Hi..my name is Rex !
my job is to keep an eye on things…watch out for pirates,
marauders… you know, be a vicious guard dog
I do impressions too…
in my next life I want to come back as Rex… again ;-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the coolverse
"Scenes from an Italian restaurant"
Billy Joel
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Tagged: black lab, dogs of oia, pets, santorini dogs
The man to whom the above quote is attributed had considerable capability when it came to thinking… in fact he is considered by many (myself included) to possess the most innovative / creative mind of all time. His name… Leonardo Da Vinci.
There was a younger contemporary of Leonardo… who also happened to be rather talented. His name… Michelangelo.
Both of these men had remarkable capabilities and talents. Their skill levels were immense and both were capable of creating work of enormous complexity. At least that’s how it was perceived by other… less talented and less inspired artists. Alas…they saw things others could not. The quotes above give us a clear indication that their philosophy, their aesthetic values and clarity of vision, were indeed inspirationally simple. They were both very “clear” in their belief that “less” is in fact…. “more“.
Many years later there was of course another relatively intelligent man… who told us that “things should be made as simple as possible… but not simpler”. And just in case anyone wanted to argue with his theory on simplicity he constructed an equation which managed to capture the known laws of the universe. His e=mc2 equation is so elegant… so ingenious, that it redefined physics. His theory of relativity as represented by this equation redefined what I like to call “complexity surrounded by simplicity”.
To give you another example of ”complexity surrounded by simplicity”… think about this. The deepest penetration levels achieved by devices/inventions used in every day life over the past 100 years have been achieved by the “telephone” and “electricity”. Why? Because the complexity of the inner workings of these inventions were hidden from the user. Anybody… even a 100-year old, can use a telephone and turn on a light switch. They don’t need to know how the telephone exchange works or how electricity is generated and/or distributed. They just need to know how to “dial a number” and “flick a switch”. THAT…is “complexity surrounded by simplicity”.
As people we have developed a predisposition to complicate things… to believe we are superior because “we understand” and “they don’t”… to basically believe our own bullshit. We confuse ourselves about what’s important and delude ourselves about what is the essence of our existence. We complicate our lives to the point where we lose the plot completely… and then we blame everyone but ourselves and ask for divine assistance or buy a book on “zen”, which ever is closer and easier at the time. We are seemingly incapable of learning from nature or even from our “enlightened” fellow humans. If Leonardo, Michelangelo and Albert, tell us that ‘less is more’… you’d think we’d listen. But alas… we don’t.
A few years back I was addressing the board of a state-owned electrical utility. Twelve senior execs sitting on a long table looking at me… perplexed at what I was saying to them. Almost all of them from an engineering background… their conceptual understanding of customer service was virtually non-existant. A customer was an account number to them. An address…nothing more, nothing less. In an effort to help them understand that their view of the “customer” was Jurassic… I asked them: “gentlemen… I’m curious, what business are you in exactly?”
The next five minutes were taken up by monologues about “electricity generation”, “electricity distribution”, “poles & wires” etc etc etc. The senior engineers had a stereotypical view of the organisation’s “purpose for being”. I nodded as they spoke and then said “gentlemen… if I may, I would like you to consider this… that the business you are in is in fact the “PEACE OF MIND’ business”. As I spoke I turned and wrote these words on the blank white board… then turned and said “you see gentlemen… the customer doesn’t give a flying f… how you generate electricity… how you bring it to the cities or how you distribute it across millions of homes… all he wants to know is that when he flicks the switch- the power goes ON. Your product is electricity… but your business is quite simply ‘peace of mind’ “.
With that I walked away to the side and looked at all of them… looking at the board.
You could’ve heard a pin drop…
Somehow I don’t think anyone had ever explained to them the simplicity of their business in the eyes of the customer. They always chose to see it through the eyes of engineers… a view completely removed from the eyes of the customer. To them it was about the complexities of the network… to the customer it was about seeing the light when he flicked the switch.
But life is funny and the universe works in mysterious ways. For the utility executives there was a tsunami called “deregulation” that came along and proved to them that paying attention to the customer may not be a bad idea after all. They became very grateful for seeing the light… so to speak. Similarly bankers and financial market players have come to realise that you can only complicate things so much. Sooner or later they will unravel and then there will be nowhere to hide. It’s funny how a disaster makes people think that they should’ve kept things simple in the first place.
It doesn’t have to be a disaster either… it can just be elegant innovation. The computer industry up until now was run my engineers. Complexity and geek-talk reigned supreme. Then… along comes a guy that actually focuses on design & the user experience. A heretic, a pirate (as the early Mac guys were known). He makes things simple… as simple as possible but not simpler. He hides the complexity and surrounds it with elegant simplicity. He pays total attention on the “user experience” as well as the aesthetics and styling. He sells you “Peace of Mind” incased in Michelangelo design. Now…the rest of them (computer executives) are like that long table of utility engineers…their mouths open, trying to work out WTF is going on. Simplicity and elegant styling has come along and virtually put them out of business… imagine that !
I guess by now you’re wondering what the hell all this has to do with Oia…or Santorini…or the Greek islands. I say EVERYTHING !
You see… simplicity of lifestyle has always been the most important and essential element of an islander’s existence. Everything in the house had a purpose… every room, every wall curve, every inch of the yard and the garden, served a purpose. There was no waste. Water was captured from the skies and the night moisture… the houses were designed to be warm in winter and cool in summer… and there were no Monsanto freakazoid seeds growing in their plots of land. Everything was pure, healthy, simple and self sufficient. Over the centuries their lives had been simplified and made totally efficient… completely aligned to their environment. To this day most of the islands live like this. Sure… tourism has left a footprint and a lot of the traditions of island lifestyle are under threat. But only if you let it happen. There are still infinite pleasures to be experienced as every day life on these islands… that city dwellers don’t even dream about.
I am not saying you should all move to the nearest island or rain forest. All I am saying is don’t underestimate the benefits of a simpler lifestyle.
A simplified life is not an empty life. It is not an unsophisticated life. Leonardo knew what he was talking about… and so did Michelangelo. Inside the chunk of marble that is a complicated life…is a work of art waiting to be carved free.
Emcsquare your life… carve away the excess marble, make your life a work of art.
`~)
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Tagged: elegant simplicity, emcsquare your life, leonardo da vinci, less is more, life on santorini, live in oia, living a simple life, michelangelo, oia, peace of mind, santorini, simplicity
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Tagged: images of santorini, oia sunset, photography, santorini sunset, sunset pictures
On a very cold, wet and very windy morning I find myself in Naxos… a beautiful island very near mine. The sky is grey, the wind is bitterly cold and there are no tourists anywhere to be seen…. come to think of it there aren’t many locals walking around either. Bliss…
So let’s pretend that I’ve waited for you at the port… to take you for a guided tour. The island has many stunning beaches and picturesque small villages… but we’re not here for that. Today we will look at the old part of the main town, a town that has seen many conquerors and experienced many cultures… and it shows. The Venetians were here for several centuries and the old part of town has retained much of the enchanting charm they introduced all those years ago. As we walk through you will get a sense of what it would be like in the middle of summer… lots of tanned, relaxed, mesmerised people around enjoying a dream holiday on a Greek island. People fall in love with Naxos… and each other, walking through these gorgeous narrow lanes. Let me show you why…
the gates of the temple of Apollo in the background…
the seas are angry and the wind is cold…
but once inside the old town we’re sheltered… admiring the old venetian fort
Naxos is one of the biggest producers of marble in Greece…
it’s stunning
and it’s used everywhere
the tiny little lanes hide many treasures as we walk through…
each corner leading us to another lane… another beautiful doorway
we wonder who lives in these places…
how many armies…soldiers and summer lovers have walked through
these pathways
the door must be hundreds of years old… the doorway
even older
we admire the attention to detail… the craftsmanship of the islanders
the church facade is completely covered in Naxos marble…
we stop to admire a Greek island scene worthy of a painting…
someone’s secret hideaway…
we wonder what it would be like to sit under these arches during
a hot summer night… sipping cold wine
and visiting the people that live here for dinner
or maybe having dinner here…
or here…
or perhaps have one of the Captain’s cocktails on a balmy
August night…
so many images here to make us think how lucky we are
to be in this magical place…
Chora (pronounced “ho-ra”… literally meaning “town”) is one of countless picturesque village towns on the Greek islands… but this has a very special charm. Maybe… during summer, we’ll walk through this magical place again to experience it under the summer night sky…
Hope you enjoyed our winter walk on Naxos ;-)
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Tagged: Chora, greek islands in winter, Naxos, naxos in winter, old town naxos
These thoughts started fifteen years ago…perhaps a little longer. At the time an 80-hour week was “below-real-time” and three plane-trips a week were par for the course. Back to back client meetings for days on end… airport-hotel-office-airport was the perpetual loop I followed day in-day out.
Think it’s easy? Try it for a month… see what happens to your mind. By the third week your brain will be scrabbled eggs… you won’t know what city you are in and your nightly sleep will be reduced to 3-4 hours. Your attention span will be almost inverted… your WOFT-radar on high alert (woft= waste of f@%^* time). Anything that lasts longer than 2-3 minutes is a drag…including conversations with family. Your bullshit tolerance is non-existent (especially in business terms) and people (read: 99.9% of all people around you) seem to be moving, speaking and thinking in slow motion. Welcome to the world of the “real” frequent flyer… the busy “man/woman”… the moron who thinks that this is “normal” and it’s everyone else that has a “boring” life. If you rang me right now and told me that I just described your life… I would put on my best “Darth Vader” voice and tell you “welcome to the dark side“.
Now…. take all of the above and stretch it out over 15 years. Impossible you say? It’s not! There are thousands, if not millions of people around the world that live like this for years on end. Some leave a trail of destruction in their personal lives…others leave a trail of destruction in their professional lives. Some others lose the plot completely… falling victims to addiction (alcohol/pills) and others quit and opt for a complete change of lifestyle (usually after 2-3 years at this pace).
The bottom line is that to cope with this kind of pace you need personal discipline. You need to think about the realities of your lifestyle and to try hard to remain “clear” about your life priorities, your objectives and your goals (note: not your dreams… your goals – more on this later). You need to digest the demands made on your brain and your senses. You need to find ways to motivate yourself, to propel yourself, to hold yourself back, to help you focus, to help you create, innovate, lead by example, make decisions on the fly and in doing all this…. remain completely stress free.
Impossible…I hear you say. But it’s not. At least I don’t think it is. In fact I will go further and tell you that you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on “personal development” courses… or attend weekend retreats with motivational gurus charging you the equivalent of your next family holiday. The method I will share with you was developed in the most basic way…using pen and paper during endless flights and/or waiting at airports. It was developed long before the vast majority of today’s “gurus” were self-employed (some were still in kindergarten). You don’t need special gadgets to carry around with you to remind you of things “to do”…. and the only “software” you will need is already prewired in your brain.
It all started by recognising and writing down the ultimate premise to live by… in one word “simplicity”. You have to simplify your life, even if it is wrapped in complexity. The outer layers can be as complex as they like…. but your inner core has to be simplified… it has to be stripped down to it’s primal thread. Your brain needs concise, clear instructions and the simpler they are…the better.
To do this I realised that rather than trying to carry a ton of information relating to tasks, objectives, goals and desired outcomes in your brain, you only need to carry one or perhaps two words. An entire morning’s workload, purpose, objectives…. can be reduced down to simple words. These could be “focus”, “finish”, “start”, “imagine”, “relentless” etc etc etc.
If for example you knew you were going to have 3-4 meetings in one morning and you were already tired or you had too many things in your mind…. then it’s pointless trying to get your brain to think of all the possible things that people may or may not say during these meetings. The real issue…the core issue for you that morning will be your ability to maintain “focus”. If you can manage to do that chances are your brain will be able to deal with all the other issues that arise. So your one word “mantra” that morning is “focus”. That’s it. That’s all you have to keep repeating to yourself.
If you had a morning where you had a several unpleasant tasks that had to be completed before you can do what you really liked doing…. then your one word would be “finish”. Every time you felt like stopping or moving on to something more fun to do… you repeat the one word message to yourself. FINISH !
If all else was failing… nothing seemed to be working and you needed a solution by the end of the day…. then the most obvious message to send to your brain is to stop and “imagine”… create a solution where there wasn’t one before. Tell your brain to “imagine”…. over and over again. Every time it drifts… say the word again… and again. You will be amazed what your brain can do when it has clear instructions.
If procrastination is your problem… then the obvious single-word message to yourself is “start”. That’s 90+ % of the game for a procrastinator. Make a START. That’s the only word you have to think about. Don’t worry about history, don’t worry about opportunities you missed in the past or excuses you managed to get away with (a real speciality of a good procrastinator). Just focus on one word…. START.
You can have a one word message for an hour, a morning or an entire day. Or you can have a day-specific word, as well as word for the week or the month… which keeps you in the direction with your goals for that week/month. You can have a one word message for your brain for a single conversation you are about to have with your boss, your spouse, your client or your teenage dominatrix daughter who is seemingly oblivious to anything you have to say. The situation can be anything at all… the core issue remains the same. You need to give your brain very clear, very concise instructions in order to cope and produce the desired outcomes. The one word message… if selected correctly, will help you stay focused and on track. It will stop your mind from drifting and/or going random. It will bring clarity and precision to your thinking and actions. It will keep you aligned.
I said earlier that you need to stay clear and focused on your goals…not your dreams. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dream. Dream often and dream big…. but if you really want to make your dreams come true then you have to take the start of your dream and turn it into a goal. Take the first step…articulate it and put a date on it. If you do that… then it becomes a goal and once you’ve done that you can use your one word message to make sure you get it done on time and in full.
I know that right now you think that it all sounds too simple…. too easy. But trust me on this. If this method can keep someone with a 6-hour turn around schedule… sane and on track for 15+ years, it can do wonders for a much smarter person who already leads a life of relative moderation (six hour turnaround relates to the amount of hours from the time you finish work to the time you start again).
Simple words…used effectively, can work wonders. Words to bring clarity… words to live by !
PS: clarity brings confidence… which in turn brings self esteem…. which in turn brings positive attitude… which greatly reduces stress. Along with a couple of other techniques… the one word messages can go a very long way to reduce stress in your life (we’ll talk about this in another post soon).
* * * * * * *
don’t forget to check out the latest entries on:
http://oiasantorini.com/the-cool-verse/
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Tagged: life principles, lifeplan, manage your life, personal discipline, simplicity, words to live by
New page …
You can visit it here: http://oiasantorini.com/the-cool-verse/
Hope you enjoy… would love your feedback and any ideas for future posts on this page ;-)
M
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Tagged: the cool verse
It’s sunset time…New Year’s Eve. Soon there will be parties, fireworks and all kinds of noisy celebrations. Champagne will flow, music will play and people will seemingly lose their minds as the countdown finishes. The way to see in the new year has become an unrivalled annual event and millions of people around the world try their damnedest to outdo each other (if not themselves) with celebrations every year.
But… who says you have to be with 400,000 people to enjoy New Year’s Eve? There is fun to be had at such events…for sure, and for a lot of people NYE wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t for the massive crowds, fireworks and mayhem. But is it the only way to celebrate the new year?
In trying to set this up for you… the video below was taken on NYE at the old Venetian fort in Oia. The night was perfectly still… a tapestry of silky white clouds was rolling in and it was a full moon. With the exception of a young couple that made an appearance for a few minutes there was nobody else there at sunset… something that would seem inconceivable to anyone that has visited Oia during summer. So there we were, a glass of wine… some nice soft music and this:
(the music lasts a little longer than the video so as you can enjoy listening while you read the rest of the post)
The vista was sublime and the whole village was absolutely silent. Even for us that live here… the scene was breathtaking.
After sunset it wasn’t long before the bright full moon peaking through the clouds was creating images that photographers only dream about.
There was no noise…no crowds, no fireworks. Just us… enjoying the most surreal combination of natural beauty overhead, along with the haunting charm of a beautiful village at peace with itself.
It’s times like these that you find yourself thinking – “I know there are better places in the world… I just can’t think of them right now!”
Midnight came… and went. A sip of wine, some nice music, full moon reflecting on the caldera below. Just enough…
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Tagged: oia, santorini, winter in santorini, photography, new years eve in oia, images of winter, just enough
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