What the election results don’t tell us
A visual representation of our recent local government election results ["big picture", not ward by ward] gives a very different perspective on the results compared to what we usually hear – and more importantly it shows us some of the things that we don’t easily see from the results.
Please note I am not a political analyst or commentator. I just like a different way of looking at these results, and the fact that doing so helps us to ask some different questions rather than taking the spin being fed to the general public.
I’m not a graphic designer either, but have tried to keep these easy to read and view. I hope you enjoy looking at it this way, would love to hear whether you think it’s a good way of breaking it down and whether there are other ways of doing so.
Here it is:
Here are some other posts of mine that have been “politically inspired” and that also try to take a different perspective on our country’s powers-that-be:
Lessons in failure – trying to be something I’m not
We learn our lessons in life from the strangest places. Here’s one of mine.
I stopped writing on outthink.co.za about a month ago. [the rss feed was redirected here to atomicnuts.wordpress.com up until the end of April; that's today; so after this one there won't be any more updates to subscribers to the OutThink feed; future posts will all be here so please subscribe if you want to on the right hand side or at the bottom of this post]
Stopping writing on one blog just to change to another might sound a bit daft, I agree. But it’s not as simple as that. I put it down to a lesson in failure.
Here’s some background:
I started OutThink with the hopes of it becoming a standalone brand in some way or other, something that could survive apart from my myself if it had to. It was developed for idea generation and sharing amongst other things. Although it ‘succeeded’ far more than I could have imagined [mainly in connections I made through having a platform to connect with people online], something never quite felt right.
Right now it’s a lot easier to see that it was a lack of a clear vision, and I ended up pursuing it for all the wrong reasons, which in turn distracted me and caused endless frustration. I didn’t know what I was trying to build! I kinda sorta had an idea… but not really.
The realisation has actually been much more far-reaching than that. In the last few months I’ve had this feeling, one that just hasn’t gone away and one stemming from several key areas of my life. A feeling that I’ve been trying to be something I’m not. It would be easy to admit this if I knew it was true, if I’d been trying to do that. But I haven’t. That’s the frustration.
It’s not that OutThink itself failed as such, but more that it was taking me down the wrong road.
Realising that has helped me to see that I’ve been walking down too many wrong roads in other areas of my life as well. This all came to a head late last year when my body told me I had had enough. It has taken months to work through that but at last things are on the up.
So yes, too much focus on things which don’t quite fit and not enough on the things I should be focusing on.
Now that I’ve realised it, I’m going through what you might call a ‘consolidation’ phase, getting a better understanding of what I should pursue and what not. I’m busy making changesto my lifestyle, exercise routines and diet, habits and having to push further into my everday life and make some tough decisions. Some really tough decisions.
It’s still a big work in progress [and I suspect it will carry on for quite a while], but this change of blogs has been one of those little changes.
So there you have it. A bit personal perhaps, but this is me, and that’s what I need to get back to.
If you want to keep up to date on my posts here, you’re welcome to subscribe to the Ātomic Nůts rss feed here, or to e-mail updates here.
Why you should hate facebook and twitter
Before I tell you why though, here’s a bit of perspective.
In case you’re not familiar with them, Seth Godin and Clay Shirky are both very highly respected authors, speakers and thought leaders.
Seth Godin and Clay Shirky have something in common.
They’re both bald.
Okay, okay, there’ something else too. They both believe your ideas can change the world! [I do too, but I'm not bald]
Clay expounds on this in Cognitive Surplus while Seth writes a bit about it in the Digital Dividend.
So with that in mind, let me ask you – when last did you have a good idea? I mean, a really good idea, one that you think would change your life and a whole bunch of other peoples’ as well? My guess is you’ve had at least one “big one” in the last five years.
Let me say this – the world would most likely be a better place if you put that idea into action. But chances are good you’re still getting around to it. We sit getting distracted every day by technology which can help us get moving, get connected, get it done – but probably does just the opposite.
Just like television changed communication and shaped our lives, facebook and twitter [the leaders of the 'social media' charge, along with several others perhaps] have done so too. They’ve made the world a smaller place, a more connected place. A brilliant tool for making things happen! But just like television, they’re perfect for providing distraction too.
So now, instead of us getting up and creating the next big thing, we’re all just looking for someone else’s next big thing to link to on facebook or twitter.
Unless we’re using facebook and twitter to help us build something and move forward with our ideas, they’re just getting in the way. And don’t let them tell you otherwise!
We have to be careful – is this what social media really does best? Distract us entirely. Waste the digital dividend. Eliminate cognitive surplus. Perhaps even generate a cognitive deficit!?
Well, it can, and it does so as much as we allow it to. And most of us allow it to because we don’t even realise it’s happening!
So there it is – that’s why I hate facebook, twitter and other social media, and why you should too.
Don’t get me wrong, I do actually love them [and enjoy using them as much as you do]. But I hate them because they’re robbing the world of seeing your great idea come to life.
Now be a dear and link to this on facebook and twitter, won’t you? 
Is the artist in you an entrepreneur?
What makes an artist so special?
They create!
Musicians? Artists, obviously. They create music that speaks to our soul. Watching someone play guitar and sing makes you appreciate the skill required to create the sound, and the rhythm that blows our mind.
Sportstars are artists. They create amazing moments using their bodies and whatever other tools they have available to them. The control they have, the skill, the hand-eye co-ordination – all used to create a memorable moment.
Entrepreneurs are artists. Entrepreneurs create opportunities where nothing existed before. They build systems and place people around the opportunities that then create value where others saw only problems.
Maybe you can’t sing or draw or catch a ball. But I bet there’s an artist in you waiting to come out and build something amazing.
What would you love to create?
Image: “Cirque du Soleil” by Stephen Desroches
5 good reasons to let your client walk all over you
Here they are, in no particular order:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What, you can’t see any?
Nope, and neither can I, because there aren’t any.
Be helpful, definitely. Be polite, by all means. Be accomodating, if it’s appropriate.
Just don’t be a doormat. Nobody wins in the end.
* “Client” in the title can also be substituted with family, friends, boss, employees, supplier or anyone else for that matter
