Are You Ready?

“It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” Hugh Laurie 

The second anniversary is not far off. It was the day we heard the phrase - Global Pandemic. It began somewhere far away and quickly became something every human on the planet deals with every day. The coronavirus, Covid-19, variants, vaccines, masks, protests, economies, it's all been too much and we're not out of the woods.

Are We Ready? 

When I was a kid, my parents would try and tell me to enjoy life and not get too caught up in the minutiae. I was always close to my mom, but during the last few years of her life, we had even better conversations about her life, my life, and life in general. This is a woman who put me, my sister, and my dad on her back and somehow got us through. She worked from the age of 14 until she retired at 71. She passed away in August 2020 mere months after this global crisis began. She was born during the second world war and died during the worst human crisis in over a century. 

If I had told mom I wanted to be a clown in a rodeo, she would have told me to be the best clown any rodeo has ever had with no judgement. The pandemic has made me more reflective and I put my words to actions late last year when I took another leap in my professional life. I took a shot at something I'd never done before and so far so good. In fact, it's been excellent. Mom was right; don't worry about what others think.

Let's Stop Comparing 

One of the most overused cliches is that no one will wish they had spent more time at the office as they take their last breath. How do we know that? And if we replaced the phrase "at the office" with "going for it", that's a more powerful statement. As Mr. Laurie says, why wait until we're ready to do anything because we'll never be ready. The world has forever changed and normal left the building in March 2020. So let's take the leap.

If we're waiting for a sign, it's right in front of us. Change your career, get out of that crappy relationship, buy the damn car, if you like the hat then wear the hat, eat the cookie, stop overthinking everything. If you want that relationship, go for it. If you want to try that new job, don't wait for an invitation. Put the mobile device or laptop down and do it before you are ready. 

If we're never ready, then why are we waiting?

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Eat Play Love

Move more. Envy less. Sing more. Cling less. Accomplish more. Show less. Complain less. Live more. Compare less. Contribute more. Annoy less. Enjoy more. Worry less.

Fulfill more. Take less. Focus more. Talk less. Start more. Eat less. Laugh more. Work less. Give more. Regret less. See more. Ignore less. Progress more. Criticize less. Invent more. Renounce less. Embrace more. Spend less. Share more. Measure less.

Collaborate more. Upset less. Dream more. Irritate less. Write more. Doubt less. Read more. Whine less. Accomplish more. Drink less.

Listen more. Waste less. Smile more. Own less. Learn more. Say less. Help more. Use less. Connect more. Stop less. Play more. Hope less. Communicate more. Skim less.

Thank more. Fret less. View more. Reflect less. Originate more. Copy less.

Do more. Love more. Share more.
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Balancing Act

We’ve heard it for decades – we need a healthy balance between work and life. Family, sports, hobbies, down time, relaxing, all the stuff we enjoy doing outside of work are some of the reasons we go to work so we can afford such luxuries. Nigel Marsh shares some ideas of how we can tackle this critical issue.


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Striking a Balance

We’ve heard it for decades – we need a healthy balance between work and life. Family, sports, hobbies, down time, relaxing, all the stuff we enjoy doing outside of work are some of the reasons we go to work so we can afford such luxuries.

As we struggle with the boundaries between work and life, Nigel Marsh shares some ideas of how we can tackle this critical issue.



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Work Life Energy Balance

We’ve heard it for decades – we need a healthy balance between work and life. Family, sports, hobbies, down time, relaxing, all the stuff we enjoy doing outside of work are some of the reasons we go to work so we can afford the luxury of such activities.

We’re all going to die so there’s no sense immersing ourselves in a work-work imbalance. If you are working long hours at a job you hate, it’s time to look hard at alternatives. That is no way to live.

But as we struggle with the boundaries between work and our lives, Nigel Marsh shares some ideas of how we can tackle this critical issue.

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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Progress

TED | Nigel Marsh

14 Ideas for 2014 : More or Less

Today is just another day on the calendar, right? But its placement gives it prominence and symbolism. It is the beginning of the month that we often say we’re going to get to that revised plan, the new idea, and those undone items.

Welcome to the magical month we lob all things procrastinated from last year to be mysteriously swept up by the get it all done goblins all neat and tidy in a pretty bow. Of course I'm kidding, but we often push things until the New Year. Well, here we are.

Here are some suggestions for 2014, more or less;

• Complain less. Do more.
• Worry less. Inspire more.
• Look back less. Self trust more.
• Compare less. Share more.
• Doubt less. Create more.
• Stop less. Listen more.
• Discuss going for it less.
• Actually go for it more.

Let’s make 2014 a great one!
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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

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Let’s Be More Foolish

For many, this is a reflective time of year. While we look at the best and worst of 2011, the world lost Steve Jobs. He wasn't superhero. He was a man full of flaws like all of us who simply tried stuff he thought about trying and the result was a cool organization, an animation company, thousands of forward thinking creative people and millions of evangelistic customers around the world. You're sitting on that idea, you've always wanted to try that concept. Why wait?

Let's turn reflection into action


Kneale Mann

visual credit: stanford