20.11.2024

Invisible Bruising | Prospect | This Is Strategy

Hello there! Welcome to my weekly LEAPS. 

You’re receiving this email because you subscribed to my weekly Wednesday feature or our mailing list. Every Wednesday, I share 5 things using our LEAPS approach: 

Learn: something new or an idea
Energy: an energy (good or bad) word and it’s meaning
Action: something to do
Processing: a question to consider
Shout out: something or someone that I want to celebrate or acknowledge

LEARN
Something Worth Sharing

Invisible Bruising

I was working with a client recently who regularly takes our Confidence and Clarity Builder Assessment. His results are consistently good - not perfect, but definitely very positive. As we chatted through his latest results, he openly talked about the week he’d recently had whereby the challenges of 2024 seemed to all hit him at once. It’s been a particularly challenging personal AND professional year.

As we continued discussing this, we talked about the need for recovery. What came to mind was that the year had bruised him. We can often talk about being scarred by traumatic situations, but the lesser referenced ‘bruising’ is actually quite important too.

A bruise is created by something or someone making a significant impact, or by us bumping into something or someone. Bruises can happen as a conscious impact or unconscious - I’m always bumping into desk edges and doors and forgetting about it due to rushing.

Now, bruises don’t stop you doing what you need to do, they don’t prevent you functioning as a parent or friend, they don’t mean you can’t do your job…but, bruises hurt - some more than others. Whilst we have a bruise, we are healing. If we get knocked in the same spot it’s even more painful given it’s pain + pain.

Of course the really significant knocks of life - someone being mean, a loss, difficult day, stress and worry - don’t leave blue marks on our bodies, however they are bruising in their nature and it’s important to acknowledge this. We can feel tender and need those around us to be gentle as well as being gentle towards ourselves.

Not only do we need to take notice, but we need to give ourselves a break and take the time for the bruising to fade and eventually disappear. We can cover bruises with make up or clothes, but that doesn’t diminish the tenderness and necessary healing - a bruise is still there for a while, even when you can’t see it. Let’s be honest, we all carry these invisible bruises, something worth remembering.

ENERGY
Focusing on an emotion or energy; a stand-out word / s

Prospect

The main use of ‘prospect’ for me goes back to the days of joining our family’s business from University. My first role was in the marketing department and trying to ‘convert prospects’.

The word ‘prospect’ is from Latin PROSPICERE meaning "look out on, look forward". It was formed from PRO "forward" + SPECERE "look at".

The sense of "a person or thing considered promising" is actually quite new, dating from 1922. It is taken from the earlier sense of "expectation, ground of expectation".

ACTION
Something small that you can do that might make a big difference

Embrace The Fear

I was joking with someone about the need to ‘face their fears’ recently, but soon thought about this and decided that we can’t avoid fears. We can first seek to reveal them followed by understanding them. Once we do this, we can then decide to embrace at least some of them.

The action for this week is to grab a sheet of paper and write at the top: “I have a fear that…”and then write all the things that you fear. You might include things like:

• the world hurting my children

• the impact of social media

• failing or making mistakes

PROCESSING
A question to think about and consider (you can discuss this with someone or write your thoughts down)

“How am I living to my full potential? What could improve this?”

A two-part question for you this week. Think about how you are living up to your potential - making the most of opportunities, your skills, experience and choices. Now consider how you could improve this. If you feel you aren’t really making the most of your potential - why now? Can you do something to change this?

I’d love for you to send me your own stories / thoughts about this. Drop me a line with your answer / thoughts on this question

SHOUT OUT
Who / what I think deserves recognition, my gratitude or to be celebrated.

Seth Godin

If you haven’t come across marketing-guru Seth Godin, perhaps you might want to check him out. I recently (see the gift below) captured his 8th book as a visual. I’m shouting him out because he has inspired me in lots of ways - especially sharing the visuals I create - but also because of his graciousness and kindness whenever I reach out to him to share these pieces. He often talks about having a minimum viable audience and focus - if only YOU read this LEAPS and find it of value in some way, then I’m happy!

BONUS GIFT FOR YOU
This week’s little extra for you - from me

Here’s my gift to you this week - it’s a visual synopsis for Seth Godin’s new book This Is Strategy. He sent me an email of encouragement and support for this one.

The visual piece (below) is available to you for free (for 7 days) using the code: YOUR10 when you check out.

Access is via the link below.

The artwork featured in this section is all copyrighted and for private use only. If you wish to use these online, in blogs / features or in presentations etc - we are happy to discuss licences. Please get in touch. The downloads do not have watermarks.

If you’d like to discuss having your ideas, business or culture captured visually - you can also let me know via email.

LEAPS is a process used by our team and clients all the time - and even my own family on a daily basis. 

I’ll be sharing a set of LEAPS each week with you and encourage you to do your own version:

• L: what have you learned?

• E: what’s your energy / feeling word

• A: what’s one thing you need to do?

• P: what are you thinking / processing?

• S: who or what can you shout out?