Archive For: Personal Development

Are You Ready?

Get Ready

Based on last week’s Get More Goer, it seems like most of you are back at work this week. This email is probably just one of the many in your inbox – hopefully it is not buried! Some of you have been back on the job for a week or more so this is a quick reminder.


But are you ready?


Is your desk all clean, your in tray empty, your mindset clear, your enthusiasm fired up and all ready for a cracker of a 2012?
If you are not quite ready, don’t forget to use the Regular Results Review to get your focused. You can get a copy here 
If you need some music to focus your self, here is a song I recently discovered that inspired this post. Are You Ready? by Fatty Gets A Stylist 


Now you are ready, LET’S GO!

 Image: Flikr Dru Bloomfield

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What’s the Theme?

Guitar

Happy New Year! 


I hope that this year is full of success, fun and happiness.


Did you make a New Year’s resolution? I think New Year’s resolutions are too hard. Too many things to remember, too easy to get side tracked, too easy to go back to old habits, too similar to last year’s resolutions (or is that revolutions), and too easy to simply lose interest.


So for this year, I am having a theme.  It is something in addition to the goals of my business and my personal goals but it is the essence of my focus for the year. It is something to keep me on track and progressing.  It is one simple statement; in fact it is three simple words. It’s easy to remember, easy to focus on and easy to adjust my course when I stray.


My theme for this year is

MAKE AN IMPACT



What’s yours?

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What’s the Theme?

Guitar

Happy New Year! 


I hope that this year is full of success, fun and happiness.


Did you make a New Year’s resolution? I think New Year’s resolutions are too hard. Too many things to remember, too easy to get side tracked, too easy to go back to old habits, too similar to last year’s resolutions (or is that revolutions), and too easy to simply lose interest.


So for this year, I am having a theme.  It is something in addition to the goals of my business and my personal goals but it is the essence of my focus for the year. It is something to keep me on track and progressing.  It is one simple statement; in fact it is three simple words. It’s easy to remember, easy to focus on and easy to adjust my course when I stray.


My theme for this year is

MAKE AN IMPACT



What’s yours?

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Humans Can’t See

Humans MUST be admired for their commitment to selective blindness and ignorance. They KNOW what is in their best interest yet they continue to ignore it and pretend that their situation is different.
It started with dog poo.
Dog owners are typically responsible and pick up after their animals as required by law, but there are a minority (or is it a silent majority) that CANNOT notice their dog bearing down to squeeze out a nugget.
Surely the human must notice the tension on the lead or strange circling behaviour of their pet, but it always seems to be at that time that the human gets in touch with their Ornithology gene and starts bird watching.  This leaves the nugget on the footpath or nature strip of some unsuspecting home owner to be flung around when next the lawn is mowed.
Even worse, it could be at the park where “everyone does it – so it must be ok”. It is not ok. Ask any amateur sports person who has slid through it, stomped on it, hit it, fell in it or kicked it and see what they think of it.  Ask any pram pushing parent how they felt when they got the pram in the car only to discover their new aromatherapy was Eau du Puppy.
You would have thought we would have learnt.
By now you may be thinking either “oops… I’ve done that” or “it’s a disgrace, damn dog owners.” If you are of the latter, when was the last time you chucked something out the window of a moving car, put a non-recyclable in the recycling bin, put a recyclable in the non-recycling bin or threw some foreign object in a water way?
In Ye Olde Englande, humans just lobbed the bath water and chamber pot out the window. Over the years this slowly moved to open sewers (pumped straight into the river) to closed sewers (still pumped into the river) and now finally we have some decent sewage processing that can turn our waste into pure water and by product.
You would have thought we would have learnt.
We now have expeditions that are hiking up Mount Everest purely to collect the rubbish. From empty oxygen cylinders to dead bodies, we continue to leave our waste in some of the most pristine areas. There is so much space junk orbiting the earth that it is starting to damage satellites and there are high level discussions to do a rubbish collection space run.
You would have thought we would have learnt.
The younger generations seem to be more accustomed to considering the full impact of their actions but there are exception. The more mature generations, who run most of our corporations, are less likely to consider the impact of their actions and those of their companies than the impact on their bottom line.
What is needed is RESPONSIBILITY. That equates to the Ability to Respond. It is not fun to pick up dog poo, especially if you have a big dog. But if you choose to own a dog, part of the deal is looking after it. It is not fun to correct the environmental and social impact of your business but that is part of the responsibility of running a business.
Humans MUST be admired for their commitment to selective blindness and ignorance. They KNOW what is in their best interest yet they continue to ignore it and pretend that their situation is different.
Where can you take responsibility?


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12 Days of Christmas

12 Days of Christmas
Welcome to the twelve days for Christmas for 2011.  Maybe you don’t celebrate Christmas, maybe you are more a Haj, Chanuka or Bodi day kind of person. It doesn’t matter, this applies to everyone.

Inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas carol, wifey and I came up with some ideas that spread the spirit of the season. So rather than thinking about what your true love can give to you, my challenge for you is to think what you can give not only to your true love, but others in your life as well.

Here is your challenge for the next twelve days.  Don’t forget, that they are cumulative, just like the song.  That is, on the first day, you give the first thing. One the second day, you give the second thing and then the first thing.  On the third day you give the third thing, the second thing and then the first and so on.

Your Twelve Days and their challenges:
On the first day of Christmas I gave to my partner or best friend, an extra long and extra firm hug.
On the second day of Christmas I gave to a person on the road, 2 moments to cut in ahead of me.

On the third day of Christmas I gave to the person on the street $3 for a coffee treat.
On the fourth day of Christmas I gave to a member of my team, 4 minutes to tell me what they thought of me.
On the fifth day of Christmas I gave to myself 5 minutes of mediation.
On the sixth day of Christmas I gave to my family, six minutes of singing silly songs.
On the seventh day of Christmas I gave to my kids, seven minutes of undivided attention.
On the eighth day of Christmas I searched my memory for eight things I learned from this year.
On the ninth day of Christmas I wrote in my diary, nine goals for the coming year.
On the tenth day of Christmas I gave to my friends, ten minutes of non-stop praise.
On the eleventh day of Christmas for my sanity, I gave myself an eleven minute bath (Frankincense and Myrrh is optional).
On the twelfth day of Christmas I committed to the community twelve hours of my time as a volunteer.

It is ALMOST singable to the original tune!!  Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it perfect but do act on as many as you can.  Carry the spirit of Christmas and giving with you as you do.

I’d love to hear how you went!


PS I know that the 12 Days of Christmas don’t officially start until the 29th of December but I thought I would get in early!

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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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What’s The Risk?

On Sunday, the choir that I sing with, Mood Swing, performed at a memorial service for people who had died in the workplace. It is always a privilege to be part of this service and always disturbing to realise how fragile life is.


It made me think of the risks that people take in the work place. I have seen trades people working on a roof without safety barriers or safety harness. As a kid I recall jumping on and off moving tractors while feeding out hay. Plenty of people in offices have stood on swivel chairs with no support as they reach for something on top of the cabinet. Some of the risks we take can have severe consequences but take the risk anyway without thinking about it.


When it comes to financial risk, we are usually vigilant about minimising it. When it comes to our health and state of being, we seem to be willing to take significant risks.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying “NEVER take a risk”, I am saying “minimise and manage your risks”. A life without risks is restrictive and detrimental, but suffering from unnecessary risks is foolish.


So in what you are doing, what’s the risk? More importantly, how will you manage it and minimise it.

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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 Do Little Old Ladies Know?

Too often we dismiss the little old lady. They look frail, mind their own business and get on with life. But I believe we can learn a lot from them.


Today as I was leaving the NSAA Presidential Breakfast with my Vice President, we saw a large semi trailer seeming stuck in a car park at a shopping centre. It had hit the “too high” bar and the driver was busy on the phone trying to work out what to do. The little old lady knew what to do.


Several drivers impatiently drove their car on the wrong side of the road to get around the truck. Other pedestrians, shuffled around avoiding everyone, but the little old lady knew what to do!


She gracefully and with purpose went about her business walking toward the shops. As she crossed the road in front of the truck (whose driver was still

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on the phone) she gave him a big wave to say “thanks for stopping for me.”


The Vice President and I cracked up laughing as it looked so comical. But that was when I realised that the little old lady was right. Regardless of whether the truck had stopped for her or not, she waved a thank you as if it did. She was courteous, graceful and focussed on what she needed to achieve for the day while realising that sometimes you will get support from unexpected places. Even if it merely a truck that has stopped where you need it to.


Too often the youth of today (and those who still wish they were the youth of today!) dismiss out of hand the lessons from those who have had more life experience. Today I got one from a little old lady just living her life.


One of my favourite little old ladies, Betty White, recently gave her 10 Tips for Living a Long and Happy Life on the Letterman show. If you want to see the video, click on her picture above. Here are some of my favourites from Betty:

  • Get at least 8 hours of beauty sleep, 9 if you are ugly
  • Avoid tweeting any photos of your private parts
  • Schedule a nightly appointment with Johnny Walker
  • Don’t waste your time watching TV
  • Never dwell on past mistakes
  • Try not to die

What can you learn from the little old ladies in your life?





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Is It Tragic or Magic?

This week I was thinking of one of my parents friends. About 15 years ago their daughter (who was 19) was the passenger in a car that had a major accident. Unfortunately their daughter died. What is more tragic is that her parents stopped a lot of their own life then as well.  While their life continued, their focus was on their loss. Whenever they did something or went anywhere, there was always discussion about their daughter.

To me that is tragic. More the loss of their life than the loss of their daughters.


Life is full of bad things happening to good people. The question that is the biggest waste of time and energy is, Why. In my experience, you will never get an answer that satisfies you. There is always a further Why. The healthiest question is, What can I do about it? This gives you a course of action and a way forward.

Is your life Tragic or Magic?


For most of us, it can be either. It is completely dependent on your perspective. Take my own life. I could easily look at it being quite tragic.

  • I grew up in a small country town where I didn’t drink or play sport so I never “fitted in”
  • Just as I was in my formative years I got sent to a school 90 minutes away on the bus.
  • It took me 12 months to settle in to the new school and make friends.
  • It was too far away to have friends over after school so I couldn’t consolidate my friendships
  • I had to work on the farm and regularly cook for a family of 5
  • We had a massive vegetable garden I had to maintain
  • I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up so I “fell” into a uni course I wasn’t keen on.

Or it could be Magic

  • I grew up in a country town so I got to breathe fresh air and see the stars at night. It also gave me a friendly approach to people and an ability to talk to anyone
  • I was fortunate enough to go to school with high academic standard to set me up with a top class education
  • Having friends from all over the place enabled me to get some varied perspectives on life
  • I learn’t to cook at a young age and could handle catering for larger numbers with ease
  • While I lived at home I ate organic vegetables without realising such a thing existied – I called them Vegetables!
  • I didn’t know what I wanted to do after school so I took on a double degree to give me options for the future.



Zig Ziglar said that our attitude determines our altitude. Tragedies will strike, challenges will be faced, terrible things will happen to fabulous people and life will go on. It is up to us as individuals whether we see it as Tragic or Magic.


How do you see your life and your world? Is it Tragic or Magic?





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Why Have The Day Off?

The Cup
It’s the Melbourne Cup. In Australia it is referred to as “The Race that Stops the Nation”. In Victoria it is a Public Holiday. It amazes me that we have a public holiday for a horse race!
 
Don’t get me wrong, a day off appeals to my laid back and relaxed Australian attitude to life, but for a horse race? It also strikes me as funny that in one of furthest away parts of the Commonwealth, we have a public holiday to celebrate the Queen’s birthday, yet they don’t have one in England where she lives!

It strikes me as ludicrous that earlier this year there were discussions and media rumblings about having a public holiday for the AFL Grand Final (don’t get me started on that!).
There are so many good reasons to have a day off where we DON’T, why do it for a simple sporting event?

Here are a few reasons to take a day off in no order of importance (except the first one):

  • Your birthday (NEVER work on your birthday – it’s against the rules)
  • Your partner’s birthday
  • Your anniversary
  • Your child’s graduation
  • Your child’s performance (sport, play, dance, music, whatever)
  • A funeral of someone dear to a dear friend of yours
  • An impulse family adventure
  • A surprise visit to your grandparents
  • A full health check up
  • To celebrate a major milestone achievement (personal or professional)
  • To spend time with someone you love but don’t see often
  • For personal or professional development (training course – regardless of who pays for it)
  • To pick up the new car/motorbike/motorhome and spend the day taking it for a test run
  • Because you are sick! (Don’t struggle through work, stay home and get better)
  • Because someone you love is sick (kid, pet, partner, parent or friend)

I am sure you can come up with a stack of other reasons far more worthy than a horse race.
So what would it take for you to have the day off?



Image: www.MelbourneCup.com

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How Hard Is It?


Have you ever had one of those moments where you thought that things were just too hard? Some things in your life had changed and now you couldn’t do some of the things that you wanted too? Maybe you weren’t getting the results in your life that you wanted? It was all too hard?  I have felt that too.


On the weekend I got a sense of perspective. I heard an amazing story from a guy named Dale Elliot. He is guy just like you and me. No one special – just a bloke with dreams, desires, a life. He took his cousins motorbike for a spin and on the last corner home a dog ran out on to the road and his life changed forever.


As a paraplegic his life was hard, damn hard!


How does he keep going? By focussing on what he can do not on what he can’t. Looking back to his past and what he can’t do serves no purpose. His focus is looking forward at what he can do. Creating new goals and dreams that stretch him and doing it with a sense of humour, joy and gratitude.


So how hard is it? Granted there may be things you can’t do like you used to. But what can you do? How can you stretch yourself, grow and make contribution to those around you? I suspect it is easier than you may tell yourself.


For more information on Dale, get inspiration or book him for your next event, check out his website at www.DaleElliott.com


Photo: Dale Elliot

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How Sharp Is Your Saw?

Saw
The 7th Habit in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to Sharpen the Saw. What he is saying is how often do you take the time to get better at what you do? Are your skills being improved and honed or are you still doing what you do the same way you always have?


If you were 10% better, what would that mean to you? 10% more sales? 10% better customer service? 10% more time to do things? 10% more organised? 10% more focussed or energised? Or would it simply mean that you are back as good as you used to be because you have recently developed some bad habits?


The time you invest in sharpening your saw is well worth it.  A saw blade you continue to use slowly gets worn down. It stops sawing and starts Hacking.  Are you Hacking anywhere in your workplace? After you have been hacking for a while, you then are simply going through the motions without getting a result. Surely you aren’t simply going through the motions anywhere?  Are you?


What will you do to sharpen your saw?  I can highly recommend The Super Conference on this week. I will be MC and speaking there.  If you can’t make that, find something else. Your professional association, industry training courses, personal development courses or training for a specific skill set all contribute to your success.


How Sharp is your Saw?

button

Saw Image: Mom The Barbarian 

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Do You Share?

Concert Poster
It is amazing how many people in the workplace do not share who they really are with their colleagues. 

They have strong boundaries (almost barriers) around their distinct groups.  Their work friends are never allowed to mix with their social friends and neither of these groups are allowed anywhere near family.

Why would you do this?  While I am all for a sense of privacy and not sharing every single detail about yourself, why would you not share with your friends all of who you are? What are you trying to hide?


While you may have weird hobbies that may raise some questions or work in a job or role that your social group may not expect, don’t hold back on who you are.  We are complete beings with varied, colourful and complex parts to ourselves.


One of the most valuable gifts you can give to the world is your Authenticity.  It also takes less effort than putting up a facade or remembering to not tell certain people certain things.  Share of yourself with the world. The world will be a better place for it.

So do you share?






PS As part of my sharing, I need to let you know I sing in an A Cappella choir. It is fabulous and a whole lot of fun. We have a concert in North Melbourne at the Comic’s Lounge this Sunday at 2pm. It’s only $15 and kids are free. If you are in Melbourne next Sunday, I would love to see you there. Further details and samples of our work at www.MoodSwingChoir.com

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