How to step from the top of a 100-foot pole?

The first question one might ask is how exactly you got to the top of a 100-foot pole in the first place. Whenever you’re at the top of something high the first thing someone will tell you is not to look down. Your immediate reaction is looking down and instantly the realisation of where you are hits you and panic settles in.

With every decision we make in life there comes a time when we need to take a step of faith, leap into the air and learn to fly. Each day we take another step forward in our lives and move towards our ultimate goals in life. At times we may step backwards and at other times we progress forward to achieving our goals. It may be that when we do reach the top of the 100-foot pole the only way up - is to jump, spread your wings and learn to fly.

It’s the same concept like starting a new job and your boss throws you in the deep end. You have to learn to swim and turn the challenge before you into an opportunity. With no alternative options it may be safer to take a risk and make yourself vulnerable, to step from the top of the 100-foot pole into the unknown.

Do something

As the world revolves on its axis it seems that most of society is concerned about nothing else except themselves with a minority looking pass that and making a small impact by doing something towards making a difference in the world. It’s easy for an individual to think up a dream but the task that will make the greatest impact is never done because no action is made and people end up doing nothing rather than something. We are waiting for change to take place in the world but no one wants to take on the responsibility to start doing something and as we wait nothing is happening. We stay in this isolated state of mind rather than making use of the power of one with an untied front of people standing together and actually doing something.

Eldridge Cleaver makes a clever statement: “You’re either part of the solution or you are part of the problem.” Too many people feel comfortable with being part of the problem and have yet to realise the deep hole society has dug itself into: our environment is deteriorating yet we do nothing about it, we chat on our phones and are slowly loosing our relationships with those around us, we see the elderly while taking public transport yet we don’t get up and offer our seats.

Someone out there has the cure to AIDS but they are not putting that knowledge to practice, someone out there has the answer to resolve the global financial crisis but they are doing nothing about it. We all know our strengths, we see the poverty and problems daily but we do nothing about it and stay in the same place we have always been. We need to change our mind sets, we need to look pass ourselves and do something everyday which will lead to a major impact in the world. What you are tomorrow depends on what you do today.

We are what we do

The first thing that comes to mind is the saying that goes “Our actions speak louder than words”.

This takes me to our daily routine which we may take for granted and don’t realise that the things we do are who we are. The smallest things like waking up in the morning, only to hit the snooze button making us late again could show a hidden characteristic of who we are. It might just be that being late is about that grand entrance we make at the event to get the attention we want and that’s why we late anyway.

But there’s more to what we do than just our daily routines. We choose what we want to do, which impacts who we are. We may never have thought of it as being linked but our acts reflect us. It shows in the way we act towards people, when we greet with a smile to show our friendless. Our bad habits and even our best traits are reflected outwardly in all we do.

I don’t think we realise how much we can grasp about a person by taking note of what they do. It may just be a good idea to take a moment and look at the person you are. See how much you can learn about yourself through the things you do, even the smallest of details.

We are afraid of the wrong things

I’ll never forget the lesson I learnt not too long ago about the unknown. I’m talking about when you sit in a room and an unknown figure appears in the door way. We will immediately turn our attention to that because we don’t know what it is and we also want to give ourselves piece of mind.

The greatest thing we can fear is not only fear itself, but ourselves. As humans we have been given the power to choose which makes us different from any other thing that was created. It’s us who chooses from the smallest thing like being afraid of the dark to hurting a person we care deeply about. It’s ourselves that have to face the consequences of those decisions and it’s ourselves that we should be afraid of not the spider in the corner of our room or the man that looks at us suspiciously as we pass by.

As a child it was our innocence that made us curious and less afraid of things but it might also have been the comfort that we could run to our parents for safety when we were afraid of the dark. As we grow up we expand our knowledge and our experiences have influence into what we are afraid of. Maybe it’s because we are not brave enough to face up to our fears and we’d much rather be seen as a coward.

We all have our fears, its part of who we are but secretly we know we are afraid of the wrong things and we should much rather fear ourselves than anything else.

The colour of the wind

This takes me back to a line in the song from the movie Pocahontas that says “Can you paint with all the colours of the wind?” To be honest I’ve never thought of the wind in terms of colour but more as a movement and the flow of items it touches like the green rustling of the leaves or the blue crashing waves.

I can imagine the wind as a paint palette and depending on how he feels that particular day that’s the colour he chooses. If he feels flirty like on the day he decides to blow women’s dresses up I’d say his a shade of pink, when the wind is howling outside his angry and he drapes himself in a shade of red, when all is calm he chooses a shade of blue. When he feels like a night out on the town he happily dances with the trees and appears in a shade of yellow. The wind brings about change and so the colour of the wind can’t remain the same.

We can feel and experience the wind but will never be able to touch it. For some it can be seen as translucent, and appear just as they see it as it shapes items and all you see is nothing. Each day brings a new colour which gets added to the paint palette and you can never tell what colour the wind will be for that day.

Watch this space!

I’ve watched many movies of people visiting the psychiatrist’s office and they whip out this black blot on a page and are expected to say the first thing that comes to mind when looking at the picture. Sometimes putting our thoughts on paper makes no sense at all and is seen as the black blot , a collection of nothing but yet has so much hidden meaning and is up to those who read it to interpret the meaning thereof.

Everything has a starting point, when an artist begins with a blank canvas they may have an idea of what they would like to paint but that idea can develop and change into something completely different to what was intended. Just like in that case I am a beginner. This whole blogging thing started as an assignment and has now become a part of me. It is way of expressing my thoughts on topics and displaying it publicly for others to read and in some ways is like showing my black blot to the world. I started in a panic because I did not understand what I was assigned to do but my perspective and knowledge has changed that outlook. Slowly my painting is taking shape and my space is becoming a new dimension and growing confidence as I learn more.

We all have a starting point which becomes our journey and the journey is our space. There are loads more to come and if you don’t keep tabs on this space you will miss out. Celebs, artists, writers, all began somewhere and there might be a chance that one day my name will be up in lights, we’ve just got to wait and watch to find out.

If I were the Boss...

If were the Boss I’d sit in my chair, lean back and rest my legs upon my desk just because I can.

There would be no 9 – 5 and all my employees would have the freedom to do what they wanted as long as they completed all tasks they were assigned to and meet the goals set out for the project.

Employees jobs would not only revolve around sitting at a computer screen for the entire day but would also involve participation by interacting with each other, sharing ideas so there would be creativity and liveliness.

I would implement a fun activity once every two weeks to make employees relax and which would also serve as a form of team building. It would be things like an aerobics class, painting lessons, an outings, a massage, dress up day (like everyone dressing to work according to a theme for that week) – just a period to take time out from everything and bond as an organisation but relax at the same time.

I would implement ideas to get employees to think a different way and encourage and affirm them for jobs well done. This will not only boost their self esteems but encourage them to do their best and enjoy what they do.

Each week an update meeting will be held for all involved in a particular project to get everyone on the same page of the current status of the project. If everyone knows what’s happening they feel part of the process and see what they are working towards achieving.

I’d make sure my employees had access to all the resources they would need on a particular project.

I would be available to discuss any issues if they were to arise and make their environment a place they felt comfortable in and could be productive in.

Being the boss is not about pleasing everyone but upholding a standard of work that makes employees feel like they have accomplished something and reached their personal goals. It’s about guiding your employees to create a success of every project they work on and together work as a team to reach the desired future state of the organisation.