2011, 2012

Pure Inspiration IV – Sung-bong Choi

By |November 20th, 2012|Motivation, Overcoming Adversity|0 Comments

I’m in tears as I write this. This is pure inspiration – exactly what I want this blog to provide. To give you and I together another dose of inspiration for our week.

And what a dose of inspiration it is. An example of how your past doesn’t define your future. An example of guts and inner fortitude, but also of good decisions. Consider the courage it took to get himself off the street; the courage to take any singing lessons in the first place; and the massive courage to go on the show when Sung-bong thought he was an average singer (even if he was wrong !). An example of the dignity of a young man and the honest compassion of the judges.

May you be inspired to not let your past define your future and to go after your dreams with all you have.bot-only-image

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1311, 2012

A good lesson taught by a mayonnaise jar

By |November 13th, 2012|Life lessons, Miscellaneous|0 Comments

I was watching a really interesting show on TV last night about the Amish. In the show a number of university students went and lived with the Amish and experienced their traditional lifestyle – one of simplicity; of no mod-cons such as TV, cars and phones; of family; of the bible; and of working the land. What was particularly interesting for me was to see how the students opinions changed as they understood and appreciated the Amish lifestyle, and just as fascinating was to see how the Amish reacted when exposed to things like iphones, Facebook, Twitter, shopping malls, advertising etc. Most interesting and surprising was to see how they didn’t feel like they were badly missing out. Instead they gained an increasing appreciation for the good things about the lifestyle that they lived and adopted.

And it reminded me of a good lesson taught by a mayonnaise jar and a professor in a philosophy class …

When the class began, the philosophy professor wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full … they agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full … they agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full … the students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed..

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

  • The golf balls are the important things – your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions. If everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
  • The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
  • The sand is everything else – the small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn. Take care of the golf balls first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers with a friend !

Challenge
We’ve heard it before. But it really the simple and important things in life that make our world go around and not the small stuff. So may you keep the main things the main things this week !

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3010, 2012

It makes you want to drink – the world’s best bartender !?

By |October 30th, 2012|Miscellaneous|0 Comments

Seriously how good is this guy?!
Hope this made you smile. Have a good day …

 

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2310, 2012

I want to give you $15

By |October 23rd, 2012|A Life That Counts|0 Comments

Today I am launching my affiliate program for my book A Life That Counts. And I’m serious …

I want to give you $15 !!!
That is, I will give you 50% of my profits as a commission on every sale !!!

In other words, I’d love to give you the opportunity to make money by promoting my book or workbook.

Perhaps you’ve read the book and really got a lot out of it? Perhaps you’ve used my workbook and found it really helped clarify some things in your life, set some goals and equip you to move forward? Perhaps you’re a blogger with the same life outlook as me? Perhaps you’re a friend who would like to support me and make some money in doing so (they call that a win/win !)). Perhaps you’re an affiliate seller and appreciate that the calibre of famous Olympic and World Champions in this book make it a rare mix between inspiration and a practical handbook full of tools, techniques, strategies, learnings and examples that will be really useful for readers?

If so, perhaps you’d like to join my affiliate program.

==>> If you want to know more about how to become an affiliate,and get some more background guff on what an affiliate program actually is, click here.

(It’s really simple and easy – you just take 2 mins to register and create a user name and link that you then post on your blog / facebook / twitter / email. Then when anyone clicks on that link that you promote and buys my book … boom ! … you get 50% of my profits !!! It’s the easiest $15 you’ll ever make for posting a link and telling people about my book and workbook which they’ll love and will inspire and equip them to live the life they want).

==>> If you know how this works and want to jump straight to it, you can set up your Clickbank account here.


(You will then use this Clickbank nickname in the link that you promote (replace xxxxx with your nickname).
http://xxxxx.rolloinc.hop.clickbank.net => eg http://johnsmith.rolloinc.hop.clickbank.net
There are also a whole lot of affiliate resources like this banner you can use. See my Affiliate Tools page for more).

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I hope that’s all clear. I’ve outlined everything here or just contact me if you have any dramas.

And good luck spreading the message. Let’s help people follow their dreams without regret, create the life they think and dream about, and inspire and equip them to live an extraordinary, fulfilled and purposeful life that makes a difference – A Life That Counts !

Rollo

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1610, 2012

To dare – the quest of Mt Midoriyama

By |October 16th, 2012|Dare to Dream|0 Comments

Ninja Warrior is a reality-based television show where competitors from across the country attempt to successfully navigate extremely difficult obstacle courses as they progress through the competition. If competitors successfully pass the initial trial stages, they receive the right to attempt what is regarded as the most difficult obstacle course in the world, held at Mt. Midoriyama. Ninja Warrior is divided up into four stages each of which has several challenging obstacles. Every year, or occasionally every season, Mt. Midoriyama opens its gates to allow 100 athletes to try to take on its obstacle courses. Over 14 years and through twenty seven tournaments, only three individuals have ever succeeded. All other 2,697 Ninja Warrior attempts were met with bitter defeat. It’s an unforgiving competition, where one slip of the foot, or one mistimed jump or one mistake can de-rail and eliminate you. All of the hard work contestants have put in, all of the dreams they might have had … can be gone in a second.

Now I’m with you – the show’s name and the quest to become a ‘Ninja Warrior’ – well, it probably makes you roll your eyes doesn’t it !! But take a look at the calibre of athletes attempting this. Many of these athletes train all year long on self-designed obstacle courses just for the mere possibility of getting the chance to attempt Mt. Midoriyama. They invest their time, make sacrifices, and risk injury in the hopes of accomplishing what so few have successfully done.

While only three out of thousands have reached the pinnacle of success in this sport, there have likely been thousands more that failed to even make the attempt because of fear of failure or fear of embarrassment. When they fail at Ninja Warrior it is seldom gracefully … and it’s on national television !

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To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. (Soren Kierkegaard)

But take the TV cameras away and isn’t it the same thing ?  … many of us would rather not attempt the obstacle course because of the high likelihood of not succeeding than have a go. And this is the point … many of us don’t dare to have a go because we want to know that we’ll be successful and achieve that goal before we even start. But that isn’t the way life works or achieving great things goes is it.

Ask anyone who has achieved anything great and they’ll tell you what the path looks like. It starts with a decision. A decision to believe and step-out even though you don’t know if you’ll achieve what you want. There are set-backs and there are disappointments along the way. It requires discipline and planning and strategy. It requires ignoring many people who find it easier to say/shout/proclaim from the sidelines that it can’t be done instead of having the guts to try it themselves. It takes developing a belief in yourself because you have to overcome not only the doubts of others, but you’re own doubts. It requires learning to ‘enjoy’ the process of the stretching and self-growth and the challenge that chasing that goal requires.

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. (Robert Kennedy)

We all have our own Mt. Midoriyama we want to conquer. It could be a character trait or an event or an experience or some other sort of goal or vision we have for our lives. So here’s a few thoughts to challenge and help you conquer your own Mt. Midoriyama.

1) Be Willing to Take Risks. Most individuals are extremely risk adverse in their approach to life. Make no mistake, whether you are attempting to achieve financial success or sporting success or some other goal, you are going to have to leave your comfort zone. For example, you can’t become a successful trader by simply doing virtual trades your whole life. And you can’t become a good sailor by staying on the shore. At some point you are going to have to take a risk.

2) Doubt doubt. Do not be surprised. Unfortunately whenever you set off on your journey to achieve great things, you will not always have the support of friends, colleagues, and even family members. Do not be naive in this regard. Not everyone will embrace your journey. There will be doubters. It is easier to knock someone else down than to do it yourself. Be prepared to ignore this negativity and create a self-belief and a self-determination.

3) Be stubborn in a good way. Along your quest to conquer your Mt. Midoriyama, you will face the cold hard reality of how much you actually want it. And the answer will be very simple – you’ll either give up or you wont. You’ll either see something as an obstacle that will stop you or a barrier to your success that needs to be overcome (because you will achieve – when is the question). You see there are far too many books out there like ‘The Secret’ that espouse the ‘believe and you can achieve’ sort of philosophy. Belief is just one part of the journey. The other half is determination, hard-work, stubborness, perseverence, desire, discipline, training, willingness to critique and learn and so on. So count the cost before you start and know that when you face obstacles on your path to success, you will no doubt face the cold hard questions. What will be your answer?

Challenge
Let me leave you with one of my favourite quotes. Hopefully it is enough to get you moving and going after what you really want, or to overcome whatever it is that is holding you back.

You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. (Wayne Gretzky)

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409, 2012

Bullying

By |September 4th, 2012|Miscellaneous|0 Comments

Forget the last 2 lines and the associated guilt trip. But think about everything else that this picture says. You never know what’s going on underneath the surface or behind the scenes in someone’s life do you? And pity to the person who needs to make themselves feel better by putting someone else down – by bullying in any manner !!!

Challenge
Let’s be those people who build up not tear down. Let’s be people who use our words powerfully for good – to encourage and inspire and educate and comfort and  rally and forgive … and not the opposite.

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2808, 2012

Feeling down ? Feeling sorry for yourself ? Read this !

By |August 28th, 2012|Overcoming Adversity|1 Comment

Some days you just need to be reminded how lucky and fortunate you are. It just gives you a good dose of perspective. A kick in the butt in a good way … so be inspired …stop feeling sorry for yourself. Realise how lucky you are with all the things you have and all the things you’ve done and all the things you’ve wanted that you’ve got. Pick yourself up, smile and take this image with you as you head on into today or tomorrow.bot-only-image

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2108, 2012

I was here

By |August 21st, 2012|A Life That Counts|0 Comments

I’m sitting here at my desk and it is 10am on a Monday morning. I’m at home because I am looking for a new job. And I’ve been wondering what I will look for in my new job. What’s important to me right now. Am I driven by the money and setting up my future? Am I driven by what I really want to do? Do I care to work again for a bank where really all my hard work serves only to make their share price go up and make some senior executives very rich? Or do I care to do something that I may well enjoy more but I’ll be doing it more for the love than the money and there will be an opportunity cost right at this point of my life when I have a pretty good earning potential.

And then this comes along ! Ahhh – perspective …

Making a difference. Doing my best to leave the world a better place because I was here.
Realising I’ve done everything I’ve wanted and have got everything I’ve wanted. Realising I have so much and am so blessed, so fortunate, so lucky. Realising there are so many living in extreme poverty, so many hurting, so many suffering, so many who need good people to rise up and help them because as much as they’d like to they just can’t.

So in tribute to World Humanitarian Day 2012 – 1 billion people taking action for each other – be inspired to leave your mark too … because I am.bot-only-image

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1508, 2012

How to marry a Finnish girl

By |August 15th, 2012|Miscellaneous, Travel|0 Comments

Well that got your attention didn’t it !

This week’s blog is a bit different. More like a journal / diary blog rather than the normal blog I write which I purposely aim to be more inspirational or challenging.

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I’m writing it in honour of jetlag and having just flown in from Finland this morning. Why ? Well I certainly never ever thought I’d go to Finland for one and I’m tipping most of you haven’t been either (after all I can only think of places like Iceland and Greenland that could possibly be further away) so I thought you might find it interesting if I shared some thoughts and observations with you from my 2 weeks there.

Observation 1 – They really love their saunas !
Sorry. Correction. They really, really love their saunas. And they enjoy them naked ! Just like in the photo below – truly. It is just like that. And when in Rome … so, yes, I had a sauna in the buff too. There’s even some G-rated proof for you below. And what’s more – it felt pretty good actually. They don’t slow cook themselves for 20-30 mins in like people seem to do here. Just a good 5-10 minutes in, then out for a swim or shower or a relaxed beer whilst sitting in the colder air. And then they might head in to the sauna for another round and do it again. I’m starting to become a fan (except for the branches which they reckon are relaxing and therapeutic as you hit yourself with them ?!). All in all though, the saunas really do feel great when done properly … Boy, I never thought I’d say that !!

Observation 2 – All Finns are blonde
Ok, perhaps this isn’t strictly true, but I’m sticking with it. After all, look at my two samples – Viktor – the son of one of the families I stayed with, and my girlfriend as a child (when she lived in an igloo).

Observation 3 – berries are king !
It’s true. The Finns love berries. Berries grow everywhere in the forests around their summer cabins and you will find the Finnish happily wondering the forest, basket or bucket in hand, collecting berries to then be used in all manner of things. Is it possible to overdose on anti-oxidents? If not, the Finnish must be very healthy …

Observation 4 – Finnish is the second hardest language in the world
Seriously – what’s with this language? I’m sure there is a harder language out there but from my point of view, could they make it any harder. Can I feel any stupider when trying to speak it?
Finnish comes from the Finno-Ugric langage family which includes other easy languages like Hungarian and Estonian. Now, take that as the foundation to learn from and then add the following facts that I’ve noticed …
1) It can only be spoken in a monotone. No gestures like the Italians.No pompousness like the french. No gutteral sounds like the Germans. No ear-piercing intonation like the Chinese. No fairytale sounds like Estonian. Just plain old devoid of life monotone. (Interestingly when I did add my own little bit of spiced up intonation to an expression when asking a little child in a pram how he was, the kid looked up at me startled and everyone in the lift laughed – ah one of life’s moments!). Guess I’ll stick to monotone.
2) It seems like the aim is to link the most number of vowels, the letter ‘K’, and umlauts.
3) Speaking should be done with minimal eye contact. So good luck trying to use facial expressions to help.
3) Finns love their compound words. Just look at the photo below which I took of the outside of a shop advertising something. Or consider the word Hurskastelevaisehkollaismaisellisuuksisaankohankin. I mean – seriously – c’mon ! Are you having a lend of me ?

Observation 5 – Shrek lives in the beautiful city of Tallinn in Estonia
Tallin is the capital of Estonia which is a couple of hours ferry ride across the Gulf of Finland / Baltic Sea from Helsinki. I did a quick trip over there (to do some rally car driving of all things) and was so pleasantly surprised. Tallinn is without doubt one of the most beautiful towns I have visited in Europe. And that is saying something after having lived in Italy and travelled as much of Europe as I have throughout my bobsledding days. Picture an old medieval city, cobbled streets, colourful buildings, nice parks etc. I highly recommend a visit there if you just happen to be in the area !? And who would have thought that whilst there I would unexpectedly run into Shrek and Donkey? So not only does Santa Klaus live in Finland, but Shrek is a neighbour !

Observation 6 – Australians would feel at home here – the Finns love a good booze run
The Finnish are big drinkers and often travel to neighbouring Estonia (where Shrek lives) to buy their alcohol tax free and keep on doing what they do well – drinking – even out of casks. (I thought we stopped that when we were 15 in Australia ?!). It was absolutely classic watching people pile off the ferry with trolleys and cars ladened with booze.

Observation 7 – The game of Mölkky/Finska is alive and well
Finska (or more accurately in Finnish – Mölkky – pronounced Mool-ker) is an old Finnish log throwing game. I stumbled across it at a golf day and bought it for my flatmate as a Christmas present. But the funny moment was when my Finnish girlfriend and her friends saw it at my place … I have never seen people so happy with cries of – ‘Oh – Mölkky !!’
It seems that every good Finnish household has this game. The twelve numbered pins and throwing pin are crafted from solid birch and each person take turns to throw the throwing pin/peg/log from 5m away. If you knock more than one peg over, you score the number of pegs knocked over. If you knock only a single peg over, you score the number on that peg. The aim of the game is to reach 50 points exactly, but don’t go over (think darts), or you will lose (go back to 25 in this case). Who would have thought you could have so much fun with a lump of wood ?!

Observation 8 – Endless summer nights have their pros and cons
Being so far north, it is amazing to experience the long summer nights. When I was there during the past couple of weeks it got dark at around 10pm and light around 5am. The photo I took on the left is from about 8:30pm I think. It really does mess with your brain (and your sleeping habits). And what surprised me is that no-one seemed to have big curtains to black out the light – they just adjust and get used to it seemingly, unlike our/my body clock which adjusts very quickly to things like daylight saving.
The negative of the endless summer nights of course is what winter is like. The photo on the right was taken at 2pm last January in northern Norway (Alta). I had just retired from bobsleigh after some training in Lillehammer and so headed north up in to the Arctic Circle in search of the northern lights. Another thing you should put on your bucket list and do !

Observation 9 – I hope you like coffee and cake
Apparently addiction  to caffeine in Finland is the highest in the world. The average person consumes 1.3kgs of coffee each year. The average Finn consumes 12kgs each year.  Now, imagine that you are catching up with friends or chilling at your summer cabin and someone asks if you’d like a coffee. You accept of course … and then cake is served ! You sit around (which is what the Finns seem to me to do very well) chatting or whatever and the next thing it is mealtime, in which case you eat your meal and then have a mandatory coffee and cake. And the cycle continues. Now you’re trapped.

Observation 10 – You can take the boy out of Australia but you can’t take the Australia out of the boy
What can I say? Finland is great but above all I love Australia. And as the saying says – you can take the boy out of Australia but you can’t take the Australian out of the boy … Example 1 – I may have been in Finland but Weetbix is Weetbix and breakfast should not be messed with. I mean, I was happy to adapt to Scandinavia and use blueberries instead of sultanas on top, but why why on earth would I want to have thick brown bread with meat and cheese etc on it for breakfast instead? That’s just not cricket !

And just to make sure that there is no doubt in my mind that I live in the best country and one of the best cities in the world – as I arrived home from the airport and drove into my driveway this morning, I saw 3 whales swimming merrily along from Manly to Freshwater. Now how about that as a welcome home down under !

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708, 2012

What's your story ?

By |August 7th, 2012|Dare to Dream, Uncategorized|0 Comments

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So when you think of the future, what comes to mind ? What have you done ? What haven’t you done ? What are you disappointed about ? What do you regret ? What are you satisfied and happy about ? What are you proud of ? Who’s in your world in the future ? Who isn’t ?

The thing about our future is that we truly do create it. It sounds like such a cliche but it’s true. We do create our own story. It is not already mapped out for us like a treadmill we can’t get off or a book that is already written. You’re in control of your own destiny because your future  is defined by the decisions you make today. Noone forces you to make those decisions. Most certainly circumstances factor into the decisions we each make. But at the end of the day, circumstances are just a factor in this decision-making process. After all, how many stories have you heard of people rising up from poverty and from disadvantaged backgrounds to do incredible things? From Oprah Winfrey, to Obama, to Nic Vujicic (whose inspiration video I have included in a blog before), to the ‘Blade Runner’ (Oscar Pistorius), to the Iraqi rowers I watched in a videomon the plane yesterday – guys who train to compete in the Olympic Games by rowing along the Tigris River in Baghdad amidst war and at times dead bodies which float around them. Or, whilst not as extreme, what about a boy from Australia doing bobsleigh in the Olympics !

Let me share a little bit about how I view the future. I absolutely believe my best days are ahead. And I actively plan for the future I want. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy where I’m at, but I definitely think and plan and actively make decisions in order to create the tapestry of the life that I want. Here’s the proof … just today on a plane I scribbled out various things about my life right now and about how I wanted it to look in various areas and I made plans for what I would do to make this a reality.

But more than that. I also have constructed vision boards for how I want my future to look. Here’s one of them (there’s a few).

I’ve written about how powerful vision boards are in a few past blogs below and I’ve also given them a fair bit of attention in both my book and workbook.
1. Goal Setting – the magic noone gets
2. Authentic – Living the dream

They do make a difference as many will testify to. So I want to encourage you again to create your own vision board – a vision for your own future and what it will look like. They will help the dream in your head come alive and become real in your emotions. They’ll help you see, feel, smell, taste, touch your dream future more easily. To feel all the fulfilment of doing that thing you’ve always wanted; to feel the joy of your friends and family around you; to hear the laughter of your kids; to taste that beautiful dinner you just cooked for that dinner party; to smell the wood burning on that open fire; to feel healthy and fit like you desire. And so on. You get the picture. You see, this is the secret sauce that many people miss and aren’t aware of – turning your goals and hopes into a genuine emotional experience. One that arouses your emotions and changes them from mere words or hopes or desires into powerful images that you can immerse yourself in and, in so doing, will then fire up your powerful emotional circuits (the Limbic System) that will ultimately drive your behaviour. (Read chapter 5 in my book or buy my workbook if you wish to know more).

And the cool thing is that, at the same time, by constantly seeing pictures of what you want your future to look like, you will be closing the gap between what you dream and what you actually believe you can achieve. Remember that your mind doesn’t know the difference between reality and non-reality. So, by visualising your future (vision boards is just one way of doing this) you’ll suddenly find it much easier for your mind to believe you’ll achieve the dream. It won’t seem unachievable or unrealistic at all!

Challenge
So what’s your story ? What’s your future look like ? Are you encouraged by the fact that some of the best days of your life haven’t happened yet ? Remember, you’re future is in your own hands because the decisions you make today will contribute to define your future tomorrow. So what decisions will you make today ? Will be doing a vision board be one of them ?

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