Alte Süderelbbrücke Harburg Picture

Who’s on Your Fridge by Peter Bregman

In fact, we seem to rarely miss an opportunity to be disappointed. We focus on what people are doing wrong, on their weaknesses and shortcomings. We gossip and complain. We get frustrated and passive aggressive. We find ourselves constantly surprised by the flaws of our colleagues: How could he/she/they do that?

What if, instead — or at least in addition — we chose not to miss an opportunity to be inspired? If we gossiped about things people did that energized us without fixating on the things that disappointed us? If we looked for sparks that ignited our enthusiasm and incited our goodwill? And if we allowed those sparks to light our fires of passion?

Yes, what if?

An Unforgettable Act of Kindness by Tess Marshall–It’s easy for me to come up with reasons why it isn’t my place to help or get involved.  It’s that fear of doing it wrong or looking silly–vulnerability.  I want to change that.

John Mayer 2011 Clinic – “Manage the Temptation to Publish Yourself” by Erice at Berklee Blogs quoting John Mayer

Anybody who tells you to have a fall back plan are people who had a fallback plan, didn’t follow their dreams, and don’t want you to either.

I like the guts behind this thought.   Context also matters.

The Truth About Shipping by Seth Godin

The paradox of our time is that the instincts that kept us safe in the day of the saber tooth tiger and General Motors are precisely the instincts that will turn us into road kill in a faster than fast internet-fueled era.

I’m more and more convinced that companies that do not adopt more agile methods of product development, with more frequent, iterative releases, will be left behind.

Discipline is an illusion; Motivate yourself instead by Leo Babauta

If you think you don’t have discipline, you don’t need it. What you need is to commit to your goal or habit and fully motivate yourself.

I like the thought that discipline isn’t a brute force technique to success.  It’s more about finding small ways to set yourself up for success.  Most forced things don’t turn out very well anyway.

Five Recent Resonations is a periodic post with five pieces of media that resonated with me.

Image by Alexander Stielauvia flickr used under a Creative Commons license.