Today’s thought is all about creating those memories.
I’ve got the book, which I’m reading, called Dance First, Think Later. Fantastic book. And one of the quotes is about what are you going to do… from which you can tell stories about for many years to come. Go and enjoy yourself, do things that you are passionate about and do things that will create those memories.
I’m reading Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King. Fantastic book! the section I’m on now, is about you – that you are one of the kind and individual. So why follow others?
We now, today frown upon slavery. But you know it was legal once upon a time. Be you, do the right things.
Always been a fan of the Special One. Yes, Jose Mourinho. The brilliant football manager. Often says a few harsh things, seems a little arrogant but there’s no going away from what he has achieved at so many football clubs.
And today’s thought… somewhat funny, but somewhat interesting.
We use our energy in different ways.
Many times, it’s fighting the old, the existing… what’s happening/happened.
However… what we should be doing is using our energy to build the new. What is needed in this world, in our communities to improve and make better. That is where our energy should be focused. Look to the future… look to the new.
Ok, I know it’s been a while – a lot has been going on, however – I knew for a fact, that you’d be thinking, hope Bal writes something about Elon buying Twitter! And yes, here it is… a quick blog post about Elon and Twitter.
For those who don’t know what Twitter is – Twitter is an American microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as “tweets”. Registered users can post, like, and retweet tweets, but unregistered users can only read those that are publicly available.
There’s millions, if not billions of people who use Twitter. And if you’re on there and not following me… I am @balbansal
Now, to the story in hand. Elon, who we all know from SpaceX, Tesla, etc… has gone and bought it for a cool $44bn.
Elon (who is worth $273bn) said…
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,”.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans,” he added.
“Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
The move comes as Twitter faces growing pressure from politicians and regulators over the content that appears on its platform. It has drawn critics from left and right over its efforts to mediate misinformation on the platform.
In one of its most high-profile moves, last year it banned former US President Donald Trump, perhaps its most powerful user, citing the risk of “incitement of violence” – remember that?
At the time Mr Musk observed: “A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech.”
So there you go… Elon has bought Twitter, will enable a number of changes and as he loves ‘free speech’, it will be very interesting to see how the platform develops. Obviously he’ll be looking for a return on his investment but moreso… what is interesting is, he’d promised the World Health Organization, that if that could show a detailed plan on how to solve world hunger, he’d donate $6bn to the cause… they showed him the plan, but I’ve not heard about the $6bn being donated. Maybe he’ll tweet it soon….
So, what features do you think he should introduce first?
We know, in today’s world, there’s a lot of information.
We only have to open any social media platform, and there’s so much content available for us to consume… it’s crazy!
For example, you could stumble on various YouTube videos if you were looking to buy a new tumble dryer and were not sure which one to go for! Clearly explaining the benefits of a heat pump version as opposed a normal condenser one (real life example!).
With so much information, data and content – we need to ensure, that we take time for ourselves and disconnect.
Daily activities, such as work, home, family, friends, social media, other items will take their toll. Make sure, you are able to give what you can. And every day, it won’t be 100%.
We think, showing up daily is 100%. But is it really? What it actually means is that there’ll be various levels… not everyday, each day is the same.
Like anything in life, there’ll be ups and downs (smiles and frowns). What is important is you realise this. Not everyday, when you show up – means you do 100%. There’s so many external factors that can effect how you operate, how you do things.
Therefore, on Sunday… before the week ahead – make a list of things you want to accomplish. Things you want to achieve and things you’d like to do.
This way, you have goals, and know what you need to do. Yes, external factors might prevent you or slow you down, but if you’re focused, if you know what you want… chances of you getting it are higher.
Self-care, we speak alot about it, and it is important.
Technology can help.
I’ve said this before.
Technology is not to blame. It’s the users who are to blame.
Users should know when to stop. (I’m included in this as a user)
Or at least slow down. Or use it when required.
So take every Sunday to look after yourself.
Sunday Self Care – to prepare you for the week ahead.
First and foremost – apologies.
I know a few of you have reached out to me, asking – where’s my blog posts, where’s my Friday Thought… can I share an update on particular tech, what do I think of the latest gadgets, etc…
I’ll be honest. It’s not that I had too much going on. It’s just someone, made a few comments, that seemed to suggest, I shouldn’t be posting as much.
I started this blog several years ago. I know I don’t have millions of readers – and you know what, that’s absolutely fine. Because, what I do know… is there are some readers. And they engage with me. And I know I’m making a difference.
So, I had to re-collect my thoughts. Think about, the purpose of this blog – and then do what I want to do.
And with that, I give you my Friday Thought… I’ve been following Steven for a while, and really do like his perspective on life…
As ‘normality’ kicks in, with covid-19 restrictions lifting, many folk have started to go back into the office. And is this the right thing to do?
You remember the office right? – the commute to the office, the sitting around, the coffees, etc.. oh, and yes – don’t forget the work.
For the office-based folk – homeworking enabled them to the work they could from an office – but at home. Now… couple of things when you’re working from home (many would’ve realised…)
The whole social aspect is kind of lost at home. You can try a zoom beer hour, it’s not the same thing.
Now saying all the above. I’m not saying you have to go into the office. What I’m actually saying is, you need a model that works for you. What is best for you, home working might be best for your personality – you might enjoy it, maybe you hated the commute, maybe you never took those coffee breaks, maybe you didn’t enjoy talking to other – and just loved the excel file your head was buried in all day.
Everyone is different.
Telling people to go back into the office is not the right thing.
Everyone should be able to make their own decision.
I’m going back into the office a day or two a week.
Why?
One size does not fit all.
It’s what works best for you.
And with today’s technology enabling us to work from anywhere… do we really need offices?
I remember the old days… vaguely… when hard cash was used to purchase items. And if you didn’t have the money, then guess what… you couldn’t really buy it. Yes, you could go ahead and borrow money… but it came down to knowing what you had.
Technology has and has not…. helped.
Fast forward… we had debit/credit cards… now, we can pay via phone/watch and in some instances, we have repeat orders (where we get items delivered and automatically charged to our account!)
The issue here is… with this happening, we become a little lazy.
Not checking accounts. Not doing the due diligence required.
I’ve just been reading an article on the BBC News website – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60464668
Online subscription scams, many using bogus celebrity endorsements, are costing victims tens of millions of pounds a year,
And it’s easy to fall victim.
The ‘fraudsters’ have become more clever. Making websites, apps, letters, etc… all look real and authentic!
But there’s some good advice available to help you but be careful when…
There’s some great advice available regarding scams, phishing, etc.. – https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-spot-a-scam-alFiz5h8mnJ9
If you’re not sure – ask someone you trust.
In this day and age, with so much information, so much happening on social media, tv, youtube, etc… do not underestimate the value of Doing Nothing.
