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Carl Jung’s 5 Pillars of a Happy Life

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and collaborator of Freud, has long been one of the thinkers I return to again and again. One of his most lasting contributions is the idea of archetypes—the basis of the single most read and shared post on this blog. These five ideas aren’t complicated. They’re not even uniquely “psychological.” But Jung believed that if you could attend to these five areas,…

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You will be the Same Person in 5 years... Except for 2 things

I recently made a video (shared below) about 2 things that have the power to make a difference to who you will be in 5 years time. I said 2: Books you read Relationships with people and recently came across a tweet with a few more… but still very much under your own control. The person you will be in 5 years depends on: the food you eat amount of exercise you do how much sleep per…

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How to use your brain well

A recent FT article shared some data on the increasing challenge that young people have with basic thinking and learning. I suspect it is not just 18 year olds. I credit mobile phones and social media as the prime cause in humans losing the capacity to use their brains well. A stunning essay in the FT on the international decline in the ability to read, reason, focus, and learn new things. It…

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Visibility creates Accountability

Simple concept. I think we actually know what is most important… we just forget quickly and regularly. The moment something becomes visible—goals, metrics, progress, behavior, scores—it invites attention, reflection, and response. Visibility reminds us regularly if what we are doing is working. In sports there is a scoreboard and no doubt about who is winning or losing. The scoreboard creates…

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To live a long time

You need to love living. …and most people don’t figure out how to love living. I myself have struggled to find a way to love the state of being alive. During Covid I came across an Indian guru called Sadhguru… in one of his talks he spoke about 3 types of people: fools, smart and genius. The fools wake up in the morning and they hate what they have to do that day. The smart people have found a…

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Consistency over 1 week changes nothing, over 10 years changes everything

If you are going to make any change in your life – be it health, relationships, learning a language, learning a musical instrument – any practice habit that you can only sustain for a week will lead to no change in your life. Any practice habit that you can sustain for a 10 year period will transform your life. The saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is true… but not over the period of…

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The Fast Friends Protocol

I had the privilege to meet Professor Elizabeth Dunn at the WOBI business leaders conference in Madrid. She was the first to share this resource with me. To fall in love with anyone, do this… How can you develop deep relationships with other human beings? Over 50 years ago Arthur Aron fell rapidly in love with a fellow researcher at the University of California Berkeley. As a psychology…

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You will be the Same Person in 5 years... Except for 2 things

“In five years, you’ll be the same person—except for what you learn and the relationships you build”. This quote, often attributed to Charlie Jones, is a truth about life. Jones does not mean “passive” learning or “passive” networking… he emphasizes the need to be active in pursuit of ideas and active in engaging with inspiring people. The 2 Things: (tip to David Schnurman for sharing this…

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Marathons are run on the outside, but marathons are won on the inside

“Marathons are run in the outside, but marathons are won on the inside” Carlos Escario Running a marathon isn’t just about the miles. The physical challenge is 42 km, but where the effort that really defines success happens is inside—the inner game of mental strength, self-belief, and resilience. The physical side matters: aerobic training, long runs, nutrition, and recovery are…

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The hidden danger of "I am fine now"

Often when I ask a leader if they have a coach, or are seeking training, the answer is something along the lines of “I don’t need a coach… I am fine now”. This is a dangerous approach. The farmer doesn’t wait for winter to repair the roof. The farmer doesn’t wait for winter to sew the seeds. “I’m fine now”…this mindset is a risky one, and here’s why: the best time to grow is not when you’re in…

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Set Clear Intentions for 2025: My own Process... and my Intention

If I was to try to summarize all of my leadership teachings down into one word, the word would be “Intentional“. I teach leaders to be intentional: to get crystal clear on who they are, where they are going, with whom and why. In communications I teach leaders to clarify their “Point X” – a visibly clear outcome from each interaction. How can you become Intentional? Write some goals down, and…

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Your Top 5 Videos of 2024

These are your top 5 most watched videos of 2024. The channel has grown by 75.5K subscribers to 407,454 and there have been 3,241,918 views of the channel. Thank you to each of you who watched, shared, commented and sent questions – it all motivates me to keep pulling out the camera and sharing what I am learning or reflecting on. #1) Life rewards Action, not Intelligence Top video with over…

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23 lessons on Life from David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy is often hailed as the “Father of Advertising”. His lessons apply beyond advertising. His thoughts focus on clarity, creativity, and connection. These 23 ideas are simple, timeless, and effective. His book Confessions of an Advertising Man is a book on advertising. His book Ogilvy on Advertising is a general commentary on advertising. His book The Unpublished David Ogilvy publishes…

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On taking Intelligent Action and Improving your Intuition

An update on last week’s video “Life Rewards Action more than Intelligence” (that went viral with over 170,000 views in the first 10 days). There were a lot of comments… many were positive and encouraging… but there were a range of questions/concerns that “dumb action” might be worse than none at all… this video responds to this concern about the risks of dumb action rather than inaction. So,…

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AI tools: You should try Google Notebook LLM

Here’s an AI tool that I think you should definitely try. It was recommended to me by my friend Severin Sorenson, host of the Arete podcast, author of 4 books on using AI in business (and my go-to expert on the world of AI tools, better prompts, image creation). https://notebooklm.google What does it do? Google Notebook LLM is your personalised AI research assistant. You upload your sources…

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Life rewards Action, not Intelligence (video)

Taking action consistently outweighs merely having the potential to act. The speaker reflects on how they once equated doing well in school with succeeding in life, only to learn that real-world success comes from initiative and execution, not just intelligence or talent. Through life experiences, they discovered that waiting for the perfect moment or ideal circumstances often leads to missed…

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To Achieve Important Goals… You Need 3 Ingredients…

We’ve just recently seen the Paris 2024 Olympics and then the Paralympics.It is noticeable how each athlete takes great care to be in the right mental state for high performance. During the TV interviews, it was clear to me that athletes at this level learnt to have positive stories about their efforts and their results.If you have the right mental state, and a story that frames “failure” as part…