Scattered Syndrome

Scattered Syndrome?

Are you experiencing the scattered syndrome? It seems to be typical of modern day society where placing plates on sticks and spinning them has been surpassed by being involved in this act whilst walking on a tight-rope and playing a one man band. The thing is we all have a certain amount of mental capacity and if you look at your mental focus like a torch beam, we are constantly swishing it in all directions all of the time. Is it any wonder that people feel fragmented and drained because there is no opportunity to focus that light on one thing to take in the details and do it properly?

You may wonder why I am talking about this, well this week I completed the edit of The Ocean Callings audio book, wrote a children's book and worked full time in my corporate job, attended yoga, went to the gym on a daily basis and slept. Someone asked how I managed to do it all? Well it was purely down to concentrated focus. I focus on thing at a time and do it until complete. My corporation does not particularly enjoy the fact that I maintain this ethos; however, I have noticed that the fragmented states people are in result in shoddy work and doing things twice. It is like buy cheap buy twice. Do a crap job then do it three times. The truth is to achieve anything worthwhile one needs to focus. It can be playing with children, doing a sport or writing a book. There is no point being half-present because the results will be rubbish. This ties in with mindfulness too, it is about presence and being in the moment - being there fully. In addition to this, I want to point out that being busy all of the time spinning plates and proverbially playing a one man band whilst absailing down a building does not allow space for problem solving. Have you noticed the time when you come up with the best solution is when you are quiet and relaxed? When I was on a course people shared where they had their best ideas: when they woke up in the morning, in the shower, in the bath or when doing a repetitive exercise. These are the times when your conscious thought relaxes and allows the superior unconscious to solve it. So this Scattered Sydrome is no good for anything. It is worth applying concentrated focus and absolute presence whilst doing anything you are passionate about because then my friends you will find that you produce something far more worthy and of value because you have truly shone your light up in it!

 

You can find my books at the following link: Ruby Allure books on Audible:

http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=Ruby+allure&filterby=field-keywords&x=0&y=0

AUDIBLE BOOK AVAILABLE HERE:

 

LINK TO BUY ON AUDIBLE:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/A-Short-Course-In-Creative-Writing-Audiobook/B012OVUKE8/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1443260320&sr=1-1

 

LINK TO PAPERBACK ON AMAZON.COM

A Short Course in Creative Writing
by Ms Ruby Allure
Link: http://amzn.com/1517234832

 

Screw Being The Yes Person

Screw being the ‘Yes’ person

 

The world’s corporations rely on good yes people to put their heads down and graft for the good of the corporation. These hardworking individuals produce what the corporation needs to maintain itself within its select market place. All the while, the individual exchanges their time and skills for those lovely pieces of coloured paper that represent value and what saves us, as individuals, having to barter. The thing is I have been watching a slow and quiet rebellion taking place within these ‘imagined’ constructs. It seems that the big corporations are introducing more and more controls and more and more rules to the individuals. Strangely those higher up the food chain don’t seem to adhere to those same rules. The yes people abide by these rules through fear of losing their jobs and not being able to pay bills. You know what? It is weird when you think how much the workers essentially tolerate in exchange for money. If you wish to read more about this please have a read of Sapiens, a fantastic book.

 

So today was a fascinating day. I have said before that I work in two capacities. I run a wonderful team of Social Media creators and I also work as a strategist and business analyst. I love both roles because they appeal to both sides of my nature and brain. Yet, with all this in mind, today was a day of rebellion. The most recent tremors began with an article that I wrote on the top five New Year’s resolutions. The article listed the fact that people wanted to lose weight, save money, get in touch with people, stop smoking and drinking. The article was written and then sent for higher management approval. Over the ‘festive season’ it turns out a whole series of new social media rules were introduced. Many corporations are not allowed to mention Christmas because not all people celebrate Christmas.  Smoking or drinking were not allowed to be mentioned and nor was weight loss because it was not fair to penalise people for being fat or even slightly over weight. That was not what the article was about, it was about health and making positive resolutions. So from the original list, the only remaining approved item was getting in touch. In the meantime, the higher management felt that people should not be making resolutions because they did not keep them and that meant they were going to fail which reduced productivity. I was then asked to re-write the article and instead of talking about resolutions I was asked to focus on ways people could increase their productivity at work. Erm… no! It was quite an amusing moment because in addition to this, the social media group were told they could not use photos from their phones, from the internet or any imagery that had not been taken by an official photographer for the company. 

 

Are you sensing why there was rebellion brewing? Now, our Social media site was created with the following mission: create uplifting, inspiring and fun blog content that exceeds expectation and articles that the audience will love to read. That is precisely what we did for a whole year. It seems the blog’s success has caused its own problems because the blog team and I set about creating something special and unique within a very controlled and austere environment. The popularity of this blog went corporation wide because the articles were passionate, written with humour and were a little bit exciting – imagine! What’s more, the group were run on the theory of tribal leadership. This is when the group enter a room for discussion and all hierarchy disappears. We are all equal, we all take turns leading and we all choose our level of engagement. Our level from the outset was the highest level whereby we intended ‘to create something exemplary’ where others would be inspired to aspire to our unique way of communicating.  It worked so well that we had huge viewing figures and other lines of business emulated the way we approached things. The thing is with success often comes parasites. Those who noticed the success wanted their names on it. They then found ways in which to control the free-spirited creativity and that is what happened today. What I will say is that creativity needs space and freedom. Creativity is not forced otherwise it is like constipation: no matter how hard you push nothing comes out. It is only when you relax that you can deliver.

For the last year we have provided excellent communication and there have been numerous attempts at sabotage that caused the blogging team concern. We all did our best to jump the hurdles, united our minds and found new ways to progress. However, today was the last straw – no photos and being asked to write dull shit! So that was it… My lovely young team and I had a heart-felt discussion and came to the conclusion that it was time to say no. In doing so one of the quieter natured creators turned to the group and said ‘Screw being the yes man. There are times when a person has to say no and they are not going to do it anymore.’ I agreed and asked what they wanted to do with our allotted meetings if the blog ceased to exist. The answer was simple: have a meeting, discuss how the group progress their careers and use the time for group motivation and mentorship. So the crap was transformed into flowers.

You might well ask what has happened from the higher management point of view. They are still in the process of figuring out what happened and what to do. Of course the whole group have their main job roles and this Social Media group was what was known, according to corporate carrot dangling, ‘as an above and beyond stretch assignment.’ We went above and beyond but there is only so far you are willing to stretch before the elastic band snaps. That is when the yes person says screw this and shifts to the NO!  That is when the other workers will begin to ask questions.

 

 

You can find my books at the following link: Ruby Allure books on Audible:

http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=Ruby+allure&filterby=field-keywords&x=0&y=0

 

Another Letter to 'Take All The Credit' for OUR work - The Rebellion is in Full Swing!

To my Dear Office 'Take All The Credit', it seems that the very fact that I have shared your existence with the world has had a strange knock-on effect and people want to share their stories about how they dealt with people like you in their office or work place. You are a universal entity that everyone knows exist. What's more, by sharing your escapades with the world has increased my book sales. So thank you for that.

 

So I would like to share my continued rebellion, which I don't think you have figured out. You see you know that I am a hard worker. It is in my nature. You also know that I can't say no to a challenge, it is the athlete in me. Yes it is an unfortunate trait, yet, since you 'delegated' your work to me and claimed it as your own, something shifted. In fact my rebellion has provided its own challenge. What a beautiful challenge it is. You see when you emailed me yesterday afternoon demanding me to do a full analysis by the following morning for your meeting you noticed that I said no. That was the first time in nearly two years. Oh that was satisfying but I did have to go for a walk and have a chat with myself about not giving in. You know I am reliable and am usually up for the challenge. You love to play on that - especially when I am leaving for the weekend. What is worse is that I would have worked late and provided you with something spectacular.

I have noticed that people who take all the credit play on hard working natures and prey upon those who seek to be liked. You know who the walk-overs are and who will not stand up to you. It is a kind of corporate bullying. You also know what to say to your hard workers and when it comes to bonus time your perfect patter transforms from 'we & our' sentences to 'I and my'.

So yesterday I realised you were bemused by my big No! Especially when I advised you I had more important projects that were priority. Some of them are fantastic. My favourite, and excuse my language, is 'Project Fuck Off To Those Who Take All The Credit', 'Project We Are Going To Say No at the Last Minute' and 'Project INNOVATE'. I will share more with you on that last one another time.

 

Now I want you to know that it isn't just you 'Mister I Take All The Credit' - I am making sure your female equivalent  is receiving the same treatment. She recently received a bottle of Champagne for all the effort on the project she achieved completely by herself. Well four of my team members were dumbfounded since they had actually created the whole thing and she said she had worked on it alone. She has a big learning on the way: the people who did all the work are also going to say no to working with her - commonly called amongst us 'no, no and definitely no!' Guess which project that one is.

So my final little confession of the day is that you left your screen unlocked, what a shame. We could have emailed the head of the corporation saying that you had handed your notice in because you had clearly fallen in Love With him. Instead we came up with something far better and I cannot take all the credit for this. We cancelled and re-booked your 'Continuous Improvement' meeting where you take all of our ideas and tell the management they are yours, and invited some rather interesting characters. I have to say it was a real joy. We all loved watching your face in that confined glass meeting room with the other 'Office Take All The Credit'. I guess you weren't expecting to continuously improve with all 'The Office Stinkers' from around the office. We had two flatulent types and three 'we don't know what shower gel or shampoo is'. Amazing! Oh it was wonderful: five really stinky people in a confined space and the 'STINKER MANIFESTO POWERPOINT ON A HUGE SCREEN.' Of course you only read the title once it was on screen because we named the file 'Continuous Improvement', which it was: it was a stinkacious improvement! Oh how very satisfying!

Anyway I have to thank you Mister I Take All The Credit because you have fuelled my rebellious nature and helped my compulsive need to efficiently complete projects before deadlines. What you don't realise is my first letter to you literally brought thousands of people to my blog, many have worked with people like you. The general consensus of opinion is that your type last about two years maximum and then are either found out or move roles to prey upon other decent hard working people.


Other than that, my news is my books are selling well. I know you don't have a clue that I am an author because you don't take interest in those who do the work, which makes it even more amusing. Oh, and you know what? It seems people found the Office Types in the Office Zoo very real, that is because they are real and based on real people like you. After my little letter to you at the weekend the LOVE HUNT books suddenly had a beautiful sales surge. I guess it is because the story is about what goes on in the office when two women chat over email about their dating escapades. Without you and watching the office dynamic then the Love Hunts, Money Farm and Office Zoo would never have existed because I needed somewhere to direct the bizarre happenings, odd observations and bonkers behaviours. So you being a complete dick is literally perfect. As I have said before flowers grow from shyte and I am looking forward to seeing where a flower emerges from on you (probably the end of your nose, it spends enough time in shyte).

Finally my authorial life has taken off and the power has shifted. I don't have to impress you because you are not my boss and.... I do not have to rely on my job for income anymore - thank goodness. The best part, which is my favourite, is I get to lead a double life knowing you have no clue how the world is reading about your dire antics... Happy days!

Thank you TEAM REBEL! It was so much fun!

Link to Ruby Allure books on Audible:

http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=Ruby+allure&filterby=field-keywords&x=0&y=0

 

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Love-Hunt-Dating-Game-Audiobook/B015G4ICYA/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1448187651&sr=1-1

Come on admit it - as much as we deny it - we ladies like a good love hunt.

We have tick lists, ideals, and we hunt in high-heeled packs. Of course, we're all hunting for that elusive right man who ticks every box and even has tidy nostril hair. Okay maybe not you, but you know other ladies who love the hunt.

Well, it's time for Eva and Gracie to love hunt, and their "targets" are rich men - the golden sperm. Such exciting escapades would provide the pair with entertaining discussions during their dull office hours - or so they thought. What they did not anticipate was the discovery of the "booby man"; humorous but very hard truths about wealth, themselves, power; and the RichIdiot.com phenomenon.

The question remains: can love really be hunted?

 

 

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Love-Hunt-II-The-Love-Game-Audiobook/B0176Z9Y08/ref=a_search_c4_1_7_srImg?qid=1448187651&sr=1-7

The Love Hunt has returned. Gracie is back on the dating horse after a huge fall in her first tick-list-tastic love hunt.

Her new dating adventures take her and Eva into the depths of "the love game".

In the meantime, Eva, the ultimate Russian gold digger, has come to the conclusion that her poor "village idiot boyfriend" will never be enough. He will certainly not pay off her accumulating debts. She needs a rich man, and that means rich idiot dating.

In The Love Game, Eva and Gracie travel the journey of extreme love learning. On the way, they will discover their love and lust lists, their intrinsic issues, and experience some hilarious and jaw-dropping dates in pursuit of the wealthy ideal.

All of this in the pursuit of love.

The Love Hunt II is on!

Why we need rewards and recognition

Rewards and recognition

 

Would an Olympic athlete compete if they did not win a medal? Imagine all those gruelling hours of training to compete and then… what? How about more hours of training to compete again? The concept of reward for effort is fascinating because it essentially comes down to motivation and why anyone chooses to do anything.

 

 

When you consider motivation the question becomes what really motivates a person? What will keep them hungry and passionate to grow and excel? Numerous studies have revealed that individuals who are rewarded and recognised for going above and beyond are more productive and feel more fulfilled. What’s more, they wish to contribute to an organisation in a more meaningful way. Isn’t that motivation in itself?

 

 

The simplicity of a company-wide email acknowledgment or an announcement in a meeting goes a long way. It makes constant focus and effective work completion worth all that consistent effort. If you add a personal call or the expression of appreciation in person then you will amazed by how much motivational energy is generated. Providing a lunch/dinner/outing for those individuals or teams who have achieved has a huge impact on morale. When an individual genuinely feels that management recognize their contributions to the organization and that they are valuable members of a team working towards a goal then the company they work for feels more than just a place to work.

 

 

The truth is most of us do things to achieve recognition; however, recognising others is just as rewarding! So how are you going to recognise another persons' efforts?

LINK TO MONEY FARM ON AUDIBLE.COM

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Money-Farm-Audiobook/B010BOM9A8/ref=a_search_c4_1_3_srTtl?qid=1442261913&sr=1-3

 

"Smartly Written, Thought Provoking Read!"

Narration - Helen Lloyd - Kick A$$!
Really Great Narration - Brits and Aussies and Germans and more. Lovely voice to listen to and she even captured the rather robotic nature of the cult-like members of the Money Farm.

This is a really terrific book - and is it bad that for the majority of the book I was thinking "sign me up!" (or at least sign up one of my grand-kids and let me move into one of the retirement neighborhoods).

The Money's are all 'their best selves' due to the nutrition and fitness requirements along with a few other treatments along the way which are tailored to each individual and allow them to reach their full potential. All their needs are met, they have no debts, no worries, they are appreciated and they all live in really nice digs. (like I said...sign me up!)

It's a smartly written and thought provoking book of a Dystopian/Eutopian society where our heroine Jyllian finds her-self jobless with her savings running out. She ends up being selected to join the M.O.N.E.Y.'s as a "breaker" because of her intelligent & rebellious way of thinking. She is to challenge their systems and find ways to break them, all in the name of making them better.

The story follows her and a few other select characters through their introduction to Money, their training, their indoctrination and ultimately through their discovery of what Money's goals really are.

I can't really say much more without giving away too much, but I thought it was a really terrific book. It was hard for me to 'get into it' in the beginning, but I plan to listen to the start again.

It's smartly written and filled with intricate details about these two "worlds". Really an interesting book about the state of the worlds finances! Loved it! I'm actually stunned that I'm only the second review of this book on Goodreads. READ or LISTEN to it! It's a keeper!

 

Doing Things YOUR Way

Doing things ‘Your’ way

 

Do you have something unique to offer? An alternative perspective or a different way of doing things?  I am sure that you do. Consider this: no one person has lived the same life. We are born at different times and eras and move through life with different mental filters. If you think about it there is no way that each person’s life can actually be the same as another’s. That means that you have something unique to contribute. That is quite a phenomenal thought if you think about it. Twins don’t even have the same lives because they are in different bodies. I don’t even think that Siamese twins would experience life in the same way because they would have different mental filters and still view lives from a slightly different perspective / angles. So with this in mind, then why do people attempt to repeat what has already gone before? Why do people bandwagon? Well it is because they are trying to ride on the back of something that has worked. Take for example the Harry Potter books, how many bandwagoners managed to make their billions off the back of it? What made the Harry Potter series so special was that J.K Rowling made the book her way. There may well have been influences but that is not the point, we all take inspiration from somewhere and amalgamate the fragments into something new.

 

 

One of the things that I found when I was teaching creative writing classes is that people often emulated what had gone before. The vocalised belief is that there is nothing original. I contest that and say that you are original so therefore what you bring to what you create can be original. Yes there are limited story lines with themes; however, what you put into the world can be original because you create it. You will also find that the passion will rise within you once you ‘put your heart’ into it (this is another blog I wrote). The more you put your heart into something the more energy and passion you have to create something. It is as if you hook up to an energy supply to drive you through to creative heights. Forget about doing something purely to make money. Try creating something purely to experience the joy of creation and stepping into that space where you are in ‘no time’ and the kiss of inspiration canoodles you… When you experience this you will find that doing things your way has a great deal of satisfaction and then you may well find that once creativity flows that your aliveness increases and you find that ‘special’ something you can contribute to the world which demonstrates you have done something your wayJ

 

 

Ruby Allure Books created to inspire you:)

LINKS TO AMAZON.COM:

 

LABYRINTHINE AMAZON.COM LINK: Link: http://amzn.com/B012FAYI5U

 

:

AUDIBLE LINK FOR A SHORT COURSE IN CREATIVE WRITING: http://amzn.com/B01390THLK

21/08/15

 

"An Unexpected Gem"

***I was provided a copy of this audio book for the purpose of a review ***

With the required disclaimer out of the way, let me be brutally honest, I had not expected this little gem. In fact, I had expected my listening would be a bit rough and was fortified by it being less than 2 hours.

The synopsis says the author wrote the book as a takeaway from her evening classes on creative writing. My mental context was ... Community Ed evening classes ...and expected a well intended but kind of amateur product. However, I am interested in adult education, and batter my own nerd head against a giant personal creativity brick wall.

So you have an idea of my mind set... low expectations along with high interest.

Amateur hour it was NOT.

I don't know where the author teaches her class, but Sign Me Up! And bring the narrator. Wow. Two hours of unadulterated, straight up, right on, good learning material delivered by a close friend just sharing the material. The narrator's voice was warm, sincere without any artifact or pompous patronising, and well modulated throughout. The material was mind opening for me, with the right mix of the mechanics of writing exercises, sufficient context that using prompts now makes sense to me, and a sprinkling of the inner heart work of creativity through written material.

This was just what I didn't dare hope for in a how to creative writing listen.

Truly an unexpected gem and a learning and growing experience for me.

A keeper and one I will return to many times as I deconstruct my own wall, one block at a time.

Thank You, Ruby and Thank You, Erin.

 

TO BUY MONEY FARM ON AMAZON.com http://amzn.com/B010F04W9O

· Frode

06/08/15

5 STAR

"M.O.N.E.Y. is bad? This book is not!"

So Money Farm by Ruby Allure was a surprise! When I REALLY did not read things about this book I review for Audiobook Blast, I sometimes get books I don't know something about. BTW: I read 99% about the books I want to review, but this book I can't remember I did that for. Anyways: This was a nice surprise, and I think it is one of those books that is better the second time you read it. No joke! I listen to this twice before I made this! Money Farm makes you thin, and who does not like to hear a book that makes you think? It is an awesome book, that I will recommend to all that likes audiobooks, and really to people that does not!

Helen Lloyd English accent its the topic like a glow and a hand! Her "lady like" voice is so cold, and clear I feel that the author made this book thinking that Helen Lloyd would read it out loud! That is how I feel those two fits together! The 2 times 14 hrs and 6 mins I spend with her never feels boring or uninteresting! I would love to spend it again, and I will because this book I will hear again, and again, even when it is 14 hrs and 6 mins long! That is saying something!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

MONEY FARM

· "Incredibly thought provoking..."

What did you like most about Money Farm?

It was an eye opener.

 

What did you like best about this story?

I like the way it made you think about the way normal everyday life is here and now, and the future...

 

Have you listened to any of Helen Lloyd’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Helen Lloyd narrated this fairly long audiobook brilliantly. Although the story content was very intense and thought provoking, her lovely smooth voice was very easy to listen to and I thought it was just perfect, a fascinating book wonderfully narrated.

 

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was, although it is too long to do so.