Sir Richard Branson on the importance of not growing up …..
by Sunil Bali, 23-04-2017
If you went to school in England, the chances are that you’re familiar with the fact that King Harold of England was shot in the eye by an arrow in 1066.
I can safely say that in the 40 years since I learned of Harold’s hapless demise, this fact has been of no use whatsoever.
The saving grace when I was taking my school exams was that whilst I was required to regurgitate countless facts, at least I wasn’t living in today’s age of infobesity, infoxication and information overload ….. drowning in a sea of self-promotion and sound bites.
As we’re growing up, school, society and then often the workplace, educate us out of our creativity.
Paul Linley, the multi-millionaire founder of children’s food company Ella’s kitchen, says that "grown-ups need to grow down" because when we’re born, we’re all creative geniuses and master negotiators, able to capture anyone’s attention.
Unburdened by the would, could and should of adulthood, children look at the world as a playground full of wonder, opportunity and joy.
In the foreword to Linley’s book, Little Wins, Sir Richard Branson says that recapturing the wild eyed enthusiasm, warmth and determination of your toddlerhood – or as Zen calls the Beginner’s Mind – is the path to a successful and fulfilled life.
Humour
A man and a woman were having a quiet, romantic dinner in a fine restaurant. They were gazing lovingly at each other and holding hands.
The waitress, taking another order at a table a few steps away, suddenly noticed that the woman was slowly sliding down her chair, under the table and under the table-cloth – but the man just stared straight ahead.
The waitress watched as the woman slid all the way down her chair and totally out of sight under the tablecloth.
Still, the man stared straight ahead.
The waitress, thinking this behaviour just a little odd and worried that it might offend other diners, went over to the table and tactfully began by saying “Pardon me sir, but I think your wife just slid under the table."
The man calmly looked up at her and said,
“No….. she didn’t ….. she just walked in."
Live big & love deep.
Sunil
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