TTE 180 – Pop, Popups and Prague
It’s enthusiasm time again. Let me know what you think via twitter at @JamieSmartCom, on my Facebook page, or on my blog below.
1. A quote I’m resonating with this week
In my 2013 book CLARITY, I made the point that “just as factory workers need to keep their machines clean and well oiled, knowledge workers, creatives, managers and leaders need to take similar care of their minds.” I pointed out that individuals and businesses are paying the price as time-scarcity, attention- poverty and information-saturation clog the “mental machinery” we rely on. I just read an article in the Financial Times saying that the Global Risks Report has just arrived at a similar conclusion. Here’s what it said:
“In many ways, the mental health issues we face are similar to the physical health and safety challenges of the 19th century as industrialisation changed the nature of work. In the 21st century, mental health and safety rules could play a similar role in our increasingly knowledge-based economy, according to the Global Risks Report.”
2. An endeavour I’m pumped about (clarity, resilience and doing what you love)
In November of 2018, I was invited to speak to 100 students at the PopUp Business School in Westminster, London.
Popup is a business school with a big difference…
The founders of Popup created it as a response to traditional startup advice, because they felt that stuff was completely inaccessible to some of the people they wanted to inspire…
– Unemployed people
– People doing jobs they hated
– People who were trapped in the benefit system
– People who were struggling with addiction, mental health and other issues
Basically, people who were traditionally excluded from the kind of support that helps when you’re starting up. Not only that, but they’re people who often don’t get to experience the kind of work I do,
So I love what Popup Business School are up to…
They run their programmes in partnership with Housing Associations and Local Authorities, to help their constituents get a handle on their financial situations by creating their own income streams. It’s very cool Popup help people start their own business, fast!
I was talking with one of the founders, Simon Paine, (Simon was personally impacted after reading my books and listening to this podcast, and we’ve ended up becoming friends), so we were having lunch and I asked him this question:
“What’s the number one thing that stops people taking action and creating the business they want to?”
He thought about it, then he said “It’s the psychological stuff”; confidence, motivation, resilience.
– Believing they were broken – that past experiences had damaged them
– Thinking that they couldn’t change – that their lives couldn’t transform
– Feeling like they lacked the qualities they would need to deal with the ups and downs of doing their own thing
When he asked if I could do a talk to help his students with that stuff, I instantly said “YES”. You see, my team and I believe the most valuable thing a person can discover is how their mind works and who they really are.
We want to share this far and wide and reach people in every walk of life.
We want to inspire and educate a generation about what they’ve got going for them, so this means reaching the kinds of people who would rarely get the chance to hear about this sort of thing, in fact one of the audiences we want to be reaching is the very people that popup business school are working with…
So as you can imagine, I was really excited to see how the simple message of the principles behind clarity landed with the Popup audience.
It was a big experiment for me AND for Popup.
So in this week’s episode of the Get Clarity Podcast, you’re going to hear what happened when I shared this understanding with a group of people who were hearing about it for the first time. Enjoy!
You can listen to my Keynote and how they responded here
3. This week’s glimpse of the future
Here’s the Financial Times article that I quoted from above, “Decline in mental health shows the human cost of global risks“.
4. A conference I’m excited to be speaking at
Next month, I’m due to speak at a wonderful conference in one of my favourite cities, Prague. I haven’t been there in years, so I’m really excited to be speaking there in March. I’ll be joined by many of my friends and colleagues (including my dear friend, Michael Neill). If you’d like to come too, the organisers have created a special discounted rate for all my friends; just enter the code UHM-Smart19 when you book your place and you’ll get 15% off. Hope to see you there! You can find out more and get tickets here: https://porozumenimysli.cz/english/
5. This week’s 3 minute miracle
Here’s this week’s dose of cheesy pop goodness. It’s Childhood’s “Don’t Have Me Back” – enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XVAs_z_4Yc
That’s it for this week!
Jamie Smart