Given today is Guy Fawkes day in the UK, this post seems appropriate.
Even though it’s not about the UK.
Or someone trying to blow up the houses of Parliament.
It’s about America and the President of the United States – a man who seems intent on blowing up democracy.
Isn’t it funny how it’s always the people who bang on about ‘freedom of speech’ or ‘the land of the free’ who end up being the ones who operate in the opposite way.
What’s happening over there right now is truly terrifying.
Cancelling freedom of the press, comedians, or anyone who has a counter point of view to what is going on over there. And in a classic example of mob mentality, the people who support MAGA or the Republican party are so lost in their bloodlust they can’t even see what they are advocating.
A while back I watched the A24 movie, Civil War.
I really enjoyed it.
Shame I didn’t realise what I was actually watching was a documentary.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Augustine, Cannes, Colenso, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Management, Perspective, Relationships, Relevance, Reputation, Resonance
So this is another post about Augustine.
I know … I know … haven’t I done enough of those already?
I mean, seriously … wasn’t the over-long, over-sentimental love letter to her when she left Colenso, enough?
Or what about when I used the Cannes stage to promote her to the global ad community?
But apparently that fucker made such an impression on me I’m going to write another post about her.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad it it was about her buck-toothed, ‘Bugs Bunny mouth’ when she was a kid … but it’s not. What it is, is about this:
I stole that pic off Augustine’s insta.
It’s a screen grab she took when we caught up a few weeks ago.
And I have to say, I bloody love it.
Because despite the fact it highlights how my home office always looks green – despite there being absolutely no green in there whatsoever – her smile is brighter than the sun.
And this makes me happy.
Because it means she is happy. And doing well.
And she is. Both very happy and very well … which means, maybe – just maybe – she is starting to realise how good she is and, even more importantly, how good she can be.
Which makes me all kinds of happy …
Because I’ve seen far too many talented people never quite realise what they could be, because they didn’t want to run towards it, they wanted it to run right up to them. And as I wrote about the Nottingham Forest striker, Taiwo Awonyi, at some point you have to make the decision you want it and will go for it.
It’s why I was so adamant she had to do it.
It’s why we spent 2 years preparing her to do it.
It’s why we all were so supportive about her doing it.
Because while there’s no guarantee it will come off in the way you hope or dream … you can guarantee you have more of a shot of it happening, than not trying at all.
And Augustine is taking her shot.
Not watching from the sidelines, but on the court.
Playing. Competing. Challenging. And most of all, happy as she’s living, growing and learning.
Which is why – even though I had absolutely nothing to do with all she is achieving – the smile on her face makes me feel like we’ve both won.
I miss you Augustine. And I’m proud as fuck of you.
Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Love, Loyalty, Mum, Mum & Dad, My Childhood, Respect
Today would have been my Mum’s 93rd birthday.
The only thing more amazing than that is that it means she has been gone a decade.
The irony is that while Mum is always in my life, it’s the anniversaries – specifically birthdays and death – where her absence is more of the focus.
And what an absence it is.
I’ve talked a lot about her generosity, but what was so amazing about it was how she expressed it in a multitude of ways …
Time, patience, open-mindedness, forgiveness, resilience, encouragement … it was all on offer, all of the time.
She had the ability to acknowledge her perspective was always just that – hers – and so disengaging from that allowed her to listen, learn, understand and grow from people expressing their realities.
That didn’t mean she always agreed with what she heard, but she did always give the space, environment and conditions that allowed others to show, share and say what they felt and believed.
It was a superpower to be honest, and one – as I grow older – I feel is even more important than ever before.
She’d be aghast at where the world is right now.
Growing up in Italy during World War 2 – with her family as part of the resistence – her sense of righteousness was cemented early and deeply, but now …
Well, decency has gone out the window.
I don’t just mean in the obvious ways … but the small.
People not bothering to respond to you.
People always having self interest in every action and interaction.
People believing their needs and contexts trump everyone else’s.
But Mum was not like that. If anything, she was too much the other way.
Everyone liked and respected my Mum because she gave them 3 things regardless of situation, context of background.
Time.
Respect.
A desire to understand rather than judge.
This last point is especially important because, as I wrote in 2017, even the military and police have understood the power of nonjudgmental understanding as a potent interview technique.
The point is, we hear all these politicians, businesses, celebrities and Linkedin luminaries bang on about how they have the solution/system to sort everything out … and yet I’ve not heard one of them talk about the importance of time, respect and an environment for understanding rather than judgement.
Which is why I can’t help but feel, one of the key reasons we’re in the state we’re in is because of this decade of absence.
Mum, I love you.
Happy, happy 93rd birthday.
I hope you’re with Dad, holding hands and I hope you’ve never been missed so much and by so many as you are today.
Big kisses and hugs.
Rx