Archive For: Fun

Is Your Reward Relevant?

Santa Trophy
Regular readers will know that I believe we need to let people in our team (including suppliers, customers and family) know how much we value them and their contribution.  Too often we just assume they know we appreciate what they do. As you get in the habit of rewarding people, make sure it is relevant.

A financial bonus typically has a minimal impact because how much is enough. No matter how much a person receives, they always have that small thought in the back of their head “Is that it?”  One of my clients has stopped issuing movie tickets as they have given away so many, they no longer mean anything. You have to make the reward relevant and it doesn’t have to cost too much!

Recently I did two lots of Santa work for a friend of mine. I was happy to do it and it was a lot of fun. To say thanks he unexpectedly gave me the trophy in the picture. It was incredibly relevant and a load of fun. Will I do it again if he asks me, you bet I will. I probably would have anyway, but a cool gift like this means it would be nearly impossible to say no.

Now that we are in the festive spirit, what rewards or gifts are you giving those in your team? 
Is Your Reward Relevant?

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Do You Live?

Kung Fu
Whew!! What a weekend!


I don’t know about you but this is what I got up to:

  • Friday night I looked after my brothers 3 kids (I even embarrassed them when we went to the supermarket!!), 
  • Saturday morning we made Chocolate Brownies, played basket ball and cruised on the scooters 
  • Saturday night Wifey and I went to Foo Fighters concert (3 hours of rock fabulosity), 
  • Sunday morning washing and domestic duties (a man’s work is never done!), 
  • Sunday afternoon I was Santa for a friends Kung Fu school. A bit of Kung Fu Santa with 50 kids telling Santa what they wanted. Look at what one girl did!! Kicked me right in the Jingle Bells! 
  • Sunday night, Wifey and I went to a birthday dinner for a friend at a lovely Thai restaurant. 

When someone asked on Farcebook “What did you do on the weekend” that is what I told them. They said, “Wow you were really busy”. I have to admit it didn’t feel it at the time but I suppose that is a fair bit. Personally, I like Bon Jovi’s approach when he sings “I’ll live while I’m alive and sleep when I’m dead”.

Comic legend Mel Brooks is quoted as saying “If you’re alive, you’ve got to flap your arms and legs, you got to jump around a lot, you got to make a lot of noise, because life is the very opposite of death. And therefore, as I see it, if you’re quiet, you’re not living. You’ve got to be noisy, or at least your thoughts should be noisy, colourful and lively.”

In essence, life is for doing things and enjoying all that is on offer. 


So what about you Do You Live?

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There Is No Luck

Mt Buller


You may have noticed that today’s Get More Goer is a day and a half late. I have a good reason for it. I was away with five of my friends and a couple of their kids for a four day weekend at Mt Buller. 


Some of you may be thinking, “how lucky.”  


There is no luck.


Rather than spend a lot of money on a holiday house and then have to spend each visit there doing maintenance, the 6 of us have formed a B&B consortium. We all put $50 a month into the B&B fund and then every couple of months we go away for an extended weekend.  Not bad having a magic little break away all for less than a cup of coffee a day. No maintenance, no bills, no hassle just pure holiday bliss.


I have always believed that holidays (or a new car or a new piece of equipment or a new whatever you want) are not dependant on luck. They only take 2 things: Planning and Cash.  If your planning is good enough, you don’t really need to worry about the cash.


So what do you want? What will you do to make sure that Luck plays no part in whether you get it or not? It just takes two things: Planning and Cash.

Image: www.luxurymtbulleraccommodation.com.au 

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What Day Is It?



In Australia, we are celebrating Father’s Day today – as we always do on the first Sunday in September. I am not yet a Father (but the practice is going well) so when my niece wished me a happy Father’s Day I had to tell her it wasn’t for me. She then decided it should be changed to Boy’s Day.

I think Boy’s Day better reflect’s the intent of the day. What defines a family today is so broad. With blended families, mended families, nuclear families, same sex families, generational families, functional families and even dysfunctional families one title does not fit all. For many of us, we have or have had Father Figures who we reflect on today even if they are not our fathers.

The commercialisation of “Day’s” that we have is not something I enjoy. It feels like we have the celebration for the sake of company profits. Yes there is a loose connection to a good intent but the underlying theme is having a “Day” for a specific person or role.

Today I will be following the advice of my niece Darci and celebrating Boy’s Day.  I will be giving thanks to all the men and boys in my life who have had a positive impact on me or parts of my life. From my brother to my father-in-law, mother’s boyfriend, Bromance, brother-in-law and many others.  Big thanks to you all. I hope you have a great day and I really appreciate your support, guidance and love.


What is this day for you?

Image: www.thedailygreen.com  George Marks/ Getty Images

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In For A Penny, In For A Pound

Yesterday I spent the day in the audience at Millionaire Hot Seat. A friend of mine had applied to be on it and was successful. It took a little while but he got the phone call and it was his chance to win A MILLION DOLLARS!!!! (Sorry, I went a bit Eddie there for a second). As part of the deal, my friend could invite people to be in the audience – how could I resist.

Now I have signed my life away so I can’t tell you any detail, except to say that my friend won some money but that is all you will get from me! I can talk in general terms about the process as I have been in the audience of other shows. Now anyone who has been to a taping of a game show can tell you that they record several episodes in a row. You probably expect this. It gives them economies of scale. The get a set put together, get the celebrities in, get all the crew together – so it makes sense to shoot several episodes all at once. Some even shoot a couple of days in a row.

There is a person who is the Audience Fire-Upper. I am not sure of the technical term (I think it’s Warm Up Guy), but it is their job to let us know what is expected of the audience, what is going on during the recording, when to clap, when to cheer, when to cheer louder and to entertain us at other times.  Michael Pope is who we saw yesterday and he has been a Channel stalwart for many years. Another is Brian Nankervis (of RocKwiz fame).

It’s the warm up persons job to get us enthusiastic and keep us enthusiastic for the entirety of the show. In fact the entirety of the five shows that they are recording on any given day.  As you would imagine, everyone is excited for the first show so its all good. The second show, people start to lag a little. When it gets to the third show, people have the “I’m an expert and I know this stuff. Why am I reacting like a monkey to a trainer?”

Now naturally energies lag but my question is this, if you are not willing to perform your part of the role, why are you there? As the old saying goes, in for a penny, in for a pound. This is not just of TV audiences, this is for work, relationships, community groups, professional associations, school, and even your hobbies.  As Yoda said, “Do or Do Not, there is no try.”


So what in your life are you merely involved in? Where do you need to shift from being involved to being committed? Applauding and cheering loudly halfway through the fifth episode of a taping is one thing, but what about the areas of life that are of far more significance to you?

Do or Do Not, there is not Try!

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What A Success!

As you may know, yesterday I ran 5km (well most of them) up and down the hills of “The Boulevard” in Kew, Melbourne.  It was a crisp start to the day that ultimately gave way to a burning sunshine. The question that some asked me is “What was your time?” and my answer is, “I don’t know”. The time of the run was not important to me. It was the time I had on the run that WAS important.

A huge thank you to those of you who supported me financially. I have raised just under $1,000 for mental health research. I was blown away by your generosity – thank you. My commitment to my sponsors was to “Put the Fun into Fun Run.”  I am pleased to announce it was a huge success!!  
To start with, our team of five was called the Frankenfurters named after Frankenfurter on the Rocky Horror Show. For fun I had T-shirts made up with Frankenfurter on the back.

Franky
But my team mates felt we should take it one more step. When I arrived they presented me with fishnet stockings and then whipped out the makeup. So I ran 5km in fishnets, lipstick and eyeshadow. I must say, that is a first, and it added to the Fun!

During the course of the run I had one of my team mates with me so she can verify what I did. As we ran I sang (quite loud), gave a running commentary on the running, yelled support to random strangers and friends, told jokes and basically had a laugh. I knew I was successful in my mission to bring Fun to the Fun Run when at the very end a girl who I had not noticed said to me, “I have been listening to you the entire run and laughing all the way. I even kept one of my earphones out just to listen to you.” Compliments don’t come much bigger.

As important as the end goal it, the time you have along the way is often more important. Are enjoying success as you go?

By the way, here is a picture of me at the end of the run in makeup and fishnets. 

WGM

PS Donations are open until the end of September. If you still want to donate visit my donation page. 

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Putting the FUN into Fun Run

OK – It’s only 3 days away and I am already working on the mental side of the fun run.

Essentially that means telling people I must be mental to be doing it!!  But most people know I am joking, it is another facet of the FUN.  To make the run fun, I am doing it with a team of 5 people from my Step Into Life class. We agreed that our team name should be Frankenfurters, named after the character in Rocky Horror Picture Show.

A few of them think I should be running the 5km in fishnet stockings, high heels, makeup and pearls. I don’t mind a little cross dressing, but not during a run!  So this is what I am wearing instead


This gives the essence of Frankenfurter and the practicality of running in a T-Shirt!!

The great news is that without even leaving the house, my fun run has been a HUGE success.  Due to the generousity of my friends, family, choir, Farcebook crew and readers of my blog and newsletter, I have raised  $670 for Mental Health Research.  I am so thrilled and grateful to everyone who donated.  If you haven’t donated yet and still want to, visit my donation page.


So as you sleep in, play with your kids, have a cafe breakfast, watch Sunday morning TV or do what you do on a Sunday morning, I will be out running 5km with a stack of other people. My commitment is to add some fun to the fun run so I will be telling jokes (no guarantee on them being funny), chatting with anyone near me, and maybe even singing some Rocky Horror Show tunes.  Oh yes, I will be running too!!

Thanks again for your support.


Warwick


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Are You Crazy?

Toe nailAre You Crazy?

Wifey and I had a great week in Bali. On the last day, we had time to fill in between checkout and our midnight flight. So we went for massages, manicures and pedicures. As they were pedicuring my toes I asked, “Can I have purple toenails?”

The young girls just laughed at me. Then they realised I was genuine. So we went through the colours until I got the purple I was after.
As she was painting she jokingly asked, “Do you want a flower?”
Naturally I said, “Yes please!”
Again she laughed but did it. The photo is the finished result.
Their reaction was one of “are you crazy?”

Many times I have done things and normal, sane, professional people have asked “are you crazy?”

Sure I could have done the normal thing and not had my toes painted. But I would never have seen an artist at work creating flowers with nail polish.
Sure I could have stayed in Melbourne and not taken a job in Wahgunyah 3 hrs from Melbourne but I would never had the exposure to head office that I had working on a small account rather than a large one
Sure I could have not competed in Raw (the Stand Up Comedian competition) but I would not have been able to get the experience in honing my funny bone or know how to hit other peoples.


My biggest fear is that my life will be “beige”. Being crazy or doing crazy things gives me experiences that most don’t have, understanding many search for, perspective few ever see and joy many seek.  So when people ask me “Are you crazy?” I reply, “Yes, and thanks for the compliment.”


What about you?  Are you Crazy? Try it, it does wonders for you.

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Do You Re-Create?

Conference

Wow! What a couple of months!

It feels like I have gone from conference to conference, coaching to coaching, client to client.
I was even working several weekends.

While I had a lot of

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fun doing this, I was also quite exhausted. Consequently I have done nothing for the last three days. Well maybe a bit of reading and a comedy festival show and a BBQ christening but nothing that required my normal work mode.

It is always important to have time for Rest and Recreation (Re-Creation). Think of it as giving your life equipment a grease and oil change. Time off running the equipment to ensure its long term operation.

So do you Re-Create?

PS This photo is of the ROSA Conference held out in the middle of the bush with NO mobile phone coverage or Internet – that was scary. Others commented it was 1/2 star accommodation. While the bunks in the dorm were comfy, it was also 5 star fun with campfire singing, whitewater rafting, trout fishing and astronomy (Saturn’s rings on show!)

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But Who Are You REALLY?

Children Playing
I seem to have been surrounded by kids on the weekend.  

  • Friday night I was with my brother’s three kids where we had an impromptu disco, karaoke, and singer impersonation session
  • Sunday afternoon Wifey’s brothers three kids dropped over as I was harvesting the sunflowers and in their excitement nearly slammed the car door on one another
  • Sunday night was at a friend’s place where their two kids were doing what kids do; sleeping on the dog, planning time to spend with Dad for the week, diving on the couch, showing off their chooks and vegie garden.

I LOVE the enthusiasm and vibrance of kids.  They represent true authenticity. Who they are right now is who they are. They happily tell you how they feel, they have opinions on most things, their emotions show easily and quickly, and you pretty much know how they feel and who they are.  The same cannot be said for many adults.

All my life I have been accused of being “childish”.  So many people have told me to grow up. A friend who works in Child Psychiatry said she would assess me at being about 14 years old.  Legendary base baller Chili Davis is attributed to having said “Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.” I believe we can be mature, professional and sophisticated combined with childlike enthusiasm and energy.

So who are you REALLY?  Are you really how you behave or have years of “shoulds” changed how you are in the world?  Does your inner child need to burst out and say hello?

Who are you REALLY?

PS I will be in Adelaide on Friday 15th April being childish with some non-profit clients. If you are looking for a workshop on how to Get More Sales or want to Ignite Your Team on Thursday 14th April, please email me!

Picture: SherbyBonBon 

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Is It Fun?


One of the most energy draining aspects of work is seriousness. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place to be serious, but it seems that it is becoming ALL the time and EVERY place!
How many times have you been in:

  • Meetings have you had that have just dragged on while someone was waffling about the importance of so and so and you could tell that NO ONE was listening?
  • Sales presentations where the sales person was so serious, it turned you off their product?
  • Conversations with colleagues who sounded like they were running down a checklist of things to say?

The Minister of Fun at a conference I was at had one simple rule. It is a rule I am liking more and more each day.

“If it’s not fun, don’t do it. If you have to do it, make it fun”

That doesn’t mean that you make everything an opportunity for stand up comedy. You don’t want to be disruptive, you simply want to make it fun.
So are you having fun yet?

PS

If Nuns can do it, why not you? If you want to buy the Calendar go here

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Have You Got The Right Gear?



When I first learnt to snow ski, I borrowed the ski gear from friends and rented the essentials.  My first couple of times were not pleasant experiences.  My feet hurt in the boots, there was a hole in the ski pants so I was wet and cold to the bone and the trusty rental ski’s had a mind of their own!


After a while I bought my own ski outfit.  I was then toasty warm but with sore feet and a misguided sense of direction. I finally got sick of sore ankles and bought some boots that actually fit properly and some parabolic ski’s that did all the hard work for you.


Skiing was now a completely different experience. I was warm, skiing was effortless, I could go anywhere, I had faith in my equipment and most importantly, I really enjoyed the day.


The right gear makes all the difference.


It’s the same with your work.  Have you got the right gear? For the last 4 years I have been “putting up” with a second hand computer I was given. My audio and video processing took ages but it was what I had. Last week I took delivery of what I call MEGA PC. It has loads of memory (12GB), huge hard drive with auto backup, fast access ports and large monitors.


My first reaction was “Why didn’t I do this ages ago?”  Granted the technology prices keep coming down but I forgot the important concept that the right gear makes all the difference.  It is worth the investment of time, effort and money to get it.


Have you got the right gear to do what you need to?

PS Happy Valentines day to you. Take the opportunity to tell those who are important to you how you feel.  I’ll start, I truly appreciate you taking the time to read this.  Thanks! 

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How Long Does It Last?

Merry Christmas!!  For those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, Happy Festivus (Seinfeld’s so named Festival for the Rest of Us).


This time of year I see people doing things they usually wouldn’t.  Many acts of kindness and niceness are done “because it’s Christmas”.  Extra donations to charity, letting people cut in line, taking time to talk to people from other departments, there are so many ways I see this sense of charity manifest.


Then January comes, people return to work after some time off and we return to our slightly grumpy and caffeinated way of operating.  Can’t we make the festive season last longer?  How long does your sense of goodwill to all men and women last?


I have often thought if I could get the essence of Christmas distilled into a small spray it would come in so handy throughout the year.  A quick spray on those I have to deal with who may have lost perspective or forgotten to smile or the reason we were dealing with each other.


My choice this year is to make Christmas (or Festivus) last all year.  Continue to spread goodwill, tolerance and happiness with all I deal with.  Care to join me?


Thank you for reading my writings this year.  I trust it has brought some value to your life in some manner.  I genuinely wish you, your family and your business a magnificent festive season and a 2011 that blows you away with results, joy and happiness.  If I can help that happen, please contact me.


Merry Christmas – may it last all year long!


Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy

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Are You Ready?

Are you ready for 2011?  It is only a month away.  
The reality is that you don’t have to do much to get ready for it.  If you just wait, it will sneak up on you.

BUT

If you want to Get More from 2011 there are a couple of things you can do:

  • Set aside a day for reflection.  This will include both personal and business reflection
  • Have a structure for the day. Something simple like, in the morning personal, the afternoon business. For both sessions look back on the year and acknowledge what you did well, then look forward at your plans and goals for the year
  • Make sure you include in this day time to establish what annual leave or holidays you will have
  • Create a high level action and reward plan for the year. You MUST celebrate your success. 


To help with this, here are a couple of valuable resources:

  • The Get More Grid – use this to create a standard weekly routine   
  • Regular Results Review – use this to help with your day of reflection      
  • The Get More Guide – This is my profile document. Use it if you are planning a motivational session for your team or looking for a mentor. 


There is also a new book I have contributed to coming out soon to help you take massive action, but more about that later.


Enjoy!

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Have You Got The Right Gear?

I spent 6 hours yesterday with a Dingo.  I don’t mean the protected native dog of Australia, I mean one of these.

Dingo


You see, wifey and I are a typical couple in the suburbs.  Some weekends we like to dig in the garden and some weekends we like to knock down the side wall, dig out 6 cubic metres of earth, create a massive new veggie garden and then replace the earth with road base so we can park one of our many vehicles up the side of the garage, then we like to spread the 9 cubic metres of topsoil on the new lawn area where the old pine trees got cut down.

Now I don’t know about you, but shifting a total of 21 cubic metres of earth by hand is a huge effort.  Let alone digging out that dirt at the side of the shed that was full of tree roots.  So I decided to make it easier for myself and get the right gear.  So I spent 6 hours with a Dingo.  It made the job a whole lot easier and quicker.  It was a whole lot of fun too!

I have found time and time again that having the right gear makes a massive difference.  Accounting software does a better job than a spreadsheet, waterproof ski gear is better than jeans, sunglasses are better than squinting… you see the theme.

Have you got the right gear?

If there is something you need to do at work or at home, get the right gear.  It makes the job easier, quicker and more rewarding.

Enjoy!


PS Do you Exhibit at Tradeshows, Expo’s or Conferences?  Then get the Right Gear to help you Double Your Return. Register for the complimentary webinar 5 Steps to Double Your Return

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