Scaredy Cat Personified

Many opine we aren't born with fear but as we go through our lives, it seems we take less chances and become more cautious. It could be because we've experienced things that haven't gone well. It could be because we think we have more wisdom so not to make foolish choices. That voice in our head says; "let's not do that again!"

Experts have been studying this for years and in an article entitled "Decision Neuroscience: Why We Become More Cautious with Age", there is sound evidence which suggests at least part of the reason is physical. As we age, the levels of dopamine in our bodies declines. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and a hormone. It plays a role in many important body functions, including movement, memory and pleasurable reward and motivation. We might be smart but our physiological makeup does have a say in the matter without our interference. 

Age and Ageing 

So that might point to why we rolled the dice at 20 and hesitated at 50. We were born with the ability to reason but we are also made up of chemical elements that don't ask for our input and can become our biggest foe.  

I've had to make a couple of pretty significant decisions in the last few years. One of them I belabored over for weeks. I had a similar situation happen almost two decades ago and I jumped at it. I did make the move again this time but I was aware of how I gave downside more weight than opportunity. 

Hormone levels and age may make us pause a bit longer or fear a bit more but here might be an exercise worth trying. Find something small you are thinking about right now. It could literally be something so insignificant, it might not even matter next week. Take five minutes and try and think of you a decade or two ago and make the decision through that lens. You might surprise yourself.

But I'm still not bungie jumping! 

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Our Unexpected Ally

For most of my life, I've been called an extrovert. I can stand in front of a crowd and deliver a talk; as an executive recruiter I'm able to call complete strangers and tell them about an opportunity; and yet I need a lot of quiet alone time. I used to think you had to be either an introvert or an extrovert and being both was confusing to me.

Kare Anderson shares her story as someone who suffered from chronic shyness and found the capacity through her challenges to make change to become an opportunity maker and how we can do the same.


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Your Unexpected Ally

For most of my life, I've been called an extrovert. I can stand in front of a crowd and deliver a talk; as an executive recruiter I'm able to call complete strangers and tell them about an opportunity; and yet I need a lot of quiet alone time. I used to think you had to be either an introvert or an extrovert and being both was confusing to me.

Kare Anderson shares her story as someone who suffered from chronic shyness and found the capacity to make change through her challenges to become an opportunity maker and how we can do the same.


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Recruiting Your Company

As an executive recruiter, I spend a lot of my time speaking with people who are gainfully employed and for the most part happy where they're working now until I call them. Many say no thank you. Some say tell me more. And a few say yes eventually.

It's interesting to be in those conversations after we discuss the opportunity and company because execs want to know what kind of company and what type of people work there before considering a career move.

Here are five simple yet telling questions you can ask your team, owner, boss, or company and it will tell you everything you need to know.

What do we stand for?

How do we help?

Where do we impact?

Why do we do what we do?

What will we not do?
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Introverts and Opportunity Makers

We have somehow created a world where the bold and loud seem to get more than the thoughtful and quiet. There is theory that introverts have to work a hundred times harder than extroverts who seem able to navigate our confusing busy world.

I'm both so I can see both sides. The key is how we work together to create magic. Great teams need differing opinions and perspectives.

Kare Anderson shares her story as someone who suffered from chronic shyness and how she found the capacity to make change through her challenges to become an opportunity maker and how we can do the same.


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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

13 Lucky Thoughts

Step on a crack, break your momma’s back. Walk under a ladder and let the black cat cross your path. It’s just a number yet today being the 13th; millions will do whatever they can to avoid its apparent unluckiness.

I believe leadership is 10% about the work and 90% about the people and those times when we appear to have been lucky quite often are the culmination of a lot of help from others. Some don’t believe in luck at all.

In keeping with the spirit of today, here are 13 inspirational ideas.

If you want more luck, take more chances, be more active, show up more often.
Brian Tracy

The deepest thing in any one is the conviction of the bad luck that follows boasting.
Gertrude Stein

The meeting of preparation with opportunity generates the offspring we call luck.
Tony Robbins

Good luck is a residue of preparation.
Jack Youngblood

If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.
Maya Angelou

I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.
Stephen Leacock

The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act.
Barbara Sher

Luck is believing you 're lucky.
Tennessee Williams

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

When it comes to luck, you make your own.
Bruce Springsteen

Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction.
Melinda Gates

Diligence is the mother of good luck.
Benjamin Franklin

Good luck!

Kneale Mann

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