All posts filed under: Friends

10 Things That Bring You Joy

Published by Colin Nanka

An old classic from 2010 Many of us do not take time to appreciate what brings joy into our life. We are consumed making a living, paying the bills, taking care of kids/family, obligations, and keeping our head above water.  Have you ever thought, if you could take an unplanned day, what you would do?  There are many successful entrepreneurs/executives and executive coaches that believe the time to rejuvenate the spirit is absolutely essential to their success. Some take personal time every 2nd week, take a 5-day extended weekend every month or take an adventure/relaxation trip once per quarter. Many of us in corporate land may find a challenge in those scenarios, however, there are creative ways it can be done. Think about it for a few minutes, what is it that brings you joy? Take out a pen and write down ten things that bring you joy (or for those of you reading on the blackberry/iPhone, create a task and type it in).  Some will come from times in the past when you were …

What do you do, when no one else is watching?

Published by Colin Nanka

Digging back into the archives – I wrote this in 2009. Many people can get by in life by taking the easy route, winging or faking there way through life situations.  How much energy or effort does it take to go the easy route?.  In most cases, I would say 80%.  It takes a lot of ingenuity, creativity to mask the holes in your story.  These are good characteristics when used in the proper setting.  So why not just do the actual work?  How does it make you feel knowing you haven’t done what was asked?  How does it affect your confidence?  I find for me, I get a little nervous, I think about it all day long, I have stories in my head wondering how my boss, colleague or friend is going to react.  These “realities” are usually far worse than the actual reaction…and that is usually just disappointment. What you do when no when else is watching, is the true mark of your character.  What you probably don’t realize is that what you …

101 Things to do before you die

Published by Colin Nanka

I recently read an article that referenced this story about Ted Leonsis’ brush with death back in 1983 and how it transformed his life. http://espn.go.com/page2/wash/s/020312leonsis.html “Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals and an Internet multimillionaire, may seem like a guy who has it all. But he hasn’t done it all. When he survived a plane crash landing in 1983, he made a list of 101 things he wanted to do in life. “ I was fortunate enough to be able to meet Mr. Leonsis back in 2000 when I was visiting a friend in Washington, DC. At the time one of my friends had been traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Washington Capitals and was a third line winger, and one of the hardest working players on the team. That particular time I attended, the team was retiring Dale Hunters #22 Jersey and my friend got me invited upstairs to the party. The entire team, families, and friends of Dale Hunters were there. It was quite a night. At one point in …

Travel builds grittiness

Published by Colin Nanka

I’ve heard people say, every time you travel away from home you write another page in the journal of your life.  I asked a couple successful women I know what how they built grit and what contributed to their success. They both said moving and re establishing themselves in new cities and traveling the world.  Both moved to North America from different continents.  They had to establish new friends, where to live, everything you need to survive and thrive. There are many obstacles to overcome, sometime including a language. The muscle you build overcoming adversity sticks with you.  Similar when you travel internationally. You will always run into roadblocks or detours along the way. How you get by, get through or overcome makes or breaks those trips, the experience and how you grow and learn.  I moved from Edmonton to Toronto at 28 and Toronto to NYC at 39! Probably later moves than most. In addition, I really started traveling the world extensively in the last decade.  Whether you were guided into your first moves …