Category: 5 Share Friday

1. Quote I’m pondering this week “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”Steve Jobs

2. I’ve been travelling again and in this week’s Unity office they have Kombucha in the fridge, for free! I’ve been downing the gingerade one each day and it tastes great. If you haven’t looked at fermenting at home or buying fermented drinks like Kombucha it’s worth investigating. Some of the health benefits are widely exaggerated though there are some great ones, and it tastes fabulous!

3. What I’m reading – Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant. A terrific book on resilience, gratitude and finding joy after adversity. It’s full of stories of grief and hard times, yet it’s a wonderful read. Its focus is on moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks. I’ll be recommending this one to everyone I know.

4. A friend shared that Yales most popular course in its 316 year history was introduced this year, the subject matter? Psychology and the Good Life. That’s right, students want to learn and practice how to be happy. It’s even being included as a Coursera course, rebranded as The Science of Well-Being.

5. I’ve been listening to the Beatles a lot this week, particularly the anthologies as they contain unedited versions with mistakes. It’s hilarious to hear them together, proof it takes team work to make the dream work. I’ve also been listening to Beatles covers where my favourite is a song from John Lennon‘s Bob Dylan period – Hey You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away –  The cover linked here is particularly good. Possibly better than the original as it’s been sped up and feels more upbeat, give it a listen.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

1. Quote I’ve been pondering this week ”A ship is safe in harbour, but that’s not what ships are for.” – John A. Shedd 

2. Best purchase this week – Native union key cable. I’ve tended to forget my iPhone charge cable when I travel so I’ve invested in this and it’s amazing! They do a version for most phone connectors. It’s simply brilliant and I’ll never have to worry about a phone charger again.

3. My son Mack has started oil pulling each day and I’ve started too. We use coconut oil as it seems to be the healthiest option with no down sides if done correctly. Why do oil pulling? The benefits are amazing! We’re doing it to reduce bacteria and plaque build up, it also gives fresh breath. If you’re going to do it then please research and practice, as doing it incorrectly can negate the benefits.

4. I keep my phone away from where I sleep, both at home and when travelling. It’s becoming more difficult to do when travelling however, as many hotels have ceased to supply alarm clocks (as everyone has phones..). So I purchased this little beauty. It’s tiny, silent (no ticking) and has a loud alarm in case you wear ear plugs to drown out air con and other noise. I won’t be travelling without it again.

5. A friend shared the Ecosia search engine with me this week. The profit they make from searches is used to plant trees. I’ve been using it for a few days and so far haven’t needed Google at all. There’s even an app for iOS and Android, check it out and plant trees while searching..

I hope you have a great weekend and if you’re in Europe enjoy the April sun!

1. Quote I’m pondering this week “Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.” – Margaret Shepherd

2. App I’ve been using – 1Blocker on my iPhone. It’s an amazing content blocker and now on all my Apple devices. I use the paid version I’m so impressed. If you have an Android device there’s an alternative called Ghostery which receives great reviews.

3. Change the world – Only 15 days to world wide Pay it Forward Day. April 28th sees this initiative hoping to make a difference by creating a huge ripple of kindness. Visit the website and see a list of things you can do to help change the world that day.

4. I’ve been enjoying the latest issue of Flow magazine. A magazine celebrating creativity, imperfection and life’s little pleasures. It’s an inspiring read covering topics such as freedom, love and the simple life. Good news is you can subscribe from anywhere in the world.

5. Happiness – If you saw my post here you’ll know I’m moving to Denmark in June. Denmark is the 3rd happiest country in the world (US is ranked 18th and UK 19th). As such, I’ve been reading this year’s World Happiness report, it’s a fascinating read and you can find it here: http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2018/

Have a great weekend!

1. Quote I’ve been pondering this week “To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.” – H. Jackson Brown

2. In my continuous quest for music to help productivity, I’ve found an interesting article on Thriveglobal. I’ve been listening to the epic music from that link, which so far is a welcome change to the movie soundtracks and Mozart I’ve been listening to. Check it out, you might just increase your productivity.

3. I read an inspiring New York Times article on choosing love (it’ll make you smile). There seems to be a necessary kind of magic in the beginning, one where two people meet and don’t control the chemistry of attraction, then it’s over to us i.e love is actually something we do. It’s not common for people to meet and have all the ingredients for love. It does happen though and when it does it’s usually long lasting – the magical ingredients seem to be meeting someone who brings out the real you, the person you want to be but forgot. Meeting someone you’re attracted to (including intellectually), someone where the more time you spend with them the more time you want to spend with them, and someone who makes you feel alive, alive in a way you pivot your life and it changes forever. If you think that sounds like nonsense then you’ve probably not met that person yet. If you have met them then congratulations, you’ve won the best lottery there is! Just don’t forget to take action as love is something you do.

4. I signed this online petition to fix Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg is standing before Congress this week (this vanity fair article is good). I’m sure he wants to do the right thing, let’s help him. I Love this tag line from the petition “Facebook’s motto used to be Move Fast and Break Things. Now you need to Move Fast and Fix Things.”

5. A new podcast I’m liking more with each episode is from my favourite organisational psychologist Adam Grant (his book Originals is fantastic). Worklife – is a short form podcast about seeing your work, coworkers and workplace differently. I’ve heard enough episodes to like it, I hope you like it too.

Enjoy your weekend!