Random bullets: three wise men

Random bullets from 3 wise men:

• David Slack is one of the most eloquent writers around. He's a speechwriter, and the brains behind speeches.com. His post on Public Address on how to write a maiden political speech is a classic. Check it out. He starts with the question "Why are you here?" and gets better after that.
  
• My favourite writer Malcolm Gladwell has a new book out in a few days. It's called Outliers and is about people who are exceptional. I can't wait.
  
• Ian Brodie has a post "don't tell 'em what you told 'em..," on his blog, reminding me why the simple formula that works in training won't work if you're doing a keynote speech. I like his point that the purpose of a keynote could be one of 3 things: to make a speech -which is to get one point across to an audience, to entertain, or to educate and train.
  

A to Z of luck : Enthusiasm

It's Day 5 of my project to identify things which help bring luck.  I am working on the theory, that the Genius of luck is first, spotting opportunities, and second, taking advantage of them. 

Today: E is for Enthusiasm

Opportunities come the way of people who show they are keen to help out and keen to take action.  Enthusiasm, or keenness, or general positivity makes you a much nicer person to be around (provided, of course, it is balanced by groundedness and giving space for other people - no one likes people who are so manically enthusiastic that they take up all the oxygen in the room. ) 

If you need help in being more positive, energised and enthusiastic, try the Improv game "Yes And"with a friend.   You tell a story, taking turns to add a sentence.  Each time, their sentence begins with "Yes and ...".  That's it.  Try it.  Try it with yourself if no-one else is around.

There's no chance to block ideas, be negative or critical, it gets you into a positive, accepting mindset, and all that positivity is positively energising.  

When I did performance improv with Short and Girlie, I always got there early for warm-ups, and always tried to do a round of "Yes and ..." with each of the players on the evening, especially those I didn't know well.  It really helped to put me into a creative, lively mindset.  

And of course - being positive, aware, alert to opportunities, listening to those around us can all help us be alert to opportunities, and generally make us luckier.  

Tomorrow, the letter F!