304, 2012

Stress – my new worst friend

By |April 3rd, 2012|Miscellaneous|0 Comments

I met someone new recently. Someone I didn’t expect to meet and someone I didn’t want to get to know. You see unfortunately they only bring the bad and never the good. They always hold you back rather than propel you forward. So who did I meet ? … stress.

For the first time in my life I’ve been properly stressed. That is I can feel it affecting my health. And that’s not good !And making it worse was that a wise mentor in my life told me the sad, honest news … “Jeremy if you don’t learn to deal with this now then you’ve got problems because I hate to tell you but it will get worse when you add kids, a mortgage, school fees, more responsibility at work and so on and so forth.”

So, I am determined to draw the line in the sand and for this not to be an influence on my life ongoing.  So here’s some thoughts on how I’m going to do this. Maybe they will help you !

Perspective
I live in Manly / in Sydney / in Australia. I catch the jetcat to and from work. I have great friends. I get paid well. I am healthy. I have a great family. Do I really have much to complain about ? From now I’m determined to actively remember those who are far worse off than me around the world and be grateful for my blessings when I start to stress about the small things. A bit more perspective might do me the world of good.

The buffer of sport / exercise
I’ve always taken this for granted as I’ve always been exercising. I’ve always had a goal. I’ve always had an avenue to take my stress out and turn my mind off. To have something to look forward to. Something to focus on. I may have retired recently and been enjoying a rest from so much exercise after 20 years, but I’m not sure I can afford to. I need that seratonin ! 🙂 It is a buffer between stress (in this case work stress) and me. (And it will make me eat better which will also help).

Pray more
I’m a christian and my creator Jesus says “be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and he will guard your heart and MIND.” About time I did this more I reckon.

Deep breathe
Most of our breathing is so shallow which is why when we concentrate on our breath in something like a yoga class, we feel so good. So I intend to take some deep breaths more when feeling stressful. Count from 10 to 0 with each deep breath.

NLP – Emotionally disconnect
This is the hard one when you’re my personality. When I’m into something, I’m into it so the theory of just switching off is way more easily said than done. But, I am a certified NLP practitioner so I propose to start to use it in this scenario. To associate work with some humour and with good thoughts and emotions. Work isn’t worth it. See this as a time when I am going to build up my capacity for future stress. So that when those things start to bug me I can actively and consciously not let it spiral me downwards. To accept the things I can’t change and change the things I can and to have the wisdom to know the difference.

Kiss more
I cant say I’ve ever been stressed in the middle of a kiss so this must do the trick pretty well. More kissing required I think ! 🙂

Any suggestions or thoughts. I’d be very keen to hear them !!!

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2501, 2012

Australia – the lucky country !

By |January 25th, 2012|Miscellaneous|0 Comments

Tomorrow is Australia Day and once again it is an honour to be an Australia Day Ambassador.

Here’s a link to my blog post last Australia Day

http://blog.jeremyrolleston.com/?p=232

I think representing Australia has made me a prouder Aussie than I was before, but that is not to say that I wasn’t proud before. Proud of the type of people Aussie’s are; proud of our peaceful, democratic country; and proud of everything that Australia is.

So Happy Australia Day – whether you came here 40,000 years ago or 4 years ago !

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2012, 2011

Silent night, holy night

By |December 20th, 2011|Miscellaneous, Uncategorized|0 Comments

So can you believe Christmas is nearly upon us again. I know I sound like my parents, but last year seems like yesterday. As we consider Christmas this year I thought I’d introduce my first song to the blog – my favourite Christmas carol – Silent Night.

For me though, this song is far more than a beautiful voice and great imagery. It speaks of a holy night long ago in Bethlehem when a young couple, May and Joseph, trusted their father in heaven and saw the fulfillment of what had been foretold and prophesied hundreds of years before. It speaks of the birth of a king in a stable. The rest of his life we know from history.

And that same baby, Jesus, is in fact what CHRISTmas is all about. And that same baby born in that manger changed my own life around nearly 25 years ago …

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2009, 2011

Are you asking the right questions ?

By |September 20th, 2011|Miscellaneous|0 Comments

You may have heard the expression “If you ask a good question, you’ll get a good answer”. Well, with that in mind, guest blogger Tim Birch once again offers some great advice, wisdom and challenge for us around this topic. Over to you Tim …

Questions can be a powerful motivator if asked in the right way, context and by the right person…namely you!

The ability to ask the right questions of yourself when faced with challenging situations or when you require extra motivation, help you add the necessary layers of confidence that you need to propel you closer to your goals and dreams. If you’re able to ask courageous questions that cause you to then take positive action it will further reinforce your ability to achieve your desired outcome.

For example, questions are great at interrupting your thinking pattern and get you to focus on what matters. They also help filter the information in your environment; what you take notice of and what you ignore. Asking the right questions can also dramatically change the meaning you give to any experience and can cause a change in perception; ‘What can I take away from experience that will help me grow into the person I want to be?’

Here are four types of questions you can use in your own life:

1.       Questions that focus your mind on solutions and get us to consider options: ‘What are five ways to solve this?’ or ‘Who else has done this and what can I learn from them?’

2.       Questions that get us to take action: ‘What must I do right now to get the result I want?’ or ‘What is the cost to me not taking action right now?’

3.       Questions that get us to take responsibility: ‘What can I do about this situation to turn it around?’ or ‘Who can I speak to in order to achieve the desired action?’

4.       Any question that changes how we feel about an experience: ‘How can I learn from this?’ or ‘How will this make me stronger?’

Challenge: Remember, the deeper your level of self-questioning, the greater depths of self-awareness you’ll have to convert into actions. So what questions will you ask of yourself today?

‘Some men see things and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950).

ACKNOWLEGDEMENT: The context of this post was taken from an extremely well-written and powerful book, ‘How To Take Control Of Your Brain’, by George Lee Sye…well worth a read!

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809, 2011

It is more blessed to give than to receive

By |September 8th, 2011|Miscellaneous|Comments Off on It is more blessed to give than to receive

We have so much STUFF ! And so much that we don’t use or don’t need. Do we really need that extra gagdet, that extra dish or kitchen utensil, that next toy, more wine …

I have tried to start a tradition in our family at Christmas that we  don’t waste money buying each other big presents that we don’t need but instead put money in to buy someone else less fortunate a present that they will truly value. We are so blessed after all. So after reading an inspiring post of Sarah Wilson’s recently I thought I’d share a thought. Why not buy an inspired gift.

Basically, you buy a gift for someone that goes to someone else in need. A goat. Or a bike! I do this at Christmas. Do you really need another toaster ? Does someone else at the wedding need another bowl ? Are there people in serious need in the world ? Are you blessed ? … then here’s a smart, easy way to bless others. (There’s lots of organisations that do this – Unicef, Oxfam, Childfund to name a few).

Here’s a few of my  favourite gifts:

  • A Bike: $87. UNICEF has found that in some parts of the world a bike is one of the most important modes of transport for villages. It is particularly helpful for health workers to reach vulnerable children in remote communities. It is often used to transport other Inspired Gifts like the vaccine carrier.
  • Measles vaccines: $31 will protect 100 children from measles.
  • Family water kit: $127
  • Goat: Sarah tells the hilarious story of wondering how the goat she and her family gave at Christmas was going and of writing “sponsor letter” from the goat and posteding it six months later…”thank you for my life, milking time is always fun”…). Hilarious !

Here’s what others’ gift-giving antics delivered around the world last year:

So my challenge today … consider giving an inspired gift. After all, it is more blessed to give than receive and in any case … the fragrance of the rose always stays in the hand of the giver !!!

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208, 2011

Driven by the pot of gold !

By |August 2nd, 2011|A Life That Counts, Miscellaneous, Motivation|0 Comments

This is an extremely interesting video because it speaks of a couple of themes that I wrote about in my book ‘A life That Counts’.

  • Purpose Driven – each of us is unique. There is no one like us in the entire world. We have unique talents, characteristics, personality and make-up. And that is foundational for us to believe we have been designed for a purpose. Every one of us has an inkling that we were born for something bigger. And that drives us as much as chasing the pot of gold and being driven by money.
  • Deep Motivation – I have written before about how we are not driven solely by our words and thoughts. That emotions and feelings play a significant role. In fact, our emotions are our strongest, most powerful driver, and often drive us in unconscious ways, well before we are consciously aware of it. eg You don’t need to think about being hungry or tired or scared or embarrassed. These just happen unconsciously and it affects our emotions and our physiology. What this means is that our emotions (our heart) are our primary driver of motivation. This is reflected in deep passion as opposed to conscious motivation (trying to talk yourself into being motivated). That is where the expression comes from – ‘the heart is the strongest muscle in the body’. So never forget that we are driven more by our emotions than by anything conscious. (Knowing your ‘why’ and your purpose are reflections of this).  With that in mind, is it such a surprise what this video talks about ? is it such a surprise that the carrot (eg money) or the stick (eg sacking) that most employers try to drive us with are not as effective as they might otherwise think ?
  • Making a difference – we all have a deep seated desire to make a difference in this world. To leave a legacy. To help others.  To live a purposeful and significant life above our own. To live a life that counts ! This is not so surprising. So let’s embrace it and make a difference. For surely the world needs it. And after all – a waterfall starts with a raindrop. Every little bit helps. Be the difference you want to see in the world and let that reflect in your personal world as well as in how that translates into your business world with your staff / colleagues / how you do business.

Fire up and have a great week !

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2607, 2011

The Peru Bull Fight

By |July 26th, 2011|Miscellaneous|0 Comments

Today’s blog is a little lighter. A bit of humour for you. Can you believe this. The things we do for fun hey !

Hope you’re smiling and have a great day.

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1207, 2011

Here's to the crazy ones !

By |July 12th, 2011|Miscellaneous|0 Comments

apple ad think different 2

This video is interesting because it speaks of a number of things …

  • It speaks of knowing and finding the core, authentic you. That unique person that you were created to be, with your own interests, characteristics, talents, personality traits. After all, never forget, there is no one like you in the entire world. You are completely unique. Fashioned for a purpose. It is just up to you to find out what that is.
  • It speaks of never being afraid to be different. Of not being conformed and constrained by the limits that society places on us. The ‘should do’s’ and the ‘shouldn’t do’s’ that we’re bombarded with. The limiting mindsets and opinions that others like to place on us. The conventional thinking and the herd mentality that we so easily adopt.
  • It speaks of the process of initiating and inventing and creating. And it reminds me of the process of adopting change (Rogers model for the adoption of innovations) where at first people say that is crazy and ridiculous and then they sceptically try it out, before the majority finally adopt it and come to believe what the early adopters and investors said in the first place but were ridiculed for. Think about Bill Gates or ipads or iphones.
  • And it also speaks about how ‘Apple’ were positioning themselves in their advertising. They knew they were branding themselves as different thinkers. As being different. Speaking to early adopters. They knew their brand was about innovation and new and different. They knew ‘why’ they did what they did and ads like this merely brought this view to life. Very clever. Very effective.

Be inspired and be you ! The world needs it.

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2601, 2011

Skippy the bush Kangaroo ! !

By |January 26th, 2011|Miscellaneous, Uncategorized|1 Comment

Today is Australia Day and we celebrate everything Australian.

And today I am an official Ambassador for Australia Day – an honour I gladly and whole-heartedly accept. I am truly and proudly Australian !

Today in Camden’s celebrations in the south-west of Sydney I will be giving a speech on what it means to be Australian. So I thought I’d tell you some of the things that being an Aussie means to me. No order. just thoughts on Australia Day.

Sun and beaches. Skippy the bush Kangaroo hat’s that skip … ? Jumping under the sprinkler as kids. Icypoles. Ovaltines. Voilet Crumble. Stubborn and proud people. A peaceful country. Long summer afternoons. A sunburnt country. Driza-bones. The Man from Snowy River and amazing horsemen surviving in the bush, droving, catching brumbies. Kangaroos. Koalas. Platypus. Wombats. Bilby. Emus. Crocodiles. Many venomous snakes. Sharks. Red dirt. Uluru. Beautiful black smiling faces of the traditional people of our land – the Aborigines. A young country. A country more capable than people may know (as people saw during the Sydney Olympics). great sportspeople and a strong and successful sporting heritage. A great mix between the traditions of England and the Commonwealth and the conveniences of the US, without being too much of either way. Friendly, easy going and happy go lucky people. Mateship. People like Aussies around the world. What you see is what you get. Uncomplicated people. Musk sticks and mixed lollies at the milkbar. Multi-cultural country. We hate politicians. Drought. Paul Hogan. Cricket and Aussie Rules. Surf life-saving. Farmers doing it tough yet they are in many ways the salt of the earth and the backbone of this country. The Opera House and beautitful Sydney Harbour. Fire works on New Years Eve off the Sydney Harbour bridge. The sound of lawnmovers during summer. Suntan cream and endlessly applying it. Vegemite. The boxing kangaroo. Lamingtons. Green cordial. We call them mountains but by any other countries standards they are hills. Driving a long way to the snow and hoping there is even snow. Lots of long plane trips to get anywhere. Flying in to Sydney – nothing beats that view. Amazing gorges in the the Northern Territory – waterfalls and waterholes. Swimming and splashing in waterholes and pools and dams and bores around the country. A convict heritage – of prisoners in a penal colony doing hard labour and forging a new life in an unknown hard land. The great southern land – and we like being so far away.

Ahhh – Australia. My home. Happy Australia Day

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2012, 2010

Santa Klaus, Jesus and tears

By |December 20th, 2010|Miscellaneous|0 Comments

Have a watch of this video. I dare you not to be moved.

And now that you’ve watched it take a minute to ponder the following at this special time of year:

  • People will forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel
  • The best things in life really are free
  • There is no substitute for love in this world. At the heart of everything, that is what we crave
  • Give thanks for those in your life who love you and those you love
  • Will Santa Klaus bring you this or do you think we get carried away by the commercialisation of Christmas and forget what really counts
  • How is it that we forget the CHRIST in CHRISTmas. For he came, a king born in a lowly manger, to live humbly as a human and then to die a excruciating death nailed, whipped, bleeding and hanging to a cross … the real present of Christmas we celebrate – “For so God so LOVED the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16)

Have a blessed and Merry Christmas everybody.

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