Feeling Really Damn Good

I was struck this week by a strong reminder of something I've always believed to be true. If I'm honest with myself though, perhaps I haven't always lived by this belief as much as I could. It was a good reminder.

In a restaurant in Lisbon, I was with two colleagues after a long but good day at work. We were all from different countries but the conversation flowed, we laughed, we relaxed and we were having fun. It was midnight and the night was warm.

We shared stories, jokes and opinions. And in doing so we were revealing ourselves. There were no pretensions, no bragging and no taking the mickey. We were just being ourselves and our appreciation of each other deepened.

So what?

Most people, most of the time in my observation are not true to themselves. They follow other people's rules, wear clothes to fit in with what other people think, say things to create an image of themselves that they want to portray to others. It's pretty rare to just be yourself, especially at work.

That looks like fun

As soon as you be yourself, your real self, you have a feeling. I'm not sure I can describe it, but I know it when I feel it.

And when people in groups start being themselves, others do the same. It's contagious and in a good way. Sometimes it can create tension, but at least that tension is transparent, not hidden away. Issues and problems when out in the open are no longer problems, they are opportunities to do something right, to make something happen.

The best performing teams that I've led are the the teams where I've been myself. I'm generally a responsible person but I too have an anarchic side which comes out to play every now and again. In those teams, my maverick nature was not hidden. Equally, my frustration when I wasn't happy with the quality of work performed wasn't hidden either. We did good together, we rocked.

As Primal Scream once noted, "Together we got power, apart we got pow wow".

When each person can be free to be themselves and express themselves through their work they come home at the end of the day knowing they did something meaningful and look forward to waking up and doing more.

High performing teams are honest teams. The first step to an honest team is where people be themselves. Leaders can take the initiative and be themselves first. It takes courage but it feels good. And, paradoxically it's the path to success.

Listening to Eagles Of Death Metal high over the Bay of Biscay, writing down these thoughts I feel good. Really damn good.

Go live. Be yourself, feel good and enjoy the ride.

Wanted, Dead or Alive

There's a reality that exists where you are alive.  That's the reality that you currently inhabit, I hope.

There are also realities that exist when you do not exist.  That reality was in the past, but it will also come to be again in the future. The one where you are unborn or deceased.

Both realities are equally valid.  They just occur at different times.

Time is a dimension of the universe.  Beyond height, width and depth it's the most obvious 4th dimension.  (Physicists by the way talk about 10 dimensions in our observable universe. I can't get my head around that, but apparently it makes sense mathematically).

A 4 dimensional cube

Everything is relative.  For example, distance is relative to the person observing it.  I just moved 2cm to my right in my train seat. To the person standing on the train platform I just moved 10 metres in the same time.

Just as distance is relative to the person observing it, so is time. You are alive because you are the one observing yourself.  You cannot observe yourself dead.  But the reality of your non-being already exists, it's just that your position in time relative to it does not allow you to observe it.

If that's the case - I am already dead. I am alive and dead at the same time, just in different realities.  Fortunately I experience the reality where I am alive, not dead - and I appreciate that.

This is a strange realisation.  But strangely liberating.

Once you see life in pure relative terms with no absolutes, it starts to make more sense. You really appreciate the moment.  You wake up each day with a zest to live and enjoy the moment.  In the history of the universe, it is almost nothing.  But we know it's not nothing, it's everything.

Live life knowing you're already dead.  Try it.

How To Be Number One In Google

At last!  After 10 years of trying, I can now say I am number one in Google.

No, I am not some boiler-room SEO sales guy.   Yes, I do have an ego.

Search for "David Norris" and you get me as number one.  Well, you do if you are me, today, from the UK.  Who knows if this is a Google A/B test.

Joking aside, this is a clear sign that Google are taking on Facebook and building a social strategy.  What better incentive to get people to complete their Google profiles than to provoke their ego.  "Want to be number one in Google for your name search?  Get your profile up to date".

I noticed this because I was checking Google Analytics for the traffic to my Google blog (Blogger) and saw a spike in traffic yesterday.  I looked at the source and keywords used and saw a large number of searches for my name delivering traffic.

I did the name search and saw the screenshot above with my name number one with my Google profile with an "edit" button. (Of course! Because I have a Gmail account).   As I use Picasa and Google Contacts, my profile is starting to become very integrated.

It's clear, Google are in battle.  Let the games commence!

Why Your Weaknesses are Your Strengths

My grandma once told me a story about how my younger self was prone to impulsive urges.
We were walking past a shop and in the window was a toy car. I really wanted that toy car and started pleading with my grandma to buy it.

She asked me how much pocket money I had and whatever I had was not enough. She said that we could come back on the weekend when I would have received some pocket money and have had a chance to save up for it.

I was not happy. I did not want to wait until the weekend. I can't imagine it was a pleasant scene. Still, my Grandma (rightly so) stood firm and we did not buy the car. Not then and not at the weekend because by then I was no longer interested in the car.

She told me this story about my younger self when I was a teenager. She said she was worried about my impulsive nature. It's true, I do have an impulsive nature. And I love it. I've learnt to control spending urges, but there have been many times in life when this side of my character has served me well. I've done many unusual things in life that have left a richness of experience and that in part is due to my willingness to make instant decisions and "do".

Impulsiveness can be a weakness, it can also be a strength. The same is true I find of most personality traits. It all depends on context. Most traits have a use so if you can understand better who you are and put yourself into situations that suit your personality, you'll find a good path.

Very persuasive, tenacious and curious? Great if you are an investigative journalist or sales person. Not very good at writing? Perhaps sales works better for you than journalism.

I don't actually believe that we have "strengths" or "weaknesses". I believe instead that we all have certain personality traits that are amplified, that we use and abuse and that in the right context can be a strength.

Therefore if you are interviewing for a job, either as a candidate or as a recruiter, consider it a dating game. You're both trying to assess if this person is the right "fit" for the job. The right person for the job may well be narcissistic, impetuous and driven by self-doubt. Or gregarious, conservative and self-confident. Or not. It's all about the fit at that moment in time.

There are no strengths and weaknesses, only context.