Jamie Smart | Archive | Thought Revolution

JST 52 – Praise, criticism and the clarity polarity phenomenon

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Jamie Smart

"A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience."
Oliver Wendell Holmes

I'm delighted to be able to announce that my publisher, Wiley, will be releasing a "slimmed down" version of my CLARITY in the spring, entitled The Little Book of Clarity. I'm really excited about this, as it will give us an opportunity to share this understanding with an even larger audience, and touch more lives. As a taster, I've decided to share the Preface from the new book with you. The Preface sheds light on a curious "clarity polarity" phenomenon that I've seen since the original book was launched in 2013. I hope you enjoy it, and would love to know what you think of it (feel free to post your comments on the blog).

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JST42 – The Secrets of Coaching with Clarity: Part 8 – No, it’s NOT just your thinking

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Jamie Smart

Photo courtesy of Susan Allen

“You’re always living in the feeling of your thinking”
Keith Blevens PhD, Clinical Psychologist

For the past few years, I’ve noticed a troubling trend. A person is feeling distressed, sad or bothered in some way, and a well-meaning friend or colleague tells them “You know it’s just your thinking, don’t you?” This comment doesn’t usually help, and sometimes makes matters worse (I’ve met plenty of people who try telling themselves “It’s just my thinking” as a way to try and escape from uncomfortable feelings, but to no avail.) In this article, I’m going to reveal why telling yourself (or others) “it’s just your thinking” doesn’t help, as well as offering you a much more valuable alternative.

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JST40 – The Secrets of Coaching with Clarity Part 6: Coaching by Subtraction

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Jamie Smart

“It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.”

– Muhammad Ali, Boxer

In his excellent book, “Antifragile”, Nicholas Nassim Taleb explains that we tend to be suckers for positive advice, the “additive” approaches offered by how-to books, top ten tips, government interventions, crash diets, medication prescriptions, get-rich-quick schemes etc. Sadly, in practice these “additive” approaches often don’t deliver the hoped-for results, and can even cause actual harm. For instance, in the USA, it’s estimated that iatrogenic illness (illness caused accidentally by medical interventions) is the 3rd biggest killer after heart disease and cancer. So if addition isn’t as strong a bet as we’d like it to be, what’s the alternative? In this article, we’re going to explore the unexpected power of subtraction.

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JST39 – The Secrets of Coaching with Clarity: Part 5 – Distinction: The Queue VS The Ride

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Jamie Smart

(Photo courtesy of Roger Blake)

“The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are.”
– Bill Hicks, Standup Comedian

For years, my youngest daughter Tallulah has wanted to go to the amusement park, Alton Towers. She was desperate to go, but she decided to wait until she was 1.4 metres tall (that’s the height you need to be to go on the biggest, scariest rides). It was her eleventh birthday last month, and she’d reached the 1.4 metre mark, so last week, she and I decided to spend a day riding roller-coasters.

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JST38 – The Only 2 Challenges Revisited

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Dzidek Sabat

"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."
– Henry Miller

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article called "The Solution to the Only 2 Challenges You're Ever Up Against". It really struck a chord with people, so my friend Richi Qi asked me about it when he interviewed me. We went into more depth and had a great time in the process! You can watch the video of our conversation by clicking above.

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JST35 – Uncovering The Hidden Power of the Group

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Jamie Smart

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Margaret Mead
Cultural Anthropologist

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JST 33 – You can jump-start the #ThoughtRevolution

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Dzidek Sabat

This week I’m on holiday, basking in the sun on the island of Rhodes, surrounded by the sparkling waters of the Aegean Sea. I’ve been working hard for the past couple of months, doing stuff I love (except when not), and now it’s time for a pause. Next week we’ll continue exploring The Secrets of Coaching with Clarity, but this week I want to do something a little different…

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JST32 – The Secrets of Coaching with Clarity: Part 2 – You’re always connected

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Jamie Smart

We’ve each had the experience (even if only occasionally) of feeling deeply connected with ourselves, with another person and even with life itself. And everyone’s had the experience (even if only occasionally) of feeling isolated, disconnected and alone. Both of these polarities are universal aspects of the human experience, and an understanding of them is incredibly powerful when it comes to coaching with clarity. In this article, we’re going to explore the power of connection to facilitate deep transformative experiences for you and the people you want to impact.

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JST31 – The Secrets of Coaching with Clarity: Part 1 – The Clarity Coaching Model

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Dzidek Sabat

The Clarity Coaching model is a simple way of relating to the human ability to communicate, learn, change and grow. It applies equally to individuals, 1:1 relationships, and groups. You can think of it as a metaphor that points to the principles behind clarity, our inborn ability to perceive, think, feel, learn and evolve. It includes the following elements:

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JST 29 – Creating VS Letting It Happen

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Jamie Smart

(Photo courtesy of kadajawi)

"The harder I practice, the luckier I get."
Steve Davis, Snooker Champion

I was talking to someone recently who said "I'd like to have some coaching clients. I don't have any yet, but I'm sure it'll happen".

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