Every little thing that you think you need

Tools

I think this song by Peter Doran is great for those moments when we think and ask ourselves: ‘do I need this?’, ‘do I want this?’, ‘should I buy this?’….

Every Little Thing’ Lyrics

Every little thing, you think that you need
Every little thing, you think that you need
Every little thing that’s just feeding your greed
Oh, I bet that you’d be fine without it

Every little thing that you’ve gotta have
Every little thing that you’ve gotta have
That you’ve got to reach for and you’ve got to grab
Oh,

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Who am I and what do I do?

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These two questions are simple and commonly asked but behind their harmless facade lies an expansive area of identity and status definition, comparison and anchoring.

When you first meet someone, one of the questions is likely to be, ‘What do you do?.’ Behind this simple question lies a minefield of complexity and many of us (myself included) would tend to fall back on using our day job/profession/vocation as an answer,

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What if money was no object?

Coins

What would one do if money was no object?  I think this is a very powerful question. It strips away our fears, doubts, uncertainty, inhibitions…it frees us in many ways and most importantly, it frees us up to dream…to pursue our life’s passion…to live.

There were many times I wished I had known the things I know now when I was younger; my life would have been different,

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Nothing quite like a real book but…

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Being a bookseller and book lover, I get quite a lot of apologetic looks and ‘ I’m sorry I’m going to talk about e-books and kindles’ or ‘I’m sorry but I love the Kindle!’ type of comments from family and friends. I want to tell them: ‘Don’t be sorry, you have nothing to apologise for. Bring on the e-books and Kindles!.’

You see, even as I love physical books and brick and mortar bookshops,

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More spring clean

waterfalls

There is no optimal time and season for simplifying your life and belongings – when the urge hits you and you are ready to make a new start- that is the right time and you should grab the impetus by the horns and ride with it. That is what I call an inspired action. Unlike a job or chore one has to do, an inspired action is defined by positivity,

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Spring clean

flowers

Spring has officially arrived though that is rather hard to believe with the weather staying cold and snowy in the UK. That aside, the arrival of spring is worth celebrating with its connotations of new life and fresh beginnings.  To me, that means getting a new burst of energy to review my life and belongings with a view to simplify in order to optimize. Makes sense? Not sure? Then read on.

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Shiny new toys

Macbook-air-iphone-moleskin

I’m typing this post on my brand new MacBook Air. Yes, I spent money and bought something.

I’ve been thinking about getting a new laptop for a little while- I’ve been mulling a lot over it. My old laptop is a MacBook in white- they don’t do those anymore- about five years old and a little slow at times but still working well most of the time. In a nutshell,

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Little things that make a big difference to my day

photo-1445883791079-421522d11f18I do lots of things every day- some are recurring, some habitual, some usual and others are one-offs. However, there are a few things that I try to do everyday and make a habit of. They are not major stuff (though I would like to think they are) but they have a significant impact on my day.

The first thing I do when I wake up and open my eyes is to close it again- for my five minute visualization and gratitude exercise.

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New year new directions

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The start of a new year inspires many to make new resolutions, new goals, new ideas, new relationships etc. It’s a new year and we all want it to better the last; we want to be happier, healthier, wealthier- we all want to be a better person. I am no different.

Like many, I used to write down a list of things I wanted to achieve in the year ahead: I want to be happier (but what will make me happier?),

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