The Latin phrase “Carpe diem” was made famous by the movie “The Dead Poets Society” where the late Robin Williams stars as a teacher that inspires students to “Seize the Day!” That sounds great but which opportunities should we seize, and which should we leave?

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the movie, but I’ve found that too many people have a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) attitude where if they don’t “Seize the day” then they’ll never receive another opportunity ever again. This attitude is completely wrong and promotes bad decision making.

In this video I discuss a number of the methods that I use to assess opportunities. Some may be worthy of seizing while others can just be let go….and without any sort of fear. I hope you enjoy the video and I would encourage you to leave a comment, send me a message or just like it.

Have a great weekend.
Michael

We have so much to be grateful for. From the mundane turning of a tap to see water pour out of the faucet to our friends and family.

In this world of the 24-hour news cycle it often feels like we are being deluged with bad news. This video is about good news. I share some of the things that I’m grateful for in my life. I have some good news for you. It does something to your soul when you share with others what you’re grateful about…..it also inspires others to do likewise.

COVID-19 may be the fodder of the media empires, but the stuff of life is all around us in our relationships with one another, our jobs, hobbies and the fact there is food on the table. This is good news and we must not lose sight of this fact.

I would encourage you to reflect on what you’re grateful for in your life. In fact, don’t just reflect, share with others here in the comments or on my Youtube video comments.Don’t hold the love in, share it with us all and then pass on the video. Hopefully you get the sense that there is at least one Australian that wants to hear good news rather than the endless bad news we see to be fed.

Have a great weekend.
Michael

I’ve had a number of people ask me what my typical day looks like and in this article, I thought I’d open up about the life and times of yours truly. So how many hours do I work, what do I do and how do I manage all the various demands for my time. I would like to say it’s easy, but the reality it’s not.

Each workday I’m up at 7am and spend about 20 minutes reflecting about the different aspects of my life and thinking about big issues such as character. Don’t picture me sitting cross legged on the floor….I’m more likely in a comfortable chair staring outside and doing some serious thinking. I find this time very refreshing and gets me centered on what’s important.....what I don't want to do is climb the ladder of success to find it's leaning against the wrong wall.

About 7:20 I then dive into a topic I’m interested in. This may be reading a book, watching a Youtube video or studying something online. I typically use this time to get a picture of what is happening in the broader business/economic/political environment. For instance, would COVID-19 impact the domain monetization industry was something that I started researching back in January.

At 8am I’m checking ParkLogic’s daily numbers. I do this every day and zero in on any issues that I think may be problematic for a partner or client that the rest of the team needs to investigate. It could also result in things such as an idea to improve results for clients.

After this, I check my email, skype messages and the like. Any additional issues are identified and forwarded on to the person most suitable to take that task on. Any client/partner tasks are added to a tracking system we have built in SalesForce…..I really don’t like to forget issues.

I then examine my own “things to do list” and allocate time for those I plan on doing that week/day. My typical things end up being as varied as clients, business development, legal work, administration, marketing or even technical development.

The grip of fear for an individual can be completely debilitating, it’s often less about being rational and more about fight or flight. When fear takes hold of a nation then seems to become almost alive.

As we’ve seen in the recent COVID 19 pandemic, fear has caused people to buy-up toilet paper, rush to clean out supermarket shelves, have fist fights over trivial issues and even protest about social isolation.

One of my favorite science fiction books, Dune by Frank Herbert, will later this year be released as a movie. Within its pages the author espoused the following about fear.

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

The question I would ask you this weekend is whether your own thinking is being subsumed by an underlying level of fear. Some of the fears may be completely rational, like, will I lose my job this week, well others turn a mole hill into a mountain. Maybe it’s time to let fear pass through you and remain standing alone without it?

When you look at the world there is a consistent theme of stress, heightened anxiety, depression and sadly suicide….many of these emotions have their roots in fear. Maybe it’s time to put aside fear and develop an attitude of gratitude for what we do have rather than for what may happen?

I hope you enjoy this video as I share my thoughts on fear. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to the video or click on the alerts so you don’t miss out on future blogs.

Have a great weekend.
Michael

There’s nothing quite like speaking with a person that is passionate about a topic. I find that it really doesn’t matter whether it’s science, business or even knitting….the joy for the listener is more about hearing the passion in the teller’s voice.

I remember a number of years ago I was listening to the radio and heard a plumber expound his passion for his profession. He explained to the listeners that without plumbing civilization wouldn’t exist and the fact that we can turn on a tap or flush a toilet is a miracle.

I’d never thought about plumbing in this way before, in fact, I’d never really thought much about plumbing at all. The speaker was riveting in his passion and it was clear that he’d won the interviewer over to his view of plumbing as well.

The question I would ask you in this video is, “What are you passionate about?” In this time of COVID induced isolation we all have been given some precious time back to really think about this issue. Do you want to get to the latter years of your life with regret or have the confidence that you went after your passion with a sense of urgency and zeal?

I hope you enjoy this video as I share a few thoughts on passion. Also, don’t forget to subscribe, comment or like the video as your feedback helps me to be inspired forward in my own blogging passion.

Have a great weekend.
Michael