Robbie MacKay

Yesterdays post didn’t really sit right with me. I posted it anyway but now I’m calling bullshit.

Life doesn’t really have a purpose other than experience and what ever you say matters to you… This may be many things… and this may be similar to what I said yesterday – but one this it certainly isn’t is a job.

If you have the pleasure of turning your chosen passion or purpose into your day job – then I hope you’ll agree with me. Because now even your day job isn’t really a job at all!

A Zen Poet said, “A person who is a master in the art of living makes little distinction between their work and their play, their labor and their leisure, their mind and their body, their education and their recreation, their love and their religion. They hardly know which is which and simply pursue their vision of excellence and grace, whatever they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing. To them they are always doing both.”

So go, live life and love life… but don’t treat whatever purpose you’ve chosen like a bad day job. It may not be easy but it doesnt have to be hard work…

Enjoy!

Update: Just found this post over at Mind the Beginner which seems relevant.

To see the good in everyone.
That is my job in life…

Why? Because I say so.. Because its what I’m drawn to do.

No matter the person there is something good there, something beautiful…
In their darkest moment when they do their worst to me… I will remember who they are.
I may get angry or upset.. but in the end I will try to see it from their side..
A friend used to refer to this as ‘Leadership creating leadership’ – seeking to inspire everyone and see everyone as a leader.

If some part of my life isn’t working its often because I’m failing to see the good in something or someone..

This isn’t to say you have to pick just one thing…I have a few of these. Many of the important things in my life fit into this framework. They’re not something someone told me to do, or something I have to do… they are just what I say my life is for. I’ve posted this quote before but I think it fits this post so here it is again:

This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

George Bernard Shaw

What’s your job in life? What are you passionate about? What do you say you life is for?

Don’t think about what you can do or what you think is possible…
What do you want to do? What do you want your life to be about?

Now go!

Update: Be sure to check out the next post

I’ve just moved all my old posts over to this new blog under my own domain. I’m already enjoying having the freedom to install whatever plugins I like so I think it was a good move.

This blog is still a work in progress as always, including the title at the moment. I’m now working under Leadership creating leadership.. I’m not sure if that quite fits yet but my current aim is to offer inspiration to wake you up (or keep you awake) and have you start being more responsible for your world!

If you keep reading then let me know how I go… Any feedback, good or bad, is greatly appreciated!

I’ve got a few draft posts in the works so come back soon or subscribe to the RSS feed.

Worn out? tired? frustrated?…

For me this is common.
Its happens when I find all my energy and drive going nowhere.

Turn that energy into something worthwhile…

What can you do right now?

What can you do today?

What have you been waiting for time to do?

What have you been putting off?

Don’t sit round being unproductive or trying to finish the task that’s frustrating you…

Take 5 mins, 15 mins, an hour… Take as long as you need or can…
Do something else…

Turn your energy into something great…

Maybe you have a project you’ve been waiting to start?

You’ve been meaning to make a loan on Kiva?

You want to volunteer your time? (donatenz.co.nz)

Go for it!

Do it now!

You might find completing that frustrating task much easier afterwards…

I’m watching this late on thursday night and I thought I’d pass it on.. its a beautiful idea combining social and environmental justice.. In Van Jones’ words: “The powerpoint that Al Gore would do if he was Black”

A few other links for you to read:

• The Earth Charter
• Climate Change and Peak Oil for New Zealanders
• Awakening the Dreamer
• For any young professionals – check out Intersect (the link goes to my profile )

I spent all day Tuesday at a sustainability so I’ll have post either on that or inspired by it following soonish

I just saw someone using a leaf blower to move grass cuttings out of the gutter… simply blowing them onto the road…

What the…?

So you used some energy to cut the grass – sure.. you want short grass, that I can understand…

But then you used more energy (petrol in this case) to blow the grass cuttings onto the street?

The wind is just going to blow them back again…

What a waste!

Its a mundane example, but it illustrates my point:
We’ve stopped thinking about what we’re doing

We use energy like it has no impact…

Well start thinking again because your actions have an impact

Find the things you do that waste energy
Then stop doing them

I noticed that now I have a car, I drive to my girlfriends place regularly
A ten minute drive where I used to take the bus or train..

So I’ve decided that I’m going to try running or biking there instead
Its a simple change (and for me not a huge inconvenience) which should reduce my carbon footprint

I don’t expect everyone to stop driving all the time
Find ways to save energy which work for you.. then share them

Find new ways to do things
Stop doing things which just waste energy
Keep thinking about what you’re doing

Barack Obama – first black president of the United States..

I never would have thought I’d see the day… I still didn’t believe it when I first heard… but there it is..

Today we wake to a different world… something new is possible…

Today is Blog action day… I only just discovered this thanks to bwagy… now what to contribute??

First up I’m currently working on a few related things: I work with Engineers WIthout Borders & I’m building a website for the Fair Trade Assocation.

But these seem like fairly minor contributions compared to the problem..

Poverty is such a big issue that we tend to just shut off when ever it comes up..

We don’t want to get present to whats really going on in the world..

Wake up!

We’re so busy trying to ignore the problem, we forget that small contributions eventually add up…

Everytime I see someone collecting money for an appeal – I think I should give them something… then I hesitate… by the time I’ve thought it through I’ve already walked past… ‘the chance is gone’ I tell myself..

It’s time to stop thinking, stop considering… start giving…

This isn’t just about poverty. It’s the environment, human rights, any other issue… we think we don’t make any difference so we don’t try..

Remember – ‘Eighty percent of success is showing up’ - The same applys for making a difference… show up, keep showing up… see what happens…

Ok – warning: this is a bit of a mind dump… hopefully its useful

I watched the movie Energy Crossroads a week ago – part of the Reel Earth Film Festival.

It covers similar subject matter to The Inconvenient Truth but with more depth, much less of a laymans view on it and more history. I could talk about it more but I’ll just say go see it if you can… it’s worth your time and money.

I’m not going to give you a big write up. I’ll just list my ideas and  do with them what you will (and let me know what you think!)

Ideas (starting with the obvious) on actions to take:

• Reducing rubbish
• Growing my own food
• Use public transport
• Sustainability meetup? Sustainable entrepreneurs meetup? Save the world meetup?
  Anyone keen? 
• Write books and start to research alternative solutions for energy
  Including: Transmission solutions, Low wind speed generation
• What do I need to study/get trained in to make the biggest difference?
• What big industry is there, that produces lots of waste, that has yet to reduce it?
  Start an example company that produces less waste and leads the industry. (like New Belgium)
• We continue to relate like seperate countries and it doesnt work – there are no REAL seperate countries – just 1 planet. We’re all the same people, now its time to start acting like it and stop blaming everyone else.
• Be the change I want to see in the world
• Look at my life time, the likely milstones environmentally (and otherwise), and what I can do to change the world . Then start doing it. Include studies and getting experience, changing my own lifestyle, and developing technologies.
• Blade servers – heatsinks that ‘plug in’ with the board. and connect to central cooling system which radiates heat out of the room. Eliminates energy wasted to circulate air and cool rest of the space etc. Use the heat to generate power?
• Also mentioned in the movie: http://www.newbelgium.com/ – a brewery that does some really cool sustainable stuffs!
• The only statement in the movie that bothered me was a comment at the end about not giving up our current lifestyle – houses, transport etc. I don’t think we need to lose it all but we need to change our lifestyle somewhat.

I recently read The Dip, a great little book by Seth Godin. It inspired these thoughts about tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand.

Tall poppy syndrome refers to the phenomenon where high achievers and/or people who stand out are criticised or resented for their talents or achievements.

We often talk about tall poppy syndrome and how bad it is.

The fear is that if we standout someone will cut us down.

It occurred to me however that the real crime is not that people cut others down for doing well or standing out. I honestly don’t know if people really do that.

The crime is that we let that stop us from standing out.
We let them cut us down.

And then we teach each other (and our kids) to be worried about people cutting us down and to be careful about standing out.

At the moment it doesn’t matter if people cut us down or not, we never do anything to stand out anyway.

We are still afraid, and we are letting that control us.

So start standing out, start doing great things.
If someone cuts you down? – Challenge them to better you instead
If someone thinks you’re great? – Celebrate with them, thank them.. and show them they can be great too!

What do you think? – Comment and let me know

Note: I’m going to try and post updates every Wednesday so look out for another post in a week