Testing my margins

Colin Chamberssteps 1 Comment

So I had a match today against my nemesis. We play regularly and it’s always close. Every time I think I’ve figured him out he comes up with something new. Today was no different. I put my new shots and tactics into play and profited really well in the first set. I was on fire but wasn’t really trying. My …

Profit margins

Colin Chamberssteps 2 Comments

Novak and Rafa Wimbledon final 2011 I love competing. Mainly it’s not about beating someone else. It’s about testing myself. Seeing what I can achieve. So I thought I’d write about it and hopefully find other people who like pushing themselves like I do. So I have many passions. Most I just do. The passion I’m most competitive with is …

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Book review: The Talent Code

Colin Chamberscoaching, Education, Learning, Physical Education, spectacular performances, steps, Strategy 1 Comment

A fascinating book that sheds new light on how neural connections form I’ve just finished reading ‘The Talent Code ‘ by Daniel Coyle and already I feel it’s one of those books I will refer to again and again. It’s a well researched book describing daniels theory of how talent is best progressed. He uses research from state of the art …

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Hypertension, sodium and activity. Any relation?

Colin Chamberscells, competing, pressure Leave a Comment

So, something just struck me. No… nothing physically hit me šŸ™‚ I just heard something about blood pressure that linked a bunch of information into one. I’m not sure if this is a new insight so I’m logging it here for future reference. The first thing was reading that increased potassium in the diet is associated with a lowering in …

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Adapt: Is there evolution in business?

Colin ChambersBusiness, compete, competing, competition, ecosystems, evolution, leading 2 Comments

For me the answer is a definitive yes. The more I apply evolutionary principles in thinking about business the more I see it fits and the more I feel I understand business. It’s why I like capitalism. It’s a very harsh approach, which I don’t like, but then is’n’t natural selection. Natural selection is about competing for energy and essential …

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Learning on demand (LOD)

Colin Chamberscoaching, compete, competing, competition, DNA, Education, Physical Education, Strategy, training, Virtual body Leave a Comment

Following on from a previous article on 21st century learning I feel we’re moving to an area where learning on demand will be as normal as Video on demand (VOD). I see the emergence of 24-7 tutorials and motuto as early attempts at this. I can’t vouch for the quality and economic viability yet but I do see that the learning market is biased towards young …

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A vision for 21st century learning

Colin Chamberscoaching, compete, competing, competition, ecosystems, Education, Learning, spectacular performances, steps, Strategy, training Leave a Comment

So I had a vision over Christmas of the kind of learning and teaching I’ve always wanted. As I wrote it down I became more and more convinced that this is possible right now. It also pulls together my passion for understanding human excellence with my experience in taking ideas to deliverables. It’s still very much a work in progress but I’m …

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Could hygiene obsession cause allergies?

Colin Chamberscells Leave a Comment

Just came across this fascinating article at sciencefocus.com opening the debate about how clean is healthy? I’ve always wondered if we need a little dirt to teach our immune system what’s good and what’s bad for us. They go a step further and say that our immune system needs bad stuff otherwise it might start attacking the good stuff within …

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Things you can do better asleep than you can awake

Colin Chambersrecover, sleep, Well being Leave a Comment

following on with the theme that sleep is far more important than many of us realise. Here’s an analysis of things we can do better asleep than when we’re awake. Essentially there seem to be three main areas that we do better asleep: Lets summarise each area: Forming accurate memories Most neuroscientists agree that sleep is when we organize memories …

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Can amazing abilities be taught?

Colin Chamberscoaching, competing, Education, Follow your dreams, Learning, Physical Education, spectacular performances Leave a Comment

I’ve been talking for a while how everything we see other people achieving we could actually achieve ourselves. We just need to learn to bring it out of us. A couple of weeks ago I ate at a restaurant and the waitress showed exactly what I’m talking about. There were four of us and we had a lot to order. …

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Neural Darwinism: is this how we learn?

Colin Chambersbrain, coaching, compete, competing, competition, Education, evolution, Learning, memory, mind, Physical Education, recover, sleep, Strategy, training, truth Leave a Comment

I’m excited to have just discovered Neural Darwinism through an interview with Gerald Edelman on all in the mind. The idea that our brain constantly adapts to our environment using the same evolutionary principles described by Darwin is what I’ve been coming to believe. It’s clear that we create and remove connections every day during sleep and that our brains are constantly evolving from the …

The only true disability is a crushed spirit

Colin Chamberscompeting, Strategy Leave a Comment

Watching Aimee Mullims ted talk title “The opportunity of adversity” is just fascinating. She makes such a beautiful case for the strengths and values people gain from disability it becomes very clear that the adversity that may entail generally adds far more to us than it takes away.

Gaming can make a better world

Colin Chambersplay, Strategy Leave a Comment

Ok, so I’m just watching the best presentation I’ve seen for a while. I just had to share it. The premise that gaming can make a better world is something I share and have actively been looking at how to bring gaming to education via the OU. I think Jane McGonigal just nails it and explains how gaming is a …

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Pear poached in mulled wine with brandy sauce

Colin ChambersFood, lifestyle Leave a Comment

This is a recipe for christmas. I’ve never even tasted mulled wine before so this crimbo I bought some to try it out. Now I’m not a wine person generally but I wanted to see if mulled wine is any different in case I’m missing out. Turns out I’m not really cos it’s quite dry like most wines but then …

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Funding education: A novel approach

Colin ChambersBusiness, Education, Learning, Physical Education, steps Leave a Comment

funding is one of those key things that underpin learning and teaching. InĀ funding education, a novel approach I explain how you could use the latest payment approaches to fund new learning tools. Rather than apply for big grants and go through the related bureaucracy. In this age of empowerment you could just deliver a tool and provide cheap simple options to …