I spoke to a friend, Akash, recently who shared with me an amazing realisation he had about himself.

Akash is studying pharmaceuticals in university and like many of us, has always struggled with comparing himself to others.

He told me all about how before, he would see his peers and fellow students, his friends and family and incessantly compare himself to them.

This would be in grades, careers choice and progression, relationships and even just how fulfilled they seem to be.

Sound familiar at all?

Well since then, he made great progress and now feels as a though a great…

When we set out to start a new project that involves other people, most of us will focus on the hard skills needed to get the job done.

Which makes sense, obviously.

You can’t build a technology startup if you don’t have the technical skills to begin with.

And you can’t start a cupcake bakery if you don’t know how to bake.

But focusing on the tangible ‘hard’ skills within yourself and within your team isn’t going to get you very far. That’s actually the easy part.

Sure, the machine will seem to have all its components but look closely…

You have probably already heard of the old phrase from Benjamin Franklin on sleep:

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

We can all agree that everybody needs to give their sleep more attention. It’s critical to optimum functionality throughout your day and can almost be a public service to others since you won’t be as irritable.

But you probably haven’t heard of the other old phrase, coined by Benjamin Franklin’s much cooler, older brother:

“Early to rise and early to bed, makes a man healthy but socially dead.”

You probably don’t know…

The end of something in your life most likely, will always bring some pain. Endings generally signify the death of something: Be it a sense of self, relationship, a business venture or even losing an item.

Acknowledging something as finished, failed or ended can be tough. Not only are you mourning the death of whatever it is but you must also deal with the fact that you were wrong about something.

When it comes to it though, the majority of us can rationally understand when something has run its course. …

Recently, I was speaking with a good friend of mine who was interested in Apple Watch and wanted to pick my brain for more information. After talking her through the workout and health benefits, the conversation turned into how she was managing her energy levels throughout the day.

Sacha is in school studying for her second degree but is also passionate about keeping fit and exercising. It was becoming difficult to balance both the demands of her studies and her need to get a workout in somewhere during the day, as well as spend time her boyfriend too.

Stop me…

It’s easy to become consumed by the details of a person or product, especially when you’re comparing potential partners or an expensive purchase.

We go over personality traits like a spec sheet and spec sheets like they’re scripture. Comparing arbitrary details as though they will provide you the definitive answer you’re so desperately looking for.

You kneel at the alter of tangible features and attributes; your intuition atrophied like your Facebook usage.

But if you’re looking too closely at the styling of the door handle — you’ll miss that some doorhandles are attached to luxury vehicles, and some to toilet…

Every day is a practice in many things. Protecting your mind from getting snared in the every day scenarios is one of the most important.

Emotional responses to the people, situations and even inanimate objects tell of an untrained mind. They show a mind that reacts instead of creates.

To accept things as they are and let them flow past us with a smile is an important thing to remember and something we should all strive for.

Speak up

But what about when it’s time to take a stand. To speak out, to stand up and say no. Against the people who…

“Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition.”

As the New Year approaches, many of us will commit to new ways to become better versions of ourselves. Whether it’s to become fitter and faster or bigger and better, we all invariably commit to one new resolution if we are to be successful in accomplishing it.

The resolution of a new routine.