2510, 2011

Tell me I can no longer fly – I want you to !

By |October 25th, 2011|Belief, Dare to Dream|0 Comments

Michael Jordan is one of my heroes. Not only because he is the most famous and incredible basketballer to have ever walked the planet, but also because in many ways he epitomises everything a great sportsperson (and indeed successful person) represents. Sure he is mentally tough. Sure he is talented. But he also worked extremely hard for it. It was not given to him on a silver platter. He earned every success he had.

Remember when he made a comeback to the NBA in 1995 after pursuing baseball. Everyone doubted he would be as good … well after leading Chicago to another 3 more NBA championships (96,97,98) I expect they were silenced. Then after retiring a 2nd time in 1999 he unexpectedly made a comeback to play for the Washington Wizards frpom 2001 to 2003. Again, people doubted he’s be up to it. Again, he proved them wrong.

Michael Jordan you inspire me … you inspire me to define my own path and not let others define what is possible for me or what I will do or wont do. To use your own quote “Limits, like fears, are often an illusion”.

And to add a personal touch to it, here’s the actual sign I had on my wall in my room in the Olympic Village in 2006 when I made my first Olympics and equalled the Australian record. I also had this made into a sticker and it sat in the bottom of my sled so I would see it just before I raced off the top. Inspired by people like Michael Jordan – impossible is nothing.

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1810, 2011

An inspired and passionate rat in the ratrace or not a rat at all ? …

By |October 18th, 2011|A Life That Counts, Dare to Dream, Passion|0 Comments

When I was writing my book I interviewed 10 famous and successful Australians. And it was confronting.

These people include the likes of Dick Smith, Gai Waterhouse, Louise Sauvage, James Tomkins, Lydia Lassila, Alexandra Croak, Matthew Burke, Matt Shirvington, Jason Stevens and Michael Milton. They are Australians of the Year, Olympic and Paralympic Gold medallists, World Champions, household names. I wanted to get behind the scenes – to find out what makes them tick. Why are they successful ? Why do they make the decisions they do ? How did they confront and conquer disappointment and obstacles ? What ha they learnt and what was their advice after their own journey’s and the success that came with it.

But the thing that struck me was that they were all PASSIONATE about what they did. They loved it. They would have probably done it anyway. There I was at 4:30am in the morning standing next to Gai Waterhouse at Randwick racecourse and she was as chipper and friendly as I imagined her to be. She loved being a horse trainer and the challenge of making a horse run fast. She loved conversing with the jockeys. The old experienced ones. The young 16 year old apprentices that she ‘mothered’. She loved talking to the owners. She loved running a business and all that that entailed. She loved racedays and the glamour that came with that as much as the early hours that noone saw. And then there was Dick Smith. He loved adventuring. He made money to facilitate this. He was happiest out in the Blue Mountains bushwalking or flying a helicopter and exploring. Matthew Burke – he loved sport. he loved the challenge of reaching of his potential and of being the best he could be. He loved touring. he loved being in a team sport with good mates who he had fun with and with whom he battled with whilst representing his country.

It was very confronting for me. Why ? because I was trying to figure out what ‘thing’ I was truly passionate about. There was no one thing. And it irked me. I wanted it to be easier – to know what that one thing was and pursue it with all my heart. To not just settle for doing something because it was easy or because the money was good or because that was what I’d done in the past. I think I’ve now figured out that for me there is no ‘one’ thing – I love life and I want to live an amazing life with everything that goes into that melting pot.

So what that in mind, whether it is ‘one’ thing or many – the challenge is still the same – the challenge of this bill board. May it inspire you to follow you heart. For remember there are many things that will capture your attention, but very few things that will capture your heart. Pursue those !

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1110, 2011

The biggest legacy Steve Jobs left wasn’t the mac / ipod / iphone …

By |October 11th, 2011|Dare to Dream, Finding your dreams, Life lessons|0 Comments

RIP Steve Jobs. An amazing man. An entrepreneur. A visionary. The founder of Apple and Pixar and Next. A man who changed the world as we know it. But more than that. A great human being. A family man. A man who did what he loved.

Watch this video – his commencement address at Stanford University. There is no need to say anymore. What he says in this is the biggest legacy / lesson he could leave us – far more than the Apple Mac computer, the ipod, the iphone etc.

“I love what I do … You’ve got to find what you love … if you haven’t found it yet, keep looking and don’t settle. And as with all matters of the heart, you’ll know it when you find it !”

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve encoutered to make the big choices in life … the best way of avoiding the thinking that you have something to lose.”

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2709, 2011

30 things before 30 !!!

By |September 27th, 2011|A Life That Counts, Dare to Dream|2 Comments

I was out celebrating a good friends birthday the other night and we got to talking about one of my most popular blogs – my bucket list ! I’d just ticked something off it – getting my first ever tube surfing. My friend Vanessa had just had the idea to write her own version of a bucket list – 30 things to do before she’s 30 !

My challenge to Ness was to write her list and put it out there in the public space on my blog for all to see  – to inspire others but also make herself accountable to it by doing so. So … over to you Ness … I’m proud of you and it’s an honour to have this on my blog …

“Often we have great intensions and goals for ourselves, yet they tend to go unrealised when juggling life’s web of professional and social commitments.

Since the age of 9, I have always kept a journal and have often penned lists of goals I have wanted to achieve for myself – namely in the cooking (I’m terrible) and fitness department.

Having recently celebrated my 29th Birthday, I have decided to set the personal challenge of achieving 30 goals before I turn 30!

While being limited by finances (please refer to Goal 18) many of my goals have repeatedly featured in a number of my journals over the years…I am hoping by putting my list out into the public domain, this will be the ignition I need to achieve many long-outstanding personal goals and interests.

So without further ado – here’s to a cracking 29th year!

1.     Go camping for the first time in my life – yeeeha!

2.     Run a half marathon

3.     Take cooking classes to improve skills and confidence in the old kitchen

4.     Cook and host a three-course dinner party for ten (shivers…)

5.     Take up paddle boarding and tennis

6.     Write a letter once a fortnight to a close friend or rello

7.     Be the fittest and healthiest I have ever been – including doing at least 30 mins of exercise every day

8.     Return to Cambodia with Tim

9.     Change all four tyres on my car, oil and air filter (never been attempted)

10. Read 15 books, starting with Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities”

11. Book a weekend away with Tim and close friends and absolutely indulge in good wine, cheese and their fabulous company

12. Learn to scuba dive

13. Complete an artwork that I’d been happy to hang on our lounge room wall

14. Drive the Great Ocean Road

15. Proudly stand by my sister as she marries her best friend & life partner

16. Accept that every day I am doing my best  – be calm, breathe and be aware that God’s work is at hand

17. Go to church regularly

18. Be in a position to purchase a home for the Birch family

19. Volunteer once a month (Streetlevel, with kids or oldies)

20. Be more aware and alert of my environmental impact and make smart choices regarding the products I purchase & consume

21. Do a public speaking course and speak in front of 100 + people

22. Get in the car and just drive away for the weekend, no plans, just go on a road trip to the great unknown (possibly tie in with No.1)

23. Plant a herb garden and enjoy the fruits of my labour (extremely poor track record)

24.  Learn how to play a song on the guitar

25. Complete our 2009 Honeymoon coffee table book / album

26.  Once a month see Sydney through the eyes of a tourist and get out & about on small adventures (art galleries, exhibitions, free festivals)

27. Stop biting my fingernails once and for all!

28. Stand up on a surf board and attempt to ride a wave

29. Always be open to give of my time, support and finances to those in need

30.  Host a kick arse 30th Birthday Party!

A Final Thought
I trust you’re inspired and those creative juices are flowing for your own list. And here’s the thing with going after your dreams. Let’s say Vanessa ticks off only 20 of the things on her ‘bucket’ list and not all 30. Does it matter ? Isn’t she better off regardless ? Hasn’t she had one hell of a ride doing them ? Hasn’t it led to her having an adventurous and purposeful year doing the things she loves and has always wanted to do ?
It’s the same with your own dreams. Twenty years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the things you DIDN’T do than by the things you did. So go after them and approach life in the same manner – without regret.
You’re better off regardless, you live life without regret, and heck … what if they come true ?

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1705, 2011

My bucket list – things to do before I die

By |May 17th, 2011|Dare to Dream|4 Comments

I love inspiring people and one of the reasons I love inspiring people is that it forces me (in a good way) to be living what I’m speaking. To follow my dreams too so it is never a case of ‘do as I say / write and not as I do’. To date I feel so grateful that I can say I really have followed my dreams and I don’t sit here with any regrets. I wish there were 36 hours in every day or that I could have my twenties again because I would happily have pursued some other paths I know I would have also enjoyed. But honestly – it has been a great, rewarding and satisfying journey TO DATE. I want to die in a huff. To be ashes rather than dust. To live an incredible life without regret, to make a difference and to live a life that inspires others.

So with that in mind, here’s an ever evolving list of things to do before I die … my bucket list …

  1. visit every continent
  2. write a book
  3. become a lifeguard
  4. speak in front of more than 10,000 people
  5. become an Olympian and compete at the Olympics
  6. learn to play guitar
  7. go sea-kayaking through some of the south pacific islands
  8. learn to fly a helicopter
  9. drive and navigate around non-english speaking countries. Arrive in a country without knowing where to stay and figure it out.
  10. own my own horse and totally bond with it in natural horsemanship ways
  11. get a tube whilst surfing
  12. put my feet in every ocean
  13. Meet the woman of my dreams. Exceedingly, abundantly, more than I can ever ask or imagine. My soul mate. My best friend.
  14. feel half confident in the kitchen and even enjoy cooking
  15. be as fit as someone ten years my junior. Continue to do so.
  16. live in another country where English isn’t the first language
  17. Speak another language fluently
  18. Travel to a 3rd world country and visit projects that I know I have instigated in my philanthropic/charity based executive role. Know that I am making a massive difference in their lives. Stop, enjoy and be satisfied and content.
  19. Do an annual holiday with friends
  20. spent more time with grandma
  21. host a dinner party with some amazing people invited eg the likes of Nelson Mandella, Anthony Robbins, people that absolutely inspire me.
  22. Live in a ski resort and do a ski-season
  23. Feel like I’m one of those few that is actually living my dream. Not conformed by what society tells you you should do. Construct my own life.
  24. be a professional sportsman
  25. say grace at the table with my own family
  26. take more photos
  27. institute the jeremy rolleston cocktail half hour / jeremy rolleston date night
  28. live such an amazing, inspiring and influential life that they make a ‘This is Your Life’ about me.
  29. See someone get a cataract operation that I have paid for and go in blind and come out seeing !
  30. Run a 1 day seminar that is packed out and people get a lot out of and is successful (as measured by their response)
  31. Do something that people thought was absolutely left field and impossible for me to do and do it successfully – The Propeller Fashion Show
  32. Do a dirtbike trip with mates.
  33. So a surfing trip with mates.
  34. Get an incredible mentor in my life
  35. Get a massage every week
  36. Have a very random conversation to an old person in a pub, hear their story and realise they are amazing and that it was my privilege to have that conversation

Stay tuned !

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1904, 2011

A whole life context – an exercise for you

By |April 19th, 2011|Dare to Dream|0 Comments

It is said that most people spend more time planning a holiday than they do planning their year or the life they want to create. You don’t turn up at the airport and ‘hope’ your holiday will work out – with no passport, no destination and no money. Yet people often turn up to life with exactly that attitude … so here is an exercise to take a step back and think about your life.

Think of your life as a wheel that has many spokes.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (whereby 1 means ‘Not at all satisfied’ and 10 means ‘Completely satisfied’) rank each area of your life and then start to write down how you want that area to be / look / feel / be experienced. Write down your dreams for those areas. Remember to think big and without limitation.

As an interesting side note, in 2004, The Wall Street Journal published the results of a survey on happiness that found that the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans, on a scale of 1.0 to 7.0, rate their life satisfaction at 5.8. The interesting bit – the Inuit people of northernGreenland and the cattle-herding Masai people of Kenya rated themselves the same as the 400 richest Americans in a similar rating of happiness, despite the fact that their lifestyle in all ways is pretty removed from the lifestyle of the Forbes 400. Hmmmm – interesting isn’t it !

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503, 2011

Say no to ‘no’

By |March 5th, 2011|Dare to Dream, Destiny|0 Comments

Remember when you were a kid? What did you dream of ? “One day when I grow up I’m going to ….”

Remember when you were in primary school ? Remember meeting or watching someone on TV that inspired you ? “I’m going to be just like them when I grow up …”

Remember when you were at highschool ? Remember truly discovering and exploring your talents and passions. “One day I want to … I’m going to …”

BUT,

Remember you parents or brothers or sisters or teacher or coach who said “You couldn’t do that !” “Why would you want to do that ?” “You can’t earn a living from that. Get a real job” “Not everyone can do that. What makes you think you can do that ? You’re to …” “Forget it and get your head out of the clouds” and so on.

The thing is, there will always be someone to tell you that you can’t do something. And even more than that, they may even be saying it with your best interests in mind (according to them and as funny as that seems). There are always more pessimists than optomists. It is easy to criticise. It is safer to say something can’t be done. There are always people who want to project their limiting mindsets onto you.

But, at some point, YOU need to make a CONSCIOUS DECISION to ignore them. To go your own way. To follow your own heart. To back yourself. To not be limited by others. To say yes to yoruself and what you want to go after. To say NO to ‘NO’.

Of course when you follow your dreams, there needs to be an alignment of skills and talents (ie Australian Idol). And certainly there needs to be wisdom with how this works in with the rest of your life . And certainly there is a lot of hardwork, perseverence, determination and commitment that comes along with it. But it starts, with exactly what this video talks about. it starts with unlimited thinking and a conscious decision to not only face your own fears, but more often than not, to not let other people define your future. SAY NO TO ‘NO’.

Is there some area or some dream or someone or some  situation in which you need to decide to SAY NO to ‘NO’ ?

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2311, 2010

Authentic – living the dream

By |November 23rd, 2010|Dare to Dream|0 Comments

I was at a workshop last week and we spent a lot of time discussing our core self and the authentic life that we wanted to live. Here was a definition we came up with for living an authentic life.

“Authenticity is the courage to live life on your own terms, and the actions that must occur to achieve that dream”

We speak so much (including myself) about goal-setting and achieving our goals. But I think sometimes we forget the order of things. The goals are the means to the end, not the end in themselves. The end game is to live the life we dream of, whatever that might be and however that looks. It will be different for every person. And in fact I would go one step further than that. Achieving our goals – living our dream life – even that can become a bit mechanical and a drudgery or meaningless unless it is attached to a higher purpose.

But back to living an authentic life and living the life we dream. How many people do you know living it ?

Challenge – To construct your ideal life it is useful to consider your ideal average day. What is your ideal average day ? Write it down …

Here’s part of mine to get you started …

I get up early without feeling tired. Morning is the best part of the day. I go for a jog or walk along the beach. I come back and have breakfast and head off to work. I spend a few hours at my desk, organising, sending emails, taking and making phonecalls, checking the passive income that is coming into my account. I have a couple of meetings with like-minded people who inspire me and are doing great things in their worlds and making a difference. I have lunch with friends or colleagues or I go to the gym. The afternoon differs. It may be coaching. It may be meetings. It may be exercise. It may be doing something else fun. It may be planning the next adventure or project. I have the freedom to do this and no financial pressure. I get home from work in good time so I have time for my wife and family. We share. We laugh. We have fun. We couldn’t think of anywhere else to be ….


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2809, 2010

Write the Future

By |September 28th, 2010|Action, Dare to Dream, Destiny|0 Comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idLG6jh23yE

Because of circumstance and past decisions we often feel like our future is defined and mapped out for us. We feel almost trapped.

And equally, one of the myths we believe is that we are entitled to a great life. That someone else is responsible for filling our lives with happiness and fulfillment. We tend to blame something external or someone aside from ourselves for the things we don’t like about our lives. And we create excuses or come up with various reasons why something didn’t happen or why we can’t be or can’t do or can’t have what we want in our lives.

The truth is that there is only one person responsible for your life and that is you. If you want to follow your dreams, if you want to achieve your goals, if you want to be successful then you must take 100% responsibility for everything in your life – your relationships, your finances, your achievements, your levels of happiness, your feelings – everything !  One of the best days of your life is the one in which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses or denials. Relying on no-one. Leaning on on-one. Blaming no-one. Just you taking responsibility for your life, your happiness, your dreams and your future.

You can write your own future … it truly is an open book with the pages yet to be written … I wonder what they’ll say …

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2108, 2010

But I don't know what my dreams are ?

By |August 21st, 2010|Dare to Dream, Finding your dreams|6 Comments

There are so many books, songs, articles, blogs, websites that encourage us to go after our dreams. I absolutely agree.

But what if you don’t have any particular dreams ? What if you don’t know what they are ?

In this blog I want to give you a whole series of questions that you can use to think and ponder on to help you discover those dreams and passions inside of you. Use these to scribble. To write. To brainstorm. To dairise. To journal. To think on. And remember that dreams evolve and grow. They are not always  clear from the start. Like a little spark you discover them and then as you pursue them they will either grow or die out. And the ones you want to follow are those ones that gorw and grow. They excite you and energise you as you think about them and as you take step after step to follow them.

o      Who am I ?

  • I spend a lot of time thinking about ?
  • If I could be anyone I would be ?
  • I love myself when I ?
  • I am happiest when I ?
  • My greatest talent is ?
  • My strengths are ? Or if this is difficult – my friends and family would describe my biggest strengths as … ?
  • My weaknesses are ? Or if this is difficult – my friends and family would describe my biggest weaknesses as … ?
  • I am most confident when ?
  • I would like to become ?
  • The 3 things I like most and least about myself are ?

o      What do I like ?

  • If I could do any job I would ?
  • If I was free to do anything I would ?
  • I love doing ?
  • What do you do that you find easy and would be happy doing all of the time ?
  • If the doctors told you that you had only a year to live how would you shape your life ?
  • What am I good at ? (there should still be a matching of talents to desires)
  • The three people I admire and respect the most are ? Why ?

o      What do I want ?

  • When I was growing up I wanted to be ?
  • My dreams as a child were ?
  • I want to start ?
  • I want to tell the world that ?
  • I will never ?
  • What excites me is ?
  • What would make you most excited to wake up in the morning to another day ?
  • I want my life to ?
  • Name 1) one place to visit 2) One thing to do before you die 3) one thing to do daily 4) one thing you’ve always wanted to learn

o      My greatest moments of joy and fulfillment in my life so far have been …

o      What would you do if there was no way you could fail ? If you were ten times smarter than the rest of the world ? (Don’t judge or fool yourself. Be honest and play like a child. Do not limit yourself. The time for getting ‘realistic’ is not here. This is a time for reversing repression and discovering those things deep down in your heart and soul.

o     What would you do, day to day, if you had $100 million in the bank ?

o     What would you do if you were told that you were going to die next year ?

o     How would you change the way you lived NOW if you were told that you could never retire


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