Kevin Roberts is a former Chief Executive of global ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. He now runs his own consulting company from his home in Grasmere, working with some of the world's biggest brands...and a few Cumbrian ones too.

THE TIME IS ALWAYS NOW

A quote from Mary Oliver which I have on display in our US and UK homes – “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Following on from that I was reminded that the answer to Mary’s question should be given today; it’s never too late; you’re never too old to do something brilliantly fun and unexpected to punctuate your life.  The Time is Always Now.

I recently read a great article from Berit Lewis, an expert on health and ageing.  She outlines a five point plan to make the most out of the years remaining of your one wild and precious life.  She stresses growing older, not getting older:

Choose what you pay attention to.  Focus on stuff you can change; on stuff that matters; on positive stuff.  Don’t dwell on the stuff you can’t change.  No regret.  No guilt.  No surrender!

Challenge your negative assumptions about ageing.  I’m still living life to the max, making happy choices, and working full time with clients old and new – and even getting involved in the dreaded AI.  Keep thinking different!

Don’t battle your discomfort.  Embrace it, suck it up, confront it, laugh at it – the discomfort diminishes once you embrace it.  Hello knee pain – we’ll just walk slower and hammer that Peloton – creaming my age group!

Be kind to yourself.  Reframe “Poor Me” to “I’m only human, I’m still alive, and that beats the alternative”.  Stop beating yourself up.  You’ve earned the right to relax, be calm and to live life slow.  Enjoy it.

Step out of autopilot with a beginner’s mind (think like a five-year-old).  Life is just a series of transitions.  Am now in the 4th Quarter – when all the interesting twists and turns happen.  Bring it on.

 Happiness Runs.

EMBRACING AI

We are moving rapidly forward into a hybrid world of Artificial Intelligence, Practical Creativity, Human Empathy and Instinct.

It is a world of excitement, anxiety, fear, volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA), and it is accelerating (VUCAA).

We need to climb aboard and surf the wave.  No more BMW’s (bitching, moaning and whining).  Take control of your own destiny.  You are responsible for your own happiness.

Embrace AI.  Do not fear it.  Harness it to enhance your happiness.

I’m working with a brave, insightful start-up – Quench.AI in London, led by the inspirational Husayn Kassai, aided and abetted by my old friend Ana Bakshi and a team of young, talented leaders – and they have understood that humans make the best teachers, and technology makes the best curator and facilitator!

So if you’re a middle manager whose role comprises largely of manipulating input in one form and reporting it upwards in another form, or you’re in a role involving repetitive tasks or standard data analysis, or in a clerical role, then Repurpose yourself quickly.  AI can do what you do more effectively and more economically.

If you’re in a job that requires empathy, strategic thinking, instinct and, above all, creativity, then raise your sights, your hopes, your ambitions – and your fees!!

(And if you’re a Programmer who can design, supervise and refine AI, then you’re in like Flynn!!!)

Reframe and Blue Ocean your life today!

Fortune Favours the Brave.

AGEING

If you make it to age 65 in the US today, there’s a 50% chance you’ll make it past 85.

Chip Conley, ex Airbnb boss, has just written a book about redefining mid-life.

And I’ve added a few thoughts of my own as I enjoy the third half of what I’m hoping will be my century.

So here we go – six thoughts on why we should enjoy our back third.

1)         You know who your true friends are; you know who you can count on.  You’ve weeded out the false friends.

2)         You know not everyone likes you.  You also know not everyone matters.  You can’t please everybody, so make sure you please yourself and make happy choices.

3)         You know stuff.  Your ability to think holistically – crystallised intelligence, wisdom – improves with age and doesn’t peak until your 70’s.  Knowledge, experience, patterns – we learn more every day.

4)         You know where your story’s going, and where it’s likely to end.  We are the ones we have been waiting for.  Don’t do dumb sh-t.  And everything will be OK in the end – if it’s not OK, it’s not the end.

5)         We have realistic expectations.  We know what we know.  We do what we can.  We believe.  We’re not as good as we once were.  But we’re as good once as we ever were.

6)         We step off the treadmill.  We live life slow.  We move from doing, teaching and making others do – to – letting others do.

And finally – everything becomes more interesting.  Just like most sports matches and the last acts of a play – all the real excitement comes later on.