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2022… What a year!

Hasn’t it gone so quick!

Time just seems to be flying!!

What a year 2022 was. Busy on all fronts. For me in particular, so much happened in 2022, it’ll definitely be a year to remember. I remember, when I worked on a major project once, and Kim Azerski (who was head of the department at the time) was with me and I asked her for key success criteria. She replied – ‘no surprises and uneventful’.

Wouldn’t we love everything to be ‘event-free’. All just calm. Unfortunately, there’s things we can control and things we can’t and it’s those that we can’t control that really get us… but we can build some mechanisms to deal with them.

As I take a moment to reflect on 2022… there’s a lot that I’m grateful for and lessons I’ve put into practice.

  1. Friends and Family – It’s all about your circles, the people you are with and those who build you up. your circle of friends can change over time – and that is absolutely ok. As you grow as a person or start doing things differently (picking up new hobbies etc..) it’s ok to find new friends. New circles. But overall – the important thing is… make sure you surround yourself with those who want you to do better.
  2. Take calculated risks – I started a new role this year. After having spent 13years at my previous job… I was very hesitant in moving. Andy why should I?… I was comfortable, knew everyone… but then, I re-read one of my all time favourite books… Who Moved My Cheese. I did some calculations and thought – I’ll give it a go. And I’ll admit, I’m enjoying it, met some wonderful people – and learnt a lot.
  3. Don’t care about others – If you’ve not already, I thoroughly recommend for you to read the book – Think Like a Monk. Fantastic book. For those who know me – I love food! And I’ve spent a considerable time cooking with a local charity who serve food to the homeless. Not only giving back – but enjoying my hobby and passion of food. I’d suggest the same for you – whatever your passion is, whatever brings a smile to your face – go do more of it (as long as it’s legal and safe!).

I could continue with this list. But what I will be doing is listing all the good things I achieved in 2022… and what do I want to do in 2023. For sure, there’s a book I’ve been trying to write for the past few years and this is one thing I want to complete in 2023!

But honestly speaking – after a very eventful 2022… and looking at what’s in my control… I’m taking the words of Kim Azerski as my main motto for 2023 – ‘uneventful’.

(Famous last words I guess)

Hope you have a fantastic start to 2023 and all your dreams and ambitions come true.

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

There’ll always be a time or moment when we fall low on the scale for motivation and inspiration.

Great thing is, there’s ways to move up that scale…

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Uncategorized

Have a Merry Christmas!

So it’s nearly Christmas time… hope y’all have something nice and festive planned.

I’ll be disconnecting for a while. It’s been a very busy 6 months! you can probably notice from the lack of blog posts – thought recently I have managed to get the Friday Thoughts back up and running… which I know many people missed!

I need some time to disconnect, and reflect. Not only the past 6 months, but the past few years have been super busy. Enjoyable but busy. And this got me thinking… is it sustainable?

So with that.. I really hope you have a lovely festive break (if you have one). I’ll be cooking with Guru Nanak’s Mission – it’s a local charity that serves food to the homeless, but on Christmas Day, they’re cooking food for the emergency services – so I thought I’ll pop down, help where I can and give something back.

If you have the opportunity – I would say, get involved with local charities. With the cost of living, inflation, prices rising… anything we can do collectively to help each other is only a good thing.

So with that… Merry Christmas!

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

Feeling tired?

Burnt out?

Done a lot of work?

Battery nearly empty?

Time for a re-charge?

Most people leave it till they’re in the red. You know… red being, battery empty. Need a break. Need to re-charge.

Don’t.

When you start to feel low. When you start to know, I’m not 100%… take a break. It only takes longer to recover if you leave it too late.

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

I’ve shared previously… about how, when looking at those at the top, most people think they got there very easily with the minimum amount of sacrifices.

Not true.

What happens in the background, the years of hard work… no one notices that. Only when they’ve made it, do people realise.

Similar is the path getting there.

If you’re someone working hard, but have set backs… don’t worry… it’s not linear. It’s quite the opposite. You’ll have setbacks. You’ll have all sorts of knock backs.

The important thing is you keep learning from those.

It’s the moment you don’t learn that you don’t progress.

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

You’ve probably heard the phrase, it’s hard to say sorry.

It’s even harder to say no.

Especially in particular settings such as work, home, etc..

Don’t let indecision ruin progress. If it’s a no, it’s a no. Be honest. Be straight. Be clear. People will respect you more.

Early(ish) in my career, there was a Vice President. He had a role in his organisation. I expressed an interest. He approached me. I was like.. wow! This guy, (senior) has approached me!! This is awesome!!

But on reflection – there were a lot of maybe’s. And as I was walking to his office to say, I’ll maybe consider it… I said no. I said, no… I don’t want to take this opportunity right now.

He said he was disappointed. I was too – for feeling like I’d let him down.

Then a few weeks later, he messaged me – Bal, I have a lot of respect for you, you said no. You didn’t mess me around.

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

Failure is a scary thing.

I coach/mentor a few folk. And was having a conversation with one of them recently about the fear of failure.

I usually ask them, regarding a particular situation, what is the worse that could happen?

You see, how we perceive failure today will be big. If something happened today – it’ll be huge. BUT… in a week?… in a month?… in a year?….

That’s because we learn from our failures. And that’s what makes us stronger and better.

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Shopping

Cyber Monday

Following Black Friday… there used to be, Cyber Monday!

This was when, the internet was new(ish) and people would flock to open their internet browser or favourite app and go to order some bargains!

Well, times have changed.

The move from bricks and mortar only shopping to now, where majority is online… there isn’t really a need for ‘Cyber Monday’.

You can get all your ‘black friday’ deals on your favourite apps and websites. No need for those in store visits, queues, fighting over that heavily reduced tv that you’ve never heard of before (and probably don’t really need).

We don’t even say digital photo’s anymore. Nor ‘digital camera’.

We’re technically moving away from the word ‘digital’ as it’s now engrained amongst us. Everything (nearly) is digital.

This doesn’t mean that shops and stores do not get the visits they require. They sure do. People, some, still, like to go into a store, have a look around… touch, feel, smell, etc… some like to talk to someone to get some more detail… some folks like to walk around, it’s nice to do now and again… walk around, have a good look.

Whilst we are in this ‘hybrid’ mode of shopping, the interesting thing is that so many folks are sucked into the thought that online is cheaper or particular days of the year (Black Friday/Cyber Monday) are the best times to buy something.

Like I always say – do your research. And if you really need something and it’s on sale, then go and grab yourself a bargain. (I would like to note – that prices may seem reduced when in fact they’ve been priced up and then reduced for certain sale days – hence, always look at the history of a product).

So what exactly is Cyber Monday?

It’s a marketing term.

Isn’t everything marketing these days?

Holidays are coming. (Smiley face!)

There’s various apps available that help you know if it’s a bargain or not. There’s various forums and groups – that also help you. There’s a lot of information available for you to make an informed decision.

With that, have a great Monday… if it’s Cyber or not.

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

One snippet, one moment… is all it takes for someone to form an impression. To form that opinion. To form that picture by which they’ll judge you.

Usually, there’s much more going on. Much much more.

Social Media has made it so easy for us to assume from a persons single post or comment.

Whilst everyone chooses different things to share at different parts of the day, week, month… just remember, what we see isn’t always the full picture.

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Uncategorized

New for Christmas…

It’s literally around the corner. And I’ll soon be on the local BBC Radio station talking about the latest and great gadgets and technology items you can buy to put under the tree.

That’s right. Christmas presents. What should you buy!

Whilst I could roll a list of great things you could buy – I thought I’d take the opportunity to share what you should watch out for in case you’re thinking of getting some of the ‘top’ items.

What do I mean by ‘top’? – well, phones, tablets, etc… you know, the usual, high-use, highly desirable…. Products.

So up first, the iPhone 14.

No… the iPhone 14… is facing some delays!

That’s because, looks like, everyone wants one. (Mainly for those on iPhone 7 and 8’s who want to upgrade).

So, if you’re looking for an iPhone this christmas – start researching now and get your orders in as soon as possible!

Now… rather than going all brand new on an iPhone 14… I would also suggest, there’s some good deals on the iPhone 13 and 12! (Just saying – might be worth looking at them also).

The other item I’ve heard that could potentially run low in the run up to Christmas is the Air-Fryer


Why the air fryer?

Because a) it helps keep the cost of electricity down, b) you can do so much with it… literally replaces a number of items in your kitchen and c) they’re really quick!

That’s why, many people are rushing to buy them. And whilst there’s various makes and models out there – the popular ones, may have limited stock due to it’s popularity.

I’ve got one. And fully recommend it. They’re absolutely brilliant.

I will share what you should consider buying for Christmas, but that’ll be in future blog posts – and I’ll share on my social media when I’ll be on local radio sharing more about the latest technology and what you should be considering.