I would like to share an analogy about the great ships of the ancient world. When sails are used effectively and the helm used appropriately the captain of a ship is able to charter a course. A sailing ship, without sails is nothing more than a floating raft. The sailing ships that does not use, or cannot use its sails will drift. We also know that ships use anchors to lock themselves to the ocean floor, steady their position and to...
There are three resistors to mental effectiveness. They are fear, laziness and limited self-belief. I wanted to write a little about fear. In particular the fear of failure. Fear can be good or bad depending on the context. Fear can keep us safe, but fear can also prevent us from achieving our potential. Fear of failure in business can cause one to shy away from making an attempt, taking risks, or having a go. Failure ...
I heard a magnificent talk that really caused me to reflect on my own family. It caused me to consider just how important, deserving and wonderful my own children are. Often my career aspirations, goals, ambition, and other interests demand my attention and focus. At the same time I know that my immediate family relationships, my wife and children should be central in our lives, and must receive attention and focus. The reas...
I recently read a quote from Albert Einstein that said, “Try not to become a man of success, but a man of value”. As I have considered this thought I comprehended that success does not come by focusing on success. Many people believe that income or wealth is the predominant measure of success. It is true that financial mastery is a measure of success, however there are many who are successful, or feel successful regard...
Leadership is essential to every organisation and the world needs more teachers and leaders. I fervently believe that in order to build strong teams, we need strong leaders. These leaders must have qualities, attitudes and beliefs consistent with organisational values if we are to promote improved performance. A leader is not the one who can do the work of 10 men, rather it is one who can get those 10 men to do their work. In the ...
I had a brilliant student in one of my workshops state that there are only 3 ways to use time. He said that we can sell our time, invest our time or waste our time. As I have thought about this comment, and looked back on my life I realise that I have wasted so much time. In fact even when I was selling my time and investing my time, at the core often I was wasting my time. The biggest reason for this is my reluctance, or resistanc...
I had a conversation with my wife yesterday in which she described to me a friend that she has who is suffering with the effects of depression. She told me that her friend stated that she was standing in the kitchen when she suddenly felt negative chemicals release in her brain, followed by a flood of negative thoughts and feelings. She described how real these negative thoughts and feelings are, and how real the chemicals are. Furt...
I have been thinking recently of something I once heard from a religious leader by the name of Gordon Hinkley say. I’ve tried to look up this quote on the internet, yet have been unable to find it. My memory is excellent and it was such a bold statement that I committed it to memory straight away. The comment is this, “if every man and every woman would do everything they could to look after the needs of his or her compan...
There was once a young woman who had finished her degree, and she was asked by a leader to describe her experience in one word. She paused as she thought of an appropriate answer. As he was waiting the leader thought of a number of words that he would use to deprive such an achievement. He thought of the word faith, and the word discipline. After a pause, she said “the word is commitment”. Commitment is far greater than i...
I have been contemplating a course of behaviour that is not sitting well with me. I can pretend the situation does not exist and yet In The final analysis it is a real situation and it does exist. Insurance fraud is a concern in our country and making false claims is against the law. On the other side of the argument is the practices that exists with insurance companies, and their assessment processes. As I converse with others it...
