How Does human endeavour help the work place?
Strive. What a wonderfully powerful and evocative word that is! What does it really mean though? My read on it is it is all about being your best, wanting to learn, to improve, to feel good, to walk tall. All are true sentiments and powerful war cries but why is it so difficult to do sometimes?
We all know that these are all important aspects of us developing and yet sometimes they are almost too tough to start. In my experience having been a soldier, a professional sailor, a keen adventurer and running my own business is that everything is possible and all you have to do is ‘believe’ and get involved. Just start. Never forget that humans are meant to excel and when one starts realising how capable one is and how adaptive the human spirit is, you will understand that anything is achievable. Throw in a bit of determination and persistence, and you will have a fairly good chance of reaching any of your goals.
The power of positive thinking
When I look at some of the leaps of faith that I have taken in my life which have ended up shaping my destiny and often enriched my soul they have all come down to a few key points. I have always tried to ‘dream big’ and being the youngest of four children I had to develop a ‘can-do’ attitude quite early on and this has really helped me overcome a lot of the obstacles that life can throw at you. Success does not come easily and one will always have to be tenacious, so set goals, work hard and have as positive a spirit as possible. Really. Positivity and enthusiasm will get you a very long way and they are wonderful characteristics in anybody, so harness them. Around all of this try and do everything really well and strive for excellence. Make yourself the very best that you can, obviously this will take dedication, graft, resilience, and discipline but the results will have you soaring like an eagle.
I am also a huge advocate of teamwork. Everything in life is so much easier when you have people you trust around you. I have been lucky enough to have sampled the very best of this as a soldier, in many of my adventures and as a professional sailor. Good teamwork is all about honesty, friendship, protection, respect, and loyalty and if you can create these, everything is possible.
I have been lucky to have led expeditions all over the world including both Poles and Mount Everest. The success of these adventures really comes down to a handful of obvious building blocks which when put together with diligence, insight, and balance, will make the difference between success and failure. These lessons learned from pushing myself and operating in extreme situations are much more transferable to both personal and corporate development than you might think. In my own business, I am fascinated by how these lessons can be applied and refined.