On the topic of rebooting one’s career, related to the first element of curiosity, I think being open-minded is also important.
When we first start with our career with a blank sheet of paper, so to speak, we tend to be more open to ideas and concepts which is natural as we don’t have enough experience to form our own yet. As we get older with more experience, we (as a stereotype of older people) tend to more “set in our own way” perhaps because we consciously or subconsciously believe we have found “the” way.
I think there is a balance between having expertise in a certain area and keeping an open mind for challenges and new ideas; otherwise, we may miss good opportunities and/or come across as dismissive.

I would like to share my opinions on how to reboot or rejuvenate one’s career as a more “seasoned” worker.
First, keep the level of curiosity high. It is important to have the curiosity to find out new things. There are new discoveries, inventions and solutions every day. We should stay keen to learn new things. Avoid the “blanket” statement of “be there and done it!”. Try to look a bit closer or dig a bit deeper into the issue before dismissing it.

I went swimming this afternoon and two interesting points dawned on me.
1) I believe everyone swallows some water involuntarily while swimming regardless of how well you swim. The natural response is to “cough out” the water even though we know it is too late. That response sometimes messes up your swimming rhythm and pace. Similar to life itself, we sometimes need to stop our “natural” response/reflex (in particular negative one) to a situation and move on; otherwise other parts of our life may be adversely affected.
2) Correct technique is very important in swimming. If you swim with the right technique, you go smoothly and gracefully (seemingly effortlessly). The harder you hit the water does not guarantee you will swim faster. For learning, in general, one needs to know and practise the right technique in order to make progress effectively.

In recent years, the topic of early retirement has come up among some of my friends despite their “tender” age. I thought it is an interesting subject and definitely worth some pondering.

One related question is: Retire or Reboot one’s career? There is no shortage of examples of people that have successfully rebooted their careers including the Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Arnold returned to the stardom after his stint in U.S. politics. Despite his mature age of 68, he still managed to draw audience. He has recently flexed his acting “muscle” on taking on a serious acting role in the new movie Maggie.

We will brainstorm on how to reboot one’s career next.

Recently, I have read an article from Time Out London making fun of Tom Cruise for not acting his age titled “Eight ways Tom Cruise can make us like him again”.

Though I am not a fan of Tom, I would say the following two things in his defense.
1) He can act (please note we are talking about acting in the sense of performance) whatever age in movies as long as it comes across as convincing. For that, we have to give that to him (it still works for him).
2) His eccentric/unique behavior is part of the package/image that he is projecting. He has been undoubtedly a top actor/entertainer for decades and the result speaks for itself.

And yes, I am going to see his new movie “Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation” this weekend.

I became a great uncle today (for the second time) as my nephew in Hong Kong became a proud father for the first time.
Congratulations to the parents and their extended families!

My great nephew is a cute baby boy with 2 dimples and a full head of hair.
The parents are in the process of deciding on the name. Any suggestions?

A few people have asked me what I do now that I have completed the coaching training. Currently I have just started with two new clients and will soon sign up at a charity to offer coaching as well. I am very excited about it and will provide periodic updates on this journey in the future. Thank you for asking :>

On receiving feedback, here is some good advice from Eric Parsloe and Melville Leedham (Coaching and Mentoring – Practical Conversations to improve learning, 2nd Edition 2009, Kogan Page, p.129)
• Listening actively, concentrating and being receptive; this will make it easier for the giver to be honest;
• Clarifying and testing their understanding of what is being said;
• Not reacting defensively or trying to just their behaviour;
• Spending some time reflecting on the feedback received;
• Thanking the person for the feeback.

I came cross the following material on how to learn from feedback and would like to share it with my readers (Starr, Julie, The Coaching Manual, 3rd Edition 2011, Pearson Education Limited, p.288)
“Now, on your own, sit down with a piece of paper and write answers/notes to the following questions:
> What did I learn about myself from that conversation?
> What will I do differently as a result of that conversation?
> What was good about the way they gave me feedback?
> What didn’t work about the way they gave me feedback?
> What can I learn from that? e.g. what principles will I use when giving feedback now?
Think also about how the conversation was useful to you generally. What was it like seeing yourself through the eyes of the other person?”

1) Drive/Motivation/Determination
2) Talents
3) Hard work
4) Luck (at the right place at the right time)

We often wonder how people became so successful without realizing and acknowledging what is behind it.
It is simple but not easy :>