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Ten Ways … By Robert Ashton … to broaden your horizon


Yes, I know that animal feed is fascinating. And yes, as margins get squeezed your job gets even more demanding. But step back a moment and think. Has your job become your life? Have your horizons narrowed? Are you in danger of becoming set in your ways and losing sight of the wider world around you? I left the agricultural supply industry 30 years ago and since then


have sold caravans, started a charity, written 19 books and a lot more. My career has been something of a roller-coaster, with serendipity playing a large part in my discovery of new opportunities over the years. As Douglas Adams wrote: ‘I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.’ If you work for an organisation, you will have lines drawn between


home and work life; yet you are the same person in both contexts. The more you can be the same person in both, the happier you will be. What’s more you will be more productive at work if you have a better idea of how what you do fits in to the bigger picture. So here are ten simple things you can do to gently broaden your horizons and who knows where that may lead! 1. Read widely – As an author I’m bound to say that, but books can inspire, enthuse and incite. Reading books you’d not normally consider can sometimes prompt you to step beyond the obvious in every aspect of life. I’ve recently been inspired by George Lakey’s ‘Viking Economics’, John Rees’s ‘The Leveller Revolution’ and Todd Rose’s ‘The End of Average.’ Each encouraged me to think just a little differently. 2. Join cross-cutting networks – You probably already belong to trade bodies and have an extensive network. But what about people working in other fields? I’m an active Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce – www.thersa.org) and really enjoy debating current affairs with people whose experience of the world is very different to my own. My message is that you can learn from people who work in different fields from the one you plough every day. 3. Become a Trustee – The charity world is changing fast and crying out for streetwise Trustees with commercial experience. Earned income is replacing grants and they all now need to clearly demonstrate that they’re delivering a measurable return on investment. In exchange for your business skills, you will have your eyes opened to social issues you many never have encountered. 4. Learn a new language – This can both enrich business and holiday but also introduce you to a new culture. If you drive a lot,


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you can buy a language course to work through in your car. We all try to learn languages when at school. Learning as an adult is very different and in some ways, actually easier. 5. Take a sabbatical – Shock! No, seriously, why not? You may have taken a gap year as a student and have ambitions to travel when you retire, but why wait that long? Better still, why not combine it with a study tour to see how what you do is done in other parts of the world? Many employers recognise the value of sabbaticals. Organisations such as VSO can make it possible. 6. Play an instrument – You don’t have to travel to discover a new world. If you’ve yet to learn to play an instrument, choose one and start lessons. Once you can read and play music, you’ll add a fresh dimension to life. Very quickly you’ll find yourself hearing music quite differently. It literally puts a whole new world at your fingertips. 7. Read the ‘Big Issue’ – Actually buying and taking home a copy is enough. I’ve had some amazing conversations with ‘Big issue’ vendors. It’s so grounding to hear the story of someone who, often through no fault of their own, has found themselves on the street. 8. Volunteer – Anything that exposes you to people you’d never otherwise meet can be useful. Taking part in fundraising events, sponsored walks or spending an afternoon explaining your job to a group of High School students. You’ll find that you’ll be asked questions that will really make you think. We all take too much for granted and assume others know more than they actually do. 9. Meditate – Taking time to stop rushing and to start thinking is a great way to stimulate creative thinking. It takes practice and may mean putting your phone out of earshot, but to sit quietly with your eyes closed can be surprisingly powerful. Or simply take the time to notice some of the simple things in the natural world we take for granted. You can meditate on your own or with others; both can be useful. 10. Question – Approach your life as if every day is your first. Move away from making assumptions and ask why, then keep asking. Challenging those conventions and habits that form everyday life is how change develops. Just as you will put your clothes on in the same order every morning, so too is our everyday life filled with comfortable routine. Change the routine. It’s a long time now since I had a ‘proper’ job, with a boss, an office


and a daily routine. This I know has given me the freedom to explore, to follow my instinct. I’ve learned over the years that everything is connected and no experience is wasted. For example, without a farming background, I’d probably not be


writing for this journal. Although I left the industry decades ago, I’ve maintained an interest, kept my network up to date and never been afraid to express my view. When redundancy tipped me into self- employment, my former boss became my first client. It’s all about seeing the opportunity that lies hidden behind every challenge. As I’ve said I love a challenge. I’ve been invited to write a regular


checklists column. What would you like to write about next? Let me know on robert@robertashton.co.uk


Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd www.cfegroup.com


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