Posts Tagged ‘Sake’
Clive Gott RIP
I heard today that Clive Gott died suddenly last night of a heart attack.
I’m stunned that such a larger than life man has just gone from our lives.
Clive was instrumental in me starting The Inspired Group (although he would always deny it) and his influence over the last six years has been at the root of what it has become.
I and thousands of other people whose lives he touched will miss him a lot.
RIP Clive. x
Clive’s Facebook page is where lots of people are leaving a tribute. If he touched your life you might want to add yours http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=563837159
This is my tribute to him:
Clive was an impressive guy.
His achievements were very impressive and his performances as a professional speaker were always impressive.
However, there are quite a few people out there who have done similar things and speak about them very well. What makes Clive different is that he walked his talk, not just for the sake of being able to tell a good story but in everything he did and said even when it got really uncomfortable.
There are lots of people who let people believe that they agree with things they don’t believe in or just keep quiet rather than rock the boat but that wasn’t Clive’s style.
If you asked for his opinion you’d get it (and he’d tell you that it was HIS opinion, HIS truth and no-one else’s)
If you said something he disagreed with, he’d tell you why. He was not a political animal, he was a genuine one. He didn’t play power games and this meant that some people didn’t like him.
In the six years I knew him, I saw him interact with a wide variety of people. Some were charmed, some were changed and some were challenged – no one was untouched and this was his strength and his value in other people’s lives.
There was no condescension, holier than thou message in Clive’s talks. He exposed himself as a fallible human being who made mistakes and was willing to make changes and was all the more inspiring because of it. He invited people to hold a mirror up to themselves and if they didn’t like what they saw, to have the courage to make changes for themselves. This is why Clive will be talked about for a long time to come and why his impact on thousands of people will be a lasting one.
If ever a man knew how to do the right thing rather than the done thing it was Clive.
If any of us can look back our lives and be as proud of our achievements as Clive can be of his we’ll know we’ve lived well.
I’ll miss him.
Posted in 12 Steps to Success, Inspiration | 
Tags: Condescension, Facebook, Heart Attack, Impressive Guy, Larger Than Life, Life Man, Lot, Mirror, Political Animal, Power Games, Professional Speaker, Rock The Boat, Sake, Six Years, Tribute, Truth | 
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What does success mean to you?
Written by Bonnie Cotier of Golden Dog
(Bonnie tragically died in a cave diving accident in May 2011 – doing what she loved. I miss her a lot)
Ann Hawkins, of Cambridge-based The Inspired Group, began the year asking us to reflect on this age-old question on LinkedIn. The discussion that followed dragged me personally back to contemplating my high school civics lessons and university philosophy lectures as I probed my current state of successfulness. Click here for the LinkedIn discussion.
The discussion highlighted that there are two sides of “success”. One concept is the process of living a fulfilled life. The other is the concept of materialistic celebrity life. While the latter was acknowledged, the consensus remained in agreement with Aristotle’s argument as presented in his book of Nicomachean Ethics.
“Success is… peace of mind in knowing… that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming”
Lee Jackson
Aristotle calls eudaimonia, translated loosely as “success” or “happiness”, a proactive state of being. It has no final end but is comprised of a continuous string of ends, each building one on the other towards a better, higher good.
According to Aristotle, in order to attain success you must use your skills and knowledge to pursue certain objectives for the sake of a higher objective. To illustrate: one accomplishes a singular objective or goal such as going to the gym and working out. A higher objective would be to get into shape. The highest objective would be the commitment to live a healthy lifestyle. It is the active pursuit of the highest objective that attains success.
He states that once our basic needs are met, each of us actively attempts to live well in our own way. Americans consider this concept an absolute right. It is written in our Constitution that we have the right to the pursuit of Happiness.
“Every goal I have achieved has led me to the next – enjoying the last for just a brief moment.”
Bob Brotchie
Therein was the meat of the discussion. All of the participants have their basic needs met and therefore have the ability, freedom and opportunity to pursue success.
Each of us had developed an individual approach to determine or measure our successfulness. There was a consensus that freedom of choice is considered an essential ingredient to one’s sense of success. Also, for many, our opinion of our successfulness was based on our contributions to the wellbeing of others, either through the work we do or the choices we make. The discussion provided a broad range of attributes of successfulness in life and business to consider and weigh.
The value to me came from stopping for a moment at the beginning of a new year to take a satellite view of my current situation as I map out both my personal and business plans for 2011. It was a good exercise to see if the singular goals I was making on a daily basis were adding to my highest objectives of living a successful and fulfilled life.
Many thanks to Bonnie for this thought provoking summary!
What does success mean to you? Share your opinion below or explore Bonnie’s excellent blog and share your ideas on her Golden Dog blog here
Posted in Inspiration | Tags: Active Pursuit, Ann Hawkins, Aristotle, Bob Brotchie, Cambridge, Celebrity Life, Civics, Consensus, Constitution, Continuous String, Cotier, Current State, Healthy Lifestyle, Nicomachean Ethics, Peace Of Mind, Philosophy Lectures, Pursuit Of Happiness, Right To The Pursuit Of Happiness, Sake, Singular Objective, University Philosophy | No Comments »
