La crise, quelle crise ?

Auteur/autrice : marc

  • The only thing you can control is you…

    The only thing you can control is you…

    Your Hump Day Success Edge Post #1

    Today’s inspiration comes from Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s COO. During a presentation on Monday, he used this quote: « the only thing you can control is you, the only thing you cannot control is everything else ». When you reflect on this, you realize it’s common sense on one side, but really powerful when you’re interested in learning and growing. Do the Iowa results have an effect on what you do and think? If you’re in politics and your career depends on it, may be. Otherwise? Can you control what Cruz or Clinton will do? Probably not. Even Bill does not control Hillary! Joke aside, focusing on what you can control is the best, if not the only way, of creating a better you.

    https://unsplash.com/pawelkadysz
    https://unsplash.com/pawelkadysz

    Of course, you can argue that you can control any kind of machinery, your car or your direct reports, for instance. However, think for a moment. What if something breaks in your machine or car, what if one of your direct reports is sick? Can you still control them? The only thing you can really control is you, you are in charge of your actions and your emotions, and it’s within your power and decision to take control of your actions and emotions. Once you let go what is around you that you have no effect on, you can concentrate on what matters really: becoming a better you, to serve better others!

  • Your Hump Day Success Edge

    Your Hump Day Success Edge

    You open a newspaper, it’s all about politics, war, and horrors. Between lies from politicians, finance institutions ripping off your savings, and big corporation making billions, it seems the world is going down to the cellar. However, there are millions of individuals who have understood the underlying forces of success, who are living successful lives, and who seem to go through difficulties with ease. This is what I’m interested in. As a successful entrepreneur and professional, I’ve gone through tough days, weeks, months and years, gone through tremendous successes, and leveraged all my experience to continue to strive in whatever I start and do.

    I created this blog after the financial crisis of 2008 (if you are still wondering what happened, go and watch The Big Short) because I was fed up of all the negativity that was floating around. Yes, the financial system is rotten. Yes, politicians are corrupted. Yes, we can see the world is killing itself. Or we can be optimistic while not delusional, we can build on positive thoughts and actions, we can put a brick in the wall of the new world. And this is what I want to help people with, through this blog and my new resolution for the year: the hump day success edge.

    For non-English natives, hump day is Wednesday. Why hump day? From urbandictionary.com, hump day comes from « the context of climbing a proverbial hill to get through a tough week ». Therefore, the hump day is the best day of the week, because the weekend gets closer. However, I see this has the pinnacle of the week, the day of hope, of maximum energy. And because I want ultimate success, this is the best day to stop for 15 minutes and reflect on our lives, loves and craft. So this year, I will, every Wednesday, write on what can make each of us more successful in every aspect of our personal and professional lives. Simple no non-sense ideas, easy to execute, and game-changing.

    Get ready for the Hump Day Success Edge! Live February 3!

  • How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable: 7 Tips for Having More Productive Discussions by HubSpot

    https://unsplash.com/martz90
    https://unsplash.com/martz90

    In our professional lives, we may not agree every time with others. Sometimes, we may be right, sometime we are wrong. But overall, it’s not because we disagree that we need to be « disagreeable ». This post from HubSpot goes over 7 tips to agree to disagree without being nasty. Those 7 advices are:

    1. Be mindful of your tone. No need to get angry, your ideas can go their own way by respecting other people’s idea. No need to yell or shout, stay courteous.
    2. Don’t use « you » statements. You do not want to judge the person, but to challenge her ideas. No need to point finger at the other party by using « you ».
    3. Avoid filler words or hesitant phrases. In other words: be brief, be bright, be gone!
    4. Do your research. Want to make a point? Facts, facts, facts. Less stories, more tangible facts.
    5. Don’t get personal. As with point number two, don’t point finger, don’t fill pointed finger at. Stay at idea and fact level.
    6. Be mindful of your body language. You mouth say something, but your body may say the opposite. Align yourself mentally and physically.
    7. Know your non-negotiables. Do not compromise on something you truly believe in, it will bite back later.

    This may seem common sense to many people, and yes, it is, but common sense is unfortunately lost this days too frequently. So next time, you disagree and want to find the right decision for both parties, have a look at those seven advices and… good luck!

     

  • Is dropping the jack planned obsolescence? A simple view and behavior on progress

    Is dropping the jack planned obsolescence? A simple view and behavior on progress

    Intrigued by the title, wondering what jack I’m talking about? Let’s define two words (stay with me, it’s gonna be fun and provocative):

    • Jack: in the context of this post, it’s a plug. There’s a good chance you are using one if you have a wired headset for your phone or mp3 player.
    • Planned obsolescence: « in industrial design and economics is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life, so it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time », wipikedia.org.

    With this in mind, when there’s rumor that Apple is going to drop the jack connector on the coming iPhone 7, is this planned obsolescence? Some opponents to this choice claim that yes, I think the opposite, it’s not planned obsolescence, it’s progress. From the day we are born, until the day we are dead, we tend to want to progress, to make the next day better that the one we just lived. Although there are multiple way to do this, technical progress is one of them. Do you think that the electronics used to perform cardiac surgery has planned obsolescence and this is bad?

    If I think planned obsolescence, per se, is bad because it forces consumption of more and more devices and increased pollution, all this can be managed. First by managing what you do with your electronics. Almost all electronics devices can be recycled, and more will be as environment laws will become more stringent and customers will become more conscious of the impact their behaviors have. Second by taking care of all your objects. Maintenance prolongs life of any objects. For example, if you have a car, you bring it back for service maintenance so it continues to work well, do the same with all your electronics. Third, by not listening to all the commercials out there.

    We all know marketing is there to make you purchase the latest smartphone, tablet, or other gadget. But YOU decide. You can decide to keep your device one more year, but just thinking about three simple things:

    1. It’s hype not to follow the herds of early adopters who spend a premium to get the new thing.
    2. Purchasing the new toy triggers a shot of dopamine in your brain, so it’s not about the new toy, it’s about the shot of dopamine your body wants. Dopamine is known as the reward neurotransmitter, it makes you feel good, it’s also highly addictive.
    3. The new toy, like all toys, will be old very soon and there are huge chances you’ll get bored and will use the new toy as you were using the old one.

    I’m not saying you should not purchase the latest technology, I’m saying you should do it knowing what you do. You should do it understanding how to recycle the old. You should do it knowing curiosity and progress is inherent to our nature, and be happy to be able to live this incredible life. So is dropping the jack planned obsolescence? No, it’s not, it’s progress, it needs to be well managed for the present and future of mankind.

    What do you think?

  • Le développement personnel, pour qui, pour quoi ?

    yogaNous sommes tous plus ou moins à la recherche d’outils, de méthodes ou d’astuces pour se sentir mieux, être plus efficace ou développer ses capacités. Le terme « développement personnel » est devenu de ce fait un fourre-tout. Véritable industrie de nos jours, on y trouve autant de charlatans que de véritables professionnels.

    Matthieu Ricard nous interpelle dans cet article intitulé le développement personnel, pour qui, pour quoi ? inspiré par le livre qu’il a co-écrit avec un philosophe, Alexandre Jollien , et un psychologue, Christophe André.

    Il remet en perspective ce fameux « développement personnel », dans la dimension de notre rapport aux autres et des efforts à entreprendre pour devenir un meilleur être humain. Un texte tout court, qui fait réfléchir par delà les religions, les philosophies ou techniques de développement personnel.