just yet. In a recent conversation with Tim Slatter, an online communications strategist, he reinforced the old axiom of ‘slow and steady wins the race’. Having helped SMEs establish sustainable online brands for over a decade, he’s seen how every single business they’ve worked with, in a wide variety of sectors, all needed a minimum of 6-18 months to establish themselves online.

According to Slatter, this is because the complexity of online branding extends far beyond a clever marketing hook. It delves deeper into the why, who and what of the business value proposition (motivation, audience and message). Marketing hooks are great, but customers and clients are now looking for deeper engagement with a brand story.

In some other research, tactycs.io released a helpful article earlier in 2021 that seeks to answer the golden question: How long should my social media take to work?

The first thing, they say, is to understand what we mean by “work for me”. Are we looking for more sales, increased website traffic, brand awareness or relationship maintenance? This is important because it helps us understand what we want to achieve when building our business online, which in turn helps us set more realistic expectations.

Then, when it comes to setting realistic expectations, tactycs.io also ran a survey to determine what type of turnaround time an entrepreneur could expect on some of the current popular social media platforms.

These stats are pulled from their article:

How long does Instagram take to work?

Typically we recommend anywhere from 5-10 posts per week over a minimum of six months. Some have seen success much faster, and others have to put in closer to 18 months of consistent work to see success on Instagram.

How long does Facebook take to work?

A Facebook business page can take anywhere from 12 months to 24 months to become successful. Facebook pushes for supplementing your business page with ads or sponsored posts to accelerate the process.

How long does Twitter take to work?

Twitter moves fast, do you? Because of the ability to engage with content as a business, Twitter can see a quicker road to success. But don’t be fooled; this doesn’t mean it’s easier… It’s become an expectation that you post on Twitter multiple times a day, engage with your direct audience along with others. That means you keep your channel live, respond fast, and seek out other supplemental content posted by others. This could take anywhere from four to 16 months.

How long does YouTube take to work?

Being the second largest search engine in the world has its benefits. YouTube is an extremely powerful tool and doesn’t require as much momentum as other social media platforms. A larger following certainly helps, but valuable content is CRITICAL here. For business-focused timelines, an average of six months to two years can be used for YouTube.

How long does LinkedIn take to work?

If you find yourself with a group of 10-20 extremely connected employees willing to help grow the presence, you can see some of the quickest growth out of all the social media pages. 

LinkedIn is filled with business-oriented individuals who are willing to engage/support in exchange for the same. The research suggests eight to 16 months.

If you’re looking to bolster your income, remember, it’s a lot like leveraging the markets for long-term investing; give your investment time to root and grow, don’t expect immediate returns.

In a recent blog from Marelisa Fabrega, lawyer and entrepreneur, she spoke of 17 ways to be kinder to yourself! It seems like a lot, but when we think about all the ways and times that we put ourselves down, it’s not that much.

There’s a reason why this message of needing to be kinder to ourselves has become so pervasive; it’s because poor mental health has greater awareness than ever before. We are growing in our ability to self-observe in a healthy way – not simply taking selfies and saturating our Instafeed, but in a personal and private way. We’ve also accumulated decades of psychological profiling that helps us understand why we fail and why we succeed, and much of it has to do with positive and negative conditioning.

Success is not about choosing the right job and earning piles of money. It’s not about developing a product or service that no one else can compete with. It’s about finding our place and our purpose and having the confidence to fulfil it.

Here are a few of Fabrega’s suggestions to turn up the kindness:

Respect Yourself. 

Self-respect is valuing yourself for who you are, and not allowing others to dictate your value. It’s trusting yourself, thinking for yourself, forming your own opinions, and making your own decisions. In addition, it’s refusing to compare yourself to others.

Finally, self-respect is about keeping your promises to yourself and following through on what you tell yourself that you’re going to do. Be kind to yourself by deeply respecting yourself.

Forgive Yourself. 

We all mess up. Look at the following:

• Maybe you did something in the past that you’re not proud of.
• Perhaps you failed to stand up for yourself and you let someone else get the better of you.
• You may have missed a great opportunity because you got scared.
• Maybe you failed to follow through on an important goal.

If you’re angry at yourself, you need to show yourself kindness: stop blaming yourself, resolve to do better from now on, and forgive yourself.

Carve Out Some Time For Yourself. 

Every day carve out some time for yourself and do something that brings you joy. You can draw, journal, write short stories, play a musical instrument, or do anything else that you love to do. Be kind to yourself by giving yourself some “me time” each day.

Give Yourself Recognition. 

Often, we’re quick to acknowledge the achievements of others but slow to acknowledge our own. That has to stop. Become aware of your own achievements and give yourself recognition.

When you do something you’re proud of, stop for a minute and dwell on it. Praise yourself and relish the achievement. Compliment yourself. Pat yourself on the back and say the following: “Kudos to me!”

Remind Yourself of Your Good Qualities.

Maybe you’re a little heavier than “the ideal body type”, but you have long, lustrous hair. Maybe you’re not great at sports, but you’re an ace at math. Maybe you tend to be melodramatic, but you have a great sense of humor.

Always remind yourself of your good qualities.

Tell Yourself, “I Am Enough”. 

We’ve all had times in our lives when we’ve thought, “I’m not good looking enough, or smart enough, or strong enough to get what I want.” Stop it with the “I’m not enough” self-talk and replace it with the following;

“I’m enough, just as I am.”

“I’m worthy.”

“I deserve to be happy.”

“I deserve to have everything I want.”

In addition, tell yourself that nothing has to happen to make you worthy. You are already enough.

Accept Yourself.

Accept yourself as you are. You have strengths, and you have weaknesses. Sometimes you succeed, and sometimes you fail. Sometimes you’re right, and sometimes you’re wrong. Allow yourself to fully be who you are.

If you need someone to back you on this journey of turning up the kindness, let’s connect and make it happen.

A curriculum doesn’t drive learning; curiosity drives learning.

When we consider the learning pattern of those who are outside of schooling systems, it’s curiosity that drives their learning, not the prescribed milestones of an education system. From Google to TED, from books to stories passed down from our elders, learning is more about readiness than reached milestones.

When our learning is stifled, forced or limited by a curriculum, we can become frustrated and suppress our yearning to learn something new. This is an unhealthy state in which to slip.

When we learn something new, we exercise our brain, improving cognitive functions such as concentration, attention to detail, memory recall, and problem-solving. 

We become interested in more, and we become more interesting! Adopting this mindset creates fertile ground for healthy decision-making in life, relationships and our finances.

Sahil Bloom, from The Curiosity Chronicle, recently shared a collection of awesome ways to expand our curiosity and become lifelong learners.

Build a learning engine

The “learning engine” is at the core of every lifelong learner. Essentially, it comprises all the knowledge sources that we regularly consume. These could be books, audiobooks, newsletters, podcasts, TED talks, documentaries, blogs… you name it! And, in the last two decades, the internet has opened access to it all.

Avoid noise bottlenecks

Consuming more information does not always equate to knowing more. As you consume more data, you may find the noise-to-signal ratio increases – we call this a noise bottleneck. It slows down our ability to assimilate what we’re learning. 

We should consume less, but consume intelligently.

Embrace all styles and levels of learning

There are different types of learning, and there are different levels of learning. Four common learning types identified early on in children are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing. 

Most people are a combination of these four styles, but more times than not, we have a preferred learning style. Trying to explore different ways to consume and assimilate information keeps our brains and bodies healthy and helps us move from surface learning (which is quick and easy) to deep learning (which takes more time to mature).

Seek mentors and coaches

Two big challenges to learning are blindspots and the lack of accountability. Coaches and mentors provide a trusted sounding board and hold the space in our lives to spur us on when we’ve been sitting still for too long.

Embrace Failures

As Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Lifelong learners recognize that failures are learning opportunities. They don’t fear them; they embrace them. Failure is not easy, and this is why when we persevere, we grow in strength, skill and knowledge.

Follow Your Curiosity

When you have a spark of curiosity, follow it. From preparing and eating healthier meals to discovering how you can steadily move from living in debt to living in surplus. From learning a new skill or adopting a hobby to expanding your knowledge of how your body, mind, and emotions work, be willing to go on that journey wherever your curiosity drives you.

When our minds are clear, focussed and fit, we can make better decisions. We can see our current situation more clearly and identify the future that we’d like to create.

Estate planning, wills and final testaments are not easy processes to navigate. Setting up life cover and considering what will happen to your family when you pass away can be deeply emotional and an experience many would rather avoid.

But as technology helps us create farewell videos, family portfolio galleries and digital vaults, it has made the experience a little less technical and considerably more emotionally engaging and fulfilling. 

However – we often plan for the event of our death alone. What if you and your partner pass together or in quick succession? Not only will your dependants need to charter the unknown territory of your physical assets and financial policies, but they will also need to deal with your digital assets and online accounts.

From online banking and social media to online shopping and digital subscriptions, most of us have anywhere between five and forty active accounts that will need to be closed, cancelled or managed in our passing.

And, all of these require passwords.

If you haven’t addressed this before, you can start today with a simple spreadsheet or table. You can print it out or set it up on your device, whichever makes more sense to you.

There are loads of apps (some free, some not) that can help you do this, but let’s take a look at a basic framework that covers the essentials and gets your thoughts aligned with what might happen to your passwords when you pass.

Set out four columns under the following headers:

1. Account (Facebook/National Bank/Netflix)
2. URL (this is the website address or link that you use to access your account)
3. Username
4. Password

You can always add more columns as you use the list a little more, these could include headers like:

1. Renewal date
2. Renewal/Monthly/Annual fees
3. ID number or personal identifying code for that supplier
4. Email (that is linked to that account)

You could also create groups for the different accounts to make it easier to update and work with going forward. Group categories would also make it easier for your partner or kids to find the relevant accounts easily.

These categories could be things like:

1. Email accounts
2. Banking
3. Business accounts
4. Internet/Cellphones
5. Entertainment
6. Social Media
7. Online Shopping

Our digital assets are still a very new area of estate planning that have not been fully explored, but if you have some good ideas on how you’d like your social media profiles to be treated or specific messages that you would like broadcast, these can be included in your planning.

But – almost all of these wishes depend on someone having access on your behalf; and for that they will need the four columns of the sheet that you’re about to set up! If you have more than ten accounts – just do ten today, and another ten tomorrow and another ten the day after until you’ve worked through everything. This will make it manageable and achievable.

We can’t change what happens to us, but we can change how we respond to what happens to us, and within us.

Everything ages, but not everything ages well. Some things can wither from the inside out if they do not have a well-developed resilience. Resilience is the ability to bounce back and withstand stressors. It is to have the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.

For us, resilience is something that we need to work on actively. If we were lucky to have a loving environment to grow up in, we would have a certain amount of resilience from an early age. However, as soon as our communities begin to find ways to disqualify, exclude, challenge and limit us, our resilience will be challenged and reduced.

This is why we need to work on our resilience.

Resilience is linked to our sense of, or connectedness to, our wholeness. Building resilience means that we need to embrace all sides of ourselves (even the warty ones!). Connecting with the heart is at the core of finding and creating inner wholeness.

As Dr Rosenberg, a clinical psychologist, writes, “We are compassionate with ourselves when we are able to embrace all parts of ourselves and recognize the needs and values expressed by each part. Practicing self-compassion involves learning how to firstly practice self-care and secondly learning how to love yourself.”

This is also crucial in building financial resilience. Suppose we aren’t able to question and investigate how we feel about money. In that case, we will not succeed in promoting healthy habits, supporting a positive self-image, and fortifying resilient relationships.

On the lonerwolf.com website, they put it like this:

Wholeness and holiness are connected. Holy comes from the Old English word hālig, which means “whole, healthy, entire, and complete.” So to be whole means to be holy. Wholeness is holiness – and this is why when we have a direct experience of our wholeness it tends to feel like a mystical experience of awe, gratitude, love, and reverie.

But it’s not something reserved for mystics and people on lonely mountaintops. 

Wholeness, self-compassion, inner strength, confidence — resilience — are available to all of us. When we show up every day, helping to bring love and value to those around us, we can be resilient. When we make plans for our future and are forced to change those plans due to unforeseen changes, we can be resilient.

When we support our family through tough times or provide a safety net for our children, partners, or parents, we can be resilient.

It all begins with being kinder to ourselves; this is how we bounce back stronger.

Anything in life that is truly worth doing – is not easy. It is easy to forget this when we see others doing really well and making the difficult seem like a cinch. We don’t see all the hard work that goes into the background.

But in our own areas of expertise, we have had to start from level zero and apply ourselves over time to gain the knowledge and experience akin to being proficient.

When it comes to mindfulness, a key practice for our mental health, it feels like it’s something that should come naturally. All we need to do is focus our attention on the present moment, and we will be able to get it right. Mindfulness has been proven to calm the mind, ground the body, and increase overall well-being and good health, scientifically and spiritually.

We understand that it’s worth doing, but in practice, it’s not that easy. We get distracted, our thoughts run all over the show, and before we know it, we’re no longer practising mindfulness.

Mindfulness is an incredible tool to help us make better decisions around our finances, relationships, career and extracts more enjoyment and fulfilment from the activities that we love so much.

Here are a few ideas that we can all work on, gradually and steadily, to grow our mastery of mindfulness and make this journey a little easier.

DO EVERYTHING SLOWLY

Consciously slow down. Walk slowly, drink slowly, sit slowly, breathe slowly, talk slowly, move your body slowly — practice slowing down your natural tendency to rush everything. When we wake up to an alarm clock, judge our travel time by traffic flows, set meetings for productive hours in the day, watch the clock during dinners and keep trying to get to bed earlier, we’re living by the clock. And this will always leave us feeling rushed.

Slowing down helps us break the grip of ‘always feeling rushed’ and helps us focus on what we’re doing right now. When you slow your breathing – you’re focused on the air going in and going out. You’re probably doing it right now as you read this – and that’s a super start! You’re already more mindful.

Whenever your world starts to spin a little too fast, witness your breath and feel yourself begin to slow down.

LET EATING BECOME A SENSORY EXPLOSION

There’s a moment in the 2007 Disney movie, Ratatouille, where Remy and Emile taste some cheese that was struck by lighting. Visually, as Remy takes a bite, we see the background fade into a fireworks display, and his face shows the visceral delight in this new taste experience.

When we want to improve our mindfulness muscles, we can do it with every meal and snack during the day. As we slow those down (not eating on the run…), we can experience more of the flavour, texture and benefits of what we are putting in our bodies.

SPEND MORE TIME IN NATURE

We’ve said it many times in our blogs, spending time in nature is healing and helpful on so many levels. It boosts happy-hormones, improves our air intake, stimulates creativity and reduces emotional tension. But – it also makes mindfulness easier.

Living indoors all day tends to restrict the mind immensely. By going outside, we open our minds to experiencing more expansion and relaxation.

If we’re walking a little slower (let’s assume we’re not trying to get our lifestyle-plan points!), we will be able to commit to watching, smelling and hearing whatever comes into our field of stimulation. Experts say that doing this for at least half an hour a day is all we need to begin making mindfulness easier.

We can work on mindfulness of sounds, smells, flavors, feelings/textures, and what we see and start small. Focus on one mindfulness exercise and commit time to it each day. As this becomes easier, you can journal your experiences (this enhances mindfulness of a recent experience) and reflect on what you’ve learned or how you’ve changed. Be kind to yourself and have some fun with it!