ASK YOURSELF?

This is from the late Steve Jobs speaking to a graduating class at Standford, "When I was 17 I read a quote that went something like, if you live each day as if it was your last, someday you will most certainly be right. It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, if today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been 'no' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."

IT'S TIME

Firstly I really hate to borrow and old Labor slogan and secondly to use this blog as a political bandwagon, but! After this last week in politics I am getting even more disheartened about the quality, in every way, of our politicians on both sides of the house. The asylum seeker debate this week highlighted everything there is not to like about our politicians, they are ALL totally incapable of dealing with an issue without trying to score points off each other. What do you do when you have an incompetent government, an opposition who in reality offers nothing positive and the current third force in Australian politics, the Greens, who are at best naive and at their worst dangerous?

Maybe it really is time for a third force to arise in Australian politics, a moderate conservative party that can speak for the majority of Australians, not the myriad of interest groups that now influence our politicians.

There was one highlight this week, Malcolm Turnbull's speech to the house in tribute to the late Robert Hughes.

Are there enough people interested to get things moving, or are we continuing on our way as the world champions of apathy?

I LOVE THIS

Great quote from Tony Robbins in a newspaper article following complaints about one of his events, "What people CAN do is amazing....what they WILL do is often disappointing."

SHIT HAPPENS

More by accident than design I seem to have become deeply involved with the study of personal development. I've spent literally hundreds of hours reading or listening to the thoughts of many who are considered as leaders in this field, including, but not limited to; Napoleon Hill, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracey, Anthony Robbins, John Assaraf and Darren Hardy, just to name a few. The one common theme that I've picked up is that we cannot control events around us, yes shit does happen, but we can control how we react. The bottom line, we do have control.

A GOOD THOUGHT TO REMEMBER

Life always offers you a second chance, it's called tomorrow...Brian Martin

Stephen Covey

On the 16th of July last the world lost one of the great thinkers and educators of our time, Stephen Covey. Over the years I've read his works, listened to recorded interviews, watched videos and noted his way of thinking about life. At the time of his death Stephen was 79 years old and still making an enormous contribution to his family and the world, his unfortunate death was the result of falling from a pushbike.
One thing I found curious, maybe, I'm not sure if that is the right word, but living in Australia it virtually did not rate a mention in the mainstream media. How different if the author of a series of fiction books that sold as many copies around the world as the books by Stephen Covey. No doubt front page and a news lead on TV and radio, go figure????????????

JUST ABOUT RIGHT

Meetings are a symptom of bad organisation. The fewer meetings the better. - Peter Drucker

YOU NEVER KNOW!

You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have....unknown.

THE TIME IS RIGHT WHEN?

I've just listened to an interview that Anthony Robbins conducted with Sir John Templeton some years ago before his death at the age of 95. One of the topics covered was when to invest or more precisely timing of investments in the market?
Sir John's answer reminded me of something I had read previously from Warren Buffet, and to quote/paraphrase both of these great men, 'when everyone is being greedy/optimistic, be frightened and when everyone is frightened and pessimistic be greedy'.
Time has proven the merit of this thinking...GFC?

TIME

If you are only doing what you do every day for money, it is time to change. That is not much more than a living death.

PETER DRUCKER

"The best way to predict the future is to create it"

I LOVE THIS FROM SHARON PEARSON

Sharon is the founder and owner of The Coaching Institute, great tweet, "If wanting was enough, there would be nothing left to strive for. It takes WAY more than 'want' to make shit happen"

Yep!

Love it:)

POLITICIANS

Just read a great line from an editorial in the late Lang Hancock's paper, The Independent. From the late 1970's, "No politician or lobbyist can increase production, except by the speed they get out of the way".

Given recent events in Australia, including our PM telling the rest of the world how they should be running their countries at the G20 summit, can somebody please remind me what value is there in our politicians?

ALL TOO HARD?

As an avid follower of Australian and world politics, over the last few weeks/months I've come to the conclusion that we are at probably the lowest point in Australian politics since federation. Even allowing for the fact that we are living in, at least economically, the most or one of the most successful economies in the developed world. We have a socialist government who believes that everything in this country can be cured by taxation or legislation. For me this was highlighted yesterday by our acting Prime Minister suggesting that we legislate for a 'public interest' test on media ownership. What is 'public interest', and it is determined by whom? As for my side of politics (conservative interest declared) they are seriously lacking anyone of vision. Looking at both sides of politics it is impossible to find anyone of vision or with a plan for the future that makes sense or is inspiring. The current government is excited about the upcoming carbon tax, and how it is going to help save the planet!!  That would be great except for one thing, even if you accept as fact  the worst case scenario relating to the human contribution to global warming or climate change, if we reduced our greenhouse emissions to zero, the effect on global climate could not even be measured.

I do have a plan when I start to think about these things, I go to you tube, bring up the Susan Boyle first audition video, watch that and realise that anything is possible:)

Never Forget!

JUST DO IT

Once again, apologies to Nike:) However it occurred to me, not for the first time, that in this current time in history we probably have access to more knowledge and wisdom than at anytime in our history. Whilst this is far from an original thought, it crossed my mind again whilst reading an article from the Harvard Business Review by the late Peter Drucker. (Managing Oneself. Best of HBR 1999)

While we are blessed to have access, basically to the wisdom of the ages in every field of endeavour, unless we take action to use this accumulated knowledge, we might as well be reading comic books.

DREAMERS

Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.

-Unknown

You can make someone's day:)

SO SIMPLE..SO TRUE

WORDS OF WISDOM

Just reading a wonderful old book by Stephen Covey and Roger Merrill (1994) - First Things First.
Came across a great quote; "It takes humility to seek feedback. It takes wisdom to understand it, analyze it, and appropriately act on it."

THE SIMPLE THINGS

Almost finished the birthday celebrations for my beautiful wife's 60th, so far three nights of partying and the actual birthday is tomorrow Australian EST. Celebrations will finish with a dinner for the actual birthday tomorrow night. The party we had last Saturday night was a smallish group of family and long time close friends, just about as good as it gets having that type of get together surrounded by the people who really matter in your life. Best of all four generations of the family were there. Just another reminder to remember what are the really important things in life:)

More food for thought

NOTHING MORE TO SAY REALLY

ARE YOU READY?

There will come a time when we have finally had enough and look to achieve what we are truly capable of, no matter how much we think we know, we will need a teacher or a mentor. You will know when the time is right, in the words of the great Jim Rohn, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

Anyone looking for quotable quotes that do have meaning and are as relevant today as they were some 70 odd years ago does not need to go past the wit and wisdom of Sir Winston Churchill.

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm"

LOOKING BACK

He who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

A CHANGE OF VIEW - PLEASE

I note with interest that both the governments of Australia and the USA are of the left side of politics. Both seem to think that the government/legislation/taxation can solve all of our problems.

Somebody should remind them, that, "the government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else"

They need to remember that, "'you cannot multiply wealth by dividing it"

LET'S HELP GET THE MESSAGE OUT!

SAY NO MORE

JUST STOLEN

Ii JUST PINCHED THIS FROM JULIE ZURICH ON FB, TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE:) Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself~no one else will be able to make it happen. Accept who you are~~completely; the good and the bad~~and make changes as YOU see fit~~not because you think someone else wants you to be different. Stacey Charter.

JUST STOLEN

Ii JUST PINCHED THIS FROM JULIE ZURICH ON FB, TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE:) Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself~no one else will be able to make it happen. Accept who you are~~completely; the good and the bad~~and make changes as YOU see fit~~not because you think someone else wants you to be different. Stacey Charter.

THINK ABOUT IT

You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

FAILURE...DON'T THINK SO.

It is impossible to fail, if you learnt from what you did.

TAKE ACTION

I'm not really sure who said it first, however it really makes the point, that is..... GOYA!

"Never leave the site of setting a goal or making a decision without taking some action towards it's attainment"

A NEW DAY

Just one of those random thoughts that we all have from time to time. What if we could all start each day with a sense of gratitude for what we have and enthusiasm for the day ahead, instead of worrying about our problems, perceived or real?

Wonderful song by Nickleback , Íf today was your last Day', does put a lot of things in perspective:)

NOT MUCH ELSE TO SAY

THINK ABOUT IT

"The life which is unexamined is not worth living"

-  Socrates

HAVE YOU STARTED YET?

I'm sure even if you are one of those who resolve not to make New Years resolutions, you have still thought to yourself, "this year I''m going to.............."

Well OK how far have you moved toward .............?  Probably like most people, not much.

Just remember the only thing stopping you is you, you can find a million external factors/reasons/things to excuse a lack of progress but in the end you are the one who controls how you react and what is the affect of things that do happen outside your control.

Just maybe, NOW, is the time to start................!

WHAT IS OLD IS ALWAYS NEW AGAIN

Almost all of the personal development practioners today are echoing those who have come before them, including Dale Carnegie, or my favourite, the late Jim Rohn. One of the earliest, and one who's work is still as valid today as it was early last century is Napoleon Hill (1883-1970), long before Nike came up with the idea of 'just do it'' Napoleon Hill suggested, ""Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you're ready or not, to put it into to action"."

Again to quote whichever advertising Guru came up with this 'new' idea, just do it:)

2012 - LET'S GO

I was listening to one of Anthony Robbins presentations during the week and there was a lot to like about one comment he made. People often talk about being motivated or people being motivators, motivation is like a warm bath, what we really need is, inspiration, not motivation to achieve our goals.

A great way to start 2012 - be inspired or find a way to be inspired to achieve the ultimate goal, to be the best we can be, not one of us can do more than that!