Archive For: Fun

What Do You See?

Is it just me or is there more and more negativity in the world today?

It seems not a day goes by without something else in my stream about people being killed, tortured or at the very least being treated badly.

It is not only people, it is also the planet and other important elements of life.

That can make it hard to remain positive and see the good in the world. 

Abraham Lincoln said, “People are as happy as they make up their mind to be.”

This is also true about how we see the good in the world. For all the negativity and drama (for that’s what sells news services) there are also immeasurable events of goodness and greatness happening.

I choose to focus on the good and great things that happen and look to how I can add to that rather than get swept up in the negativity and trolling of the drama. Not only does this make me feel better but it makes me more fun to be around.

So what do you see?

 

PS An excellent article in Psychology Today expands on this further about Why We Love Bad News and concludes with the same outcome. We get to choose our influencers and our mood set.

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Happy Birthday to Me!

It’s happened again!

Another year has passed and I had another birthday on the weekend. It’s my 47th and every year just gets better.

I received a stack of birthday messages including birthday bacon. The birthday bacon below is from my lovely friends The Kemps.

Even though it is my birthday, I want to give YOU the presents. So for this week if you order my Get More Inspiration book, I will give you, in addition to the existing bonuses at www.GetMoreInspiration.com, a copy of the How to Bring Home the Bacon recording from the recent Taking Care of Business show.

Head over to the Get More Inspiration website to order the book package and I will give you this recording worth $39 at no extra charge.

Until next time, it’s Happy Birthday to me and keep on having fun.

WGM Birthday Bacon

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Bringing Home the Bacon

Image: SauceOnPurpose.com

This Friday, I am delighted to be filling in for Jacki Mitchell on her award winning show Taking Care of Business.

When I asked my social media contacts what did they want me to talk about, there was a resounding reply of “BACON”.

As many people know, I am a huge fan of bacon (new research shows it keeps you young too!) but I thought that listeners may be more interested in Bringing Home the Bacon.

It is one thing to talk about sales, marketing, strategy, productivity, business plans and so on. What counts is actually earning money.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer that SUCCESS is measured by far more than just money, but as the late great Kevin Merry (my dad) used to say to me, “it’s not a sin to be poor, just damn inconvenient”.

How good are you at Bringing Home the Bacon?
Do you bring home enough bacon?
What are you doing to provide better value to your employer and customers?

There are always ways to acquire more and better bacon if you need it. What are you doing about your bacon supply?

PS My apologies to any vegetarians for this image and bacon concept

PPS Join me on Friday 10th April 2015 on RPPFM (you can stream it) at 11am to hear about one of my favourite businesses The Farmers Larder (they make real bacon) as well as tips on how to turn Linked In contacts in to high quality bacon.

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To Serve or Delight?

I have had many a discussion with my mentor group on whether we should aim for Customer Service or Customer Delight. Million Dollar Relationships expert Danielle Storey defines Customer Delight as “Providing the customer service experience that was expected, plus a little bit extra.”

Friends and I were delighted on the weekend. We stayed at a great little B&B as part of our B&B Crew weekends (we all kick in $50 a month and head somewhere different every couple of months). This time it was off to Ocean Grove and we found a colourful and funky looking place with four bedrooms called Fairmont. 

Now we have stayed at a few B&Bs over time but it was the little bit extras that made a big difference. An early check in, a late check out, chocolates for us, doggy treats for the dogs, quality linen, all the little supplies like slat, pepper, coffee, tea, herbal teas, quality appliances, quality bathroom products, quality toilet paper, … I could go on.

All of these little things that would not have cost a significant amount of money, time or effort, all added up to not just Customer Service but Customer Delight.

So how do you delight your customers?

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Freedom (At Last)

Saturday night I had the great joy of hosting a Trade Show and Gala Dinner for one of my fabulous clients.

Like most Gala Dinners, there were awards, formalities and speeches. Once that had happened, it was time to relax and celebrate. This event had a great band that was really suited to the audience. They were called The Chosen Few. Dinner done, formalities over and so the band started.

The dance floor was empty!

Now I know that people are like sheep. No one wants to be the first person on the dance floor, they are waiting for others to go first. As part of what I do for clients, I will typically find someone during the course of the dinner who is happy to dance and then set the example by hitting the dance floor first. On Saturday the lovely Sam from The Cartridge Family joined me on the dance floor.

I know why people don’t want to get on the dance floor. They are scared of what others will think, whether it is their outfit, how they dance or some other thing people are scared of being judged.

Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted as saying, “What other people think of me is none of my business.”

The freedom of letting go of what other people think and just enjoying the moment meant that Sam and I had a great night on the dance floor. There were others sitting around the edge just bursting to get on the dance floor (they were dancing in their chairs almost) but when we invited them to join us, even when there were more people on the dance floor, they declined.

So where are you denying yourself freedom by being constrained by what other people think? What will you do today to give yourself the gift that freedom is?

 

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First on the Floor

My gorgeous wife and I went to a family wedding at the Plaza Ballroom on Valentines Day. (A cheap way to have a great night out on Valentines Day!!)

After dinner when the band started the dance music, people hesitated to get on the dance floor. As my wife has broken her foot (that’s another story!) she was definitely not going on the dance floor. So I thought I would ask one of the cousins who was over from the UK.

She adamantly refused to go on the dance floor until many others had. I even tried dragging her on but she would not budge. So I had to try other methods to get people on the dance floor.

My theory, just get on the floor. No one cares. Yes other people will watch you, some may even laugh but who is on the dance floor having fun? Who is on the dance floor enjoying themself rather than sitting there wishing they were?

In business, this is the same. Give things a try. Yes you may fail, yes people may laugh, yes you may stumble and fall but during your early business dance you will learn things that watching will never give you. You will get immense satisfaction from taking action rather than just thinking about it.

So why don’t you be first on the floor!

Image: The Marriner Group

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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!

 

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Let’s Do Better

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

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Your Melbourne Cup Runneth Over

Your Melbourne Cup Runneth Over

Your Melbourne Cup 2014

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.

 

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What Do You Do?

Sometimes, you just have to do something. It may not be much, but it is something.

My friend Melina from M.A.D. Woman is having a crappy time at the moment – literally!

She runs the Making A Difference Foundation where they provide food and basic items to the needy all around Australia.

Recently they had to vacate their premises as it was to be demolished to build some new apartments. Melina spent some time trying to find a new place with enough storage for all of their donated items as well as office space for the team to work out of.

A week before they had to move, things got really crappy. The sewage pipes in the building burst over a weekend.

The raw sewage made a mess of the place. Tragically three large skips of items to be donated had to be thrown away as it was all contaminated with waste. Loads of their office supplies and materials had to be thrown.

I rang her to ask her what could I do to help and during this call Melina told me she was close to just shutting up shop, but that is not the kind of girl she is. To kick off the new phase of life for the foundation, she is running a trivia night to raise money to restart the foundation.

When asking “What can I do?” she replied that I could host and run the trivia night for them. So that is exactly what I am doing.

In asking what can YOU do, well you can buy a ticket to come along to the Collingwood town hall on Thursday 23rd October, you can make a donation of money or goods for those who need it or you can pass on the details of the trivia night to someone you know may be interested.

Much like when friends, colleagues or projects need some assistance you just need to do something. Often it is little things that we can do – but the little things can have a huge impact.

If you want to do something for Melina and M.A.D. check out their website here.

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It’s On!

I have been preparing for weeks.
I have tried to get my butterflies to fly in formation.
The excitement is building to a climax.

This week I perform in my one man Melbourne Fringe show, Gough. It’s on!

we want gough

Firstly a huge thanks to everyone who bought tickets. The opening night is a sell out and over 85% of tickets to the six shows have been sold. (If you want to go, check ticket availability here)

I have some big shoes to fill. Gough is an icon of Australian politics so I want to represent him well. While I regularly speak for hours on stage, to perform a one man show and bring a script to life for 40 minutes is something completely different.

How do you feel when a project you have been working on is about to go live? Whether it is an IT system, a new product launch, redecorating the house or simply getting some landscaping done, the culmination of a lot of hard work is incredibly rewarding.

It’s time to play the music; it’s time to light the lights; it’s showtime. It’s on!

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It’s Good

Have you seen the news lately?

Death, destruction, mayhem, questionable politicians, self-obsessed business people, profit driven leaders, war, environmental tragedies… the list goes on and on.

Why is this in the news?

Yes it is happening, but all the tragedy is in the news because tragedy is what rates and what makes money. Your life goes in the direction of what you pay attention to.

Can I humbly suggest [First Name] that you stop watching the news and stop reading the paper? Choose to focus on some of the fabulous goodness that is going on in the world.

I have had the fortune of hosting some great events of late. One of them as Elvis (in the post Burger stages!)

The focus of these events was to celebrate the Good and generate money for charity.

The people at these events are just normal people like you and me. Not super wealthy mega rich people, just people who work hard, love what they do and like to contribute.

At one event almost $15,000 was raised for Camp Quality and at another a cheque of $63,000 was presented to further research in to Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

It’s good. Life is good.

People, by their very nature are inherently good. Focus on the good, be part of the good and your life can’t help but be good.

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The King Is Dead, Long Live the King

photo 10606554_399669240187911_993133265990549565_n_zps60a8ef82.jpg

 

By now you know Robin Williams is dead. It is hard not to know as it has dominated all forms of media for the last couple of days.

I don’t “do” celebrities. I have been fortunate enough to meet many of them and some I have the pleasure of calling my friends. But I don’t stalk them, idolise them, want to be them, care what they endorse or even get concerned about what happens to them. They are people. They have their lives and I have mine. To be honest, I have enough trouble trying to get my life right let alone worry about other peoples, let alone famous people I will never meet.

This was different for me.

His death kicked me in the guts, brought me to tears and broke something inside. It has taken me a few days to collect myself and I felt I needed to write something.

I don’t know Robin, I never met him and most importantly, I have no idea about who he truly is. I am not sure anyone did. Any of his media interviews descended into farce and laughter. Even the serious ones end up off the track and distracted from the internal entity that was Robin.

He was very public with his issues – from addiction to health and even finance, yet still we never knew him.

Zelda, his daughter, mentions that while there are many photos of Robin she has the memories of time spent with him. She and her family were probably some of the very few who actually knew him.

To me, he was the King of the Stage and I wanted to be like the persona I saw.

Over the years he has given me many gifts that I can never repay and for which I am eternally grateful.

He showed me it was OK to be me. In a time and location where I felt my humour and habits were “not normal” he showed me it was OK to be “out there”. It was OK to show off, laugh and be genuinely crazy. It was OK to not conform, to be different and to be loud and proud of that difference.

He showed me it was OK to be hairy. His bath scene during Moscow on the Hudson was one of the first times I had seen a truly hirsute man on screen. In his stand up he would often refer to his body hair. Under this clean cut suit of mine is a man who looks more like Koko the gorilla than Robin does. While society seems to think “Hair is Bad”, I am now certain, “Hair is Me.”

He showed me what I think is the ultimate in comedy. To riff off what is in front of you, to say what is on your mind without thinking, to make it up as you go, to take it to the end and then take it further – that it a talent that I prize highly. I like to think that in some of my moments I can almost reach it and it is magical when I do.

He showed me there is a time to be serious. Some of his work is downright chilling. One Hour Photo and Insomnia prove that he is not just a comedian but he is a true actor.

He showed me that things will not go your way, but you can still have fun. Whether in the guise of Patch Adams, Adrian Cronauer or simple as Robin Williams, fighting his own demons anything is laughable. Some of his stand up seemed like drowning his own tragedies in laughter.

He showed me perspective. By shifting your view to the stance of another, you can open your mind to something new. His rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s Fire as Elmer Fudd is 90 seconds of pure magic.

He showed me the power of laughter. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t laugh at Robin. Kids, adults and all in between, there was something magical about his approach to life and laughter.

Most importantly, he showed me that even though I have to grow older, I don’t have to grow up. So I am not going to!

Thank you Robin for the laughs but more importantly, thank you for truly guiding me into the person that I am today.

My marketing blurb says it and I truly feel it, I am part Robin Williams.

The King is dead. Long live the King. Your table is ready.

 

Image: I stole it of Facebook

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010 Get More Fun at Work

In a break from the usual Entrepreneurs In Action format, here is the recording from an interview I had on RPP FM’s Taking Care of Business show. It was an interesting discussion with the host Jacki Mitchell on how to have fun in the workplace and the benefits of having fun.

To find out more about Jacki’s program visit www.RPPFM.com.au

To subscribe to Entrepreneurs In Action podcast in iTunes visit www.EntrepreneursInAction.com.au or visit on the web at warwickmerry.podomatic.com/

 

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It’s Time!

I don’t do this very often so please indulge me.

Gough Whitlam is one of Australia’s elder statesmen. Some say that in politics he is a defining point. There is Before Gough and After Gough and these two political periods are very different.

In the Melbourne Fringe festival this year there is a one person play called Gough. It is about the man, the dismissal and what happened behind the scenes.

I am fortunate enough to have been cast as Gough. It is exciting and terrifying all at once!!

IMG_8645 100DPI

The plan is to run the Fringe Festival show and when it is successful have a repeat performance after the Fringe and then possibly take it on to Adelaide and Sydney festivals as the Writer/Director has done with his previous show.

To raise funds for the props, the theatre, the set and, most importantly, the wig, the Writer/Director has launched a Pozible campaign. It is close to reaching the target, only $404 to go.

If you can help, we would love your support. Click here to see a short video, view the donation rewards and contribute to a great show.

Thank you for indulging me!

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