402, 2015

The journey has begun … (Beach Flags – Part 4)

By |February 4th, 2015|Dare to Dream, Goal Setting|0 Comments

You will recall that a friend of mine who had read my book, wanted some more information and examples of how I actually goal-set and go about following my dreams and achieving my goals. To do this I used as the example my latest goal – to become World Champion in beach flags as a perfect example of this. Here is the 4th instalment of my journey to become World Champion and links to the three previous posts.

http://www.jeremyrolleston.com/the-journey-has-begun-beach-flags-part-1/
http://www.jeremyrolleston.com/the-journey-has-begun-beach-flags-part-2/
http://www.jeremyrolleston.com/the-journey-has-begun-beach-flags-part-3/

You may recall that I went into my first Australian Championships after three months in the sport with no real expectations – more to perform to the best of my ability and see what happens. Well … I won silver and it gave me a taste for more. So the focus turned to Australian Championships a year later and then the World Championships six months after that. Here’s some of the things around my goal-setting that I did in that 12-18 months.

Continue to make the vision big, exciting and motivating – I already had the dream and was motivated towards it. But redoing my vision board, having it on the wall in my room, and seeing it all the time is always very powerful. Vision boards are a powerful tool to make that dream come alive (Read more about this in my book A Life That Counts). You need to see it, before you can believe it, before you can achieve it. Sounds cliche doesn’t it. But it’s true. 
Vision board Flags Simon Harris

Belief – I’d now had a taste of it and knew I could do it. If I could come second in the Australian titles after 3 months, then with a concerted focus, with a good training base, and with time to learn and improve in flags … I knew I could win if things went right. But to develop a deep unshakeable belief, I developed a visualisation CD with Craig Townsend whom I have worked with before. (If you want to know more on this I also talk about visualisation and hypnosis/visualisation CDs in my book A Life That Counts).

Reset my goals for the upcoming year – basically I needed to be fitter, faster, stronger, and lose some weight (to improve my power to weight). That meant reassessing, critiquing and resetting my goals. (That’s the thing most people don’t realise – goal-setting is not a once off thing – it’s a dynamic process. You’re always looking at them and writing new little milestone goals along the way – even while the big goal remains unchanged).
New goal setting

Improve my nutrition – my training was good and always has been. But now my eating needed to be equally good. And for me this was haaaarrd – I have a sweet tooth like no other! During my bobsleigh and rugby days I could get away with it as I needed to be big and strong. But now I couldn’t hide these bad habits – well not if I wanted to be lean for beach flags!

Concentrate on nutrition

Training – this is pretty obvious isn’t it. But I needed to do two things. Firstly, I had to do more specific flags training as technique is so important in this sport. And second, I needed to learn from the best. So in the last 6 months before World titles I committed to flying up to the Gold Coast and training with Australian flags legend (9 times Australian champion and four-time World Champion – Simon Harris). And of course, there’s no substitute for hard work!
Training Training Training

 

Competitions – practice makes perfect. I went in all the competitions I could. And thank goodness I did as I made many mistakes – from false-starting and being disqualified. To tripping. To missing the flag when I dived for it. To being too tense and that affecting my get-up. To realising I wasn’t fit enough. To not having peripheral vision to see what other people were doing. I had some success and won branch titles and State championships.
East Coast Masters - flags State champs

Preparation and focus – for me the goal was winning that World title. So training was a chance to try some things out and Australian Championships was a dress rehearsal and a good opportunity to try everything out in competition. Then I’d either replicate what I did or take the learnings from it and make improvements. In particular that mean getting organised about the gear I took onto the beach for the various events (as you’re on the beach for a lot of the day and need to have clothes to warm up in, feel relaxed in, be warm in, be protected from the sun in). It also meant getting organised about my food and what I would eat in the morning, as well as throughout the day.
Trailling stuff at training Aust champs - food Aust champs - food 3 Aust champs - bags and organisation Aust champs - food

Australian Titles – I flew over to Perth in April to compete in Australian Championships and unfortunately didn’t get the result I wanted. I was bumped out in the final flag and ended up with silver. What it did do though – was flame that fire inside me for that original goal – to win that world title in six months time in France. There was lots of work to do. I now had a good base to work off, but I was going to be faster, stronger, technically better at flags, really lean and ready !
Aust champs

Stay tuned for the final chapter – World Championships

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207, 2013

The Reverse Bucket List – turning the bucket list on its head

By |July 2nd, 2013|Dare to Dream, Miscellaneous|0 Comments

As you all know – I love a good bucket list !

You may remember when I shared my bucket list. And it then inspired others to write  and share theirs.
Remember Vanessa’s – 30 things before 30 !!!
And then Alicias bucket list.
And then Emma Mullings bucket list.

Well in this blog I want to turn the bucket list on its head .. what about a bucket list where you write down all the things you’ve already done in life – the reverse bucket list !

It will be such a wonderful process to think and reflect on what you’ve already done. And I bet that you, like me, have done a lot – way more than you first thought. And as you start writing your ‘reverse bucket list’, what’s even better is that the overriding emotion that you will feel is one of joy and gratitude. You’ll feel blessed that you’ve had the opportunity to do so much. Blessed that you’ve had the finances to bring them to pass. Thankful for all the good memories you’ve made. Happy that you’ve seen and experienced all that you have. Grateful for how fortunate you are to live the life that you have. And what a way to bring joy and happiness and gratefulness into your life and springboard yourself on to the next bucket list !

So try the reverse bucket list – not a list of all the things you want to do, but a list of all the things you have already done / experienced / completed / seen / smelt / felt / conquered.

… I look forward to hearing your stories and seeing your reverse bucket lists …

 

 

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2105, 2013

The journey has begun … (Beach Flags – Part 3)

By |May 21st, 2013|Dare to Dream, The Daily Process|0 Comments

Here’s the next instalment of my Beach Flags journey.
You will recall that after reading and getting a lot out of my book ‘A Life That Counts’, my friend Jesper told me that he liked how my book was so practical, but he wanted even more. More details on HOW. HOW did I actually go after my own goals and dreams. What did I do – step-by-step.

So here’s part 3 to give you what you asked for. And using my latest goal and challenge – to become the World Champion (40-45 years) in Surf Life-Saving Beach Flags in 2014.

Step 6 – Learn from and model the best
I’m a massive believer in doing things right the first time and learning from the best. Why would I want to learn the wrong technique at the outset, only to have to try and change it down the track? Why wouldn’t I just learn it the correct way from the beginning – even if that takes a bit longer? Why wouldn’t I ask advice from people who know more? Why wouldn’t I suck all the knowledge that I could out of the best ?

Well that’s exactly what I went about doing ! And the best in the world in this event is Simon Harris. He is a multiple World Champion and (now) 10 time Australian Champion. 10 times ! Damn, that’s impressive.

 

And fortunately for me, Simon is one of those guys who is so good at what he does, that he doesn’t have anything to prove or any barriers to put up. He’s happy to share his knowledge with others. Thankyou Simon ! (As an aside I’ve found this to be the case with very successful people. They may be hard to track down or get their time and attention but when you do, they are only more than happy to share their wisdom, knowledge and insight. In contrast I have found that the less successful – those people who don’t want to help you, who defend their silos, who keep all their knowledge to themselves, who put you down to make themselves better etc – they’re those ‘small-minded’ people who don’t carry any of the big-mindedness of the truly successful who don’t have anything to prove or defend).

So I copied Simon. I modelled everything he did. I watched him on videos and copied it. Like a little kid.

And when I was up on the Gold Coast, where Simon is from, I got in contact with him (through a proper introduction) and went and did a training session with him. It was fantastic and so helpful.
And along the way I would occasionally text him with some questions. Or get him to watch me do a couple of starts if we were ever in the same competition and warming -up.

Yep – model the best !

Step 7 – Just do it. Talk is cheap
The thing is … I could have the best vision board in the world. Great goal-setting. I could have amazing contacts with World Champions like Simon and my coach Marty Lynch who help me and give me input. But at the end of the day, no matter which way you look at it – you’ve got to do the work. Plain and simple. Talk is cheap.

So this step was all about me just getting in and doing the work. I knew that I didn’t have a great training base under me for this years championships. I knew that I was only learning. I knew that I was underdone. But at this point I just needed to focus and do the training. So it was off to the gym to get stronger. Off to the track to get faster. Off to the physio and chiro to get over strains and injuries. Off to the bank to pay for it all ! 🙂 Into the kitchen to prepare stuff so I’d eat better. Down to the beach to practice the get-up and turn – the one I had watched so many times on the video but needed to figure out for myself. And off to competitions to get experience and practice.
And it is the same with any goal you’re going after. Talk is cheap. you’ve got to do the work. As Muhammad Ali said “The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance in those lights”.

Step 8 – Enjoying the journey
I’ve done a lot of sport over the years with rugby and bobsleigh. Too many to count but just over 20 years of serious sport. And the whole point of doing Beach Flags was to enjoy being fit and to enjoy the next challenge. To enjoy not having to cart a massive bobsleigh around everywhere. To enjoy doing a summer sport because both rugby and bobsleigh are winter sports. To enjoy being in good shape. To enjoy new experiences. To enjoy meeting new people and so on. And I am … and that is a big part of the journey. After all, if you don’t enjoy it, why would you do it ?

Step 9 – Test myself and see where I’m at
I had no specific goals this year. I am only 3 months into the sport and have a lot to learn. And I don’t really know what to expect. So doing competitions was more about the experience and learning rather than aiming for a particular result. But as is the case whenever you set goals, you need to see where you’re at so that you know if you’re on track to achieve your goal or not. Do you need to adjust? Are you ahead or behind of where you should be ? What have you learnt and need to learn ?

And for me this was competing in the State Championships and then the Austrlaian Championships.

I surprised myself in the State Titles by winning it and so it was off to the Nationals last month. (As much as I had no expectations this year having just begun this journey as I said, when you’re in competition that all flies out the window of course. You want to win ! Whether you’ve done the work to back up the will is another question entirely. (I love the quote that says “Plenty of people have the desire to be champions but only champions have the desire to prepare !”.
Anyway I entered the Australian Championships with no massive expectations, but still a secret goal to win a medal).

And guess what – good news – I did – I won silver !


So it was a very happy Jeremy who came back to Sydney having enjoyed the whole experience and being happy with his performance. And the good news is that it has fired me up for next year – faster; in better shape; technically better; have stronger power to weight – just better !

So now it is back into the hard work with 1 year to go until the next Australian Championships in Perth and then six months after that to the World Championships.

So stay tuned for the next instalments of the journey. I hope you’re enjoying them and learning at the same time.

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705, 2013

The journey has begun … (Beach Flags – Part 2)

By |May 7th, 2013|Dare to Dream, Goal Setting|0 Comments

Remember my friend Jesper who has just read my book and asked me to show him more specific and actual steps about how I went after a goal – in my case, my goal to become World Masters Beach Flags champion in 2014. You can read the first post here in which I talk about figuring out this next challenge / goal and then figuring out why I wanted it.

Here’s the second instalment.

Step 3 – Structured Goal Setting
Here’s my actual goal setting for my 2014 Beach Flags goal. See below. You will see that I have:
1. The Big Goal – The big,shiny outcome goal written down for 2014

2. Yearly planning – I have the key dates written down over the next 18 months

3. Monthly planning – I have broken this down into each month for the 18 months leading up to the World Championships so I know generally what I’m doing in my training, what my aims are and where I’m heading

4.  Weekly planning – I have a weekly training schedule. What do I train on which day ? I spend a fair bit of time on this weekly plan to get it right as I want to make sure it fits into the other parts of my life eg I don’t want to train on a Friday night as I want to relax and chill out. I want a life too ! And when I don’t feel like it is all-consuming I never get that feeling of resenting my training. It adds to my life rather than takes away from my life. I plan to train at lunch on weekdays so it gives me a break from work and I then work better in the afternoons. And also because I am not good at training in the morning – I prefer just to get into work. I also make sure that the daily program makes sense by ensuring that I have enough recovery for various sessions, that I am training when I have energy (eg not at the end of the day if I can help it), and that I am doing enough training in each of the important training elements (speed, strength, flexibility, technical flags training) so that I ensure I am working on improving weaknesses, maintaining my strengths, are well-rounded in my training etc.

5. Daily planning – then each day for that particular session I will know what I am doing. What weights I am doing or what running session? This is a plan only though so it may change depending on how I am feeling / injuries etc. But the important thing is that it is still a plan. I don’t just turn up to training and then try and figure out what I am doing.

* Write my goals down
Tick.
(As the saying says “A goal is a dream written down or a dream with a deadline !” And surprisingly most people don’t do this as numerous studies have shown. For example see this blog post which describes a well known study by Harvard on goal-setting which Mark McCormack talks about in his book ‘What They don’t teach you at Harvard Business School’. The point – there’s a power in writing your goals down).

* SMARTR goal setting
Specific – at this stage I don’t have enough of these very specific milestone goals. I need to add these. They will be in terms of technique improvements, speed tests, weights I want to lift, diet etc.
Measurable – I will see how I am tracking at State and Australian titles this year. That will be a good measurement. But the more specific milestone goals will all be able to be measured of course.
Achievable – my big outcome goal of World Champion is absolutely achievable if I can stay in great shape and learn the technique from the best. But getting to this point of absolute belief is the topic of another blog post. Or read my book of course.
Regularly assessed – as I add more milestone goals they will be regularly assessed in accordance with the timing I put on them. Again – more need to get added here. But goal-setting is an ongoing process not a set and forget.
Timed – as above
Reward – the fitness and health I gather along the way is enough for me now as I have no big result expectations this year. But as I enter the next 2013/2014 season, as I have encouraged others, I will come up with a specific reward for winning the Australian title and then another one for winning the World Championships.


Step 4 – Support for my goals
Tick. I still train with my brakeman from the last Olympic season (Duncan Harvey) on Sundays to keep me training at that higher level as he is still in training for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi.
I have a great family and partner who are supportive.
I have a coach on the beach flags side who knows his stuff. He is a multiple Masters World Champion himself and his son just won the open World Championships this year.

Step 5 – Get input on my plan
Tick. I always let other people critique my plan and I welcome their input. Sure, it is not cast in stone and will change over time anyway, but my goal-setting is nonetheless the big roadmap that I will follow. So for this reason I want knowledgeable people to look at it and make suggestions and comments to help me make it better. That is why there are scribbles on this page. The point – you can always learn and improve so input from the right people can be invaluable.

 

…  I hope this is helpful. Stay tuned for the next instalment shortly as the last few months have been busy leading into the Australian Championships which have just finished. So there’s more to share on this journey.

 

 

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2602, 2013

The journey has begun … (Beach Flags – Part 1)

By |February 26th, 2013|Dare to Dream, Goal Setting|1 Comment

I was talking to a friend recently who had just read my book. He said that he would have loved to have seen even more detail on how I actually went after my goals. He liked how my book described the process and journey of chasing after a dream step-by-step. He liked the stories and examples and advice from the 10 incredible, successful and high-achieving contributors. He liked the psychology.

BUT, he wanted even more detail. What did I actually do as I journeyed towards competing in the Olympics. “Show me and tell me exactly” he said.

So Jesper, with that in mind, I thought I’d attempt to show you in a series of blogs over time, the exact and actual things I did and am doing along the journey to achieve my latest goal – to become the World Champion (40-45 years) in Surf Life-Saving Beach Flags in 2014. It may not be the Olympics, but I will hope to approach it with the same focus and strategy – even if the body isn’t what it used to be !!! So enjoy … and I trust this is interesting and helpful.

Step 1 – Find the Dream
I love travelling on planes as I often take my journal and have time to scribble and ponder, write and dream, plan and scheme. It is that precious time when no one can get me and I often find clarity and organisation. And a recent flight back from Switzerland was no exception. I had just retired from bobsleigh and was just finally finding peace around not needing to go on for another Olympics and moving on to other things. So I was writing everything down to get further clarity and also to help me find that next challenge and goal. I’m a goal-oriented person and I didn’t want to just waste away into post-sport boredom, with no new goal to give me purpose, to excite me, to keep me fit and to stretch me. I’ve learnt to love the stretch. So I started writing and scribbling. The result of that was that over time I came up with my new goal. Part of the dream of what life might look like post elite Olympic level sport. Here are my scribbles …

 

 

Step 2 – What is the big, bright and shiny goal ?
Remember, that you always need to have the big outcome goals. The thing you think about all the time that motivates you. The thing you can almost taste. That thing that is big, shiny and bright. Under those you then have your milestone goals – the smaller, systematic, more achievable goals that you will aim for and achieve (with hard work and strategy) along the way to your big outcome goal.
As I mentioned before, my latest goal that motivates and inspires me is to be the World Masters Beach Flags champion. This is a little collage I have in my training diary. It has the goal written on it as well as pictures that represent things to me. It is like a mini-vision Board for Beach Flags. To give me that extra little bit of motivation whenever I need it and keep the dream front and centre and vibrant.

 

Step 3 – What is my ‘Why’ ?
Remember in my book and workbook I talk about how ‘Knowing your Why’ is so important.  It provides your purpose and once we define it, every action takes on a more definite meaning. Simply put, if you don’t know why you want to do something then why would you do it. And if the why isn’t strong enough then why will you keep going when the going gets tough ? If your ‘why’ is not stronger than what it will cost you and the sacrifice and commitment needed to achieve it then you’ll give up. For example, consider these two people. One makes a new year’s eve commitment to get fitter to feel better or another person who has just been told by the doctor that if they don’t lose weight they will dies and leave their family without a father. Which person’s motivation do you think is stronger ? Which person’s ‘why’ do you think is clearer ? A person without a ‘why’ is like a ship without a rudder. No matter how hard you attempt to sail the rudderless ship, it goes nowhere. It churns ineffectively, without direction.

Or put another way, remember that knowing your ‘why’ is a way of tapping into your deep motivation for why you’re doing what you’re doing. Of engaging the Limbic system which is a separate area of the brain that controls our base emotions – things like fear, anger, sex-drive, attraction. That is, it controls things that happen without us even being consciously aware of it. For example, if you’re embarrassed, you blush – without even thinking of it. Which proves that our emotions often drive us, without our ‘conscious’ more rational part of the brain even having an input. So when we tap into our ‘why’ we are engaging these deep, powerful, ‘unconscious’, emotional drivers. And these are way more powerful than just trying to use your conscious will. (After all, if our conscious will was so effective we wouldn’t need to keep making the same New Years resolutions would we !).

So what is my why ? What will it give me ? Why do I want to do beach flags and become World Masters champion ?

 

 

So there’s my first instalment. Stay tuned for more … I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback …

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1610, 2012

To dare – the quest of Mt Midoriyama

By |October 16th, 2012|Dare to Dream|0 Comments

Ninja Warrior is a reality-based television show where competitors from across the country attempt to successfully navigate extremely difficult obstacle courses as they progress through the competition. If competitors successfully pass the initial trial stages, they receive the right to attempt what is regarded as the most difficult obstacle course in the world, held at Mt. Midoriyama. Ninja Warrior is divided up into four stages each of which has several challenging obstacles. Every year, or occasionally every season, Mt. Midoriyama opens its gates to allow 100 athletes to try to take on its obstacle courses. Over 14 years and through twenty seven tournaments, only three individuals have ever succeeded. All other 2,697 Ninja Warrior attempts were met with bitter defeat. It’s an unforgiving competition, where one slip of the foot, or one mistimed jump or one mistake can de-rail and eliminate you. All of the hard work contestants have put in, all of the dreams they might have had … can be gone in a second.

Now I’m with you – the show’s name and the quest to become a ‘Ninja Warrior’ – well, it probably makes you roll your eyes doesn’t it !! But take a look at the calibre of athletes attempting this. Many of these athletes train all year long on self-designed obstacle courses just for the mere possibility of getting the chance to attempt Mt. Midoriyama. They invest their time, make sacrifices, and risk injury in the hopes of accomplishing what so few have successfully done.

While only three out of thousands have reached the pinnacle of success in this sport, there have likely been thousands more that failed to even make the attempt because of fear of failure or fear of embarrassment. When they fail at Ninja Warrior it is seldom gracefully … and it’s on national television !

To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. (Soren Kierkegaard)

But take the TV cameras away and isn’t it the same thing ?  … many of us would rather not attempt the obstacle course because of the high likelihood of not succeeding than have a go. And this is the point … many of us don’t dare to have a go because we want to know that we’ll be successful and achieve that goal before we even start. But that isn’t the way life works or achieving great things goes is it.

Ask anyone who has achieved anything great and they’ll tell you what the path looks like. It starts with a decision. A decision to believe and step-out even though you don’t know if you’ll achieve what you want. There are set-backs and there are disappointments along the way. It requires discipline and planning and strategy. It requires ignoring many people who find it easier to say/shout/proclaim from the sidelines that it can’t be done instead of having the guts to try it themselves. It takes developing a belief in yourself because you have to overcome not only the doubts of others, but you’re own doubts. It requires learning to ‘enjoy’ the process of the stretching and self-growth and the challenge that chasing that goal requires.

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. (Robert Kennedy)

We all have our own Mt. Midoriyama we want to conquer. It could be a character trait or an event or an experience or some other sort of goal or vision we have for our lives. So here’s a few thoughts to challenge and help you conquer your own Mt. Midoriyama.

1) Be Willing to Take Risks. Most individuals are extremely risk adverse in their approach to life. Make no mistake, whether you are attempting to achieve financial success or sporting success or some other goal, you are going to have to leave your comfort zone. For example, you can’t become a successful trader by simply doing virtual trades your whole life. And you can’t become a good sailor by staying on the shore. At some point you are going to have to take a risk.

2) Doubt doubt. Do not be surprised. Unfortunately whenever you set off on your journey to achieve great things, you will not always have the support of friends, colleagues, and even family members. Do not be naive in this regard. Not everyone will embrace your journey. There will be doubters. It is easier to knock someone else down than to do it yourself. Be prepared to ignore this negativity and create a self-belief and a self-determination.

3) Be stubborn in a good way. Along your quest to conquer your Mt. Midoriyama, you will face the cold hard reality of how much you actually want it. And the answer will be very simple – you’ll either give up or you wont. You’ll either see something as an obstacle that will stop you or a barrier to your success that needs to be overcome (because you will achieve – when is the question). You see there are far too many books out there like ‘The Secret’ that espouse the ‘believe and you can achieve’ sort of philosophy. Belief is just one part of the journey. The other half is determination, hard-work, stubborness, perseverence, desire, discipline, training, willingness to critique and learn and so on. So count the cost before you start and know that when you face obstacles on your path to success, you will no doubt face the cold hard questions. What will be your answer?

Challenge
Let me leave you with one of my favourite quotes. Hopefully it is enough to get you moving and going after what you really want, or to overcome whatever it is that is holding you back.

You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. (Wayne Gretzky)

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708, 2012

What's your story ?

By |August 7th, 2012|Dare to Dream, Uncategorized|0 Comments

So when you think of the future, what comes to mind ? What have you done ? What haven’t you done ? What are you disappointed about ? What do you regret ? What are you satisfied and happy about ? What are you proud of ? Who’s in your world in the future ? Who isn’t ?

The thing about our future is that we truly do create it. It sounds like such a cliche but it’s true. We do create our own story. It is not already mapped out for us like a treadmill we can’t get off or a book that is already written. You’re in control of your own destiny because your future  is defined by the decisions you make today. Noone forces you to make those decisions. Most certainly circumstances factor into the decisions we each make. But at the end of the day, circumstances are just a factor in this decision-making process. After all, how many stories have you heard of people rising up from poverty and from disadvantaged backgrounds to do incredible things? From Oprah Winfrey, to Obama, to Nic Vujicic (whose inspiration video I have included in a blog before), to the ‘Blade Runner’ (Oscar Pistorius), to the Iraqi rowers I watched in a videomon the plane yesterday – guys who train to compete in the Olympic Games by rowing along the Tigris River in Baghdad amidst war and at times dead bodies which float around them. Or, whilst not as extreme, what about a boy from Australia doing bobsleigh in the Olympics !

Let me share a little bit about how I view the future. I absolutely believe my best days are ahead. And I actively plan for the future I want. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy where I’m at, but I definitely think and plan and actively make decisions in order to create the tapestry of the life that I want. Here’s the proof … just today on a plane I scribbled out various things about my life right now and about how I wanted it to look in various areas and I made plans for what I would do to make this a reality.

But more than that. I also have constructed vision boards for how I want my future to look. Here’s one of them (there’s a few).

I’ve written about how powerful vision boards are in a few past blogs below and I’ve also given them a fair bit of attention in both my book and workbook.
1. Goal Setting – the magic noone gets
2. Authentic – Living the dream

They do make a difference as many will testify to. So I want to encourage you again to create your own vision board – a vision for your own future and what it will look like. They will help the dream in your head come alive and become real in your emotions. They’ll help you see, feel, smell, taste, touch your dream future more easily. To feel all the fulfilment of doing that thing you’ve always wanted; to feel the joy of your friends and family around you; to hear the laughter of your kids; to taste that beautiful dinner you just cooked for that dinner party; to smell the wood burning on that open fire; to feel healthy and fit like you desire. And so on. You get the picture. You see, this is the secret sauce that many people miss and aren’t aware of – turning your goals and hopes into a genuine emotional experience. One that arouses your emotions and changes them from mere words or hopes or desires into powerful images that you can immerse yourself in and, in so doing, will then fire up your powerful emotional circuits (the Limbic System) that will ultimately drive your behaviour. (Read chapter 5 in my book or buy my workbook if you wish to know more).

And the cool thing is that, at the same time, by constantly seeing pictures of what you want your future to look like, you will be closing the gap between what you dream and what you actually believe you can achieve. Remember that your mind doesn’t know the difference between reality and non-reality. So, by visualising your future (vision boards is just one way of doing this) you’ll suddenly find it much easier for your mind to believe you’ll achieve the dream. It won’t seem unachievable or unrealistic at all!

Challenge
So what’s your story ? What’s your future look like ? Are you encouraged by the fact that some of the best days of your life haven’t happened yet ? Remember, you’re future is in your own hands because the decisions you make today will contribute to define your future tomorrow. So what decisions will you make today ? Will be doing a vision board be one of them ?

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307, 2012

Whatever you do … make good art !

By |July 3rd, 2012|Dare to Dream, Finding your dreams|0 Comments

I’ve had a day at home today and done a few interesting things. One was to do an Instinctive Drivers questionnaire which looks at what my natural drivers, ways of thinking and methods are. Many call this someone’s ‘flow’. When it feels easy. When it feels instinctual. The other things I did is sat and listen to a commencement address by Neil Gaiman to the University of the Arts. And once again it made me think about my life and what I’m doing and where I’m heading. So here for your enjoyment is Neil’s commencement address.

I’ll let Neil speak for himself but here’s some of the things I found challenging or instructive or inspiring (my words) …

  • If you are naive or don’t know things and hence don’t know things are impossible then that’s a good thing as then it’s easier to do as you’re not bound by other people’s expectations or rules or paradigms
  • Am I settling ? Doing what I have to do before doing what I want to do ? (People like Neil and Steve Jobs sound very similar. they love what they do. It doesn’t feel like work. What is that for me ?)
  • Imagine where you want to be – like a distant mountain. As long as you are walking towards the mountain then you’re on the track and that’s OK.
  • Everyone will face the problems of disappointment, failure and disillusionment – they are part of the journey. So learning how to deal with these and get over them is part of the journey too
  • Be wise and if you can’t be wise, then pretend you are wise and do what they would do !
  • Enjoy the journey. seriously – don’t worry. Enjoy the journey.


Challenge: How does this encourage, inspire or challenge you ?

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2606, 2012

Pay the bucket list forward II

By |June 26th, 2012|Dare to Dream, Uncategorized|1 Comment

I love writing this blog as I at my core I love inspiring others. And in doing so I challenge and encourage myself to take control of my own life, to dream, to have the guts to follow those dreams and passions, to be authentic and purpose driven and to create the life I really want to live.

One of my most popular blogs has been when I wrote my bucket list. And it has inspired others to write theirs. Remember Ness’s – 30 things before 30 !!! And then Alicias bucket list. Well here’s another very incredible woman and her bucket list. I’ll let her tell you in her own words. Over to you Emma Mullings (connect with her at www.emmamullings.com).

“We have all heard of a bucket list – the things you want to do before you ‘kick the bucket’.  What a charming expression that is.

When Rollo first asked me last year if I had a bucket list I answered ‘yes’ very sheepishly, (and automatically regretted admitting to it). You see I did have a bucket list, which I had only recently created. I hadn’t told ANYONE about it because the bucket list was written out of a place of deep depression. It was literally a bucket list of things I wanted to try and do in the next few months, as I felt that was all I had left to live, my will and fight to overcome was at an all time low.  How someone can think like that is a whole different blog delving into the intricacies of depression. Ironically enough though as I started to do these things written on this ‘bucket list’ I started to get my joy back.

So here is my initial bucket list, keeping in mind I was thinking short term– written August/September last year (2011)

  • See a show at the Opera House – yes I went OPRAH but technically it was on the steps outside, I really wanted to see a show IN the Opera House.
  • Do an acting course – and be stretched as an actor
  • Act in a short film
  • Be the strongest and fittest I’ve ever been
  • Run a half marathon
  • Do a writing course
  • Start writing my book
  • Do an accent course
  • Sing more
  • Play my guitar more
  • Teach Hosannah and Jeremiah how to sing and dance (my kids, they were age 1 and 9 months at the time, I’m not really sure what I was thinking)
  • Box in a professional women’s competition

So in the next few months it’s safe to say I went wild with extra-curricular activities (as wild as 2 toddlers and a job will allow).  I saw India Arie at the Opera House; I did two acting courses and yes stretched myself to the point of nailing a screaming, crying scene.  I felt like I could have won an Academy Award for that effort.  I shot a short film and loved the character.  I did the American accent course, why? I’m still not sure, but practicing yelling at my husband “with heightened emotion” in an American accent was somehow quite entertaining for everyone.  I started writing my book, and in doing so was able to finally articulate the message I felt God has put on my heart for women.  I ran the City 2 Surf (14km), the 8km Classic, and am running a half marathon in September.  I am the strongest and fittest I’ve ever been in my life.  I officially have a six pack which I never thought was possible on my body, especially after being stretched with two babies.  I now try to always sing in the shower, something I’ve never done.  Still working on that one. My guitar still gets a bit lonely, but I’ve explained to it that my other two children require food, nurture and attention to live and it can wait until the next season.  I have taught Hosannah and Jeremiah freedom in music.  Sing anything, do any move, you are perfect just the way you are, you are FREE to enjoy creativity.  In wanting to be a good example of “Freedom” to my daughter, I can now shamelessly dance around out of time to any song in public without fear of what man thinks.  It’s awesome. I looked into the boxing comp but as I do a regular presenting segment on Channel 10, I couldn’t find a time where it was going to ok to potentially get my nose broken, so my outlet for that is doing a regular boxing class at the gym.  My husband is very relieved.  I did a writing course, which I loved, and then did an Advanced Diploma in Journalism via correspondence– something that was meant to take at least a year (I gave myself 2 years). I finished it in 4 months with straight A’s.

At the end of the day, putting things on paper is powerful, “write the vision and make it clear”; it works both ways, for the negative and positive.  I have always been a big believer in the power of words.  Our family home is decorated in declarations of Faith and Love.  Sometimes in the journey of life we have nothing “real” we can grasp, but we always have the power to put pen to paper and “write the vision”.  And we can write WHATEVER we want, no matter how wild and out of reach it may seem in the natural.  That in itself is powerful.   I can honestly say almost a year later I am in a better place mentally.  Ironically enough I found the joy in life again by completing a list I had written for my death.”

A Final Thought
Remember, who cares if tick off everything on your bucket list. It isn’t a shopping list !!!
It’s about the journey and what life you’ll lead as you look to do some of the things on your bucket list.
After all, remember, 20 years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the things you DIDN’T do than by the things you did !!!

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805, 2012

Pay the bucket list forward

By |May 8th, 2012|Dare to Dream|0 Comments

You might remember a recent post of mine that people enjoyed – my bucket list. Quite the list and quite revealing in many ways. Well, it is so exciting for me to know that that post inspired a few good friends to write theirs. So here is another blog to inspire, challenge and encourage you to write yours … to take control of your life, to dream, to be purpose driven, to think about the things you’d love to do or try and achieve, the things to do before you try.

Do you remember Ness’s – 30 things before 30 !!!

Well here’s another friends bucket list – the newly engaged Alicia Loveless’s bucket list. I’m proud of you and it is an honour to have you inspire others on my blog – http://thisbeachlife.com/2012/01/06/bucket-list/

My challenge

So write your list and post it either here or on your own blog. And in doing so you’ll be paying it forward by inspiring others to write theirs … over to you …

A Final Thought

Remember, who cares if tick off everything on your bucket list. It isn’t a shopping list !!! But what a ride you’ll have as you go about creating the mosaic of the life you dream of and doing the things you want. After all, remember, 20 years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the things you DIDN’T do than by the things you did !!!

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