Where does your magic come from?

 I heard a story about the virtuoso violinist Paganini who was preparing for the concert of his life.

All the people who would influence his future success were going to be there.  It was his chance to show off his awesome skill, his incredible sensitivity and his latest innovations on playing his instrument.   

There was a lot riding on this concert.

And so, after months of protracted practice upon his priceless Stradivarius violin, he turned up to the concert feeling prepared to play the concert of a lifetime.

Just before the curtain opening, he realised that he’d left his violin at home.  He was devastated – after all that practice, after a lifetime’s hard work – he was going to be ruined – he wouldn’t be able to weave the magic he knew he could to the audience he most wanted to impress.  

 His close friend encouraged him to find a violin and just go ahead with what he’d planned.

Alas, the show must go on and he borrowed a humble violin and went on stage prepared to do his best.

The show ended with thunderous applause – it really had been the concert of a lifetime.

His friend fought his way through the adoring fans backstage an d asked him what happened.

Paganini dropped his head and whispered into his ear:

“I discovered that the music was in me, not the instrument”

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Fishing in your unconscious mind

What if there is no real barrier between our subconsious mind and our consciousness? - What if our barriers were only what we create in the forms of blocks and walls?

Abstract Art often draws from what lies beneath what we see, hear and think about.  If you have the courage to pull out the colour, shapes & images that lie below the waterline, what will you learn about your purpose and unique contribution to the world?

What are you going to fish out that helps you formulate your next winning product, service or way of thinking?

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Dealing with Change

 In a world that's rapidly changing and hard to predict, what you learned at school is usually obsolete by the time you hit the workforce.  Whether you are searching for your blue ocean or simply trying to survive in chaotic times of change, you need to develop the following 8 habits:

1. Asking questions. We need to become lifetime learners - to be able to teach ourselves anything that needs figuring out.  .When you encounter something new, you need to start asking questions, and explore the possible answers with yourself and others.Embrace the learning curve - a new piece of technology, a new way of thinking - learn, learn and learn.

2. Solving problems. If you can solve problems, you can do any job. Everything is a problem to be solved in the world of change - make yourself indispensable by learning to be the best problem solver you can be.

3. Tackling projects. Start to see work as a series of projects.  Most of my work is a project, whether it is working with clients or creating products.  When you deal with projects, you build the sense of responsibility and care that people who look for a "job" miss completely.  And by missing that, they miss the secret to dealing with change.

4. Finding passion. What drives you?  What inspires you? In all of the massive change that's happening right now, what area fascinates you, what area can you take on as your own, what area resonates with your values?  Keep you eye open for this, because what lights you up changes as you do.

5. Independence. You can manage yourself, you can direct yourself, you are a free creative being, working with whatever is thrown your ways.  Cultivate this - it's a real lifesaver in times of change.

6. Being happy in your own time. It's a great thing to cultivate your own interests - to be doing the things you love being alone or with groups of people. 

7. Compassion. One of the most essential skills ever. We need this to work well with others, to care for people other than ourselves, to be happy by making others happy.

8. Tolerance. Often we grow up in areas where people are mostly the same, in appearance, culture and the ways they think.  When we come into contact with people who are different, it can be really uncomfortable.  Practice exposing yourself to people from all walks of life, from all corners of the earth and who traffic in all the philosophies and religions there are.  Celebrate our differences and maintain a healthy curiosity and you will discover what makes life so beautiful.

 Dealing with change requires all of the above - what can you take on today to improve or bring into your life?

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Is your coach asking you questions, or telling you what to do?

 Good coaches ask questions.

They are curious about you - what's important to you, what you think, how you approach things, how you solve problems and create new innovations.

They are looking for your values, your vision and your purpose.

They know you can achieve whatever you can conceive and they want to help you do that.

They know you are more brilliant, have more strength and more capability that you would ever know.

They know you can have more fun, have fantastic fulfilling relationships, you can create miracles and that you are absolutely amazing.

That's how a good coach sees you.

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...

Is your ladder to success leaning against the wrong wall?

 Stephen Covey says it brilliantly:

"It's incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busyness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover that it's leaning against the wrong wall"

Where is your ladder leaning against?

Are you striving and working hard to achieve someone else's goals?

Are you forgetting what's important for you, by being consumed working to fulfil someone else's dream?

Are your energies, your ideas, your efforts and your creativity being scooped up and turned into IP for someone else?

It's so easy to be blinded by the power of  someone else's clearly stated dream or vision.

It may be harder to construct your own vision on your own terms, but at least you get to find the right place to lean your ladder against.

This is only the beginning. Get to know clarity. Email me, Mike Kennedy...