510, 2010

Voices in your head and motivation

By |October 5th, 2010|Action, Motivation|0 Comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEEpn115eQE

Everyone talks about motivation but very few talk about what it is and where it comes from.

This ad shows what it is. It is those deep things in your mind and in your heart that drive you. Those things you think about. And most importantly they are those things that move you emotionally.

You see, let me explain something every quickly to you about your brain. In your brain, the unconscious brain modules (the limbic system) drive your behaviour way before the conscious brain modules (frontal lobes) get involved. They are our strong base, emotional drivers. Why we are attracted to someone. Fight or flight. Fear. Sex-drive. Hunger. We don’t think about these things. They just happen unconsciously. Well before we think about them consciously.

So when something moves you emotionally it is a strong force. That is why one person who has a deep down dream to go to the Olympics and taps into that emotion finds it way easier to get up early and train whereas the person who is tapping into nothing in particular finds it very hard to do the same thing. The difference – a dream. But really – the difference is in motivation. And why is there a difference in motivation ? Because one person is tapping in to those strong thoughts, feelings and emotions that drive them in a positive way.

When people love what they do they rarely seem to lack motivation do they ? So … find what you love. Tap into what you care about an think about ? Channel those deep emotions and let them drive you. Then, your motivation will be powerful and not jsut the conscious positive thoughts that fade easily enough.

Read More
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 …

Read More
2109, 2010

Running the long road

By |September 21st, 2010|Perseverence|1 Comment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQCY1zPbIZs

This ad speaks of perseverence. Of keeping going when it just feels like hard work. Of picking yourself up again. Of keeping focussed on where you want to go and who you want to be and on what you want to achieve. And I am personally walking that journey at the moment too !

Perseverance is stubbornness with a purpose. It means more than trying. It means more than working hard. It is a willingness to bind yourself emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually to an idea or task until it has been completed. Perseverance demands a lot. It means succeeding because you are determined to, not because you’re destined to. This is important because if you want your dreams to come to pass they wont just happen. To achieve them will inevitably require perseverance.

And if you think about it, perseverance doesn’t really come into play until you are tired and close to giving up. When you’re fresh, excited and energetic, you approach your goals with vigour. But when you’re tired, when you’re over it, when you can’t see how things are going to work, when the obstacles seem insurmountable, when you’re disappointed, when you feel like quitting and when your dream still seems a long way off … that is when you need perseverance !

What highly successful person do you know who gave up ? How many people do you know who have been richly rewarded for quitting ? The greatest achievers don’t sit back and wait for success because they think they deserve it. They keep moving forward and persevere because they are determined to do so. I could give lots of examples here, but let me give you just one – Walt Disney

Walt Disney supposedly had his loan request rejected by 301 banks before he finally got a yes. The loan he received allowed him to build Disneyland, the first and most famous theme park in history. That’s perseverence. And as if that wasn’t enough, Disney also struggled to release some of his now-classic films. He was told ‘Mickey Mouse ‘would fail because the mouse would “terrify women.” Distributors rejected ‘The Three Little Pigs’, saying it needed more characters. ‘Pinocchio’ was shut down during production and Walt Disney had to rewrite the entire storyline. In 1944, at the suggestion of his daughter, Disney tried to adapt the Pamela Travers novel Mary Poppins into a film. However, the author Travers had absolutely no interest in selling Mary Poppins to Hollywood. To win her over, Disney visited Travers at her England home repeatedly for the next 16 years. After more than a decade-and-a-half of persuasion, Travers was overcome by Disney’s charm and vision for the film, and finally gave him permission to bring Mary Poppins to the big screen. The result is a timeless classic.

Wow ! Now that’s perseverence.

So my challenge today …

In what area do you need to remind yourself of the end goal and to keep on walking / running one step and one day at a time towards it ?

Read More
2808, 2010

Destiny

By |August 28th, 2010|Destiny|0 Comments

I love this video because so often we only hear half of the story of following your dreams.

You see there is a myth about highly successful people– it’s that they are simply born highly talented. The truth is, you may be talented, but no-one reaches their potential unless they are willing to work hard to get there. Do you know that only four Wimbledon boys champions in the last 60 years have ever gone on to win the Men’s title in their career (Federer, Borg, Edberg, Cash) and only three girls champions have developed into Women’s champions (Mauresmo, Hingis, Haydon). Did you know that more than 50% of millionaire entrepreneurs never finished college (Robert J. Kreiegel and Louis Patler, If it Aint Broke … Break it ! ). There are no shortcuts to success and anything worthwhile.

You see our dreams very quickly turn into hardwork, commitment, perseverence, diligence, mental touchness, sacrifices, chices and so on. And the thing is, when most people think of hard work, they would rather (and in most cases naturally) take the easy path. Getting fit without exercising. Losing weight without watching their eating. Cultivating good healthy relationships without putting in effort to make them so. Playing a musical instrument well without practising.

Muhammad Ali is quoted as saying “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 on those lights.”

Winners do not shy away from hard work. In any arena and facet of life. Not just sport. In fact they embrace it. They train harder and dig deeper than others. They learn to derive satisfaction and pleasure from doing things well in the face of something that is hard. They welcome an environment that is stimulating, challenging and demanding. They learn to enjoy the process and the process inevitably includes hard work.

So whilst I firmly believe we should all Dare to Dream and follow our dreams … that is only half the story.

Destiny doesn’t decide your success. YOU do.

My challenge – What are you going to do to make it happen ?

Read More
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


Read More
1408, 2010

All bets are off !

By |August 14th, 2010|Dare to Dream, Passion|0 Comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkBOI4lNfYs

Life is a funny thing isn’t it. Often it is unpredicatble. It doesn’t make sense. It isn’t all scripted and set in place. But isn’t that the thing that is exciting. WE can make our life whatever we want it to be.

And here is the point. YOU DECIDE YOUR DESTINY. Noone else. Not your friends. Not your schooling. Not your background. Not your parents. Not just your talents and abilities. Not money. Not your circumstances. You are 100% responsible for your own life and it isn’t scripted. Regardless of what anybody tells you. Regardless of the statistics. Regardless of the experts. You don’t have to be limited by someone else’s expectations. It is always impossible until it is done. People will happily tell you that you can’t do something or you shouldn’t but when you do … well, I never see them running to tell me ‘You know what, you were right !’. And in any case … who says you can’t ?

So forget other people. Pursue your passions. Determine how you want your life to be and follow YOUR dreams. Make your life what you want to be for in life just as in sport .. ALL BETS ARE OFF !

My challenge … think about something you really dream of doing and now think … WHY instead of WHY not ? … and from that place … well let the rest be history …

Read More
708, 2010

The Game

By |August 7th, 2010|Money|0 Comments

How many seminars are there on getting wealthy ? How many books on the way to become a millionaire ? How many times have we said to ourselves “If only I had more money !” ?

And as a result most people work with the following goal in mind: “I’ll just work until I have X dollars and then I’ll do what I want.”

The problem with this as I see it in two-fold …

  1. Do we really want to BE millionaires. Or do we actually just want what their millions can buy. Holidays. Butlers. Exotic travel. Perhaps a massage on the deck whilst you listen to waves lapping against the  timber posts of your thatched-roof bungalow. It all sounds good doesn’t it ! The fantasy isn’t the $1,000,000 in the bank – isn’t it the lfestyle of complete freedom it supposedly allows. Isn’t the aim to create freedom of time and place so you can do whatever YOU want. Rather than more, don’t we want more quality and less clutter. Don’t we want freedom from doing what we don’t like and the ability to pursue our dreams without reverting to work for work’s sake ?
  2. Do we actually know what X is ? If we don’t define the “what I want” activities the X figure just increases indefinitely to avoid the fear-inducing uncertainty of this void we live it. And will X be enough anyway when even $1,000,000 is not very much in a world where traditional retirement could span 30 years and inflation lowers your purchasing power 2-4% per year.

Our solution to date has been to resign ourselves to 9 – 5 (and more usually) drudgery in exchange for (sometimes) relaxing weekends and the occasional keep-it-short-or-get-fired vacation. The life of a lemming. The blind quest for cash. An all-consuming routine which conveniently stops us from having the time to consider our dreams and consider how pointless the routine of the money wheel is. We sacrifice the most physically capable years of out life for the retirement solution way down the track. Deep down we know it is an illusion, but with everyone participating in the same game it’s easy to forget what the real game is. Do we really want to be those people 20 years ahead of us with the

The real game is more than money. So what do you WANT ? Freedom and excitement I’m guessing. But what does that mean  ? Define it. What would excite you ? What does freedom mean for you ?

Ponder this and start by realising that the real game is far more than money.

Read More
3107, 2010

By inches

By |July 31st, 2010|Action, Motivation, Perseverence|0 Comments

This is such a well known speech. Al Pacino in the movie ‘Any Given Sunday’. He is talking about teamwork but when he talks about inches you know what I get from this …

Inches means small steps. Inches means spectacular achievements are often preceeded by unspectacular preparation. Inches means the little things inevitably add up to the big things. Inches means being faithful in the little things and in the space and season of your life where you are at now. Doing that well right now so that it prepares you for what is ahead. Inches means the big dreams come down to small goals being achieved and small accomplishments adding up.

And to me inches also speaks of PERSEVERENCE. Inches speaks of not giving up and not letting life push you backwards. Inches speaks of trying and trying again. Even if you fail and things don’t work out how you want. Fail again. Fail better. Persevere. Because we all know of the many amazing things that people have achieved as they have kept on going when everything around them seemed to pint to giving up. JK Rowling. Walt Disney. Hannibal. Christopher Columbus. Webster. Thomas Edison. Abraham Lincoln. Richard Branson and so on and so on.

So don’t despise small beginnings or small steps. A big journey starts with a small step and is made up of many little journey’s … many inches.

What is your next inch ?

Read More
2407, 2010

Mr or Mrs Incredible

By |July 24th, 2010|Dare to Dream|1 Comment

Do you remember the dreams you had as a kid? How you were going to conquer the world? How your life was going to be filled with amazing experiences and adventures?

Don’t you find it funny that when you’re a child and you say you want to be an astronaut, your parents tell you that you can be anything you want to be. It’s harmless. Like telling a child that Santa Claus exists.

But when you’re 25 and you tell people you are going to leave work to do x, y or z or when you tell them you want to start to be a x,y or z … the response is different. “Be realistic”. “That is not practical”. “You SHOULD do …. ” And all these comments lead to the same end – you end up doing the things you felt you should do and that in some way force you to compromise those dreams?

  • What if you didn’t have to live each day feeling like you’ve made a compromise?
  • What if you actually did what you wanted and dreamt of ?
  • What if you didn’t have to feel like you were missing out ever again?
  • How has being “realistic” or “responsible” kept you from the life you want ?
  • How has doing what you “should” resulted in experiences or regrets for not having done something else ?

I believe it starts with a decision. A decision to actually DARE to Dream.  Absolutely, there is wisdom involved and strategy and planning. And absolutely dreams turn very fast into hardwork and diligence and commitment. But this is a mindset. A paradigm. A point of view. And that is the challenge. We think that doing what we love and dream of is mutually exclusive and inconsistent with everything else in our lives – our responsibilities, various financial considerations and so on and so forth. But yet we read plenty of people pursing their passion and making a great living out of it and having the freedom of choice we all want. So it can be done.

So Mr or Mrs Incredible … the challenge is there … and it starts by DARING to dream and follow your dreams …

Read More
1707, 2010

Failing towards Success

By |July 17th, 2010|Perseverence|0 Comments

I love Michael Jordan. He is one of my heroes. I love him for all that he achieved and how good he was over a long period. But I love him for two other reasons.

1) He practised hard. Sure he was amazingly gifted but he added to talent a huge amount of practice, sweat, a great work ethic, professionalism and a desire to always improve. This made him even better. I remember seeing a photo of him after a game and he would always put his feet in buckets of ice to take best care of himself, reduce swelling and inflammation on his ankles and feet and prepare as best as he could for the next game. I also remember seeing videos of him just practising alone in the gym, reading stories in his book abut him playing practise games back at his old university etc

2) His attitude was inspiring and his perspective challenging. He didn’t let his fears hold him back. To use his words. “I failed over and over again. And that is why I succeed”. He used his failures to spur him on to be better rather than cause him to shrink back and stop. He didn’t measure his success by the failures along the way. He saw the inevitable failures along the way as just part of the process and journey. It reminds me of other famous examples of perseverance.  There is the saying that “amateurs practice until they get it right – champions train until they can’t get it wrong”. I think this is true but if we think about what Michael Jordan says here, perhaps it is more about the perspective. The aim of practice is as the quote says to be perfect and that is at attitudinal thing. But is all reality there will still be failures along the way. But our attitudes then should be that these will spur us forward, that these are not terminal, that these will be the foundation and the footholds on the way to success.

Failing towards success. Does that help change your perspective on failure. Heck, it did Michael Jordan and he is the best ever !

Read More