Exploring the creativity of the human spirit with just five simple questions. Those questions give us a window to explore the journey and life story of people that look like they have it sorted.
Episodes
Sunday Jun 04, 2023
Sunday Jun 04, 2023
Where is your assumptions and bias? To be fare it is a trick question because we all have them. We all have a natural bias, and it’s almost impossible to get ride of them unless we make a conscious effort to be become aware.
We live in a world of bias Media, Political and Culture all have inherrant bias, the currents trend of AI have been found to have a racial bias
In this show we explore my first world problem and how cognitive bias has made it worse. How 90% of the biggest projects fail in terms of cost and delivery due to leadership bias.
It is a big subject and I will let you in to a little secret, it is all related to beliefs, story and how our brains like to work with the maxinium of efficiency.
Assumption and Bias is a serious issue and thankfully there is an awareness in the world, hence we have regulation for sex and race descrinination. But that does not stop it happening.
The bigger issue is you, your decision making and the need to be right or the smartest person in the room. I am with you there, we all like to be right.
I regularly make biased decisions, we all do while shopping for food in the supermarket. That is brand loyalty for you.
But what about those big expansion plans for the business or that new operation are you making assumption about.
In this show we offer ideas to test your bias, drill down and see where they came from.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Words for a good life. The power of words to move us should never be underestimated. I finally sat down with my wife to plan my funeral this week, and wow, what an adventure. Talking this through with my wife was strangle liberating. I have never felt so loved.
The show is not about my funeral but my relationship with a piece of text I first discovered in my late 20s. Do you have a special poem or piece of writing that moves you?
Ok to put the record straight I have no intention of shuffling off just yet, but preparation is everything and leaving a document for my family to follow does give them something to use or build on once I have passed.
A bit if context my wife is training to be an interfaith minister and she had to complete a funeral assignment, and it was decided with my agreement that I would be a good candidate for her.
Personally I think It made it a more challenging exercise, in our conversation we looked at the practical process or getting rid of my body. We have found a beautiful green burial ground. Burning my body will release far too much carbon.
The moving part of the exercise was music and words.
I suddenly remembered. Desiderata
I discovered it in my late 20s and rereading it made me realise that I have been on a mission of life, Passion and business for over 30 years. This peace speaks to me it is almost my 10 commandants for life.
The full text is below.
Words for a Good Life
On the show, we explore
How connecting through text like this is so powerful.
How life is in 3 acts
There is also some news and a free offer
It will be of interest for those with business interests. It is near the end if your want to skip through.
Here is the link to Jane's show
https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/jane-duncan-roger-before-i-go/
Desiderata:
This is the original text from the book where Desiderata was first published.
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
by Max Ehrmann ©1927
Sunday May 28, 2023
Sunday May 28, 2023
Is it possible to find the meaning of life, or is that life a grail quest? Many philosophers have wrangled over this question, and millions of words have been written. But does any of it matter?
In the show, I am exploring this question of the meaning, how it changed my life and how it could change yours.
Many people travel life’s journey without consideration for the question and live perfectly happily. I suspect they have found meaning but never needed to define it, and they just live it.
Society has shifted in the last 70 years with the passing of deference and the significance of organised religion. In the UK, church membership and participation are at an all-time low. In the past, the church offered an answer to our quest for meaning.
Without the framework of the church and its community, people find themselves searching for something else.
Simon Sinek said to start with Why
He was struggling with life and went on a journey before to make sense of his path, and I did the same with the podcast. So after 400-plus podcast conversations, I have been privileged to explore that question and received possibly an equal number of different answers.
So here is the simple answer
There is no meaning to life other than the meaning you choose to give it.
That statement contains both freedom and a curse. In this show, I reveal the formula for finding meaning in your life and why it can be difficult to find or live with.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday May 14, 2023
Sunday May 14, 2023
What happens when the story meets reality? Because we can believe whatever we want, but there are times when the vision and the picture do not align.
I had a very visceral example of that on Saturday.
If you have been following me for a while, you know that I have a passion for running. It gives some meaning to my life because, when I run it brings my mind and my body together in one place operating in harmony.
So I’ve been training to run my fastest ever 10K, if you saw my socials or you’re on my list, you’d have heard the story about how I have an unofficial time and what to beat it will and official time.
I did first 10K was back in 2018 at 51:55, I did and unofficial race in 2021 at 48:51 and last year I did a local race at 50:01
Now father time is working against me, I am nearly 60. But I had trained hard, and I had a story in my head where I could get a sub-47-minute time. I had a vision in my head where I could see myself achieving it.
The Story Meets Reality
The Story Meet Reality
But the reality on the day was very different, it was way hotter than I was expecting.
This podcast is my journey through that process. It’s about how we stay focused but at the same time allow for the reality of the situation and take it as information rather than failure.
Because everything we experience is new information to be taken forward for the next experience. So spoiler alert I didn’t make the time I was looking for I got 49:19.
There is a bigger concern. However, for that, you’ll need to listen to the podcast.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday May 07, 2023
Sunday May 07, 2023
The crowning of a king happened this weekend. Tomorrow is a public holiday for some in the UK. I am not going to get all royal on you, but occasions like these allow the opportunity to explore the deeper meaning of these events.
I will bring you back to look at your sense of meaning on this show, by looking at the crowning of a king and exploring the value of our actions. When a sense of meaning drives our path or activity, it brings a whole new sense of purpose.
We all experience life as a series of thoughts and feelings. Rarely do we explore how it sits with us or ask what it means or says about us.
I started this podcast because of my search for meaning. When it is missing, life can become hollow and a bit Meh.
Over the last 50 years, we have been set free from the age of deference, and many have left the institutions or faiths the extolled values from which to live.
That freedom is lovely, but with it comes a responsibility to live your own life.
In this show, we explore the options and how you might find more meaning in the life you choose to lead.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Apr 30, 2023
Sunday Apr 30, 2023
How do we reignite our passion and kindle the fire for life and all that it offers? Last weekend I heard a poem, it was a reading at the Sunday singing circle. I knew it was something valuable to share with you, as it speaks so much to the journey that we experience.
It is called “ What to Remember When Waking”. by David Whyte. (I have copied it below.)
These words are about the transition on waking because there is a world of the dreamscape where everything is possible, and as we return each morning, there is that moment of transition when our worlds blend.
This morning I had the sense that at birth, we are filled like a cup with excitement and desire. I remember our toddler bursting out of bed to get to his toys and seize the day. There is no need for kindling. Youth has enough fire of its own, there was more on these thoughts but not for today.
In this show, we explore where desire goes.
Lets explore where desire goes and how it is possible to bring it back, to kindle the fire, that small flame of intention and see it become the dazzling blaze of our dreams.
The poem reminds us not to be small; it is one of the thousands of similar texts that remind us to be open and seek opportunity.
“What shape lies in the seed of you, to grow and spread it branches against a future sky”
I love that line, it is about dreaming into the future and seeing the impossible become possible.
Remember if you need help in finding your future sky, to kindle the fire do reach out.
The poem is below.
What to Remember When Waking by David Whyte
In that first hardly noticed moment in which you wake,
coming back to this life from the other
more secret, moveable and frighteningly honest world
where everything began,
there is a small opening into the new day
which closes the moment you begin your plans.
What you can plan is too small for you to live.
What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough
for the vitality hidden in your sleep.
To be human is to become visible
while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
To remember the other world in this world
is to live in your true inheritance.
You are not a troubled guest on this earth,
you are not an accident amidst other accidents
you were invited from another and greater night
than the one from which you have just emerged
Now, looking through the slanting light of the morning window
toward the mountain presence of everything that can be
what urgency calls you to your one love?
What shape waits in the seed of you
to grow and spread its branches
against a future sky?
Is it waiting in the fertile sea?
In the trees beyond the house?
In the life you can imagine for yourself?
In the open and lovely white page on the writing desk?
from The House of Belonging, Many Rivers Press
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Apr 23, 2023
Sunday Apr 23, 2023
The eulogy. It’s funny we spend a lot of time avoiding the idea that life will end. So why should you take time out to consider your eulogy when it’s not you that has to deliver it?
Because it is your legacy.
Today's podcast considers what people will say about you when you are gone. The eulogy exercise is a powerful tool that Stephen Covey created in his book The seven habits of highly effective people. It is a process that has been copied and repeated in numerous books and courses. Because it is such a fantastic tool for getting to the hub of who you are and what you want to get out of this life.
So on this show, we explore why exercise is essential, which fits in with this idea of creating and living the story. The process lets us go forward and predict what we want people to say about us.
We get to look at our current life and ask, does what I’m living now get me to that conversation about my life?
Are You On Track?
If it does not, you get the opportunity to change it, rewrite the story, and live it all to the full.
My wife precipitated this exploration as we explored what our funerals would be like. It is part of the training to be an interfaith minister, creating a living funeral.
It sounds morbid, but it is a brilliant thing to do because when you are gone, your family have a copy of your funeral created by you. They can get on with grieving and giving you a good send-off without the stress of planning for it.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
Sunday Apr 16, 2023
Finding purpose is almost a universal cry. We all want our lives to be valid, meaningful and worthwhile. But most of us want it to be revealed in a blinding light or burning bush moment. You might be one of the lucky ones, but for most of us, it will not happen like that.
In this show, we explore that path to that revelation and give you some tools to start your journey. Yes, like everything, there is no free ticket.
I was lucky this week to attend an event called Finding your purpose. Bit of a fluke; some friends were going, so we decided to tag along. It was hosted by the Findhorn Foundation and featured Robert Holden in the UK with Caroline Myss and David Spangler in the US.
Thousands of Book About Finding Purpose
They had a slightly different take on finding a purpose and have been working with it for many years. What is clear is that there are thousands of books on this subject, and that itself is a clue because finding a purpose or cause is a universal need.
One aspect they all agreed upon was that your purpose always happens whether you are conscious of it, and it is unlikely to be revealed in a blinding flash unless you are creating the light.
Another factor of finding purpose is the unbreakable link with meaning, which is about choosing something. We must decide what gives our life meaning, then find ways to express that meaning in alignment with values, and there is the purpose.
It is worth remembering that this podcast started out of my desire to find more meaning and purpose and a reason to live for the next 30 years.
On the show, I draw together my thought and experiences of my purpose and give you a few tools to move you forward on your journey to that grail.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Apr 09, 2023
Sunday Apr 09, 2023
On this show, we explore how success became a cult. I have been in the digital space since the beginning. There have always been gurus promising six-figure business models and setting their authority in the space with the trapping perceived wealth.
In the show, we explore how you can find and discover the true meaning of success, and it will be different for every one of us.
A story broke this week about a cult that was using coaching to entrap and convince members to pay them loads of money and leave their families. That is not coaching. It might be using tools, but it is manipulation on the deepest level.
But I can understand how it happened because it would tie into the Cult of success. Which has always been about having the toys and trapping that make us look successful
It is the glamorisation of overwork as the badge of success, the acquisition of stuff, cars, house, posh locations, the travel. While all of these things (apart from the overwork) are exciting, they are success metrics outside us. They are fun and addictive, but asking many who get there, it doesn’t feel like an achievement.
So how do we define success for ourselves?
It’s something that I have discussed on the podcast every single week when we talk to guests about their success model.
The thread that comes through from all the conversations I had over the last five years is.
When we can truly find our purpose, “The WHY” it will be the thing that we always do and are meant to be doing.
If we can express it in the world in a form that aligns with our values and the story that we believe to be true for our life.
That is the path to true success, happiness and wealth.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Apr 02, 2023
Sunday Apr 02, 2023
Exploring dreams to reality. I have been looking at this idea of the what if. And that what’s possible or wouldn’t that be amazing. Now when you do that kind of work, it creates a list of what could be considered dreams and wishes. Some will look like they are almost impossible and others are miracles. And yet there will be a way.
The point is with a list of amazing things completing one or two would feel more than amazing. In this podcast we’re going to explore what you do with your dream list, and how you begin to take something forward and make it a reality.
Now let’s be realistic if it’s a dream is never going to be easy and there’s no guarantee of success, but unless we try to move something forward, there will never be any success.
Plus it does expose an interesting question, how do we define success because that can lead us down some very strange rabbit holes. In this podcast, we are going to explore how you can start to move the needle on these amazing ideas you’ve had and how you can avoid the pitfalls of choosing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons.
Dreams to Reality is a Springboard
The point is if we are choosing a dream because it would lead to something else, be the springboard to the next dream. Something else is definitely going to be more important than this dream we are trying to achieve.
Another exciting aspect of exploring dreams. When we create a list quite often some of the things are already part of our current plan and thinking big often resolves the small.
So there it is explore your dreams and everything else will fall into place nicely.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Mar 26, 2023
Sunday Mar 26, 2023
Have you ever thought wouldn’t it be cool if? Or wouldn’t it be fantastic or even incredible? These are statements of possibility; they are the precursor to a dream or goal.
On this show, I am exploring the power of allowing the mind to wonder and open up to possibilities by using a simple question and following it through.
I speak to many people throughout my week, and one thing that stands out is how we have become blocked by the process of life. Try it with your friends, and ask about their dreams. They might have one or two, but most will shrug that aside or brush it off as silly. We have lost the ability to really wonder and explore crazy possibility.
Wouldn’t it be cool if, is the precursor to a dream or goal.
Scanning my bookshelf for inspiration this week, I picked up the book by Michael Neill, “Creating the impossible” it is a 90-day process to get dreams out of the head and into reality. It’s been on the shelf for a few years, I have read part one, but part 2 is like one of those courses you buy and never action.
That is not entirely true; I have dibbed in and out a few times but have yet to give it my full attention. The book uses the three principles, a philosophy that speaks to me, but is hard to describe. I have wanted to do a podcast on the subject many times, but I don’t have the words.
In part 2 of the book, the day 1 exercise is making a list of wouldn’t it be cool? That reminded me of Karen Darke and our conversation before her poles of possibility project. She has this phrase. Wouldn’t it be awesome?
She has been on the show once and was a guest at one of our events. The link to her podcast is here
The wouldn't list exercise is so worth a go; you never know what you might discover.
Here is a link to the book with Micheal Neill
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Mar 19, 2023
Sunday Mar 19, 2023
Belief and greatness, what has one got to do with the other? When we do not believe we will be great at the task in front of us, it will not run smoothly.
My reflection today is on the point of preparation. If there is something that we want to achieve, we got to put in the work to make that process go easy and go with the flow.
So on this show, we discuss what that looks like, why it is so important, and what happens when we don’t prepare.
It is funny how as adults, we tend to think that we can just do important stuff. Yet when we were in education and about to sit an exam, we would prepare, and we would revise.
When I’m standing at the start line of a race, I’m there because I know I’ve done the preparation. I cannot expect the results that I want unless I have done the work.
Now, what does preparation look like, particularly around the belief? It’s about bringing the energy of the future into the present.
Difficult tasks will need preparation; by breaking them into smaller steps, creating a plan, and staying focused and positive With belief and greatness, you can increase your chances of success.
If you need help, there is always focus coaching.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Mar 12, 2023
Sunday Mar 12, 2023
In tune with what? Are you in tune with life? The question for this podcast is, where do you sit with being in the flow of life, and are you using your intuition?
On this show, we are exploring the benefit of being in the flow, in tune with the energy of life. If that feels a bit woo-woo, consider this. A dog will get excited well before their owner pulls into the drive. Birds fly thousands of miles, even returning to the same location year after year. We don’t call that woo-woo or strange it is just nature.
What if your intuition was just nature?
Back in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the podcast was almost two years old, and I was reviewing the journey. There were patterns, so many guests would talk about intuition or having a gut feeling when making big choices or decisions in life.
They were connecting to something greater than the sum of its parts.
It was so common that my wife was inspired to create an event around the topic. We called it spiritdualty. It is a good piece of work with over 35 amazing conversations. ( check it out)
I have long said I live my life in flow, and I firmly believe that option is open to all willing to try. On the show, we explore some ideas on how you might connect with the flow of your life.
If you like to follow up on the shows mentioned
Lyn Robertson and lottery numbers
Jennifer Main Living in Alignment
Jennifer Main Empathic Initiator
The event Spiritduality is in the event tab at the website.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Mar 05, 2023
Sunday Mar 05, 2023
What is the AI question? In case you missed the news, Chatgbt arrived last month and, the potential of AI, went mainstream.
For those unfamiliar, ChatGBT (In its own words) is a large language model created by OpenAI. I am designed to understand natural language input and generate human-like responses in a wide range of topics.
It is a search engine that returns a human-like response to a question given. So why the fuss? Well, this is a learning system that will correct its mistakes so it can only improve.
In this shortcast, we explore how I see this technological development in the context of all that went before.
To be human is to communicate to share, to interact. For thousands of years, we have done this with stories, writing, books, music, and film. Each development eclipsed that past, but each required human input until now.
What is The AI Question
With AI’s growth, we enter a new phase of development where humans give up on creativity and become consumers of generated content.
We need to address the AI question before it starts to address us.
Am I overreacting? I put this question to Chat GBT, you can find its response at the website on this podcast page. But spoiler even chatGBT admits there are potential dangers.
No homework this week other than give this some thought, at some point, we are going to have to take some action lest we sleepwalk ourselves into extinction.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Sunday Feb 26, 2023
Sunday Feb 26, 2023
Are you writing it down? Our conversation on this show is about the value of writing and journaling. It is also about discovering the gold when we have an established writing practice.
I was in a session with a coach/facilitator some 30 years back. I concluded our discussion, and he asked why I was not writing down my discovery.
“If you are not writing it down, you choose not to remember.”
“It’s Ok. I will remember it.” That led to an explanation as to why our brains or minds are not trusted to recall ideas, agreements or essential information. Particularly if those thoughts contradict our set ideas or regular patterns of thinking.
The point is we remember what we want and not what is always essential.
I have been journaling on and off for over ten years, starting with morning pages from “The Artist’s Way” (Julia Cameron) and moving through various forms and styles until my current process, which is just a page of journaling, the bullet style.
A journal is a place to process stuff, explore ideas and ask questions. The spark for this conversation was the discovery of “Jour-mining” which is journal mining.
I discovered on Friday that I had not maintained the index for the last 20-plus entries. So on going back to read and update the index, I found a cornucopia of ideas and workflows for the podcast and Events I had written and just forgotten.
It brought home the importance of solid writing practice. Without that discipline, these thoughts would have been lost.
So do you have a writing practice? Are you writing it down?
In this podcast, I mention the Journal Writers Companion by Alyss Thomas
Check out the new video for Focus Coaching.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/