Race Cars and Rock Stars

When I was a kid, I could entertain myself for hours; sometimes entire days, with my books, music, and toys. I had a good childhood. Then I met my first love which was hockey. I was hooked for the next decade and a half reading books about it, playing whenever and wherever I could. And despite my mother's disappointment, I was never going to be the starting goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

We were middle middle-class. My folks probably lived paycheck to paycheck most of the time. But they always found a way to put food on the table, pay the bills, and get my sister and I cool gifts at Christmas. Nothing about my life is a story for the ages.

Fender Telecaster and a set of Pilot Sport Cup 2s

There is something strange that humans possess which no other beings experience and that is a yearning for more. Our cat doesn't spend her days wishing she was a panther. She is a content companion who thinks we are awesome because we give her food a few times a day and a comfy place to nap all afternoon.

Sometimes I watch super car channels on YouTube and imagine owning a Bugatti Chiron, but I don't then spend the next two hours being depressed I will never have one. I don't listen to music wishing I was the rock star either. If we're unhappy, money in the bank, adoring fans, and a $3 million hyper car in the garage won't help.

The reason for our unhappiness is often because we can't define what will make us happy instead of looking at what is good in our lives that already brings happiness.

But I will take the Chiron in navy blue, thanks.

_________________________________________________________________

What Makes You Happy?

Make more money, have more time, buy more things, all seem to be what we think are linked to happiness. Matt Killingsworth has been studying what makes us happy.

It's not what you may think.


__________________________________________________________________

A Living or A Life?

We can pretend that work is one part of our lives and life is the other but we live a blended existence. It’s the second question most people ask when we meet them – what do you do for a living? A living? Is that where we’ve come? We get paid to provide a service and we call that a living. I’m not sure if that’s sad or a reflection of how far we have gotten off track.

Perhaps the perfect scenario is you work at something you truly enjoy; watch the Alan Watts video I posted recently and it might give you insight into what will do it for you.

Last week I had lunch with a colleague I hadn't seen in years and he reflected on the time he sold his brand new car because he realized he bought it to get to work to pay for it to get to work to pay for it. He stressed about the payments and it affected his work and then his life. He replaced the car with a bicycle.

Show me the Money

I have another friend who says he’s stuck in a bad relationship because he doesn’t want to lose his life’s savings. How sad is that. I wonder where that will be on his list of life’s passions and enjoyment as he takes his final breaths.

I’m often asked by clients and prospects how I can help them. The bigger question is understanding why they do what they do and what they want to accomplish. If there were easy answers and instant results, we’d all be millionaires.

Transformation Imminent

If we’re running a company that isn’t doing as well as it should, if we’re in relationships that aren’t making us happy, if we’re in a job that is restraining us from our true gifts, or if we’re simply unhappy where were are, what should we do? Or better stated, what are we prepared to do to change it?

The late Jim Rohn once said; “Your life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by change”. And the change needs to start with ourselves. I’m as guilty as you in the making excuses department.

Let’s start making a living not a paycheck.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

Shiny Things

Make your numbers, finish that task, meet that deadline, the cycle continues as we race to some unknown finish line that keeps moving in the wrong direction. Our impatience is creating less efficiency. The faster we go the slower we get things accomplished.

Matt Killingsworth has been studying what makes us happy and explains some of his findings in his TEDx Talk. This video is only 10 minutes long so hopefully your mind won't wander too much.

Squirrel!


__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture strategist, writer, speaker, executive coach engaging leaders, collaborative teams, and strong business results.

Our Distracted Minds

Other than our ability to reason and opposable thumbs we humans certainly do spend a lot of our precious time worrying about stuff that has happened or may never happen. Eckhart Tolle says we spend most of our time thinking of the past and the future and very little on the moment we’re in right now.

Make more money, have more time, buy more things, all seem to be what we think are linked to happiness. There is ample data proving that is untrue.

What Was That?

Another fact is our inability to fully focus. We spend a lot of our time thinking about other things other than what we're doing. Think about that as you become a better leader. Half of your team may not be paying attention at any given moment.

Matt Killingsworth has been studying what makes us happy and explains some of his findings in his 2011 TEDx Talk. This video is only 10 minutes long so hopefully your mind won't wander too much.


Kneale Mann

TEDx | Matt Killingsworth