I thought it was time for a video and time for some more inspiration. I don’t think we can ever have enough of that !
So here’s to paying it forward and the powerful life principle shown so well in this video – give a little love, get a little love.
Challenge
I wonder what you’ll do now after watching this video …
I remember when I was writing my book A Life That Counts I was confronted with what my life actually stood for. Basically I had a great family, great friends, lived in a beautiful democratic country, and had spent my life pursuing sporting goals and working hard in banking and finance to effectively contribute to a share price improving.
And in stark contrast I wrote about the issues of human trafficking and global poverty.
It all seemed so ridiculous.
Now I know you can’t always think like this, but it challenges me all the time. Whilst 1.4 billion people live on less than US$1.25 per day, I would throw around money for drycleaning and complain about the jetcat being late.
Then I came across this little story to warm my heart and encourage me to do little things along the way to doing greater things that make a difference.
“We enter a little coffeehouse with a friend of mine and give our order. While we’re approaching our table two people come in and they go to the counter :
‘Five coffees, please. Two of them for us and three suspended’
They pay for their order, take the two and leave. I ask my friend:
‘What are those ‘suspended’ coffees ?’
‘Wait for it and you will see’
Some more people enter. Two girls ask for one coffee each, pay and go. The next order was for seven coffees and it was made by three lawyers – three for them and four ‘suspended’. While I still wonder what’s the deal with those ‘suspended’ coffees I enjoy the sunny weather and the beautiful view towards the square infront of the café. Suddenly a man dressed in shabby clothes who looks like a beggar comes in throught the door and kindly asks ‘Do you have a suspended coffee ?’
It’s simple – people pay in advance for a coffee meant for someone who can not afford a warm bevarage. The tradition with the suspended coffees started in Naples, but it has spread all over the world and in some places you can order not only a suspended coffee, but also a sandwich or a whole meal.
Challenge / Thought
Don’t you love the idea? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have such cafés or even grocery stores in every town where the less fortunate will find hope and support? If you own a business why don’t you offer something similar to your clients. As for me I’m determined to find ways to pay it forward more.
Most people are afraid to take action.
Most people don’t care enough to make a difference.
Most people aren’t going to buy that new thing you’re selling.
Most people are too self-involved to do the generous work you’re hoping for.
Most people think they can’t afford it.
Most people won’t talk about it.
Most people aren’t going to read what you wrote.
Most people find it easier to criticise than to offer praise and encouragement.
… But you’re not most people !
And nor do you want to be most people right ?
And your best customers aren’t most people. Neither are your best supporters. Nor are those joining you on the journey.
One thing I’ve learnt over the last number of years is that when you dream big and are bold enough to dare to dream and to share that with others, it is surprising how many people are happy to tell you it can’t be done or to criticise or doubt you in some way. In fact, you’ll meet more people who’ll tell you that you can’t do something than you’ll meet people who’ll encourage you and tell you that you can. You’ll meet more people who’ll tell you that it’s a stupid idea than you’ll meet people who’ll tell you that that it’s a great idea.
There isn’t one autobiography I’ve read of people who’ve achieved amazing things who haven’t been told by people that they couldn’t do it. Think about people like Sir Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Sir Edmund Hilary, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Gai Waterhouse, Michael Milton, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Kurt Fearnley, Dr Suess, Salma Hayek, Walt Disney to name just a few. (For more examples click here).
And so I’ve learnt that it is a choice to have self-belief and not be limited by other people’s expectations or opinions. It’s a choice to ignore them and believe in something different that’s inside you, to believe you can do it rather than that you can’t. It’s a choice to choose to not be most people.
Challenge
Don’t be like most people.
In any case you’re unique and there’s only one of you in the entire world.
You might a past post I wrote following Steve Jobs death and a recent post of mine where I was reflecting on where I was going and what I was doing as I create the life that I want. And you might remember me giving myself a bit of an uppercut given I’ve written a book about all this ! 🙂
Well after that uppercut, came this … a hit over the head !!!!
How can you not be fired up by this ? Or is it just me? Enjoy and be inspired and challenged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He5A9dvUP-s
I’m at an interesting juncture right now. I am leaving my current job after realising it was the antithesis of the organisation I want to work for and the culture that I thrive in. So much so that it was a big contributor to me ending up sick with glandular fever. But I digress :). So at moments like these I started to reflect as you often do. Am I heading in the right direction ? Is what I’m doing going to count for something ? Am I just doing what I’m doing because that is what I know and it is the easier and safer path ? Is this what I really want to do ? What do I want to do ? My future is in my own hands and is the result of the decisions that I will make today … but what do I want it to look like ?
Well after some reflection and some proactive steps including catching up with a few of my mentors and an executive coach … a few things are clear … I do not have a crystal clear picture of what I want my future to look like – but I do have do a hazy one. And I have figured out over the years that that is just fine. My future path may not be absolutely straight and paved as I look ahead, but I am going to make sure I am certainly travelling in the right direction and making decisions that are getting me closer to where I want to go and to creating the mosaic of the life I dream.You see I know what I generally want my life to look like. I know what I want it to feel like. I know what I want to see around me. And I know that I want to make a difference – to do something significant – to avoid just going with the flow. To create something that outlives my life. To do something that engages my heart. To do something more than work my butt off to effectively push my companies share price up. To do something where the results are tangible and the testimonies are irrefutable.
So I think it is time to take a note out of my own book A Life That Counts. To continue to dream. To have the courage to follow my heart. To make plans and actively create the life I dream (without rules and other people’s expectations defining what it will look like). To be wise but not too sensible. To make the little decisions that will ad up to the big things. To believe that my future will look exactly like the vision board on my wall. To train my speech and my thoughts to support this and not to tear it down. To enjoy the journey for life is short and could end tomorrow. And to make a difference.
So Jeremy – note to self. You wrote a flipping book about this so make sure you are continuing to live by the very pages you wrote.
And for those of you who haven’t read my book ‘A Life That Counts’ – buy it here and always feel free to tell me to take a leaf out of my own book. After all I want to live an extraordinary life, with purpose and significance and along the way (like the quote at the top says) create a legacy that will live forever.
Fire up people ! … and fire me up along the way !
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 !
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’.
Fire up and have a great week !
It’s time to celebrate! Today is the day!
After a year in the making, countless late nights, a lot of learning, thousands of emails to printers / editors / typesetters / contributors / transcribers / graphic designers etc, some soul-searching on my part, a number of very interesting interviews with incredible contributors and so on …
My new book is finally here: A Life That Counts.
It will get launched today, is available on my websites NOW (www.jeremyrolleston.com and www.alifethatcounts.com.au) and will be released into bookstores across Australia and NZ from now on. I could not be happier with the end product. Truly, I am ecstatic and quietly proud.
If you want a handbook and a guide to your future success – this is it.
The book is about following your dreams, regardless of the outcome, and irrespective of what your dream is and how you define success. It is also about HOW the successful actually achieve what they do. Plenty of books tell us what to do, but almost none show us HOW to do it. How do you change your thinking (the psychology) to get changed behaviour because very often our best intentions don’t result in any meaningful change ? What do the successful people do on a daily basis ? How do you discover your dreams ? How do you goal set properly ? How do you develop mental toughness and ignore that little voice in our heads that tells us to give up, or not try, or we’re not good enough etc. How do you get over disappointment ? Many people have dreams but very few are prepared to go after them ? Why ? And how do you get over the fears and mindsets that often hold us back from chasing the dreams we have for our lives ? This is a little taste of some of the topics covered in the book. And alongside this you have the real-life stories of myself and the ten famous and successful Australians to inspire people and give them an insight into how they do it / did it. I want to give you a book that will
1) inspire you
2) you can flick through briefly and yet still take something away
3) is full of real ‘meat’ for those that want to go deeper into the tools, strategies, techniques & psychology of success
4) be an interesting read as you read the behind the scenes real-life stories of myself and the ten amazing contributors.
Here’s the back cover description:
A HANDBOOK FOR YOUR SUCCESS
WITH TOOLS YOU CAN IMPLEMENT IN YOUR OWN LIFE
AND REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES FROM OLYMPIC AND WORLD CHAMPIONS
TO INSPIRE AND HELP YOU BE ALL YOU CAN BE
Many books tell you what success is but don’t reveal how to make it happen. In this book, two-time Olympian Jeremy Rolleston reveals the step-by-step processes, strategies, psychology and techniques used by Olympic and World champions.
Find out how you can use these in your own life to help you successfully follow your dreams, no matter how you define success and whatever your dreams may be.
This is your opportunity to learn from Jeremy and 10 other high-achieving Australians including Dick Smith, Gai Waterhouse, Louise Sauvage, James Tomkins, Lydia Lassila, Matthew Burke, Matt Shirvington, Michael Milton, Jason Stevens and Alexandra Croak. Read their real-life stories – when it’s all going well and when it isn’t! Discover what sets them apart. Learn from their experiences, uncover their secrets, and find out how they’ve used these timeless principles and simple techniques to help them achieve remarkable success.
Practical, thought-provoking and challenging, A Life that Counts will inspire you to chase your dreams and reach your full potential. It celebrates the ‘want to’s’, the ‘choose to’s’ and the ‘dream ofs’ in your own life.
You’ll come away from this book with an exciting vision of your potential along with the confidence, knowledge and tools you need to successfully follow your dreams and live an extraordinary, fulfilled and purposeful life.
I would like to ask your help to make this the success I know it can be:
THE ASK:
I try not to ask for too much on this blog, but today I will ask a favor: if this book sounds interesting to you, please take a moment to BUY it today. Isn’t this a great gift for friends – to help them chase their dreams more successfully, learn from Olympic & World champions and be all they can be?
TO MEDIA, BLOGGERS, AND LIST OWNERS:
I’ve made very few media commitments thus far. Do you have a column, show, mailing list, or blog audience? Would you like to do a feature, an interview, or post an excerpt? Please email me at info@jeremyrolleston.com
Thanks for all your support. Here’s to your future success and here’s to 2011 being your best year yet !
Jeremy
February is the month that I will release my first book – A Life That Counts.
This book is truly different and will make a difference where other books didn’t. How would I describe it ? Well it is …
A HANDBOOK FOR YOUR SUCCESS
WITH PRACTICAL TOOLS YOU CAN IMPLEMENT IN YOUR OWN LIFE
GIVING YOU NOT JUST WHAT TO DO BUT ‘HOW’ TO DO IT
AND REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES FROM OLYMPIC AND WORLD CHAMPIONS
TO INSPIRE YOU AND HELP YOU BE ALL YOU CAN BE
Stay tuned and go to www.alifethatcounts.com.au to buy it !
