We live in a society that demands instant gratification. Whether it’s through online shopping, gambling or porn, we all want something yesterday. A recent study showed that our inability to forgo a smaller reward now for a larger reward in the future may depend on how trustworthy the person perceives the reward-giver to be, but what if the reward giver … Read More
Forget About Your Past & Read Yourself Into Your Future
If you haven’t seen Eric Thomas’ Game Changer video from this morning I suggest you watch it. In his latest video he talks about the importance of reading, not for school or college or because your parents say you should but for yourself and off your own back. On the 31st of Decemeber 2012, I made a New Year’s resolution … Read More
Falling Off The Conveyor Belt
This week thousands of young people around the UK received their A level results and as usual the papers have been out in full patrol sharing stories about the A grade prodigies who will now go on to the worlds best universities, find their dream job and have the perfect life. On the other hand, there will also be thousands … Read More
Should I work for free?
Working for a youth volunteering charity I’m used to young people asking why on earth they should ‘work for free.’ Firstly, volunteering is not work and secondly just because you’re not being paid in pound sterling doesn’t mean you’re not getting something out of it. Just last week my gym manager was taking photos of his studio on his iPhone … Read More
Start Investing In Your Estate of Mind
Our minds are a fertile land waiting to be built upon, yet without the books and mortarboards the value of our lives can depreciate greatly and our capacity for growth and understanding can become extremely under utilised. Humans are composed of a series of “states of minds,” a cluster of neural firing patterns that create a persons behaviours, feelings and … Read More
The Curse Of Being Cushty
Most people go to work every day in denial. A recent survey revealed that 19% of employees said they were satisfied with their jobs, meaning a staggering 81% of people willingly accept a state of dissatisfaction. Last year, a friend of mine took the whole year off travelling after he was made redundant. He returned home with wide eyed optimism … Read More
The University Killer: Online Peer–to-Peer Learning
According to a recent YouGov SixthSense report, the debt of UK university students adds up to nearly £20bn. Students starting university this year could end up paying a whopping £60k for their education. Having graduated myself just a few years ago, the prospect of paying three times the amount my Mum paid for her first home may have been enough to … Read More
Why You Should Be Leading From The Bottom
From the moment we leave the womb we enter a world in which our survival relies on our ability to comply with those in authority. First it’s our parents, then it’s our school teachers and finally it’s the boss. It then comes as no surprise that questioning authority is a trait that most of us feel ill equipped and so … Read More
5 Things Graduates Can Learn from Tree Roots
When I graduated from university to pursue a career in television the first thing the manager of a well-known production house told me was, “We don’t hire people with media degrees.” Having just spent the best part of £21,000 and now having to sign on to Job Seekers Allowance you can guess I wasn’t feeling too great. This summer, thousands … Read More
Don’t blame your people, blame your plan.
I went to Tech hubs Creative Tech Meet up today to listen to Ping Fu – CEO of Geomagic who talked about her own 3D printing start up business. One thing she said really resonated with me, “If things aren’t working, don’t blame your people, blame your plan.” Although this is great advice in terms of business start-ups, I think … Read More