From the Desk of Caspar
Which self shall I be today?
That’s a line from the film Darkest Hour. It’s the moment where Churchill has received the telegram to call him to the Palace to meet the King to be appointed Prime Minister.
As he prepares to take the mantle for his greatest challenge yet, he stands in front of his hat rack and asks himself the question "Which self shall I be today?” and then selects the appropriate hat and walks out of the door.
It’s a revealing moment.
It’s a moment in which he shows the power of having different identities. Identities and stories that we can use to empower us in different scenarios.
These things don’t happen by accident. They are as a result of thinking through the different parts of your life and who you need to be in each different situation.
Ever found yourself come home with a head full of work and 100% in work mode and you speak to your partner / children in a clipped work tone of voice {I’ve fallen into that trap more times than I care to remember}.
It’s worth reflecting on. For the different roles you play in your life, who do you need to show up as? At work, at home, with friends. What do you need to do to change your perspective.
Tip: Who do you need to be for each part of your life. Be intentional about it (we’ll be talking about how to do this at our upcoming Thrive: Life Summit later this year)
In the Spotlight
One of the organisations I’m proud to be involved in is the Charity, The British Exploring Society. Their belief is that challenging experiences can transform lives. They do this by taking young people on expedition to some of the world’s wildest and most remote locations.
Nichola and I are excited to be part of an event in London in the coming weeks. It’s called House of Beautiful Business and it’s one o the few public events I’ll be doing this year. All proceeds go to The Big Issue. There are some brilliant speakers there and it should be a lot of fun.
6 Books I wish I’d read when I was much younger
I used to be a reluctant learner: the bare minimum to get to the next stage.
That shifted some years ago and I’m now 100% committed to lifelong learning.
Here’s 6 books that I wished my younger self could have read, understood and appreciated:
The Growth Mindset - Carol Dweck
Principles - Ray Dalio
The Magic of Thinking Big - David Schwartz
Psychocybernetics - Dr Maxwell Maltz
The Star Principle - Richard Koch
The Talent Code - Daniel Coyle
Which books would you prescribe to the younger you?
(And at what age would they have been most helpful? I think that at ages 21 through 23 these would have been most valuable for me).
(Plus the obvious caveat that some of these books weren't around when I was that age!)
Be a Better Leader
As I read the book that I talk about in this video for the third time, I discover new insights. There is no such thing as a pure fixed mindset or a pure growth mindset. I believe we are all triggered at certain times to a fixed mindset - Carol Dweck does a remarkable job
Thought for the Day
Learning
In the Leadership tip of the week, I talk about the Growth Mindset and Carol Dweck. If you’re not familiar with this book, I urge you to find out more about it. Want the quick version? Here’s Carol Dwecks TED talk on it.
Its one of the most powerful concepts for our children. And all of us.
Upcoming Events
May 2 - Keynote, Dublin
May 15 - Keynote Barcelona
May 19 - Keynote London
May 20 - Keynote London
June 6 - Keynote, London
June 7 - Keynote, London
June 8-9 - Lisbon, Portugal
“I would like to recommend Caspar Craven on behalf of Schools North East as a fantastic inspirational speaker. Caspar delivered the opening keynote at the Schools North East annual leadership Summit in October 2018 to over 500 Head Teachers and school senior leaders from across the North East. Caspar not only was a great speaker but he was also able to adapt his speech in order to fit in with our conference theme of ‘Changing the Game’. Caspar’s speech was titled ‘Changing the Game through Great Leadership’. I would highly recommend booking Caspar to speak at an event”