Martin Vanags
Imagine a world where everyone has mentors and leaders they can tap into for an infinite flow of wisdom and support. Imagine young business and community leaders gaining the skills and learning about the tools they need to leverage their goals. Over the years I have helped hundreds of communities, business, and individuals get off the ground and excel. Strategic Foresight, Non-linear thinking, Cultural archetypes are my favorite topics. If you read my newsletter you will learn about these ideas and driving trends in climate, economic development, technology, the low-carbon economy, and Artificial Intelligence.
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Your Curated Morning (#156) for September 12, 2024 is here!
The Main Thing: Three Years of Curated Morning! This week's Newsletter represents the third anniversary of writing this Newsletter! I didn't know where it would lead when I started this Newsletter. I wasn't sure how this would help me with my business or if there was an appetite for this type of information. The one thing I was sure of was my desire to give economic and community leaders something a little bit different than the typical economic development news one gets on social media, at...
READ POSTGood Morning! Your Curated Morning (#155) for September 5, 2024 is Here!
The Main Thing: Recently, I wrote a series of social media posts (mostly on LinkedIn) about six acts of kindness. I was inspired by Ryan Holiday’s book Right Thing, Right Now. In one chapter, he writes about the virtue of being kind, which struck a chord with me. I have to admit, I haven't always been kind. So I thought about and wrote the series. I have compiled the whole series into one post, which is this week's blog post. As a review, here are the six “be kind” suggestions: Be kind to a...
READ POSTYour Curated Morning (#154) for Thursday August 29, 2024 is Here!
The Main Thing: The other day, in a Mastermind group I belong to, the leader talked about her "tech stack." She and most of the group members are "solopreneurs," so the discussion regarding productivity and organization tools was valid and interesting. Over the years, I've experimented with a variety of tech tools, both in organizational settings and as a solo operator. However, one application has consistently stood out-Evernote. This versatile tool, serving as a digital repository for...
READ POSTYour Curated Morning (#153) for August 22, 2024 is here!
The Main Thing: "Nobody's perfect." You have heard people say this, especially when they have made a mistake. While this statement is true, the actual test of character is what one does after making a mistake. I think your reaction to the error is more important in most cases than the mistake itself. In these moments, we have the opportunity to learn and grow, turning our mistakes into valuable lessons. In America, we tend to be both forgiving and punitive. We easily forgive and forget some...
READ POSTYour Curated Morning (#152) for August 15, 2024 is Here!
The Main Thing: Ensuring that you are on the right path is crucial for success. When you encounter a fork in the road or an obstacle, it becomes a catalyst for clarifying your thinking. Obstacles prompt you to pause and consider the potential outcomes. If I choose 'A,' this will be the result, or if I opt for 'B,' a different scenario will unfold. This week's post explores how obstacles assist business leaders and others in charting a clear path and refining their thought process. It provides...
READ POSTYour Curated Morning (#151) for August 8, 2024 is Here!
The Main Thing: One of my favorite books of recent years is GRIT by Angela Duckworth. The concept of GRIT is the subject of my next post about overcoming obstacles. GRIT is defined as passion, perseverance, long-term focus, resilience, and deliberate practice. If you can achieve that formula, you will display grit. There are numerous examples of business leaders and others who have displayed grit in achieving their goals and objectives. As you will see in my post, grit also requires some...
READ POSTYour Curated Morning for August 1, 2024 is here!
The Main Thing: Temple Grandin This is the fourth installment of the "obstacles" posts, wherein I write about overcoming obstacles. Previous posts discussed reframing the challenge, developing resiliency through adversity, and learning from failures. This week we discuss cultivating problem-solving skills. Ryan Holiday's 2013 book, "The Obstacles is the Way," inspired me for this series. Holiday’s book provides a blueprint for overcoming obstacles and using them to achieve the goals and...
READ POSTYour Curated Morning (#149) for July 25th, 2024 is Here!
The Main Thing: This is the third installment of the "obstacles" posts, wherein I write about overcoming obstacles. Much of what I share is inspired by Ryan Holiday's 2013 book, "The Obstacles is the Way." This book provides a blueprint for overcoming obstacles and using them to achieve the goals and objectives you want to achieve. In this week's installment, I write about how one can learn and adapt from failures. Failures, when approached constructively, are rich sources of information....
READ POSTYour Curated Morning for July 18, 2024 (#148) is here!
The Main Thing: Overcoming obstacles requires resiliency. How do we become resilient? It takes effort and some practice. One way to do this is to expose ourselves to difficult situations or adversity as a way of training for the times when things get really rough. In this week's blog post, I provide several examples of how people overcame adversity to succeed in life and set examples for all of us. In this poisonous political atmosphere, this may come in handy. Overcoming the obstacles that...
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