A simple step

As we begin the Christmas season around this beautiful world, a period of reflection often occurs. Christmas (for most of the western world) is a time when we think about the year gone by, and about how far we have come along the road, and then we turn to the new year and begin to think about how far we are going to go and what we are going to do with our time next year. We all live life at different paces, sometimes we move quickly, at other times more slowly. We each choose how fast we want to move, making decisions that alter our progress and that sometimes take us in different directions. Sometimes those decisions help us gather momentum, at other times we lose it. That got me to thinking about physics...I was never really any good at school physics, I think the highest exam mark I ever got was around 40% despite the attempts of some very good teachers!, and the lowest was somewhere in the teens ....now a few years on from school, the querky reality is how much physics influences

Every week is an interesting one at the moment. The global economic crisis (or GEC as it is now being labelled) has affected almost everyone on the planet one way or another. It reminded me of the fact that the fear of not being in control can be our achilles heel. That fear of not being able to control the events in our lives can often be related to a fear of failure, especially when other people around us are moving things in a direction that makes us feel uncomfortable or out of our depth - the book 'Who moved my cheese' is a good one to pick up if you suffer from this phobia. More often than not, the people or changes to our lives that we most fear are the ones who can and will give us the most benefit, they are the ones that get us up off our butts and actually help us to 'shine', they are the ones that stretch us and help us to grow. In my life, these people and events are characterised by a feeling of fear, immense fear - they have on a couple of occasions brou

Good morning! The most powerful thing you can do (and it is very powerful) to change the world is to  change your own beliefs about the nature of life, people and reality to something more positive  .. and begin to act accordingly. Success is a choice.. and it is possible to make friends with adversity and your misfortunes. Bear in mind that sometimes it doesn't take much to put things right - take for example a little water on a small plant to help it grow Paragon in Robin Hobbs' Liveships trilogy states .. "long or short, if you worry about every step of a journey you will divide it into endless pieces - any one of which may defeat you. Look only to the end".."teach yourself to believe you will succeed. Be now what you must be to succeed at the end of your journey, and when the end comes, you will find it is just another beginning"

We often refer to people as straight talkers, and we also like to think that we are all just that - straight talkers, you know, we say what we really mean. This week in NZ, there has been quite an uproar about the Government pushing through legislation despite the fact that the nation voted in a referendum, not to pass the law. I was left wondering why that was the case, as after all, a referendum is a means of getting a nation to voice their opinion, in a straight talking kind of way - and the Government decided to ignore what the nation said and do 'its own thing anyway' ... so in essence, that left me feeling that if the NZ Government do not listen to straight talk, then why the hell should anybody? Ok, that's a little bit simplistic, but, we all learn our behaviours from those around us. As a rebellious youngster a few years (well quite a few actually) ago soaking up the experiences around me, I'd have been left thinking "well hey, if the Government doesn't

The other day I found a piece of paper that I'd created with my best friend a few years ago, and it reminded me of how simple things are when we want them to be. We travel along our path, experiencing this and that - hearing and seeing this and that, and along that pathway we make decisions. Those decisions keep us moving, either in the same direction or in another. Like travelling along a road, we sometimes know our way, we recognise the road - it's a well travelled road as they say - we know where we are going because we have been there before. At other times we see signposts and respond to what they are telling us - we react to them and alter our direction based on what they say. At other times, we register signposts to give us confidence that we are on the right track, we experience 'deja vu' or coincidences we just get that intuitive feeling that we are moving in exactly the right direction. I think this simple little topic is going into my book. Have a gre

Gets you thinking doesn't it. Are they friend or foe? Ally or enemy? Over the past few days, something hit me between the eyes as things do sometimes. Recently (and in the past) there have been people who have threatened me professionally and personally. Recently I have become aware that this is a common phenomenon, we all feel threatened one way or another by other people sometimes, it's human nature ... The interesting bit is that when someone feels threatened, there is a reaction that often involves the person feeling threatened thinking, hey - is this person who is threatening a friend or a foe? Different races respond in different ways - societies that are generally somewhat hostile in nature naturally foster a fear of others who threaten you and hence, a feeling that someone who is a threat is also a foe, an enemy. The reality is that often that threat is actually a wake up call - a reminder from someone that you can do better, and that person is actually a friend helping

Today is my birthday and I'll remember it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I was reminded today about the fact that people come to things in their own time, and that there is a right time for everything. You know how sometimes you feel that things just aren't clicking - but you know that what you are striving for will happen and that the right things will all connect at the right time to manifest your 'dream'. Today I facilitated a meeting between two people who I respect very highly, both extremely experienced in their fields. The meeting was to bring them together as a final attempt at gettting them to do business together. Until today, both people were focused on achieving the same thing (a business partnership) but for whatever reason they did not see eye to eye and the trust simply wasn't there to 'make it happen'. So we tried a last ditch attempt by asking each of them what they would be doing, on the assumption that they WERE in business together ...

I'm reading a book by Richard Dawkins - unweaving the rainbow and have just read the chapter on coincidence. Richard argues that all coincidences are really in our imagination or the result of a desire to want to believe in a force outside our control that brings things together. This reminded me of the fact that 'like attracts like' and that this is a scientific argument - molecules of water when close together will draw together to create a drop of water - basically that seems to me to be the reason why everything 'hangs together' rather than blending together. (Of course things do 'blend together' - putting two chemicals together often creates a new substance although some things just do not go together, they cannot 'blend'). Coincidence can be scientifically proven - the book talks about the fact that in Britain, there are likely to be 38,000 people (out of the 55million odd) with the same three initials, so finding a watch with your initials on

As a little boy, like most people, I used to love doing dot-to-dots. It's one of those things that can be so much fun - at first a collection of random black points and after a while, as if by magic, a picture appears of an elephant, a bus, a truck or Yogi Bear... Today, my dot-to-dots are still a reality. Everything that we do has a connection in some way with something else that we have done. In marketing and sales, nothing is more real - we develop networks of people, like-minded individuals who want to work together to achieve common goals or who simply enjoy helping one another out. In soccer, we join the dots - thinking ahead a few steps, before we take that next step and kick the ball. Connections are often made deliberately, although for me 9 times out of 10, they happen 'by chance', or at least, the ones that really spur me on do! Having a focus and vision and staying true to it is what creates these 'by chance' connections. Going to a conference recently I

In times like today, with change happening unexpectedly, we all find ourselves wondering how we are going to handle the things that are altering - we have all heard the words of Charles Darwin on the fact that for a species to survive it has to adapt .. if only it were that easy? Well maybe it is. Recent changes for me, that were outside my control, left me standing still - possum in the headlights (or bunny if you're not from round here!) kind of wondering what was going on .. then frustration set in (who moved my cheese - which by the way is an interesting book if you havn't read it) then a bit of panic and finally tiredness. So I slapped myself on the arse and set about restructuring and reorganising the way I handled my businesses and my cash and after a few hours I managed to find a recipe that not only kept me moving forwards, but which also created opportunities that were not there (or which I had not noticed) before.. the result, well it's cool - yes, handling the c

What is it about the feeling of peace you get when sitting back and holding a book? Ever felt that? Is it to do with the fact that you are on a journey, similar to the characters in the book that takes you away from your day to day 'stuff', or the fact that you relate to aspects of the storyline or what the book is saying? Or is it the fact that in your hands is the work of another person, ideas put onto paper, the authors time and energy in your palms, shared for your enjoyment. In this new world of e-books, Facebook, blogs and all, one of the things that still feels cool is the bound tatty copy of Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance sitting beneath my glasses on my lap, it's wrinkled cover a reminder of the hands that have opened its pages to share in the journey that it contains. Facebook and stuff simply can't provide a similar feeling. There is something special about a brand new book, with an unbroken spine, no creases, and pages that slide apart for the fir

To work, or not to work - many of us are thinking about our work, our jobs, our employment and what we do to make a living. In these turbulent times, we reflect on what we are doing and why we are doing it. For some it is about survival and ensuring our income is secure to support ourselves and our families; for others it is an opportunity for changing what we do to earn a living, to consider retraining or a change in career. So on the one hand there are those who seek security, for others the focus is on establishing a new direction first and worrying about where the dollars are coming from second. I am a firm believer that anyone will be successful and create enough wealth to support themselves and their families if they follow a few simple steps - 1. Make sure that whatever you are doing, you enjoy it (ie. you enjoy getting to work in the morning). 2. Whatever you are doing involves giving something back to others whether that is a service or a product - either way it is helping ot

I remembered today that I used to be a regular contributor to the Press business supplement in Christchurch, and this week has been one of tumultuous change for me for a variety of reasons. The business environment is difficult, and people all over the world are learning (quickly) how to deal with change. I no longer write for The Press, nor anyone else at the moment for that matter, and looking back at the road I used to travel when I lived in Christchurch I am quite taken aback by the support that I had from so many people and by the fortune that I enjoyed as a result - not monetary fortune, personal feel good fortune. The change that has occurred for me these past two weeks has set me back on a path I know, a road that I remember like one of those side roads you pop down in a town you know but havn't been back to for a few years. So maybe that writing thing will come back - it is fun, and with it the fortune that I remember. So, if you're reading this, if it helps, change is

It's the easiest thing to do isn't it, well it is for some of us! Stop searching is the answer, the instant you stop looking for anything, peace of mind results - no need to stop casting the net, but rather than searching for the fish - just cast the net in a decent spot and sit back and wait. Yeah, I know - what's new about that? Well, if you're anything like me and tend to go into overdrive, you'll know what I mean ..

Phronesis  is the capability to consider the mode of action in order to deliver change, especially to enhance the quality of life. It dates back as a theory or philosophy to Aristotle... Practical wisdom, applied to everyday situations, leads thought and leads people..

Flow fascinates ... being the observer, watching events as they unfold, watching and listening to the signals and signposts that are along the way - what is it that ensures we click with our path and our direction, what causes the energy to come at us rather than drawing it from us - it is having the wisdom to be still, the strength and fortitude to stick with our intuition, and the awareness to change when we meet resistance too often ... it is about doing what brings us happiness inside, you know that feeling you get when something just takes your breath away and leaves you sitting in awe ... it is feeling that feeling within ourselves when it resuls from who we are and what we are doing, rather than what is going on around us .... so, chill out, relax and let the universe take your breath away

Here's an interesting one .. I am reading several books currently, and in particular one about the first Geological map in the world, the second about science .. both talk about this phenomenon.. Consider that time as we know it extends from one end of our right arm to the far end of our left arm when your arms are raised. A human lifetime comprises the slightest nail filing, the life of Jesus is apparently half way across our right palm .. puts time in perspective doesn't it!

Sit on the window cill and soak up some rays..? Close my eyes and think of tuna? Wait for a hand to come along and give me a stroke... all of these are possibilities, ..knowing what I really want & enjoy - placing myself mentally in the position of having whatever that is now and sticking with it, the world delivers up what I am asking for .. It won't necessarily happen overnight; it will happen - painting your picture of the future is the first step.

I came across this today, and it simply inspired me; http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/132/brilliant.html and what's more the technology behind it dates back to the 1830's!

This is a quote by Thomas Oxley in November 1830, from a book on Planispheres and astronomy. Oxley was a reknowned pioneer and spent a lifetime writing his book. Humanity's passion for saving time dates back centuries.. more recently, in the 1970's the internet and PCs were heralded as a means of saving us time and allowing us all to work less and accomplish more - has new technology lived up to this expectation? We certainly accomplish a lot more, although do we work less? If not, is it because in reality we all live to work?