Expansive thinking, working hard, allowing space and ditching university

sent by Nick Grantham | 4th May 2021

"Where success is concerned people are not measured in inches, or pounds, or college degrees, or family background; they are measured by the size of their thinking."

David Schwartz

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Big picture thinking is the way forward. It's easy to get bogged down in the minutiae (the small, precise and often trivial details of something). I know this may fly in the face of the 'marginal gains' philosophy espoused by many in performance sport, but I've said for years, people often spend so much time worrying about one percent they forget to take care of the other ninety-nine. Take some time to step back from your project and take a big-picture view. It will bring wholeness to your thinking, and you'll get a brand new perspective on a problem that you were looking at far too closely. Start looking at problems expansively.

Source: How Successful People Think by John C Maxwell


"The wise man, even when he holds his tongue, says more than a fool when he speaks."

Thomas Fuller

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This week I spoke to a group of aspiring S&C coaches currently enrolled on the S&C route of the Supporting Champions Applied Practitioner Programme about the importance of keeping their powder dry when coaching. Coaches often feel that they're only doing a good job if they provide a running commentary during their training sessions. But I think the exact opposite is true. The best coaches, say the least. They allow space during a training session. They don't try to show how much they know or answer every question for the athlete. So the next time you're coaching, embrace the silence because even when you say nothing, you'll be making more sense than the coach next to you with a bad case of verbal diarrhoea!

Source: Thomas Fuller


"Evaluate what you are doing, why you are doing it and where accomplishing it will take you. If you don't have a good answer, then stop."

Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

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The Daily Stoic is one of my favourite books, and this pearl of wisdom can be applied to all aspects of our lives. We often wear with a badge of honour the fact that we are so busy, taking on lots of projects, doing more and more but achieving less and less. The next time you're rushing around like a blue arsed fly, take some time to evaluate precisely what you are doing. Are you working hard, or hardly working?  Have a break, figure out what you are doing, why you are doing it and where accomplishing it will take you

Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman


"Kids are going to university studying things they'll never need, getting in debt, and it doesn't need to be that way."

Luke Trembath A.K.A The Dingo

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The sense of irony isn't lost on me. I know I went to University, and I certainly ran up a lot of debt in the process. But, the difference is I made a conscious decision in my twenties to go to University. I was the first in my family to do so. I studied stuff that I needed to pursue a career working in performance sport. I have a daughter who is at that point in her life when all of her teachers and pretty much anyone associated with education is telling her to stay on at sixth form, pick subjects that will get her into University (I'm not sure anyone has checked to see if she wants to go to University!)...and heaven forbid she fluffs some of her GCSE's. I honestly couldn't tell you what she wants to do, and I'm pretty comfortable with that. Get a job working in a shop. I'm happy with that. Take some time out and travel a bit. I'm happy with that. Go to college and get an apprenticeship. I'm happy with that. Go to University to study something that will be useful in the future (even if it will rack up a bunch of debt)...I can live with that! The only thing I would struggle with is my daughter blindly following what she thinks is the conventional route, toeing the line, doing what she thinks has to be done. There are lots of conventional routes out there. If you find yourself being corralled down a conventional path in your life or career, take a breath and think about the alternatives. It's doesn't have to be that way.

Source: The Anti Blueprint Project by Jonathan Weaver


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