The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

"I think people believe in heaven because they don't like the idea of dying, because they want to carry on living and they don't like the idea that other people will move into their house and put their things into the rubbish.

...What actually happens when you die is that your brain stops working and your body rots, like Rabbit did when he died and we buried him in the earth at the bottom of the garden. And all his molecules were broken down into other molecules and they went into the earth and were eaten by worms and went into the plants and if we go and dig in the same place in 10 years there will be nothing except his skeleton left. And in 1,000 years even his skeleton will be gone. But that is all right because he is a part of the flowers and the apple tree and the hawthorn bush now...

...But Mother was cremated. This means that she was put into a coffin and burnt and ground up and turned into ash and smoke. I do not know what happens to the ash and I couldn't ask at the crematorium because I didn't go to the funeral. But the smoke goes out of the chimney and into the air and sometimes I look up into the sky and I think that there are molecules of Mother up there, or in clouds over Africa or Antartic, or coming down as rain in the rainforest in Brazil, or in snow somewhere."

Leo Tolstoy

"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love."

"Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and two do not make six."

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

"If you want to be happy, be."

"In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful."

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet."

"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well."

"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."

How to win at work

Taken from an improvement plan I created a while ago for work. A little sad maybe but my intention was to improve workers' outlook on their job in a retail business:

The key to having a successful organisation is to have a strong team of employees. We have been chosen to work at (?), a great company with opportunities for progress and promotion if we follow the brand values, have a positive attitude and work hard.

This is our job, whether its 8 hours a week or 40 hours a week, it is still a lot of our time spent here. In order to maintain a happy, successful environment at work for ourselves and others, we must all have a positive attitude. The following are the traits of a positive attitude:

1. Focuses on positive events and aspects

The words ‘positive’, ‘negative’, ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘right’, ‘wrong’, etc. are simply labels we place on things based on our environments and personal perceptions - we deem events good or bad depending on where we stand. For example; an exacting manager may be a nightmare to a lazy employee, but a star to a CEO trying to grow and improve the business. Put yourself in their shoes, think outside of the box.

We can change our views from negative to positive, for example: that last customer that we are waiting for to close - a possibility to get closer to target... That last hour before we finish - a chance to make things easier for the employee taking over when we leave... The 4 security tags found in the fitting room - a challenge to improve our security measures.

This is our time spent - looking at the brighter side of things will ultimately lead to happiness and well-being.

2. Focuses on solutions instead of problems

Here is an example of how people with negative and positive attitudes might approach the same situation.

Negative attitude: We’ve got an hour till we open and we’ve got so much to do with so little staff, this is ridiculous.

Positive attitude: We’ve got quite a lot to do in a short space of time so I will write a list in priority of what is most important and we can work our way through as quickly as possible.

Things don’t always go smoothly, sometimes our efforts don’t get noticed, unexpected things will happen, people will let you down, no matter how clever you are or how hard you try, these things happen and it is easy to feel demotivated, frustrated and discouraged.

BUT... Having a positive attitude will lead to the ability to move quickly from identifying a problem to identifying a solution for the problem. Don’t waste time dwelling on negative events or seeking out who to blame, i.e. “whoever did the rota is out of order”, “Jeremy should have done this last night”. Focus instead on how best to deal with issues and move beyond them to something more productive. If you show that you are capable of dealing with varied situations - this will benefit you in the long run. Responsibility - promotion - continuous improvement.

Into The Wild

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

- Christopher McCandless

"There is pleasure in the pathless woods,

There is rapture on the lonely shore,

There is society where none intrudes,

By the deep sea and the music in its roar;

I love not man the less, but Nature more."

- Lord Byron

Lonely London days

It's funny how even in a busy city, you can feel so alone.

The idea of going home to be in the comforts of my family is appealing but I know that once I got there I'd want to be back here. Struggling to get somewhere is better than not trying at all and accepting defeat. I don't want to just be a number within a population, living a tedious, average life. I want to be happy - waking up every day to serve a deeper purpose. Not just for money but for job satisfaction, personal growth, for love, for laughter, for progress, to help make a better world.

You can't just jump off the ladder because you're bored on the first step. Leap over to another ladder if you have to but the next step will be better, and then from there upwards better and better.

Once I'm at the top of the ladder I'd like to help the ones hovering near the bottom, climb on up.

Retail is making me feel so unfulfilled. Things will get better, just got to keep plodding on and working hard.

My friends dreams are coming true...

Ya Know?

Knowing, understanding, accepting, you either do or you don't. Knowing is love, knowing is compassion, knowing is not being a dick. It's so simple, ya know?

If you don't know come to learn, if you know come to teach.

... but do ya?

Crisis @ Christmas

I decided to do something meaningful for Christmas this time round. Crisis is the national charity for single homeless people. They are dedicated to ending homelessness by delivering life-changing services and campaigning for change. Crisis at Christmas has provided vital services for homeless people for 40 years.

It goes on for two weeks; guests can come and go as they please, they are offered 3 meals a day, opportunities to take part in art and crafts, IT, massage, live music, games and other activities. Guests are also offered shower services, hair cuts, dentist and optician check-ups.

I got to meet so many good people - volunteers and guests, everyone was on the same level, the sense of community their is unimaginable. Your social status doesn't matter at all, what matters is feeling like you belong - communicating and connecting emotionally with people, loving strangers, seeing yourself in them and doing your best to make that person happy with a hope things will get better, that they can be ultimately be happy and not feel alone or unfit for this world.

What's even better is that it doesn't end there, Crisis have Skylight centre's where homeless people can go all through the year and are offered services to help them get back on the feet and ultimately be happy. I think it's great that these people are given a second chance. Life is short, it should be enjoyed.

Follow this link to a blog that one of the guests showed me, he'd been blogging at the Skylight centre, about life on the street and his interests from growing up.

www.eastendlives.wordpress.com

Group Interview

The store manager and I held a group interview last week to find a couple of new sales assistants.

In my experience in retail - it is very rare to find applicants who match up to how they describe themselves on their CV, e.g. "I am an honest, hardworking, self-motivated individual. I would feel completely unfulfilled if I didn't complete any given task with my full capability. I am reliable and responsible and feel I can become an asset to your company if given the opportunity". Applicants for a part time sales assistant role tend to be young, has alternative focuses outside of the role applied for i.e. studying, aspiring dancer or photographer, they may have just completed their studies an need a part time job until their desired role becomes available else where. In general the applicant does not see a future within this role, therefore tend not to be fully dedicated, focused or reliable.

It is very important that the successful applicant has the right attitude and work ethics at least, so that with the right training, responsibility and motivation - they may just find themselves more satisfied with the job than perceived. Someone with the right attitude will know that even though this may not be their ideal job, it is still a role that carries responsibilities; working in retail puts you at the forefront of the business, ultimately you are the among the faces of the brand and therefore represent the brand, so your attitude goes along way in building brand identity at store level. Experience is always useful at any level, whether it helps shape your personality, boosts your confidence, defines you as a leader or at least builds your knowledge of consumer behaviour - it can all be put to use with the right attitude and a willingness to learn. A common error for young part-timers seeking quick cash with minimum workload is narrow minded dismissal, focusing on the negatives rather than the positives - no denying that I once had this attitude, until I realised that working hard and getting more out of the given tasks will lead to job satisfaction and will diminish the sheer devastation when your alarm goes off in the morning signalling your remaining hour of freedom before a day at work. 

A group interview is a great way to see real personalities. The relaxed atmosphere provides a platform for people to express themselves on a real level, rather than a scary high-pressured one-on-one interview. I think this technique is highly appropriate when looking for sales assistants as applicants are usually young and may not have much interview experience, therefore may crumble under the pressure of a one-on-one interview. While other people speak it gives other applicants an opportunity to plan their answers and they are able to bounce off each other.

We had 12 applicants so we started off by getting everyone talking to each other, finding out the basics of one another, we then asked them to introduce each other - this was a great way to see what they felt was important to tell us and the way they portrayed each other said a lot about themselves.

We then asked a question about the brand in order to get an overview of what they knew and what they were interested in. It was clear who had been on the brand website the night before and tried memorizing the history, likewise it was clear who genuinely knew about the brand before dropping their CV into the store - signalling that they may specifically want to work for us as apposed to just wanting any job.

The interview took place in a conference room which was lined with the collection samples for the following season - we asked each applicant to pick a shoe and one by one explain the customer they imagine this to appeal to and why. This was a good opportunity to see who had a basic understanding of sales, and customer behaviour, likewise we were able to see who really didn't have any product knowledge or understanding of our customer.

We then explained the expectations and requirements of the successful applicant(s).

Fightclub

A cynical outlook on life but Tyler Durden does make a fair point on some occasions:

"I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may."

"You are not your bank account, you are not the clothes you wear, you are not the contents of your wallet, you are not your bowel cancer, you are not your grande latte, you are not the car you drive."

Education Vs Experience

I learnt a lot through University - in terms of education and about myself. I am currently in a position with my career that I'm sure I would be even if I hadn't gone to University - I see people around me becoming more successful, I can't help but feel unfulfilled. The trials and tribulations of a fresh graduate. Channeling my energy towards a positive outcome - I will be in a better position before long. I am glad that I went to University, for many reasons. It helped me grow as a person, I made the best friends ever and I learned a lot about the industry and of management in general. Southampton Solent may not be classed as the greatest Uni in the UK but considering my year was the first to run the course I was on - I think we all came out well, the only negative was the inconsistency with tutors. 

Admittedly, I didn't work very hard in 1st year, or even 2nd year for that matter, but a Summer at home with my Mum kicking my ass gave me a sudden realisation that I needed to change my attitude fast in order to turn my failing degree around. As soon as my attitude towards study changed, I harnessed a motivation toward a good outcome, meanwhile a panel of much better tutors came onto our course, suddenly I found myself actually enjoying my seminars and lectures and was able to get stuck into each project from start to finish. Having a part-time job was a distraction in 2nd year as I was more concerned with that over my degree, but once I hit 3rd year with my new focus in hand, I was able to combine my studies with my job and could see the relevance of what I was learning with what was experiencing at work. 

I think having a degree looks good on your CV but it must be backed up by experience in order to be taken seriously when applying for an important role. Something I didn't do and deeply regret not doing is fulfilling work placements during the Summer periods while in University. When you are young and studying far from home it is appealing to go home for Summer, spend time with your family and getting a part time job to save for the next semester. What others do and what I wish I could have done is arrange an internship in London, even for just a month - it gives students exposure to real industry knowledge, gives you a chance to experience the real world, excites you and opens your eyes to working business, network, really it sets the foundations of your potential career. It's not the end of the world if you don't commit to these internships during your studies, it just gives you an upper hand on other graduates if you do.

To sum up, experience should be backed up with experience. Make the most out of your studies. If you don't enjoy University, talk to your tutors, find ways to enhance your studies for example by blogging, attending trade shows, talking to professionals, talking to peers, travel, be inspired. 

My advice to students: learn to cook meals in bulk and freeze, make friends and have fun but go out 1 less night a week and save your loans to be an intern.

Lord Byron

 

"We are the fools of Time and Terror: Days Steal on us, and steal from us; yet we live, Loathing our life, and dreading still to die."