Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson devoted his professional life to education. He fought tirelessly for a global overhaul of how we teach each other how to think but fail to encourage each other to dance, sing, paint, write, and worst of all, imagine.

Sadly, Ken passed away in August 2020, and we lost a good one! He had a razor sharp sense of humour, gets us to imagine Shakespeare as a 7-year old boy, and shared his unwavering passion for helping people realize their talents. I have included his three TEDTalks - which have been three of the most watched in history.

These are all well worth your time.

__________________________________________________________________

Changing Gears

There is much debate on whether the coronavirus pandemic is over. With over 450,000 new cases last week, I'd say it's not much of a debate. It's not over and may not be over for decades to come. 

Over six million have lost their lives since March 2020 and the reason it's not tens of millions like the pandemic of a century ago is because of scientific breakthroughs like vaccines. Despite the suggestion of some, the boogie man did not create this and magic rainbow dust did not find a way to save lives.

Shift and Pivot 

What I'm fascinated by is how many of my friends and close colleagues have taken the last two years to make a shift in their lives. Some have dumped that gig they hated and started something new; some are taking online courses to train in areas they've always wanted to explore; and others are still ruminating but have begun the process that will clearly bring them to somewhere much different than the former "normal". 

After a lot of discussions, I made a shift late last year, and as much as many would think it's a lot to take the leap, it doesn't mean you have to or are tossing all your experience away. Sometimes a small adjustment can give us an entirely new perspective. 

In my case, after over sixteen years in consulting, I returned to a role in a media organization. I do have a few decades of experience in many areas and this role gives me the opportunity to utilize all of them. But it took someone I've known for over twenty years to give me that nudge to take that leap.

Pump the brakes

In my case, I now have a boss and I work on a team and they rely on me as much as I rely on them. I worked for myself for a decade and a half and my boss was my clients. My other boss was the person writing this post who had to fight through self-doubt, ignored emails, dead end prospect meetings, and lots of Thursdays without a paycheck. 

We have had a lot of time to think about this over the past two years. If I can offer some advice; pay attention to the signs whether those are conversations with friends, articles you stumble upon online, or that big dream you promised yourself you'd reach for years ago. If we don't learn anything through this pandemic, then what was the point. 

Not one day of our lives is guaranteed and no one is coming to rescue us, so the question remains what we're going to do about it. You know you can do it. You know you want to see what else is out there for you. The question that remains is the key. 

Are you ready?

__________________________________________________________________