It’s (not) Hard to Be Humble

With the rise of the celebrity culture (both in business and in popular culture) it seems some celebrities struggle to remain humble and in the process disengage with their followers.

In fact, you would think that many of them subscribe to beliefs presented in the Mac Davis song, It’s Hard to Be Humble.

I had an interaction with someone who knows it is NOT hard to be humble. Australian songstress (in both Opera and Pop/Alternate music) Kate Miller-Heidke showed me how it is done.

On Friday I sent a tweet about how I was doing some writing while listening to her music and she replied.

I did a bit of cyber stalking and saw that Kate (we’re friends now so I call her Kate) showed appreciation to several others that had mentioned her. I get how this could be an onerous task for huge celebrities with lots of fans writing to them. But it is amazing how a simple “Thank you” shows you are human. Shows that you appreciate those that support you and have helped you to get where you are.

So how is your humility level? Regardless of whether you are a super star or not, do you let your humanity show? Go on, it’s worth it.

It’s (not) hard to be humble!

The recurring theme in discussions with clients as they plan their year is saying NO.

In life, it is what you say NO to that will determine your success not what you say YES to.

As the old saying goes, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” It is up to us to maintain our focus on what counts and what is important. We can only do this by saying NO to distractions, NO to worthy causes that don’t serve us, NO to procrastination, NO to events we don’t want to go to but are too nice to say so, NO to amazing business deals that will shift us off course and not give a decent return, NO to opportunities that stroke our ego but do not serve our purpose, NO to things our gut tells us not to do but our head says yes.

Often, saying YES is the easy way out. Standing in our power, in what we know is right for us as a person, a parent, a business owner, an employee, a community member and a family member can be hard. But it is this path that leads to success.

What you say NO to will determine your success, not what you say YES to.

One of the things business owners need to say No to is their customers. Not all of their customers but the ones that no longer serve them. The demanding ones that chew up all of your time but then don’t buy from you. The ones that take months to pay and always have an excuse. The ones that haggle on price every time they deal with you.

The best thing to do with this kind of customer is send them to your competition. You are better focussing on the customers that rave about you, that effortlessly refer you, that know your value and willingly pay your invoice on time. A key to doing this is to know your niche, know your target market, know your value and rarely stray from that zone.

Saying No to unsavoury customers means you free up space to service the quality customers in your niche, it saves the massive energy drain and it also increases your profitability.

What you say NO to will determine your success, not what you say YES to. So, who and what do you need to say NO to so you can increase your success?

Unleash the Beast

Meet Winston the oh so cute and slightly anxious toy poodle.

A couple of days ago I heard him making a funny noise so I came out of my office to see him like this. He was so proud of his hunter skills.

He had found, caught and killed a mouse.

It is the last thing I really expected of him. He was strutting around so proud of himself. He had tapped into his hidden wolf ancestral skill set and accomplished the unexpected.

Have you ever done this? Not killed a mouse but tapped into something you never knew or forgot you had and achieved something spectacular?

Maybe it was a sporting event. A hole in one, an ungettable slam dunk that you got or a forehand smash that went exactly where you wanted it. It could have been in business. Negotiating the unnegotiable, meeting an unreachable deadline or leading a team to “victory” in a manner that everyone was in awe of the achievement?

Like Winston, it is attacking the situation and never giving up. Continuing on even when things are not happening just as you want them that will bring you to the achievement. Tapping in to your internal motivation with a focus on your end goal.

Keep going and unleash your inner beast, you may just surprise yourself!

A Sea of Humanity

I had an interesting wait last week.

I was coming back from a performance skills conference and as you can see from the picture above, bad weather cancelled all the flights leaving except for one.

Luckily I was able to get on that one flight. But with a packed airport, massive delays and a load of families with their plans sent askew, I was able to see humanity in action.

The airline staff were doing a great job but they had to put up with a lot. Some people insisting that they were important, some exclaiming that they would miss their important event, others chatting to their kids about what a great adventure it was, some getting excited that it meant another day on holiday and some with a zombified look on their face not knowing what to do.

The range of emotions and responses was amazing.

What would you have done? There is no right answer of course. I like to try and see the bigger picture and my part in it. No matter what, the weather was NOT the airline staff’s fault and they were the ones who could serve me best to get to where I want to go.

Ah the humanity!

Un-Australia Day

It’s Jan 26th, Australia day. The day many of us wave the flag, put lamb (or any other meat product) on the BBQ and drink a lot.

Unfortunately the Australian of the year this year is Rosie Batty. I wish to all that is powerful that she didn’t win. More specifically, that she did not have to go through the circumstances that put her in the position to win it. As a reminder, this is the woman whose estranged husband beat their son to death with a cricket bat while they were playing cricket at the nets.

The warnings to police, AVOs and “legal” solutions did little to assist her. She then started her campaign to inform us of why domestic violence is such a big issue in Australia and how it should not be tolerated. The statistics are scary. And it is not only women who are victims of domestic violence, men represent a greater proportion of victims than you may expect.

This is not the only, Un-Australian thing about Australia day. Our indigenous population commonly refer to today as “Invasion Day”. It is the day the White Man came – things pretty much went down hill for them from there. Our history of caring for aborigines is poor to say the least. In fact, it is not even referred to as “caring” but “treatment”.

The good thing is that as you get older your learn from your mistakes. Well, that’s the plan.

When should we talk about the “New Australians”? Is now a good time? For whatever reason, our government thinks boat people are bad and we should not take them in. We have spent billions of dollars NOT taking care of them and in fact, some commentators think it would be cheaper to settle them in Australia than keep them imprisoned in our “Processing Centres”.

It certainly is understandable that we don’t want certain types of people in our nation. People who have an evil intent or would not subscribe to the Australian way of life. Here is an example of the kind of person our government does NOT want in our country, Mr Homayon Hatami.

Mr Hatami is an asylum seeker on a bridging visa currently living in Geelong. His visa expires in April and he has been advised it will not be reviewed so he will need to leave the country.

Let me be up front and say that I do not know the details on his case and there may be more depth to his background. Here is what I do know:

Mr Hatami is a karate champion that the official selectors included in the team to represent Australia on several occasions (he could not represent us due to the conditions of his visa)
On 8th May 2013 Mr Hatami put his own life at risk to rescue a women who had jumped from a pier near Eastern Beach Geelong and then got into trouble.
For his action, Mr Hatami was awarded the Royal Humane Society of Australasia Silver Medal for bravery. With the authority of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Second, Queen of Australia, Mr Hatami was also awarded the Commendation for Brave Conduct by The Governor General His Excellency Sir Peter Cosgrove.

Not quite the spectre of evil our government should be sending back to wherever they came from. Certainly his actions have shown he is a fair and decent person. Some Australians have started a petition has been created to have Mr Hatami visa extended, if not granted asylum. So it seems he has made a positive impact here. You can read more and sign the petition here.

What kind of Australia do we want for the future?

What kind of actions do we want to be seen as being “Australian”?

So much is happening in our name that DOES NOT represent the great nation that we are and can be. Whether it is action taken by our government, our sports stars, our businesses or general members of the community. Let’s make every day Australia day and celebrate it by being compassionate, understanding, big picture thinkers, community focussed, generous and sharing what we have with those who need it.

Let’s face it, everyone deserves a snag from the barbie!

Let’s Do Better

I am tired of all the disrespect and lack of tolerance.

Whether it is road rage, bombing, messy divorces, frivolous legal suits or over entitled celebrities, it is NOT progressing our planet or our existence.

Let’s do better.

Once you have some perspective, you see how unimportant we are to the universe and how important we are to each other.

If you need some perspective, watch this short video from Carl Sagan, legendary astrophysicist.

Let’s do better.

It is really quite simple. Let’s follow the teachings of legendary, non-religious, independantly brilliant and uniquely naive teachings of the two prophets Bill and Ted.

They have two simple philosophies:

1) Be excellent to each other

2) Party on dudes

It would be easy to dismiss these as flippant, 80’s movie trivia, but I believe they encapsulate what we need to do.

Treat each other incredibly well and celebrate life’s achievements in the company of others.

Let’s do better

Get More Success from 2015

Can you believe it is the start of another year?

As we get older the years seem to pass more quickly so it becomes even more important that we make the most of the time presented to us. That means no more New Year’s Resolutions. They are a complete waste of time. Most people don’t even expect to keep them, so why would you make them?

Let’s take our success up another level by focussing on the five core elements we need to experience outrageous success.

Creation

The first element is to spend some time creating the ideas you want to implement for 2015. Be careful! It is very easy to make this a fantasy list. Only include what you REALLY want to achieve. If you have no passion or drive for an idea it will slip by the way side and get pushed out of your mind by someone else’s priorities that seem more urgent.

Some of you won’t need this step. You are already crystal clear what your focus is for the year. You know what you want to achieve and you are already headed in that direction. Fantastic! The reality is, that if you don’t write it down it is more likely to slip down your list of priorities. Make sure you spend the time to list your target achievements for the year.

If you are not sure where to start, pick a theme or focus for the year. Too often we are distracted by the minutia of our multiple goals. Have a single word or single statement theme for a year will keep you on track for what really counts.

Inspiration

The second element is all about getting excited. Surround yourself with ideas, images, people, and resources that get you excited about what you want to achieve.

You also need to protect yourself from negativity. You don’t need others stealing your dreams and inspiration. People who say, “what do you want to do that for?”, “that’s stupid” or “what a waste of time” will not help you achieve what you are after. Family and close friends are particularly good at doing this. They do it under the guise of “protecting you” but sometimes you don’t want the protection.

Inspiration is not something you have once and then it’s done. You need to set yourself up for success by having an “Inspiration System”. That is some process or system that continues to deliver inspiration.

Here are some ideas that have worked for others:

Watching TED videos
Reading inspirational books
Regular inspirational newsletters
Vision boards
Mastermind groups
Inspirational music
Powerful quotes

Different things work for different people. Find out what works for you and put it into place

Motivation

People confuse motivation and inspiration.

Quite simply, Inspiration is external. It comes from hearing other peoples experience, creating a goal to achieve, having a coach or some other external factor as described above.

Motivation is internal. It comes from you. No one else can give you motivation only inspiration.

This is why an inspiration system is so important. Motivation is like trying so save water in a leaky tank. You use water every day and also some naturally leaks away. If you are not continually topping it up you find yourself without any at all.

Legendary speaker Zig Ziglar famously said that “Motivation is like personal hygiene – you need to attend to it every day.”

Some days you may only be able to rustle up enough motivation to get out of bed and other days you are an achieving dynamo. What you need to be able to do is to establish a system or process to ensure that you are getting regular bursts of inspiration to address your own levels of motivation.

Activation

Now it is time to make things happen.

Too often people talk a lot about what they want to achieve or tell you what they are going to do. It is important to remember that “Action is the magic word not Words are the magic action.”

All the inspiration and motivation in the world will do you no good if you do not take action. So break your Focus, Goals and Objectives down into tasks and give them a priority. Now apply that motivation and take action.

If you need to, set yourself up for success by having an “Accountability buddy”. This is someone who you make commitments of action to and then regularly check back with to track progress. This can be a paid coach, your mastermind group or someone on your team. Knowing you are accountable to an external person seems to add an increased importance to the task than if it is only in your own head.

Be wary in the activation phase.

Our “Urgency addiction” makes it very easy to become very busy on tasks that don’t move us closer to our goals for the year. It is worth taking a strategic view point on a regular basis to ensure that you are working on what counts and not just busy work or getting sidetracked on items that are important for others but not for yourself.

The focus must always be on the Activation element as this is where results are generated. The previous elements purely support this element. This is part of being Outcome focussed. Your focus has to be on achieving the ideas and objectives your came up with in your Creation phase.

Success will come if you do whatever it takes to sustain the Activation.

Celebration

If you make celebrating success a habit, success will become a habit.

Once you have achieved your goal or objective, it is imperative that you celebrate accordingly. The degree of celebration needs to match the importance of the objective. Some of your celebration will cost money and others wont.

Add to your inspiration and motivation by deciding at the very beginning what your celebration will be for each of your achievements. Don’t wait for only the significant achievements either. Sometimes the smaller more repetitive elements also need to be celebrated.

How does 2015 look for you?

The first thing you need to do is throw away those new year’s resolutions and free yourself up to have some really success.

If you employ these five elements with discipline and get ongoing support, you can’t help but have a successful 2015.

There is too much terrorism but WE are letting them have the power. Here is what I am doing to fight back.

I am concerned about the increasing racism I see on my internet feed from people who I thought knew better. The blaming of Muslims for terrorism as if they are the only religion who has had extremists tarnish their faith is wrong and easily proven so.

I have several Muslim friends and I have a great deal of respect for their religion. I have Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh, Agnostic, Hippy, Wiccan, 12 Steppers and even apathetic friends. Most of them live their beliefs and don’t try and ram them down my throat. I respect their beliefs and their right to have them.

What I cannot tolerate is people forcing their ignorance on me or others.

Please refrain from blaming “Muslims” for terrorism. Here are some examples of Extremist Christian’s terrorism to prove my point.

Acts of Terrorism are typically performed by people who have a skewed perspective on the world and use a construct like religion to justify to themselves their course of action. Succumbing to the fear and hatred only proves them right. Individuals perform acts of terrorism, not religions.

I will be fighting terrorism by continuing to live my life as I would have without them. I will continue to learn about other beliefs to increase my understanding rather than jumping to conclusions. i will continue to tolerate things I don’t yet understand or have an appreciation of. I will continue to smile at strangers, give trust without grounding, expect the best of people, talk to people I interact with, include people in my life regardless of their faith, race or creed and laugh out loud at things I think are funny.

Would you care to join me?

Give Up on Your Resolutions Now

Sorry if that title comes off a little negative.

But let’s be frank, come April you will probably struggle to remember what your New Year’s Resolutions let alone be on the path to achieving them.

Previously I have referred to them as New Year’s Revolutions – because every year we like to give them a turn!

If you want proof of this hypothesis, look at any gym. For the first half of January you can hardly get access to a piece of the equipment. After that, it all goes back to normal and the regulars get back to what they do best.

Here is an easier approach. Select a “Focus” for the year. My business partner, Danielle Storey calls it a theme.

A Focus is a short statement or even a word that is your overarching focus for the year. I would even recommend put a post of it at your desk or somewhere you see it regularly. Then each day ask yourself the question, “How can I stay true to my focus today?”

My focus for 2015 is to Consolidate. I have just released my new book, I have some recent CD products, a couple of months ago I received my international accreditation and I have a new Executive Assistant on board so now I have to turn this solid base into increased business and increased success.

Let go of the New Year’s Resolution, pick a focus. What is your focus for 2015?

What a Nightmare

Winston the Wonder Dog

This is Winston.

He is our 15 month old toy poodle. Yes he is very cute. (I like to think he takes after me!)

This morning at 5:30am he was howling like a banshee.

I went to the laundry (where he sleeps) and picked him up. He was shaking. It seems that he had a nightmare and it really distressed him. I held him close, let him know everything was ok and he was safe.

Life is like that.

Sometimes things happen and your situation becomes a nightmare. It could be a work project, it may be a relationship, your health or even your business can become a nightmare. When this happens, it is important that you have someone to support you and let you know you are safe and everything is ok. Then you can start to address the problem and find a solution.

Who will you turn to and who can turn to you?

IT’S ALMOST HERE! The Get More Inspiration book is currently being printed. There is a very strong chance you can get yours before Christmas. Visit www.GetMoreInspiration.com to find out more about the book and how to order it.

Are You Inspired?

Inspired

On Saturday I was fortunate to host a 40 year anniversary for one of my clients at the Crown Paladium room.

It was better that fantastic, it was inspirational.

With short presentations showing how far the organisation had come, announcing some amazing financial results (in an industry sector that has been hit hard) all coupled with a very funny comedian and a fabulous band.

The message it got across was, “We are in a fantastic position and the future is bright for us all if we keep working at it.”

While everyone enjoyed the celebration, many also received inspiration for the future.

Inspiration can be fleeting so it is important to draw it from the simple things happening around you. From the big corporate event to acts of nature surrounding us and all those events in between.

Are you inspired? I don’t mean are you energised and jumping out of your shoes, but are you excited about the day and all it brings? If not, do what it takes to Get More Inspiration from the world around you.

So are you inspired now?

Warwick In Action

If you are looking for more inspiration, my new book Get More Inspiration comes out on Janury 5th, 2015.

To celebrate this release I am giving away almost $400 of bonuses with each book.

Visit GetMoreInspiration.com to discover more and order your copy now.

It’s A Success

My apologies for the delay in this weeks motivator. You see, I didn’t work yesterday as I was busy celebrating seven magnificent years of marriage with my gorgeous wife.

Success comes in many forms and another year of happy marriage is a great success.

As I have always said, if you may celebrating success a habit, you will make success a habit. So I HAD to have the day off yesterday.

Let me keep this message short and sweet. When you look at successful people they have some key habits and perspectives on life. Success is not about who you are but about what you do.

If you want to learn this “Psychology of Success”, join me tonight or tomorrow afternoon for a complimentary webinar on the subject.

We will cover:

1. How to set yourself up for success

2. Why some people enjoy good fortune and others endure endless mis-fortune, and how to be the former

3. How to recognise and over-come procrastination

4. Why “good” is a barrier to “great”… and how to achieve greatness

5. How to overcome fear

6. How to deal with adversity, how to turn adversity to opportunity

7. Why so many fail to reach their potential and what to do about it

Click here now to find out more and register.

Your Melbourne Cup Runneth Over

Your Melbourne Cup

It is the Monday before Melbourne Cup.

For many, the excitement is building about the “race that stops a nation”.

The trainers have been working hard to get the horses ready. The horses have been doing most of the work to get themselves ready (whether they know it or not). The venue staff have been making the place look beautiful, getting the food and beverages ready and working on people logistics. The bookies are doing their research to make sure they know what odds they need to put out there. Everybody involved is getting ready.

The place is abuzz with excitement – particularly because this is a carnival is not just for Melbourne Cup but for many races as the carnival lasts for over a week.

But what about the jockey? The humble person dressed in bright colours who seems to perch precariously on the back of the majestic beast and control the run towards victory. The Australian Medical Journal has research showing that the job of jockey is THE MOST DANGEROUS JOB ON LAND (with only offshore fisherman being more dangerous).

What mental courage to head back out into a gladiator like battle time and time again. Ignoring the odds and managing the risks to strive for victory.

They must have such a strong drive for success and commitment to their goal.

Sitting in our comfy workplaces in relative safety, how can we have that same drive for success? How can we stay commited when we want to give it up?

Bright, colourful, silk covered hats off to the jockeys. The real heroes of the Melbourne Cup.

PS If you want to Get More Success and learn some of the secrets that committed people like our friends the jockey’s use, then join me on a complimentary webinar next week.

It is being held in the evening of Tue 11th November or during the day on Wed 12th November. Click here for more information or to register. I would love to have you on the call.

Ask not for whom the internet trolls
It trolls for thee

(apologies to Hemmingway)

Trolling is easy.

Look at any social media site and you will see examples of it. Wikipedia defines it as “a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people.”

Too often, a discussion that starts out as a healthy debate with valid concerns transitions into a “slinging match” with someone finally activating Godwin’s Law. (Godwin’s law being where someone accuses another of being Hitler or a Nazi)

Trolling is nothing new. It has been around on the internet since the 80s with discussion boards rife with it. New technologies equated to new forums for Trolling. Politicians seem to have been trolling for years.

The shifts in to a more self-centred society seem to be a breeding ground for more trolls and troll like behaviour. Even people we know, who seem so polite and rational have succumbed to trolling. Some may say that road rage is a form of trolling, so are we surrounded by trolls?

Truth be told, most of us have a relative (typically being an Uncle with drinking issues) who seem to troll our family events. It is even more likely that you have some kind of troll at your workplace. The worst case is when the troll is your boss.

So how do you catch a troll, or at the very least, minimise their impact. As with most things, it is easier to catch a troll when they are small and before they get momentum. Once they have been activated they are almost impossible to catch.

Here are some Troll Hunters Guidelines for you:

Never Ever Feed the Trolls

A troll’s power increases with their feeding. What feeds a troll is attention. They don’t care if it is good or bad, any kind of attention will do. Godwin’s law is usually activated when two or more trolls start a flinging match with each other. Trolls cannot hear rational argument or a different perspective. It is not worth even trying. You can prevent significant damage just by following this guideline.

Set Boundaries for the Trolls

If you need to have a conversation or you are about to communicate something you know may be a little contentious, set the rules. If you run a page, group, or site set the rules up front. Trolling escalates when the commentary becomes personal so set the rules that you welcome comments about the idea or concept but unsubstantiated comments about a person or entity will not be tolerated. You can say something about their behaviour or ideas but not about them. Ensure that you also state the consequence of that action. Whether the comment will be deleted or the user will be blocked, it is up to you.

Never Tolerate Trolls

Should troll like behaviour start, shut it down quickly. Whether it is a conversation with the person, a direct message or a preventative deletion of the comment, do what it takes to kill the troll behaviour before it even starts.

Yes, the internet and life would be better without the trolls. Unfortunately, they are here to stay. What these guidelines will do is help you minimise the impact of trolls in your life.

Happy hunting!

When the Sky Is Falling

Overnight Melbourne had one of the wildest thunderstorms it has even seen. Rolling thunder and lightning (very, very frightening) lasted for hours.

I know it lasted for hours because I lay awake listening to it at 2am and then at 6am. My gorgeous wife struggled to sleep with all the noiseso listened to it for hours also.

Poor Winston (our dog) did not know what to do with himself. He was shaking and probably thought the world was coming to an end. We knew it wouldn’t last so we just comforted him and held him so he knew he was safe.

A couple of friends said that they had to do the same thing with their kids.

Life (and business) is like that. Sometimes you need someone who has been through it before or who has a different context or a great perspective to guide you. This is true whether it is because the sky is falling, you are struggling to achieve the success you are after or you are just facing a problem you don’t know how to deal with.

So what do you do when the sky is falling?
PS I am running an online session on Psychology of Success. There is no charge and you can attend on Tuesday evening (11th Nov) or Wed lunch time the next day.

I would love for you to join me. To find out more or sign up click on this link.

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It’s (not) Hard to Be Humble

Say No to Success

Unleash the Beast

A Sea of Humanity

Un-Australia Day

Let’s Do Better

Let’s Do Better