For years, people have said that insurance is sold and not bought. The stigma surrounding the industry and those representing it still hangs thick in our social memory, with old stories of brokers peddling policies purely to earn commission instead of seeking the best needs of their clients. However, in the last decade or so, we saw a shift in motivation for sales, with a breed of financial planners and advisors emerging who chose to put […]
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Bigger. Better. Best.
“Negative feedback can make us bitter, or it can make us better.” – Robin Sharma Have you ever received feedback from someone that knocked the wind out of you, almost knocking you a step back? It’s horrible, soul-destroying, and something most of us will avoid wherever we can. Generally, we don’t walk around looking for complaints, criticism and challenge to our ideas and actions. But – this will inevitably happen regularly throughout life. In fact, the […]
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Dealing with stress
With a positive approach, physical and mental stress can both be helpful in moving from a fixed to a growth mindset. Research has found that people who adopt the mindset that “stress is enhancing” experience more exceptional performance and fewer negative health symptoms (Crum & Crum, 2018). It’s easy to try and avoid stress entirely, especially since we operate in overdrive way too often. Instead of finding the balance, we swing from each end of the […]
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Get more out of your productive time
“A deep life is a good life.” – Cal Newport, Author of “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.” Have you heard of deep work? A term coined by Cal Newport, deep work is a state of distraction-free concentration when your brain works at its maximum potential. As you read this, you probably realise just how hard it is to find a space of genuinely distraction-free concentration. Even whilst reading this blog, you […]
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Clarity and purpose to your day
“What you don’t do determines what you can do.” – Tim Ferriss When you sit down to work, what do you do first? Do you open your emails, check your task manager, flip through your diary or sip on your favourite beverage whilst listening to a meditation? How we begin our day is pretty important to how productive and joy-filled our day might be. According to some research, starting by working through our emails is the […]
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Productivity hacks
“Focus on being productive instead of busy.” – Tim Ferriss If your to-do list is stressing you out, worry no more. Sometimes productivity is not about trying to squeeze even more things into each day, but rather about working smarter and not harder. We all want to be more productive when a new year, month or week rolls around, but can we be? Here are five tips to help you hack your productivity potential. Print out […]
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A wrap on waste
“Be part of the solution, not part of the pollution.” – Unknown It’s a terrible misnomer, but the festive season – which is all about cheer and goodwill to all in various religions – is one of the most wasteful of the year. There are piles of present wrappings, tons of unwanted toys and lots of leftovers – but it doesn’t have to be that way. To enjoy less wasteful and more charitable festivities this year, […]
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Reconnecting with your values
When life gets full and busy, it’s hard to remember why we do what we do, and it’s easy to become unhealthily disconnected from who and what we value. As Dr Susan David often says, finding your “why” can be as simple as reconnecting with your values and reframing your everyday activities in relation to those values. This is not so easy when we’re under pressure to perform and meet the expectations that have been placed […]
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And what are the voices saying?
There are times in the year when we see and engage with more people than usual – through end-of-year functions, annual celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, funerals and the like. It can be wonderful – but it can also be stressful. We are quickly reminded that these old friends, colleagues and distant family from far-off shores have opinions that challenge our own, and they’re all too willing to offer unsolicited advice. All these voices can be exhausting […]
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Holiday Home Hiatus
“Some of your best ideas come when you’re on vacation.” – Gautam Singhania Experts such as Ross Levin, managing director for Seeff Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl, expected a massive summer season for Cape Town in 2022, with rates and occupancies predicted to exceed pre-Covid levels. “Following the two-year Covid chaos, there is pent-up demand for travel from both the local and international market,” he said. The demand for holiday homes in South Africa has remained […]
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