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Archive For: Success

Be a Jedi

Let me introduce you to my new Jedi buddy, Charli.

Now you may not understand what I am talking about so let me explain.

In his training of Luke, the Jedi master, Yoda stated, “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to Suffering.”

With all of the fear, anger, hatred and suffering in the world right now, we need someone strong in the Force to keep us on the right path. So let me introduce Jedi Charli.

As you can see Charli has some amazing hair. Not bad for a six year old. Out of the blue last week, she said to her parents that she wanted shorter hair so what should she do with her long hair. After a big discussion, she decided to donate 30cm of her hair to kids with cancer. Charli thought that her hair could make some great wigs. She recently reconsidered and decided 45 cms would be better!

With the help of her dad, she also set up an Every Day Hero page to raise some money for the Cancer Council of Victoria. Charli came up with the target of $2,000. She is so close! At the time of writing she is sitting on about $1,700. Click here for the latest figures.

A quick reminder, Charli is SIX! Such fantastic, positive, loving Jedi thinking from one so young. We old people could learn a thing or two.

In a time of fear, anger and hatred I choose to focus on the positive and the good in the world and Charli represents this in spades!

So what can you do? Can I encourage you to blow Charli’s target out of the water by making a significant donation? Help show this young girl that she is doing an AWESOME thing and we can help her. Cast your mind back to when you were six and think how attached you were to YOUR hair!

The next thing you can do is be pleasant to people you meet and to open your arms and your hearts to others. Personally, I am skipping the news and not focussing on the drama of all the attacks. Maybe I am naive, but it helps me defeat the intent of these attacks. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear, anger and hate can only lead to suffering.

So be a Jedi and focus on the good.
PS Don’t forget to click here to donate to Charli’s appeal, Thank you so much for your donation.

A Message from the Music Industry

I was speaking with Zerafina Zara, one of the performance coaches for Mushroom Records recently about the music industry. There is a constant message that applies to your business that you need to know.

No matter how good you are, it doesn’t matter a damn if you don’t have an audience.

So many people work on their skill set, their techniques, their song writing, their creative process, their new development, but if you don’t have an audience, you will starve.

Apparently some performers get to the point where they think getting an audience is “beneath them”. From first hand experience, there are plenty of business people who are not focussed on getting an audience, or as I like to call it, SALES.

We have all seen products and services that are not that good but they have a huge following and significant sales. Maybe it is your competitor and you even have a better product or service than they do. But they have clearly focussed on their marketing and sales processes. This is because they know the value of an audience.

So do you have an audience? What will you do this week to increase your audience rather than work on your product or service?

Priorities Count

My gorgeous wife and I have just returned from the delightful Dominican Republic.

Our flight home had a 24 hour stop over in Los Angeles so we chose to rent a hotel room and then hire a car for a day to do some roaming around and shopping at some outlet malls.

This is where it became a matter of priorities.

We could have spent a fortune on a hotel with all the modern conveniences, fluffy towels and 24 hour concierge. But that wasn’t our priority.

You may recall that my wife is a petrol head. So we went for the very simple, bed, bathroom and free wifi hotel for under $100. We spent twice as much on our car for the day and neither of us regret that decision at all! Here’s why.

That’s right, it was a muscle car – a Camaro SS just like Bumble Bee in Transformers.

After hitting the Walmart (you can see it in the background) we did a little more shopping and then headed back to the airport driving a couple of hours down the coast road. It was the quintessential Fast and the Furious kind of experience and it was impossible to get the smile of our faces (zoom in and check out my lovely wife’s).

Who remembers their hotel room? I can’t, I just slept through it!

So what are your priorities? What are you doing because you “should” not because you want to? What will bring you the most joy? What represents SUCCESS to you?

Choose wisely because priorities count!

Eyes of Wonder

Sydney is an amazing city. It has significant history, fantastic architecture and of course, a stunning harbour.

While hosting a conference this weekend, I was fortunate to participate in the social outing of a harbour cruise. Two hours motoring around the harbour with 200 of my newest friends!

I got talking to a Sydney-sider who told me how they forgot how beautiful Sydney was and that this twilight cruise really opened their eyes again.

We get so used to our own situation that sometimes the amazing things we have or have achieved become “normalised”. That is, they lose their wonder or more accurately, WE lose our “eyes of wonder”. Sydney’s harbour, Melbourne’s botanical garden, Brisbane’s river front, Adelaide’s churches, Perth’s beaches, Hobart’s Mount Wellington and Darwin’s night market can all become ordinary things.

What about you? What is amazing in your life? What do you no longer see?

How can you open your eyes of wonder?

It’s Finals Time

So how was your weekend? Were you one of the many that watched one of the football finals?
You had your pick of the bunch this weekend! Aussie Rules, Rugby League and there was even some other form of rugby happening in the UK. In Victoria, we even had a public holiday for the parade of the AFL Grand Final teams the day before the final (I am still not sure why).

No matter which game you may have watched, the look of jubilation and achievement on the victors faces, holding aloft their trophy was pretty cool. They had strived, trained and sacrificed to get to this spot and they deserved the win.

Here’s the thing. That team that came second place, they had also strived, trained and sacrificed. They probably deserved to win just as much.

When you think about it, even the third, fourth and fifth teams had strived, trained and sacrificed.

So while the striving, training and sacrificing are important, it is performing under pressure that counts. Being able to do what you said you would, regardless of your situation.

When is it Finals Time for you? When do you need to perform under pressure and how can you best prepare for it?

Yes And

I have just spent the last two days participating in an Impro Melbourne workshop called Harold (well everything needs a name).

The underlying philosophy of improv is “Yes And”. No matter what someone proposes as an idea or starts as method, we make them right. We say YES to that idea. Then we add to it. It becomes a “Yes And” moment. Sometimes, the biggest “Yes And” is needed for our own ideas.

These workshops have been great for my speaking and MC work but they underlying philosophy has been far more valuable.

In our workshops I see how easy it is to default to the “No But” approach. To make the other person wrong, kill their idea and try and make ours right. It seems to be a baseline that it is very easy to fall back to. Constant work is required to focus on the “Yes And” and continue to make the other person look good.

This seems to be the case in the workplace as well. While it is true that sometimes people are incorrect, there is nearly always a “Yes And” approach to addressing a situation. To make the person feel supported and right, even while fixing a mistake. It can be hard to always focus on the “Yes And” but it is so worthwhile.

So how will you embrace the “Yes And” approach today?

PS I strongly encourage you to find an Improv school near you and take a few classes. It is great fun and there are so many fabulous life lessons too. Are you up to the challenge?

What’s Your Success?

Here are a couple of thoughts on success and what you can do to build your own.

The video is only 2 minutes but the lessons lasts a lifetime, so click play and enjoy.

Wisdom from Winston

This is Winston, our Toy Poodle. Yes, you are right – he IS a very manly dog.

He turned two last month and I wanted to share with you some of the lessons he has taught us in that small time. They are valuable lessons that my help you in life.

Constantly show your love for others. Bark at them, lick them, sniff them, jump up and down – do whatever it takes.

Share your stuff. If someone comes to visit, be sure to share your toys with them. They may have fun with it too!

If it feels good, do it. It may be weird to sit on the heater vent with your ears blowing in the warm air, but it feels good.

Snuggling is good. Even sitting on the couch watching TV, it is good to snuggle in and be loved.

Say hello to strangers. Just because you haven’t met them before, doesn’t mean you can’t be friends.

Welcome home your loved ones. Whether they have been gone 3 seconds, 3 hours or 3 days, show them how excited you are to see them.

Tell others what you want. Whether by scratching at the door, dropping your toy at their feet or sitting on their head to get attention.

Do everything with enthusiasm. It is not just a walk, it’s A WALK! It’s not playing, it’s PLAYING! Let your enthusiasm be contagious.

Who would have thought such wisdom would come from such a delicate being?

It’s Good for You

I have just spent the weekend with 20 of my closest friends in an eight bedroom house. They are the choir that I belong to, Mood Swing. It was our band camp where we did some drumming workshops, body movements and, of course, some singing.

It is amazing the bond we have created, the fabulous music we create and and the fun we have.

It’s …. GOOD. Good for the mind, the body and the spirit.

There is so much research on how singing together is good for you and your community. Even corporate choirs are becoming more popular and provided as part of “stress management” in the work place.

What about you? Would you Sing For Good?

As I have mentioned previously, I am honoured to be one of this years ambassadors for Sing For Good. I can highly recommend that you have a sing with some friends, video it and submit it to the site. There are some great prizes on offer and also money raised goes to support the great work that Creativity Australia does with their “With One Voice” program.

If you are not the kind of person to sing, no dramas. Head on over to the Sing For Good website and support your favourite entry with a donation. (I recommend you consider Mood Swing’s entry, but I am biased!)

Even if you don’t do that, at the very least when your favourite song comes on the radio, sing a long to it. It’s even better if you are with someone else and you both sing a long. It does great things for your health, physically and spiritually – basically, it’s GOOD!

It’s Good to be The King

Elvis

On Saturday night, I was The King. The picture above proves it.

The Australian Glass and Glaziers Association celebrated at their annual conference with a Gala Ball that was themed as “Viva Las Vegas”. The Platinum Sponsors Viridian and G James got in to the act and created a Little White Chapel as well as extra theming including our own Vegas sign with flashing lights. One of the delegates even dressed up as one of the guys out of The Hangover.

For me, not only was I dressed as Elvis but I played the role the entire night This included presenting the awards as him (extra cheeseburgers and all!) and singing a bit of one of his songs to close the night off. The reason this is important is that it was more than just dress ups. Looking the part only gets you so far. You really need to BE the real deal.

The same can be said for what you do. Dress up, turn up and BE the person your role needs. Whether it is a professional role, a role you play in the community or a role in your family, you can’t just LOOK the part you need to ACT and BE the part as well.

Don’t worry, it’s OK if you don’t do it well, make mistakes or don’t quite hit the goal you have as long as you give it all you got.

If you give it everything then you can’t help but succeed. Then you too will know why it’s good to be the King!

Soothe The Beast

Music soothes the savage beast.

You know it’s true. Think of the times you have been “beast like” (angry, grumpy, sad… you know the feeling) and then a fabulous song comes on and you get a better perspective on the world.

Not only does music soothe YOUR savage beast, it can also soothe the beast of others.

It can soothe the beast of unemployment, poor health, loneliness and a sense of “not belonging”.

“But How”, I hear you ask.

Well Sing for Good is the answer. Sing for Good is a project run by the charitable organisation Creativity Australia. Creativity Australis supports people in need via their With One Voice program. For the last couple of years they encourage people to grab a friend (or three or 20) and record a video of themselves singing. This then gets loaded to their website and the world votes.

It is a fantastic initiative and I am an Ambassador for this year’s event. (So all correspondence should be to Ambassador Warwick!)

As an Ambassador, I wanted to be sure that I entered as well. You can see my entry here.

Can I encourage you to visit their website and find out all about what they do?
Then keep revisiting as more and more acts add their videos.

Don’t forget, you too can grab a few friends, sing a song you love and enter yourself. It is so much fun.

Thanks for helping soothe the beast!

Will You Sing For Good?

I have the honour of being an Ambassador for the Sing For Good program. It is a fun and easy way to contribute to people who need it simply by creating music. Here’s a song I sang earlier (I’m the bald dude up the back on the right):

There is a common saying that “music soothes the savage beast.”

Often the savage beast is the thing between your ears! The modern world can be quite stressful. Whether you are driving in peak hour, dealing with an inbox loaded with email or simply trying to manage a house full of family members, it is easy to get overwhelmed. This is where music comes in.

Now while listening to music is fabulous, performing it yourself gives far more benefits. Personally, the resonance in my body when I sing is as relaxing as a massage. You can feel the tension slip away as you keep singing. You also have to be completely present. You have words, notes and timing to consider all while tuning in to what others around you are doing as well.

Do you sing?

Maybe you don’t sing in a choir like me. Maybe there are a few of you who get together in a garage and bash out a few tunes on your guitars, keyboards and drum kits. Maybe you harmonise in the hallways or echo chambers at a train station. Maybe you sing in the car with the radio blaring loud as you drive along.

How good does it feel for you? It doesn’t matter how you sound it is the act of performing that feels fabulous and makes you feel fantastic. There is a natural high you get and in that moment, the rest of the world does not exist and all your troubles float away.

Singing is ~~good~~ great for the soul!

Why not share your gift? Why not show others how you can Sing for Good?

The Sing for Good program is very simple. You just have to sing with at least one other person and then upload your video to the Sing for Good website. Visitors with then vote and donate based on your video and the videos of other singers. This then raises funds for all the great work the Sing for Good program does.

There are several categories of entries and winners are NOT selected on talent alone. The key is to participate.

How does that sound to you? Something to sing about?

Keep an eye out as I will be part of several videos to help spread the message. Check out the website to find out how easy it is to enter and have some fun with your friends.

It all starts on 1st August so check it out.

Come on … let’s Sing for Good!

Wonderful Way With Words

I have just returned from a week in Washington DC where I spoke to a “standing room only” crowd who laughed at all my jokes and got a great deal out of my session. (This made me very happy!)

While I was there, I had a look around some of the monuments and galleries. The Hirshhorn Gallery of Modern Art had an installation from Barbara Kruger (the photo above.) It was fascinating and showed a wonderful way with words. She used some quotes of other people and some observations of her own to challenge you and your perspective. These quotes were printed on pieces of vinyl and pasted all over the room, escalator, floor and wherever there was a surface.

With todays “text speak” and web lingustic “shortcuts”, the power of language can be lost. When you don’t get the reaction you are after or need who’s responsible?

What are you doing to ensure you can truly tap into the power of words? Is it reading the classics? A word a day calendar? Maybe even just stopping someone when they use a word and you don’t know what it means to discover how you could use it.

Communication is so important and I wish for you to have a wonderful way with words.

Where’s Your Head At?

Greetings from Washington DC! I am over here speaking at a conference with only about 2,000 people!

While here I received an email from one of our tribe asking:

“I wonder your thoughts. A person I know said that he thinks it’s wrong to tell people/youth they can do what they want to do, be whatever they want to be.

He thinks it gives them a goal they can never reach, or a dream they can never fulfil, if they dream too big, or hope too high, they’ll never achieve it and be full of grief and hopelessness.

I say, dream as big as the stars and then have as much fun as you can getting there. Who’s right?”

You know the good thing? You are both right!

Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t you are right”

So by this person telling anyone, “Don’t think too big, play a smaller game, you will never make it” they will make it true. AND they will be surrounded by people who think smaller, are self limited and typically unsatisfied and grumpy.

But amazingly awesome people like YOU who say “Anything is possible, dream big and strive towards it” create fabulously positive people! Let’s be honest, they may not make it, but they chance that they will make it is far higher. Maybe they won’t make their goal but they will make it far closer that the person who listened to the person saying “don’t try” and they will have one hell of a ride along the way.

I like to think that we are building a better world by talking about what’s possible not what’s impossible.

In Washington President Kennedy said, “We will go to the moon.” He didn’t say, “We’d like to but it’s too hard, too expensive and we may not make it.” Just recently, a satellite flew past the furtherest “almost” planet Pluto.

“We will go to the moon” has taken us much father than “that’s really hard and it may not happen.”

So what about you? Where is your head at?

How Embarrassing

I am ashamed and embarrassed. It’s not me, it’s him.

I am travelling to the USA next week and I have to own up to being an Australian. They will laugh at me. Well, not at me directly, but at me for having such an embarrassing and out of touch Prime Minister.

I recall teasing my American friends when they had George W. I never thought they would have the chance to return the favour.

Somewhere along the time he seems to have forgotten that the government is put in place BY the people and FOR the people. He and his government are our PUBLIC SERVANTS we are not theirs.

Simple logic dictates that coal is limited and solar and wind are unlimited, so why would you stop the latter in favour of the former.
We have not learnt the lessons of previous governments mistreatment of powerless innocents. Again WE treat them poorly and without respect in a way that will DEMAND an apology in the future.

Our government spends so much time fighting the opposition (regardless of which party is in power) that they don’t have time to govern or have the energy to create a magnificent future for us all.

It is time for a change.

A change in PM would be great but the change we need is in how our government operates. The government is NOT there for the minority with the money and the influence. The government is there for those with little or nothing. It is there to protect those that need it, provide for those who need it and support those that need it.

I want a leader who creates a long term vision for our country so great that subsequent leaders can’t help but follow it also. I want an government that supports the country regardless of whether the opposition agrees with them or not.

I want a leader with enough substance that they do what is MORALLY RIGHT regardless of what impact it had on their financial support.

I want PEOPLE to matter more to the government and I would love for our leaders to get in touch with how life really is for the population and not those living on allowances.

So what can I do?

I have signed petitions, I have clicked like and I have tried ignoring the politicians but still I am ashamed, embarrassed and angry.

The time is ripe for change. Bring it on.

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