A lot of people have asked me how I managed to design this blog. Well, I can’t take all the credit simply because it helps to have some creative people involved. But it also helps to know what you want to achieve. Blogging for Dummies recommends the following:

Theme – Every website needs to have a powerful theme that conveys what your brand is about and what the website is trying to achieve.

Design – Colours, graphics, features, and fonts need to be chosen based on what appeals to the users and based on features they want.

Layout –This needs to be as simple as possible to navigate and be consistent from one page to the next. Clearly visible links to Home, About, Contact together with a Site Map and Search feature are key.

Content – Much like the design and layout, the content needs to be in line with what the readers expect. It must be updated regularly to keep things fresh.

Feedback – Once the website has been set up, ask potential browsers and people you trust to give it a “test drive”. The honest critique can help improving aspects you might have overlooked.

(To download your completely free copy of the South African or International edition of Work in Progress, right-click and save the relevant link. Then open, enjoy, and repeat as needed.)

There’s nothing like snuggling up indoors with a good book while the rain falls gently outside. It turns out such idyllic images actually exist. While experiencing that joy recently, I got to thinking about how much we can learn from nature.

Seasons

It’s amazing how many aspects of nature work in cycles. After night comes day. After winter comes spring. Even though we should understand this, we still have a tendency to freak out over things like a recession, even though they’ve happened before and will happen again. Accept the darkness because without it there would be no light.

Harvest

Nothing in life happens instantly. It’s like Steven Covey often jokes about how you can’t neglect sowing wheat all summer and then “hit it hard” in the fall. You’ve got to put in early and consistent effort if you want to reap the rewards. You’ve got to stock up for the winter if you want to see yourself through hard times.

Roots

Living with no sense of grounding is like being a leaf completely subject to whatever the random winds are blowing about. Instead, we should strive to be more like trees. After taking a trip back to the house where I grew up, I was amazed to see a tree my dad planted over twenty years ago still standing firm. Even though so much around it had changed, it was still there.

(To download your completely free copy of the South African or International edition of Work in Progress, right-click and save the relevant link. Then open, enjoy, and repeat as needed.)

One of our family friends recently had a baby boy. Getting to meet him for the first time last weekend really got me thinking about how much we have to learn from children. They live their lives a certain way and I think in some sense we should do the same:

Everything is new

Isn’t it amazing how children find even the simplest experiences completely amazing? I’ve seen toddlers completely mesmerised from chasing each other between two pillars at a shopping mall or jumping off a step, climbing back up, and doing it again. The smallest things in life can be really fun. While I’m not suggesting we put everything we come across right into our mouths, we shouldn’t depend on every little gadget or gizmo to make us happy.

Live in the moment

The concept of time is something a lot of young people don’t quite grasp. And I think that’s great. While sometimes it might be necessary for parents to teach that actions now have consequences later (like how spending all their pocket money might mean not getting to buy themselves a new toy) but there’s definitely value in only caring about what’s happening right here, right now. The past is gone and the future isn’t here. Appreciating the present is priceless.

Express your emotions

One other thing children are good at doing is letting their feelings out. Yes, there are the occasional sulks and pouts, but mostly it’s a case of laughing when they’re happy and crying when they’re sad. As we grow older, we find that we constantly need to keep our thoughts and feelings bottled up inside. At times it might be necessary to exercise a little restraint, but I definitely believe that learning to fully express whatever it is you’re going through does far less harm and far more good.

(To download your completely free copy of the South African or International edition of Work in Progress, right-click and save the relevant link. Then open, enjoy, and repeat as needed. Check this out too.)