Friday, Jul 30, 2010
Posted by Craig
Giving Failure the Finger
Last Friday, we spoke about the idea of breaking our big-picture goals and dreams down into an ongoing series of short-term action plans. Okay, I spoke, you listened. Er, read. Anyway, that particular conversation opened a floodgate of feedback, commitments, promises and pledges to do different and create different. It was one of the biggest responses we’ve ever had to anything posted on this site.
The amazing level of reader input was not because the article was anything spectacular in terms of writing quality or inspirational content. No, the one hundred and forty-ish comments were the result of some serious button-pushing and identifying with the core message.
While negotiating the next four decades of your life might be a little overwhelming (at times), the practice of compartmentalising the long-term change process into four-week instalments is, for many of us, a more sensible, manageable and productive approach. And when I say manageable, I mean manageable from a mental and emotional perspective.
Manage your mind and you’ll manage your life.
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Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010
Posted by CJ
Hi Guys, CJ here. Long time no chat. I’ve missed ya’ll a little. Hope you’ve been good, if not, good at it.
Smashing Through the Glass Ceiling
Whilst it would barely rate a mention in the international media, the big news in this neck of the woods recently has been the appointment of Australia’s first female Prime Minister. Yep, our very first chick PM. Don’t worry, I’m not going to discuss politics because, frankly, I’d rather endure another round of ‘painless’ hair removal from you-know-where. However, what really interests me about this development is some people’s reaction to it.
I have heard many women (and men) say that it’s great because now our young girls can grow up knowing that it is possible for them to become the leader of this country. What? It has been possible for years. In fact, Australia elected its first female representative to federal parliament in 1921.
Really, nothing has changed except our perception of what’s possible. A (perceived) barrier has been broken. Because when one person reaches an unprecedented level of achievement (in sports, politics, arts, business etc), our idea of ‘normal’ can change forever.
Perhaps this is one reason why it is so important to have positive role models in our lives. Clearly, not all of us can become Prime Minister, Olympic champions or award-winning novelists. However, we can use their stories to motivate and inspire us to achieve our best, to change our self-limiting beliefs and to explore our (mostly-unexplored) potential.
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