05.10.2022

What We Do | Clarity | Rebellious Hope

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: something that’s creating an energy and positive impact
Action: something to do
Processing: a question to consider
Shout out: something or someone that I want to celebrate or acknowledge

Have you taken the GLAS Understanding Assessment
and received your free report?

LEARN
Something Worth Sharing

What We Do

For a few days with week, my husband and I had a change of scenery in terms of our ‘offices’: due to a business need, we have been in Malta. The mid-morning coffee break, therefore, looked a little different from usual - it was overlooking a beach with the glorious sun sharing its warmth as we discussed a project. It was while we did this that I was reminded of how easily we can all get caught so ‘busy doing’ things and forget to even look up.

When I’m at my desk in my own office, I can easily get fully engrossed in the work I’m doing with time flying past me - whether that is trying to work out a way forwards for a #familybusiness or to understand some research. When we get up from our day-to-day tasks and deliberately change something - our environment, our questions, our perspective - it can serve as a reminder that the ‘doing’ part is functional, but everything that sits around it is complex. Will and I have sat together thousands of times drinking morning coffee together, but we have done this in different countries, climates and settings - sometimes with other people with us. These things don’t just change the temperature or view - they change our thinking and perspective too.

We don’t need to necessarily change WHAT we do, but rather we need to consider HOW, WHO, WHERE and WHEN we do things - and WHY!

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

Clarity

Clarity is a vital element within the GLAS framework - we often talk to clients about the importance of how they see things. This of course refers to perspective, but it also links to the amount of clarity they have. Most of us spend at least some of our time with slightly chaotic thoughts - our research shows this is about 33% of the time - with only 5% of people saying they feel they have any significant ‘clarity’.

The word clarity is from Latin CLARITAS meaning "brightness, splendor, clearness". When we lack clarity, things can certainly feel darker and we struggle to see - the moment we adjust and hit clarity, there is a lovely radiance and lightness that appears.

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

Change Something

Following on from this week’s Learn, think about a task that you often do - whether that is at work or at home. Now consider how you can change something about it - without changing the actual task itself. In other words, think about changing: HOW, WHO, WHERE or WHEN.

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

“What small thing has made a big impact?”

This question is inspired by the ‘Recommended Read’ below. One of the sections I loved about the book I wanted to share with you, is that it focuses on how small things can make a huge difference. Of course, this is true of both positive and challenging situations. What has been a seemingly small thing that has happened in your life that had a huge impact?

Someone may have said something to you that stopped you in your tracks and changed your mind that got you to where you are now, or it may have been choosing a course that led you to meet your best friend.

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

Traffic Lights

When I was being interviewed for my place on my degree course (in product design and marketing), I was asked to provide an example of brilliant design.

I thought about this question…trying to search for ‘the brilliant’ answer I thought the course leader may be looking for, but my mind drifted to the day before. I’d been driving a usual route home from my part-time job and came to a major junction which was controlled by traffic lights. On this particular evening, the lights weren’t working and everyone (or mostly everyone) slowed nervously as they approached - not sure who was going to go and who’d stop and give way. I remember thinking that traffic lights are genius - we all know how they work, and yet take them for granted when they’re working. When they stop, you certainly notice that! Great design is exactly that, you won’t notice it until it’s not there or not working.

Shout out to traffic lights - often overlooked and taken for granted! Oh, and the course lead loved the answer too!

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

This week, I’m sharing a recommended book for you - a little different from usual. This is a very special book written by an amazingly courageous lady facing terminal cancer. Dame Deborah James became a well-known and regarded personality as she shared her journey with bowel cancer. She became known as Bowel Babe. Deborah lost her fight earlier this year and the book was released - to inspire others to value life and live as she did with ‘rebellious hope’.

I’m not ‘gifting’ the artwork without charge this week - as I’ve committed to forward all proceeds of this download to the Bowelbabe.org charity. If you do download, you not only get a poster to remind you of many inspiring messages for life, but you also contribute to this amazing charity. The book is called How To Live When You Could Be Dead, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Thank you in advance for downloading and supporting the charity!

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

*** ORDER YOURS NOW ***

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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?