Ten brilliant things you can achieve in ten days

Ten brilliant things you can achieve in ten days (unlike Scaramucci)

In ten days, Anthony Scaramucci managed to get a new job, file for divorce, have a baby, and then lose his job.

He probably can’t take too much credit for having a child — given he was not actually present at the birth of his son. He reportedly sent a text congratulating his soon-to-be ex-wife on the birth. Nice.

And he doesn’t appear to have actually achieved much in his White House position — although it’s been entertaining following his verbal tirades.

In honour of Anthony, I wanted to share ten, positive things you can achieve in ten days.

You don’t have to be appointed to a high profile job to do any of the below. You don’t need to be well-paid, or even have a huge amount of time on your hands.

And, at the end of ten days, you’ll know that you achieved more in your role as a human than Anthony Scaramucci did in his role at the White House.

Reach out to someone you’ve been thinking about. Ask them to meet you for a coffee or for lunch – or just call them up on the phone, setting aside some time to genuinely find out how they’ve been, what they’ve been up to. Make an effort to genuinely listen to them, even if that means you don’t get to talk about yourself.

Find some time to research a charity you want to care about. The first step to investing your time or money in a charity is to find one that reflects your values and responds to an issue you care about. So spend time on it. Get engaged, understand the issues the charity’s looking to address, consider how and where you can add value.

Outline your work purpose. Whether you’re building a career, or building a business, the purpose you have will ultimately determine its impact on others – and possibly how successful you will be. If you can’t yet articulate a purpose, take some time to figure it out and write it down – just make sure at least part of your purpose serves something higher than income and profit.

Spend an hour on your LinkedIn profile. Do your contacts and colleagues a favour by updating your outdated LinkedIn profile to let them know what you’re up to, where you are, and what kind of connections you’re seeking. Share some recent wins, add some details about your previous roles, and connect it to your purpose (see point above). Just keep it honest. With your LinkedIn profile updated, move on to considering how you can use social media more generally for good – and to stay informed, in the loop and engage in issues you care about – rather than merely to build your personal profile alone.

Inspire a girl. Make a deliberate move to inspire a girl – within your own family, amongst friends, or elsewhere. Note her talents, talk to her about different career options, encourage her to consider some big ambitions. If you can’t spend time with her, send her a gift that’ll break down some of the constant stereotypes she’s up against. (The Book, Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls makes a nice gift).

Rethink your personal footprint. Take an hour to think about some actions you and your family can take to lessen your environmental footprint. Write down some ambitious habits for better dealing with the your power use, your recycling, and even the foods you buy and eat (and inevitably waste). Set an example for your kids.

Ignore Instagram for a couple of days. It’s pseudo-positivity might make you feel optimistic, but it can also distract you from some of the more serious issues affecting the world right now. Life isn’t a filtered square photograph, an inspirational quote, or a delicately carved set of abs.

Deliberately include someone who has previously been excluded. Open your mind and heart to identify somebody who has and continues to be excluded – whether that’s in your workplace, in your social life, or somewhere else. Invite somebody into that planning meeting at work. Reach out via social media to a business owner you could potentially mentor or offer some value to. Call up a colleague who is on maternity leave and fill them in on what they’ve missed. Bring somebody new into your regular office for drinks or lunch. Make an effort to speak with somebody who’s too often ignored in your local community.

Take a couple of hours to consider what’s really going on in the world. We’re all busy. We’re all trying to earn a living, and be decent parents, friends and family-members. We’re trying to be active on social media, and keep up with every trickle of new happenings from family and friends and that person you went to primary school with. But we’re also ignoring – or missing – some of the most critical issues of our time: an international refugee crisis, climate change, famine in East Africa, the on-going war in Syria, the destruction of democracy internationally, the loss of certain aspects of progress for women and girls all over the world.

Do something active that you’ve never done before – or haven’t done in a while. Take a run or walk somewhere completely new. Get out in the ocean. Take a hike. Try something new. Maybe it will create a new lifelong active habit, maybe it won’t. But it’ll feel good.

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