In a world currently obsessed with measuring talent and ability, we tend to overlook the important role of inspiration. Inspiration awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary experiences and limitations. Inspiration propels a person from apathy to possibility, and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities. Inspiration may sometimes be overlooked because of its elusive nature. Its history of being treated as supernatural or divine hasn’t helped the situation.

There’s a common belief that there are three fundamental ways to get people to do things: You can coerce them, you can motivate them or you can inspire them.

In the past, businesses have used carrots and sticks to get performance OUT of people.  Today, it’s all about having people who have achieved a particular goal or aim to act as sources of inspiration.

Carrots and sticks are necessary and always will be; however, 21st century leaders also recognize their limits and disadvantages.

Coercion requires an ongoing investment in a bureaucracy of rules, processes and enforcement.  Motivation is expensive, particularly in a down market where money does not flow as freely, dollar-based performance targets are more difficult to achieve and bonuses are more difficult to pay out.  Plus, motivation cannot be shared and rarely connects individuals to a higher sense of purpose.

We have entered an era of inspiration, where we will see great results from employees who are invested in not just the company’s potential for success but also the company’s underlying mission.  Employees do not work just for the pay but also for their ability to achieve something they find inspiring.

Inspirational leadership is also a lot more efficient.

As an example take Nelson Mandela. After 27 years in prison Nelson Mandela was freed in 1990 and negotiated the end of apartheid in South Africa bringing peace to a racially divided country and leading the fight for human rights around the world. This sparked various revolutions and protests alike worldwide regarding the freedom of oppressed people.

Another example would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. He rose to fame as the world’s top bodybuilder, launching a career that would make him a giant Hollywood star. After years of blockbuster movie roles, Schwarzenegger went into politics, becoming governor of California in 2003.

Following this a central culture rose worldwide for getting fit and having the body of a god/goddess. On a more fundamental aspect it has sparked people to live longer and have healthier lifestyles.

A very prominent source of inspiration is also Oprah Winfrey. Considered a hero and source of motivation and inspiration by many.  She is a woman who came from an abusive childhood and has become an influential television host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. When Oprah wants to make a change, she stands up for what she believes in. Oprah Winfrey is a source of inspiration to me personally because she is selfless and dedicated.

People’s values are at the root of Inspiration.  Values are efficient:  a handful help us navigate infinite situations better than any rule book.  They are timeless:  giving us strength to be consistent even though the pressures of life tell us to be situational.  They are enduring:  inspiring us to be principled however inconvenient, unpopular or dangerous that might be.  Values elevate us to act beyond what we can do, to embrace what we should do.

Whereas coercion and motivation happens to you, inspiration happens in you.

A great way to get started to feel inspired by those around you could be to start reading the biographies of the greats worldwide.

So you enter the professional world and now you need to learn how to navigate the work office environment and how to play in the office politics.

We shared our lessons on navigating the work office environment and looked back at how we felt when we first start.

We questioned whether putting on our professional persona was us faking it or us adapting to our environment. Obviously, we can’t do some of our home comforts in the workplace such as maybe farting or burping – I guess things you wouldn’t do in public.

But one of the big difference is the way you communicate – the language you use whilst in the workplace is different to how you talk when you are at home.

You will rather than saying “What’s up” you’ll probably say “Hey, how are you doing?”

This communication extends to way you communicate digitally via email and instant messaging, as employees we are sometimes aware that our communication is monitored.

It’s important that you approach work in a professional manner, you are paid to complete your job and as a result, you should take being on time seriously.

Being early speaks volumes, even if it’s to meeting or deadlines.

What also goes a long way is being socially active, by attending the work social – even the ones you don’t enjoy you have the opportunity to build and form new relationships. From these relationships, you can utilise to work your way in the office but also it may present opportunities.

A habit is something we do or think on a repeated basis that becomes automatic. As such, we tend not to think about it or put a lot of brain power towards it. For example, waking up and brushing your teeth. This is something that (hopefully), you do on a daily basis without thinking about. Self- beliefs can also affect our habits in terms of what we do, think and the way in which we behave.

Most behaviours that precede habits are set off by cues. A cue is simply defined as a trigger or something that triggers our thoughts or behaviour.

After this cue, a routine is formed. Essentially it’s the action/behaviour that has been triggered by the cue. Routine and habit are essentially interchangeable. Once the routine has been completed we then receive a reward. This is when the brain sends a message to your body, letting you know that what has just happened is really good and in a sense encourages you to do that same routine as often as possible until it eventually becomes a habit.

The brain can’t distinguish what is good from bad at times, hence why some people have developed really bad habits, but feel as though they are good or normal. Such examples include smoking and eating an unhealthy diet.

Another factor that can influence our habits is procrastination. Put simply, procrastination is an emotion management problem. It usually boils down to that all-important moment of facing a task, experiencing the negative emotions associated with it, and doing the task despite those negative emotions.

That’s the top skill needed to overcome procrastination: taking action despite experiencing negative thoughts and emotions. Taking action even if you don’t feel like doing it, even if you feel anxious about doing it, even if you feel overwhelmed, even if you feel stressed out.

I think it’s very important to understand that our thoughts and emotions don’t have to dictate our behaviour

Put simply, habits manage our minds, feelings and actions, essentially everything do. They save us brain energy, leaving us energy to carry out more taxing tasks including creative thinking.

And as habits are the brains shortcut to acting in certain ways, they are seen as automatic. This is brilliant when its good automatic behaviour.

Making habits out of the things we do repeatedly, our behaviours and actions – provides our brain with a power saving or effort saving mechanism.  An automatic response requires less creativity and complexity of thinking from us.

Its hard to break old habits, as habits become hard wired into us over time, you might be surprised to find that you can actually chance your habits, especially bad habits. With time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped. Some people believe that it can take anywhere from 21 – 90 days to fomr a new habit.

Looking at the image above, to change a habit you have to start with the habit, identify what specifically you wish to change and with what replacement habit to take its place. After this you then start with tackling the cue. Tackle the cue that triggers that particular behaver, recognise it and then practice the new routine.

From here you can look at different rewards. Rewards are powerful because they satisfying cravings. But we’re often not conscious of the cravings that drive our behaviours.

To figure out which cravings are driving particular habits, it’s useful to experiment with different rewards. This might take a few days, or a week, or longer. During that period, you shouldn’t feel any pressure to make a real change.

By expe

In this episode, Anton and Ola discuss the difference in the growth mindset and fixed mindset.

It was only a couple of weeks ago Ola mentioned the difference after coming across Carol Dweck research and as a result clarity was made in understanding people who are settled in life and those who want to do and be more.

A mindset is the way we view the world and ourselves often shaped by our childhood experience.

It is interesting to know that our experiences shape us into the adults that we are today. Although the above may be true we all have the power to learn, adapt and change our behaviour and mindset.

It’s a term first coined by Carol Dweck who established a difference in mindset and how children mindset is shaped by experiences and interaction with adults

She stated that the language spoken to a youngster is important, rather than discouraging them we should look at changing our terminology. For example, if a child fails at something use the term “No Yet” and contribute their failures to them not being ready right now.

It easy to understand how childhood experience can manifest into adult life, and why sometimes avoid difficult situations to avoid being in difficult situations.

So are you going to have a race with Usain Bolt?

Yes – I’m willing to take the L and learn from the experience.

or

Nah I know I won’t win so what’s the point!

Perhaps we can have a mixture of the two.

For example, Ola is mostly a growth mindset person but there are moments when he will revert to his fixed mindset. He explains this as he talks about a recent job opportunity that he decided not to apply.

Growth is like a plant, it starts off as a small seed but if you nature it well it will grow. Allow yourself to grow from a plant into a forest.

It has been just under a decade since the infamous house prices crash back in 2008, and yet many millennials are increasingly finding it difficult to get a footing on the property ladder within the UK. This is primarily, but not limited to, the high deposit required to get a mortgage.

In the year to October prices for all buyers rose by 9.9 per cent, with the biggest increase for four years with London values surging by 18.7 per cent to £485,000.

Meaning that for you to get an average priced house in the capital with a 20% deposit you’d need £97,000 for a deposit. This doesn’t include the relevant fees associated with the purchase of a house either.

This essentially marks the biggest rises for new homebuyers in many years, and is currently making that all important dream of homeownership for many is seem more like a dream and even further out of reach in reality.

But not all hope is lost, as there are various government schemes that can help you buy a home. These include Help to Buy, Right to Buy and Shared Ownership.

Assuming you only have a small deposit, you could be eligible to use the Help to buy scheme:

The Right to Buy is for tenants in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who rent their home from their local council.

It allows tenants who qualify, to buy their home at a discount.

The size of the discount varies depending on where you live and the type of property you want to buy.

Tenants who were living in a council home before it transferred to another landlord such as a housing association, might be eligible to buy their home under the ‘Preserved’ Right to Buy or Right to Acquire schemes.

Shared ownership is where you buy a share of a home from the landlord, who is usually the council or a housing association, and rent the remaining share.

You need a mortgage to pay for your share, which can be between a quarter and three-quarters of the home’s full value.

You then pay a reduced rent on the share you don’t own.

Later you can choose to buy a bigger share in the property up to 100% of its value

This scheme aims to help low and modest income earners buy or rent at a price that’s affordable.

You part buy and part rent the property – mostly for newly built homes but some other properties are included.

There are eligibility criteria based on earnings.

You can’t buy a home on the open market.

The Help to Buy equity loan scheme is a government scheme currently set to run until 2020.

It’s available to first-time buyers as well as homeowners looking to move – but only for newly built homes.

The Starter Home scheme is a new government plan, where 200,000 new build homes are available to first-time buyers under 40 years old with at least 20% off the market price.

The discounted price for these homes should be priced no more than £250,000 outside London, and £450,000 in London.

Why not use this

In true Tag Me In Podcast fashion how Ola conquered his fears of public speaking as mentioned on EP10 – Public Speaking or Die

Join Anton and Ola as they discuss the events of Toast2Young London networking event, where they hosted (for the first time) with some amazing panellists who shared their current levels of success, as well as their trials and tribulations.

They also discuss the power and importance of one’s network and circle. They say your network is your net worth, and that couldn’t be truer!

On top of this, they also go into networking do’s and don’ts, the importance of going in with a giving mindset, as oppose to just wanting to take from others.

The panellist included:-

Mariam is an entrepreneur, author and founder of Europe’s leading female mentoring initiative, Mentor MatcHER. Mariam founded Mentor MatcHER after giving birth to her daughter in prison and seeing the lack of support available to women in business and the workplace.

Brixton Soup Kitchen, founded in January 2013, when Solomon Smith and Mohamed Hashi, Lambeth youth workers and lifelong Brixtonians realised there was a desperate need for such an organisation. The Brixton Soup Kitchen is currently open four days a week and offers so much more than hot food and drinks; they provide CV workshops, job guidance and advice on housing and benefits.

Thank you to #bbcradiolondon for having us today, We was talking with the lovely Jumoke about the struggles we face at the #BrixtonSoupKitchen with no funding but still finding the way to keep smiles on our faces…

Although not spoke about as often, we all need love. The funny thing is most people spend most of their energy on loving others around us. Such as family, friends, colleagues etc. the thing is that those around us can only provide us with so much love, and it comes as of and when they wish to show it.

There is where self-love comes in. it gives you the power and confidence to feel amazing about yourself whenever you wish, without being dependant on the love of others. Funnily enough there are health benefits of self-love.

Benefits of Self-love

Apart from the obvious of the feel good factor, self-love can benefit your life in many ways, too:

Ways to actually show love to yourself

Now it’s all good and well understanding the benefits it can provide but here are practical steps to actually show that love to yourself.

Recognizing the value of self-love is the first step to improving your quality of life. Adding more self-love to your life is the next thing you need to accomplish. Here are some tips to help you:

We are back again and with a really interesting topic, this week we openly discussed our encounters and views of dating online.

Online dating is the practice of searching for a romantic or sexual partner on the Internet, with a variety of mobile apps it fits into an everyday person lifestyle.

It’s common to hear that If you haven’t met your partner at university or at work, then it will be tough for you to find a partner.

There is some truth in this an average person spends most their time commuting, and at work what other opportunities are there to meet your next partner.

1 in 5 relationship have met their partner online, which highlights the changes within society.

The common ways people meet are usually when they are out and about, in social settings with friends or online dating.

Matching up by friends aka the friend referral offers some advantages such as a Full MOT check with past drivers (maybe too much information), but you know they share similar qualities – if you show me your friends it will show me who you are.

But have you heard of the stigmas usually attached to online dating?

Do you agree with the stigmas? Is it a sign of desperation? Or is it coming to terms with the trend – if you can’t beat them join them?

Now there are 100s of website and apps dedicated to online dating addressing people’s interests and hobbies; like take for example if you are a fan of dogs believe it or not, there is a dating site solely for dog lovers.

After sharing how we came to terms of dating online and joining the infamous “finger swiping” lifestyle we spoke about our experience on some of them.

Plenty of fish also know as POF is a well-known dating app – just take one look at the app store, but Ola questioned the calibre of people on the site.

Bumble is a great app but Anton questioned how popular the app was simply because of seeing old profiles of people who are now in a relationship even married with children.

Tinder has a reputation as being filled with men who just want to have fun.

Eharmony – We joked and laughed about Ola dating profile, and said paying for online sites is almost like paying for love, but paid sites offer a bit more quality.

It’s normal to be on various of dating sites, the important thing is you have to find a site that suits you.

Although it may seem like a relatively simple task, becoming and being an adult is not as easy as it sounds.

Most would be confused to think that being an adult is something that simply comes with age, whereas others would argue that its more to do with life experience and lessons learnt over the years.

I think its safe to say that its probably a combination of both age and life experience that defines you as an adult.

I recently read an amazing article that made various points to remember and consider with adult life.

I think most of the points relate to life in general but more so in adult life.

1. Don’t be an idiot, generally.

2. If you’re going to drive, don’t drink. See 1 above.

3. When you’re driving, leave your phone alone. Snapchat can wait.

4. And leave it alone when you’re with people, the kind you can reach out and touch.

5. Ask for help when you need it. Don’t struggle alone.

6. Don’t expect too much from people and don’t blame anyone for the way your life turned out. Take responsibility.

7. Face your past, make peace with it and move along.

8. Read, please.

9. Be that person who knows a little about a lot and a lot about one thing at least.

10. Stop talking about other people so much. Maybe stop talking so much, generally.

11. Save, a little at a time. It’s called discipline and discipline is essential for living a grown-up life.

12. You know the guy who buys everyone drinks at the bar on pay day? Don’t be him. He’s the poster boy for idiocy.

13. I’ll reinforce that point: Rich people don’t need to buy strangers a round of drinks to prove anything. It proves nothing.

14. Don’t crash weddings. It’s beneath you. Shut up already about the gastronomic value of small chops. Don’t let your appetite embarrass you.

15. When you’re actually invited (as in you have an actual invite), attend the marriage ceremony itself and skip the reception. The first is beautiful, the second usually taints the awe of the first: hunger and alcohol bring out the worst in people.

16. Speaking of marriage, you know the people who got married because “We were pressured?” Don’t be those people.

17. Be on time every time. Try.

18. Put more effort into listening.

19. Be friends with people who exist off the internet.

20. Don’t beg for sex. I know you’re thirsty, it’ll pass.

21. Know your alcohol limit: the point after which you can no longer trust yourself to look out for yourself.