5 Life Lessons to Learn from Sharks

What life lessons can we humans learn from the predator of the deep? Apart from the obvious ‘don’t go swimming with them’, here are some other thoughts:

1. Sharks form Symbiotic Relationships
Fish called Remoras and Pilot Fish both form symbiotic relationships with sharks – relationships in which both parties benefit.
The Remoras eat any of the shark’s leftovers that they can find (the Remoras benefit) and also eat the parasites off of the shark’s skin (the shark benefits)
The Pilot Fish cleans the sharks teeth and skin (the shark benefits) whilst being protected from predators by the shark (the Pilot Fish benefits).

Do you form symbiotic relationships? Do you give as well as receive? Of are you just a Taker? Takers tend to win battles and lose wars...

2. Sharks can manage on their own or work together with other sharks
All sharks can operate as individuals. Some species more than others operate in packs – Scalloped Hammerheads, in particular, like to stick together. At times, working alone is fine. At other times, a group is needed to get the job done.
The point here is that the shark is adaptable to the circumstances prevailing at the time.

Are you?

3. Sharks have a reputation which goes before them
Most (sensible) people treat sharks with a great deal of respect. We don’t expect to go swimming with a Great White Shark and come out with all of our body parts intact. They have a reputation which we respect, whether it is true or not.

What is your reputation? What do your colleagues think of you? What is your online reputation – Google your name and find out. Now is perhaps the time to ‘hide’ some of those photos on Facebook...

4. Sharks go where they will find food (or a mate)
Sharks have amazing senses and can pick up sounds and smells at long distances. They move toward their food sources, following their senses. They congregate where they know that they will find food. They don’t swim aimlessly around hoping for something to float across their path. They may, though, swim thousands of miles to find a mate – but they know where they are heading.

When you advertise yourself or your business, do you know the best places to invest your money? Do you target the best websites and offline media? Take a lesson from the shark and ‘swim where you’ll find food’ - or a job, or a sale (or a mate...)

5. There are many different types of shark
When we think of sharks we generally think of ‘Jaws’, the Great White Shark. In fact, there are 354 species of sharks, 90% of which have never attacked a human. So when you hear the word ‘shark’ don’t always jump to the conclusion that the conversation is about Great White Sharks. Your colleague may be talking about swimming with Whale Sharks, a filter feeding species of shark that has a mouth over a metre wide but feeds on nothing larger than microscopic plankton.

Don’t jump to conclusions about people or organisations before you are sure of your facts – you could miss out on real opportunities.

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The Mid Life Opportunity (www.MidLifeOp.com) is a community for Mid Lifers. Advice and Guidance on Relationships, Career and Midlife Lifestyles is available from The Mid Life Coaching Panel. It’s free to join so what are you waiting for? Join here FREE!

Win 1 million dollars! Your prediction is ... ?

On Friday 11^th June, football’s World Cup will kick off in South Africa; the world’s largest sporting event.

On Saturday 12^th June, England play the USA. What is your prediction for the score? 3-0 to England? 4-1 to the USA?

Predict the correct score and become the King or Queen of ‘Across the Pond Pundits!’

As a bit of fun, please add your prediction of the score as a comment on this blog. All predictions placed up until the time of the kick off will be included in the competition. The winner(s) will receive a very valuable prize of a gold crown (jpg or png) and 1 million, yes I million! Zimbabwean dollars (photocopied - rates of exchange may vary on a daily basis but the cost of conversion may outweigh the value of the prize …)

To give you some guidance, the current odds are as follow:

England 1 USA 0: 9/2

England 2 USA 0: 11/2

England 2 USA 1: 7/1

England 0 USA 1: 14/1

England 0 USA 2: 35/1

England 1 USA 2: 19/1

England 1 USA 1: 6/1

England 2 USA 2: 16/1

England 5 USA 0: 50/1

England 0 USA 5: 500/1

My prediction, for what it’s worth, is a 2:2 draw – which will give England the necessary kick up the *ss to go on and reach the final!

The name of the winner(s) will be published to millions?, thousands?, hundreds? of Twitter followers on Monday 14^th June.

Please tweet this message to all of your followers to encourage as many predictions as possible.

Happy predicting!

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The Mid Life Opportunity (www.MidLifeOp.com) is a community for Mid Lifers. Advice and Guidance will soon be available from The Mid Life Coaching Panel. It’s free to join so what are you waiting for? Join here FREE!

Please take 1 minute to complete the 2010 Mid Life Survey: Click here

Surviving the Recession - Midlife Lessons from Nature

Many parts of the world regularly suffer from drought and famine and the local people and wildlife adopt well rehearsed strategies in order to survive:

• They use their resources sparingly
• They may migrate to regions which have more abundance. The annual migration of the wildebeest in Africa is one of best known examples of this.
• They understand and anticipate the side effects. These may range from an increase in disease or plagues of mosquitoes and locusts, to a rise in food prices (exacerbating the situation) and on to land degradation, bush fires and ultimately,  social conflict and widespread death and destruction
• They adapt, as best they can, to their new, temporary environment
• They take advantage of unexpected opportunities – crocodiles and lions wait in ambush for the migrating wildebeest
• Outside agencies attempt to alleviate the problems or at least, reduce the effects – Aid Agencies and other NGOs offer food and shelter in the worst effected regions.

As the economic recession continues, what lessons can we, in midlife, learn from the natural world?

• They use their resources sparingly – This lesson has obviously been learned by most of us. Spending is down (which is, of course, deepens the recession), many people are overpaying their mortgages every month and credit card debt is being paid off faster than before. ‘Eating In’ is the new ‘Going Out’ and the large supermarkets and take away chains are the main beneficiaries. In the workplace, budgets are being cut and we are all asked to ‘do more with less’.
• They may migrate to regions which have more abundance – Many people will look around for a new job, either at home or abroad. You will have many transferable skills that you’ve gained during your working life (make a list of them, you’ll be surprised) so don’t be afraid to look around for a better position.
• They understand and anticipate the side effects – The side effects, of course, of a recession include redundancies, and longer working hours for those who survive the cull. Personal relationships may suffer as a result of this and you must recognise if this is becoming an issue in your own relationships, both at work and (more importantly) at home.
• They adapt, as best they can, to their new, temporary environment – this point is absolutely key to your survival during this recession. Here are some thoughts for your consideration:

1. Network

Make sure you get to know as many managers as possible in your organisation and make sure they know who you are. This means getting outside of your own department!

2. Operate above your payscale

Offer suggestions to your boss, offer to make presentations at departmental meetings. Take the initiative and start (or carry on) doing things that your boss should be doing but for which you can take responsibility.

3. Make yourself indispensable

Help your line manager as much as you can. If you’ve moved around in your organisation, offer to help those who are currently working in an area where you’ve worked previously (without annoying them, of course).

4. Go the extra mile

If your line manager asks you to help him/her prepare for a board meeting, for example, go the extra mile and prepare some presentation slides too. They may not be the finished article but it’s much easier to finesse something that already exists than to start with a blank piece of paper.

5. Socialise with your colleagues

Integrate with your colleagues. Go for a drink after work. Get involved in societies and clubs. You never know who you might meet and the deeper you dig yourself into the fabric of the organisation, the more difficult it becomes to do without you.

·         They take advantage of unexpected opportunities – If your line manager leaves, for whatever reason, you may find yourself running the team in a ‘holding capacity’. Take the initiative and do more than just ‘hold the fort’. Make your own decisions and add your own stamp to the team. In times of recession, it is more likely that you will be offered the job permanently, if you show promise, rather than recruiting externally.

Budget cuts may also offer opportunities for you to develop skills which are currently under-utilised. Perhaps you know something about web design and you could offer to look after the company’s web development. Perhaps you could offer to be a mentor or a ‘sounding board’ for new employees?

Outside agencies attempt to alleviate the problems or at least, reduce the effects – In the business world, the government(s) is responsible for tackling the recession. They do this in a number of ways. Currently, interest rates are extremely low. If you have a mortgage that’s not on a fixed rate, overpay your monthly payments. You will be pleasantly surprised how this affects the length of your mortgage term. If you are on a fixed rate mortgage, check out how much you will pay in redemption fees to move to a Tracker mortgage. This may be worth your while.

Haggle! If you’re buying something over and above the usual weekly shopping, ask for a deal. You’ll often get something off the price – it all helps!

There are many survival lessons to be learned from the natural world and a whole lot more that apply in our world. The most important lesson of all is that in YOUR life, it’s up to YOU – Nobody’s going to do it for you!

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The Mid Life Opportunity (www.MidLifeOp.com) is a community for Mid Lifers. Advice and Guidance will soon be available from The Mid Life Coaching Panel. It’s free to join so what are you waiting for?

Please take 1 minute to complete the 2010 Mid Life Survey: Click here

Mid Life Happiness – the 3 Basic Rules

There are 3 basic rules to ensure midlife happiness:


Rule 1: Be happy in your own time
Some people find it hard to accept that they are growing older, they seek perpetual youth.

Some have facelifts, botox injections and other cosmetic surgery to try to keep the ravages of time at bay. This may look very attractive for a time but often ends with the person looking a parody of his or her previous self. ‘Trout pout’ anyone?

Some wear clothes that would look much better on their children (rule 1a – If you are old enough to have worn it when it was in fashion last time around, don’t wear it this time!).

Some people in midlife decide to start again with a younger partner – ‘Cougar’ women take a toyboy, midlife men might opt for a 20 something female with long legs. Whilst this might seem attractive in the short term, once the initial excitement has died down, the couple find themselves living together with little in common. They watched different TV programmes when they were children, they grew up listening to different music and they wore different styles of clothes – they come from different ‘times’ and unless they are very fortunate, they are very unlikely to feel comfortable with each other in the long term.

Rule 2: Be happy in your own skin
We are all born with the hand of cards that we are given. Some will grow up as beautiful people, others won’t. Some will become thought leaders in their spheres, most won’t.

‘Show me the boy and I will show you the man’, a popular saying that rings very true. Most of us don’t change greatly as we get older, we play the hand that we were dealt.

Many people, though, are not happy with the cards that they were dealt and call ‘foul’. Most women are not happy with some aspects of their looks. Some go to great lengths to change their appearance with nose jobs, boob jobs, tummy tucks and all kinds of plastic surgery. This goes far beyond trying to keep their youth (see Rule 1) and is an attempt to change their looks, to give themselves characteristics that they wished they’d been born with.

Whilst some attempts at remodelling your looks can be beneficial, particularly for self-esteem and confidence, it is important to draw the line.

A midlife crisis is often triggered by a person not being able to come to terms with living in their own skin.

Rule 3: Be happy in your own life
Many people feel that they need to ‘fit in’, that they need to conform to a norm with which they aren’t really comfortable. Teenagers, in particular, feel that they must be part of a crowd and fall victim to peer pressure. Their friends all have tattoos, so they feel that they should have tattoos, even if they don’t like them (and will regret having them in later life, particularly if they include someone’s name!)

Midlifers are less inclined to worry about peer pressure but the ‘green-eyed monster’ of jealousy is a very real part of the life of many people in midlife. We all lead different lives and however happy we are, however well off we are, there will always be people who seem to be doing better than us. Some of them will indeed be doing better than us, either because they were dealt a better hand at birth (see Rule 2) or because they work harder than we do (often both).

The grass always seems greener in somebody else’s life. However, when the green-eyed monster rears its head, take a few moments to consider the other aspects of the person’s life – these may not be quite so rosy. Your rich friend may be doing very nicely in the big house, driving the expensive car but behind closed doors their relationship may be falling apart. Their kids might be taking drugs and mixing with the wrong ‘friends’.

Don’t try to ‘keep up with the Jones’ out of jealousy, to make yourself look better or more acceptable to your friends. You may find yourself deeply in debt if you overstretch yourself unnecessarily.

To be happy in your life, accept what you have – but don’t let that stop you from striving to achieve greatness. There is a difference between making the most of your life and trying to live your life imitating someone else.


What do you think? Please leave a comment. Thanks, Rob

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The Mid Life Opportunity (www.MidLifeOp.com) is a community for Mid Lifers. Advice and Guidance will soon be available from The Mid Life Coaching Panel. It’s free to join so what are you waiting for?

If you would like some help now with aspects of your life, contact Better Life Coaching: www.betterlifecoaching.co.uk

Life Lessons - written by a 90 year old

The list below was written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio:
To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay cheque.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

For help and advice in Mid Life: www.MidLifeOp.com