Author: Adam Stewart

What 1 Year of Blogging Has Taught Me

27th May 2016 /

This week marks the 1 year anniversary for this blog! For 52 consecutive weeks I have posted every Friday without fail. I’ve covered topics from books I’ve read, to life at University and my thoughts on business.

Some posts have been very successful, with lots of shares, reads and interaction, others not so much… but I’ve still carried on posting. Throughout the year a lot of people have had the same question – why?

I don’t make money from this blog, I haven’t secured a job through it, in honesty the potential external rewards of a blog haven’t really shown up for me. Yet the year has been extremely rewarding. So why do I blog? And what have I learnt?

I’ve learnt how to summarise faster!

On more than one occasion I’ve had to finish the post in a bit of a rush. However I’ve always wanted the quality to be respectable. It used to take days of planning and research for me to write a post. Now, if I know what I want to talk about, it will take 20 minutes.

I’ve noticed the benefits of this in my University work. Finishing coursework with ten minutes to spare, writing the conclusion quickly. Then when receiving the feedback I see a comment “very well written conclusion!” I put this completely down to the summarisation of points I carry out every week in these posts!

Our thoughts are very contradictory

Until you actually understand what your thoughts, beliefs and morals are and then compare them across situations, you won’t quite realise how often you can contradict yourself!

“Always do what you want to do, at the end of the day enjoyment is a priority” is probably a belief I hold true for a number of situations, but then when I write a post about revision it suddenly becomes obvious that I clearly don’t think the initial statement is relevant or even helpful in many other situations.

That self-awareness is so important to understanding how you wish to present yourself and act in different situations.

People don’t ‘hate’, they just don’t care

Before starting my blog I was worried about what people might think, what they would think of me for it. Does it make me sound big headed? Am I talking complete rubbish in my posts? Will people make comments or remarks about it when I see them?

The truth is, most people don’t care enough to form a negative opinion. Most people might read one or two, quite like them but not read another. Never have I had a negative opinion expressed at me for them. Of course, people don’t always agree with the content, but I don’t expect them to.

It has surprised me how many positive comments I have had from people. Often at unexpected times – “oh, by the way, I really liked your blog this week!” Just knowing that someone has taken the time to hear my opinion really makes it worthwhile!

 

Since starting I have spoken to a number of people wanting to start something similar. I say the same thing “start now and plan later.” The hardest thing is the commitment and motivation to stick at it. If you wait until you have a perfect plan, you’ll never start, if you jump straight in you’d better start getting your content ready otherwise you’ll be missing your deadlines straight away!

Using Sport to Help with Revision

20th May 2016 /

Today marks the end of my 3rd exam in this summer period. But with another 5 to come over the next two weeks I’m far from finished.

The build-up and then sudden speed of exams can be tricky to handle it. It feels like you spend an age waiting for the first and preparing for it, and before you know it you’ve finished your last one without a clue for how well you’ve done.

It can be tough mentally; cramming in all the lecture slides, less sleep and general adrenaline and/or stress of the actual exam. It’s no surprise that those who control their head better, do better.

So what can be done to help? Try sport.

You spend a great deal of time sitting at the computer or with your head in a book when revising for exams. You can’t revise effectively for excessively long periods, so take regular breaks to stay productive. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good, reducing stress and helping you to get good night’s sleep

Some research actually suggests that 20 minutes of exercise right before an exam will help you perform better.

brain

You’ve studied hard, had a good night’s sleep, eaten a good breakfast, and now you’re ready for your big test. You might consider walking to the exam—20 minutes of activity, walking, running, or other exercise, has been shown to boost test scores.

Researchers started with children around 9 and 10, and tested children who got some exercise—usually aerobic exercise like walking, running, or playing—before a test, and compared their scores with children who didn’t get any exercise at all. They found that the children who were active scored better on the tests, all other things being equal.

The research showed that “fit children had significantly larger basal ganglia, a key part of the brain that aids in maintaining attention and “executive control,” or the ability to coordinate actions and thoughts crisply. Since both groups of children had similar socioeconomic backgrounds, body mass index and other variables, the researchers concluded that being fit had enlarged that portion of their brains.”

Similar research has been conducted with teenagers and young adults, results of which can be seen here.

What’s clear is that there are benefits. If may take up some precious revision time, but it is worth it.

So the next time you had enough of past papers, put down your pen and do something active!

The Importance of Sport at University

6th May 2016 /

It’s safe to say that most, if not all, Universities encourage and promote sport as a route to improving student well-being, health and social life whilst at University. Yet, at the same time sport can sometimes be overlooked as a vital aspect when developing a University. It can often be seen as a “this or that” scenario for Universities – do they want to be known as a sporting or academic University?

Why am I raising this topic now? Well I’ve come to the end of my time as captain of Lancaster Universities Men’s First Badminton Team. This past year has seen one of the largest changes for sport in the University’s history. The introduction of the ‘Sport Lancaster’ brand, the requirement for consistent memberships and commitments from team members and an increase in funding for focus sports. These changes were met by uncertainty and dislike from many – for me it was music to my ears!

University sport should be taken seriously, with a competitive nature and a desire to win. If you only want to play for fun, join the society. But please don’t get me wrong, being part of the badminton team has brought about some of my best and most enjoyable moments from my time at University, however that is a result of having the right people with the right attitude to sport.

I could ramble about how vital sport is at University for both students and the institution, so instead I’ll give talk about 3 key reasons – they might not be the 3 most important overall, but they are the three that are most applicable to me and other people I know at the moment.

1 – It’s an escape like no other

When your days are full of lectures and/or revision each day feels the same, the weekends merge into the weeks and before you know it the term is ending. The ‘bubble’ created at University makes it extremely easy to lose track of time. It doesn’t take long before you can’t concentrate, before you feel stressed about exams or you feel like you’ve lost your social life.

Sport is one of the best ways to break this up. An hour or two of team training gets you in a new environment, with different people and a different mind-set. It is crazy how good sport can be for ‘refreshing’ your mind. Whether you want to take out anger, relax or just do something you enjoy.

It can also help you keep track of time. If you know when your trainings are or when it’s your match day, you stay aware to what’s going on.

2 – It’s competitive

Let’s face it, University is a competition. Whether you’re competing against others for the highest grade, or against yourself to get the best result you can, you need to work to your best to ensure you perform at your best in exams.

It’s not easy to approach work with this competitive nature. However it parallels closely to the competitive nature of sport. Competing in sport builds up your attitude to train to your maximum, to rest well, eat properly and perform to your best. This is no different from working for your degree; you need to sleep properly, you need to eat right and you need to put the work in before the ‘big day’.

Sport will build this attitude in students and so if a University wants more ambitious and hardworking students, this is one way to promote it.

3 – Revision is boring!

I love sport a lot more than I like revision. If University was focused on revision and lectures only, I’d leave instantly. I don’t get excited to open up lecture slides or read a paper. Granted at times it is extremely interesting and I enjoy my subjects as a whole, however the individual parts are usually more painful than fun.

Sport makes it bearable – simple as that!

 

There are many students that will have similar views to these above, and many other points. Many students understand the value and importance of sport for them. Many people base their University choice on sport, and so if a University overlooks its importance, or puts it on the back seat, it will lose out on a lot of interest from prospective students and I also believe it will hold back a number of current students from reaching their full potential.

 

 

A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled

29th April 2016 /

“500 years ago no-one died of stress: we invented this concept and now we let it rule us. We might have evolved to be able to miraculously balance on seven-inch heels, but as far as our emotional development is concerned we’re still swimming with the pond scum. If we don’t advance our more human qualities then we’re doomed evolution-wise to become cyborgs, with an imprint of an ‘Apple’ where our hearts used to be.” In her book, Ruby Wax shows us a scientific solution to these modern problems: mindfulness – and yes this is the actress Ruby Wax.

Ruby proclaims to have suffered from depression almost her whole life. At almost any time she can suddenly slump into a phase of depression, getting out of it takes time and energy. After studying at Oxford for a masters in Mindfulness she learnt about the power and ability of being self-aware and self-conscious about our mental health. We take time to build our physical strength, so why do we ignore the mental aspect. She argues that this is one of the biggest mistakes of our species.

What is Mindfulness?

“The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.”

When you bring it up, people will instantly think of meditation and the conscious effort to focus on breathing, but that is only one small aspect (that may not even be important to you).

The aim of mindfulness is to be aware of your emotions and surrounding. Why do you feel angry? What’s causing the anger? Can I proceed in a calm way? Ruby believes that we can choose to not feel some emotions and by recognising when they may appear, we can block them out.

What’s the benefit?

Being aware of your emotion allows you to act in the way that you truly want to. You may want to get really angry and yell out loud, but don’t you remember the times that you calmed down, wondering just why you got so heated? If your emotion controls you, then you can be unpredictable.

In the book, Ruby also explains how her awareness can help her understand when she is depressed. She can’t stop it, but she knows what’s wrong and why, meaning her road to recovery is that bit easier.

How can it be implemented?

Well in the book Ruby talks about how she went on a 7 day meditation retreat. Full days spent meditating. Did it help her? She says so! Do you have to do that? Nope!

For full information, give the book a read, but in summary, the best way to incorporate mindfulness is to force yourself to be aware of your surroundings. How does your food taste? Why didn’t you finish your work? How will you react if this or that happens? Making yourself aware and ‘in the moment’ is the best way to take control of your emotions.

Conceptual image illustrating that being successful in business has strong parallels to being succesful in top sports

The Business of Sport

22nd April 2016 /

I recently read an article that spoke about the automatic qualifications rules for large sporting events. By that I mean the varied stages at which football clubs enter the FA cup, the set up in snooker where the top 16 players in the world automatically qualify whilst the other 16 places are filled from qualification, and many more.

The article raised the question ‘why do some athletes get special treatment whilst others don’t?’ Would it not make sense for all 32 spaces in a world championships to be filled automatically or fill none and have everyone go through qualification?

It argued that many sporting bodies are only adding an element of qualification, or allowing top athletes an easier route to the final, to increase revenue. If there are qualification stages, there are more chances for TV coverage, advertisement etc. and allowing top players or teams to progress further in a competition increases the chances of large matches with top teams going head-to-head, hopefully attracting larger crowds, increasing the excitement of the sport and thus increasing TV coverage, sponsorship and advertisement.

I don’t think you can disagree that sporting bodies have to look for ways in which to increase revenue. Public sector cuts are almost killing various sports in some countries. If the bodies can self-fund, they have the security they need to build for the future.

But is the article right to point the finger at these qualification rules? In my opinion, absolutely not!

Firstly, who says they’re making any money from qualification? Qualifying rounds in the majority of sports are going to attract smaller crowds, less likely to have TV coverage yet will carry similar costs to the main draw – venue, officials etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if some sports make a loss from this stage of a tournament.

As for the main draw, does it not make more sense to reward the top players? Imagine if no players were given automatic entry into a world championships and all players must first qualify, that takes away the incentive of playing the circuit tournaments throughout the year which are essentially the qualification stages. If you’re one or two places away from automatic entry you will play the extra tournament to get the ranking points, when athletes play more that’s when you can get the sport to grow.

Thirdly, I think this argument falls down when you consider that the automatic qualification rules are in play for many, many junior events. These are very rarely televised, little sponsorship and advertisement. They are there for player development, not as a main revenue stream, therefore if automatic qualification was intended for anything other than fairness and as a positive incentive for athletes, it wouldn’t be used for junior events.

Does all this mean that sport is clean from corruption? Are sporting bodies always acting in the best interest of the athletes? Well we know that’s not true, looks at the likes of FIFA and their current situation.

What’s more concerning for me is the danger that athletes are beginning to compete for the money and not just for the passion. Match fixing, betting on their own results, even through to drug use to gain an advantage. If athletes look for ways to make more money, rather than prove how good they are, then sports can fall down. Sadly it is happening more often and I believe a large number of sporting bodies are hiding the truth from fans as it would destroy the sport’s reputation. Think about it… what incentive does a large sporting body have to expose the world number 1 for steroid use for example… if they do then the sport loses credibility, fans are unhappy, there is negative media. If they don’t, the athlete keeps winning, increasing popularity within their home country and attracting larger sponsors. Perhaps only once they’ve retired will the truth be exposed – look at Lance Armstrong.

 

It’s no secret that sports and athletes need money to survive, but let’s hope it happens in a fair way that allows us to continue having the spectacle we love.

 

#AskGaryVee

15th April 2016 /

#AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur’s Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness.

The new book by entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuck, #AskGaryVee is an extension of his YouTube show, The #AskGaryVee Show (or shoooooooooooooooooow to avid watchers). In the show he answers questions sent in by viewers, usually based around business, social media and his values, with the odd wine or sport question thrown in to mix it up. For a number of people these shows have become a way for aspiring entrepreneurs and general business enthusiasts to learn from someone who’s been there and done that. For the book, the questions and answers from the shows are mixed with new questions to add additional value from the YouTube shows. In the audio book all the questions are read by a variety of Gary’s celebrity friends and answered by him personally. He always jokes that when recording an audiobook he goes off script so much it almost becomes a different book from the written version, plus his crazy enthusiasm and energy makes it easy to listen to the 11 and a half hours of Q&A.

11 and a half hours of Q&A?!?!?! How many questions are needed to fill that time? Does it not get repetitive? Does he really have something new and interesting to say throughout the book?

“Well, yes and no, let me explain” (a phrase used many, many times when he answers).

Each chapter focuses on a different topic, from self-awareness to family business, each chapter offers a unique insight into his beliefs, rules, thought processes and experiences. However a lot of underlying rules are repeated – by that I mean his approach to building anything; go online, create content, engage, talk, create more content etc.

However I feel as though this book could be cut by 25% as a minimum and bring even more value! At times it felt like content overload, too many questions in a chapter leading to similar answers. The beauty of the Q&A format is that it allows listeners to pick up key insights for certain topics, rather than having to apply the theory to practice. However, the answers fell on very similar groundings and a shorter book pointing out the common trends in a clear way would have been better in my opinion.

Is the book worth it if he posts everything on YouTube?

This depends on whether you are a Gary fan.

If you aren’t or don’t know who he is, or you just want to know what he’s learnt then the book is great! It will cover pretty much everything you want. It could be treated as a bible for some areas of business. Have a question, see if he’s answered it!

If you are a Gary fan, then I’d say no to the book and yes to a YouTube marathon. The majority of questions (or similar) can be found on YouTube, either as part of his #AskGaryVee Show or on his second channel ‘Entrepreneurship Answered’ in short, snappy clips. Why do I prefer these? Well, you get to see him react to the questions, react to the people around him, all in his businesses environment. He knows his best medium is video and I agree, so if you’re willing to watch all the videos to experience his vibe and energy rather than just to hear his answers, then the videos are for you!

Starting a Blog

9th April 2016 /

“I want to start a blog/company/about me page – I want a website.

But I need to know how to code, right? Sure there are free sites out there I can use, but I can’t customise it to suit what I want!

What about hosting? That’s expensive isn’t it? And I’m no IT technician, what if something goes wrong?

I can’t do it all myself, can I?!”

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of me creating my blog (I hadn’t started writing blogs yet though…) and this is why this week’s blog is a day late; my hosting expired!

Renewing the hosting package and looking around for better deals has reminded me of when I first thought about blogging and all the questions and concerns I had. I began to learn HTML coding to help me build a site, I didn’t know how to go about buying a domain or how to host it. In reality, it is EASY and so for this post, I’ll give you a checklist of what you need (or what I use) to run my blog.

1 – A domain

I’d always liked the idea of having a myname.com and I was fortunate enough to find adamianstewart.com available when domain shopping.

Firstly, think about your domain name, keep it easy to remember and spell! The last thing you want is for people to attempt to find your site, but fail as they misspell it.

Once you have your name, you have to check its availability. This is easy, I personally use GoDaddy to buy my domains, but there are many alternatives out there. You simply search for the domain, if it’s available, you add to cart, if not you need to look for a variation or a different ending e.g. .co.uk, .org, .net, even .ninja

2 – Hosting

Again, this is simple for a simple site. GoDaddy hosting can be adding to cart at checkout when buying a domain, personally, I went with BlueHost. When looking for a hosting, I look for a company with a strong reputation and good support. As long as I am sure they will keep my site up and running and help me with any issues, I’m happy!

There are many varieties of hosting services that will allow for more visitors, extra storage, and priority if the server crashes etc. Usually the basic package is fine for a blog!

Once again, find a package and checkout.

Make sure when doing all of these and creating accounts you make a note of your username and passwords!! I’ve had lots of problems forgetting mine….

3 – The website

If you really, really wanted to you could learn how to code and build a site from scratch. But that’s pointless nowadays. There are thousands of templates waiting to be used.

I go for WordPress every time! It’s easy to use and has lots of customisation when the right theme is applied. Essentially WordPress is the backbone of your site, you then look for a WordPress theme that creates the structure, layout and functionality of your site. There are themes for every purpose and taste and so you will have no issues finding one you like!

Again, I like to go with one that is built by a company with good support and a good reputation. On a number of occasions I’ve contacted the creators of my theme to help with a line of code that will alter the appearance of some text or functionality of a button.

For me, YouTube is also a saviour for WordPress, I know very little code but I do know how to follow a tutorial on YouTube for WordPress hints and tips!

 

Once you have all these set up, you need to do some technical work to connect them all, ensure it is all up and running, however as with anything there are people that will show you how for free!

Want to do it all in 15 minutes? Here’s the video I used from the fantastic Caleb Storkey – http://storkeymedia.com/how-to-set-up-a-wordpress-website-and-blog/

 

Useless Skills

1st April 2016 /

I’m self-taught to juggle, yo-yo, perform magic tricks and now I’m learning the guitar.

I’m far from accomplished in any of these, yet I’ve reached a stage where I’m happy to move onto the next challenge. Once I’ve learnt how to juggle or play a song on a guitar, what do I do with the skill? Apart from attempting to entertain family and friends, not much. So why do I continue to learn new skills?

Well, I’d be lost if I didn’t!

Learning these skills helps me in two ways…

1 – It’s a challenge!

I love overcoming any sort of challenge, and these skills are perfect for that. Take juggling, until you can juggle, every attempt ends as a failure – you drop the balls. It took time and lots and lots and lots of practice, but once it clicked, juggling became second nature. Once the act of juggling essentially became unconscious, being completed through muscle memory, it was time for the next challenge.

I hate to leave something incomplete. I hate not giving something 100%. So when a yo-yo flies out my hand and breaks on the ground, I instantly go on amazon and buy a replacement. I have to learn how to complete the basics, I enjoy not getting it right because I know eventually I will. These skills take time, not some raw talent that only a select few have.

2 – It gives me a break!

This part might sound a little contradictory…

I love learning new skills because they test and push me. They make me not want to quit when failing. That can be pretty tough mentally, I can’t tell you have much will power it takes to build up the finger dexterity to perform one handed card cuts in magic (not actually that much).

So how can they give me a break? Well, it’s a different mental challenge from anything else I might be doing. It’s a bit like working out, it’s not easy but it can reenergise you, give you a break from working. What I love about these skills though, is that a break only needs to last maybe 10 minutes. Close my laptop, pick up my guitar, fail to play Hozier’s song Cherry Wine, put down guitar, pick up laptop and carry on. Sometimes there is nothing I enjoy more, it’s fun, it’s silly, it doesn’t really mean anything or matter whether I do it well or not and so it lets me refresh my mind.

 

So when you next feel stressed or bored, pick up three tennis balls and have a go at juggling, just don’t stand next to anything valuable!!

Day 065: Today's 365 shot is for FGR and "Show us your smile". Unfortunately I'm unable to do a decent grin on demand, and without a autofocussing nifty fifty lens I really wasn't in the mood for a facial shot today. So quick, easy, and there you have it. I've had enough for one week. I'm off to consume curry and alcohol.

Is it Good to always be Happy?

26th March 2016 /

Something I’ve thought about recently, and I’ve spoken about it with a few friends. People strive for happiness. My goal in life is to be happy. But is it good to be in a state where you are always happy, not wanting anything to change? Where life is perfect and you don’t have a care in the world.

It sounds like the ideal life. It’s not unrealistic either. I feel close to this right now and have done for quite some time. I’m extremely happy, however, recently I’ve wondered whether I want that all the time…

I know, it sounds odd, why wouldn’t you want happiness? I can explain, I think….

Have you ever noticed how powerful fear is?

For me, fear has to be one of the most powerful emotions. It can make you act instantly, it over powers emotions such as embarrassment. It can make you plan how to act and give you the drive to see it through.

For me, I fear being stagnant. I fear not improving and reaching higher levels. When that fear kicks in for me, I think about how I can change, what I can improve and I’m given new drive to aim for it.

This isn’t to say I’m not motivated when I’m happy, but the power of fear is second to none for me.

Does sadness put things into perspective?

What does Gary Vaynerchuck do when he hits burnout? He imagines his mum has just been in a car accident – extreme right?! This sadness of losing someone so close to him puts everything into perspective, it re-enforces his priorities for what matter most, this can be lost when going along with ‘perfect days’. You can be very grateful when happy, you can be extremely loving, but when you feel sadness, you feel the pain, you remember what matters and you re-adjust if needed to match your personal morals and beliefs.

So what am I trying to say?

I’m not saying don’t be happy. I think should be 95% of your emotion, you should aim for happiness and align things in your life to encourage it. However, sometimes invite fear and sadness, even if only for a night. Let someone highlights what you fear, let yourself believe it is true and see how your mind-set shifts! Also, think about what matters and how you would feel if something were to break that connection, remember its value and appreciate it more.

 

Whether I’m talking nonsense or not, this is at least some food for thou