Hi Friends
After a brief summer hiatus, I'm back in your inbox with a career update and links to help you be a better human.
I have been in Wales with my family, walking up green hills and sauntering along wide, open beaches. Despite the rain and grey skies, the landscape did not disappoint.
It feels good to be writing this newsletter again. It is a creative outlet for me and provides me with an incentive to read widely on the internet. So thank you for continuing to humour me with your attention.
Big news is that I've taken on a new role at UNICEF's Headquarters in New York, but working remotely from the UK. It's an incredible opportunity for me to achieve personal impact in sanitation and improve the lives of children across the globe. Also, to continue learning and be employable.
As such, I won't be posting as many blogs or relaunching my course this September. All my mental capacity is dedicated to this big, important task and I want to put everything I have into doing it brilliantly.
Not surprisingly, I've had all sorts of thoughts and feelings arising with this new role, from imposter syndrome and self-doubt, to gratitude and wellbeing. So this week, you'll see a work flavour to the links I'm sharing and particularly on the inner-game of showing up and doing your best work. I hope you enjoy.
I'd love to hear from you! What is your focus for the next few months? What advice do you have about imposter syndrome? Hit reply now!
Stay curious,
Andy
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β¨ Personal Growth
Clarify your thinking. One of my most persistent limiting beliefs is that I'm not smart enough. So I'm interested in structured ways to think deeply, such as 'algorithms of thought'. This guide unpacks different ways to clarify your position on an issue.
π How to think clearly (12 min)
Write to make you a better speaker. So once you're done clarifying your thoughts, you'll be able to talk about it more fluently, as Neil deGrasse Tyson shared in this interview.
August 23rd 2021
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Words to inspire consistency (shared by a fellow writer in my morning writing hour with London Writers' Salon):
π Professional Development
Know your personal values to work more purposefully. I think it's useful to have your personal values at the ready, so you can share why things are important to you. This article does a good job at describing how you might arrive at your personal values, by linking them to past work experiences that stayed with you. I also like the idea of sharing your values with an accountability group. Let me know if you'd be interested ;)
π Good Life, Good Work - by Jasmine Sun - Reboot (4 min)
How to read a book. This is the book I'm reading this month. Meta, right? I didn't even know there were multiple ways to read a book. I've been through systematic skimming and superficial reading, and now moving onto the more meaty analytical reading. Now, it seems nonsensical to dive into a book without doing some of these things to decide whether it's worth my time. Recommended. Go buy it!
Pondering imposter syndrome:
Credit: 13 Charts That Will Make Total Sense To People With Impostor Syndrome from Buzzfeed
Be prepared for meetings and go further in your career. 'Always have your act together' (Rule #2) resonated with me. Preparing for meetings is essential to make a good impression. And I also like #9 'At the end of the day always remember that itβs just a job'. We can blow things out of all proportion, when fear starts to erode us from the inside and we become our own worst enemy. Having a little bit of perspective is essential.
π Nine Rules To Work / Live By (9 min)
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π‘ Tech and Entrepreneurship
Become an academic wizard. This online course claims to take the stress out of writing anything for an academic audience. I'm interested, merely for the tips on keeping up with the literature in my sector. Want to join me on this course? They're running a Back to School reduced rate of $99 and you'll get an extra 10% off if you enter FINDINGIMPACT code at checkout. Let's be study buddies.
π Cite to Write from Cortex Futura
Listen to great journalism on the go. Curio curates the most interesting stories from the best journalists and records them in high quality audio. Ignore if you're already feeling drowned with information.... I did the 7-day trial but didn't buy the subscription.
π Curio - Hear great journalism
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π¦©Fun
Fool Netflix. Use these link and code combinations to go straight to your genre of choice. I love slapstick (link) and martial arts films (link). What's your favourite?
π Netflix Secret Codes Cheat Sheetβ
Want to experience life before smart phones? Then read this. It went viral for a reason. Enjoy!
π The most unbelievable things about life before smartphones (5 mins)
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I'm a consultant in water, sanitation and hygiene and love all things social entrepreneurship and tech. I offer the Finding YOUR Impact newsletter freely but if you enjoyed it, please could you share it (with one thing you liked) on either LinkedIn or Twitter to help me reach more subscribers? Thanks so much!
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