by Andrew May

Everyone can benefit from regular exercise. Moderately exercising (such as a brisk walk) for at least 30 minutes a day for most days of the week will give benefits to overall health. People who exercise regularly enjoy the following benefits:
• Have lower blood pressure
• Find it easier to manage weight
• Have less chance of a heart attack
• Live longer
• Have strong muscles and bones
• Sleep better
• Feel more relaxed and confident
• Are less stressed

Here are some simple ways to get moving on your way to an active life:

1. Use the stairs rather than the lift or escalator where you can. If there is no option, walk up the escalator, rather than standing still.

2. When taking the bus or train, get off one stop early and walk the rest of the way.

3. Get out into the garden and enjoy the weeding.

4. Organise lunchtime activities with your workmates, or just go for a walk at lunchtime.

5. Wherever possible, walk or ride a bike instead of using a car.

6. Start and/or end each day with a walk around the neighbourhood (especially during daylight savings when there are plenty more daylight hours at the end of your day).

7. Next get together with your friends. Instead of the pub, why not go bowling, bush-walking, play tennis or some social cricket?

8. Hide the remote controls in the house and get up to change channels on the TV. Remember, exercise is an opportunity, not an inconvenience!

9. Join a sporting group, recreation club or gym.

10. Learn to play golf.

11. Hire an exercise bike so you can exercise at home.

12. Choose active leisure activities – walking on the beach, throwing a Frisbee in the park, bike-riding.

13. Take an exercise class – at a gym, in a community hall or at work.

14. Take your kids or grandkids to play ball in the park.

15. Walk to the next office to give a colleague a message, instead of sending emails!

Remember, find an activity you enjoy and that way you are more likely to keep it up!

Andrew May is is considered Australia’s leading expert on performance and productivity and is the author of the bestselling book, Flip the Switch. Andrew speaks at conferences across the globe, mentors CEO’s and senior managers. He is published throughout national and international media, with regular segments on 2UE radio, Mix 106.5 Body and Soul and Channel Nine’s TODAY show.

by Craig Harper

Yesterday we began to look at the role that Perception plays in our lives and towards the end of the article the question was asked “How do people perceive you?”

Here’s the last paragraph:

Do we really want to know how others see us? Yes we do. And if you don’t, you should. For a range of reasons. On Monday I’m going to tell you why not knowing how others perceive you puts you at a disadvantage, both professionally and personally. In life, in love and in business. And no, I’m definitely not saying that we should be obsessed with, or worried about how people see us. What I am saying is that most of us could do with a little more awareness and a little more understanding of how those around us see the world and everything in it. Including us.

A Scary Thought

The idea of knowing how people perceive us can be a scary thought, can’t it? On the one hand we’re curious to know what they think of us, but at the same time we don’t really want our feelings hurt or our already-fragile self esteem to take a further battering. Our curiosity and our propensity to self-protect intersect. But in truth it shouldn’t be about either of those things (curiosity or self-protection), it should really be about increasing our understanding, knowledge and awareness of human behaviour, communication, connection and beginning to learn how the people in our world (friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances) are wired.

Even the Chick on the Third Floor

Like it or not, every person that you and I interact with on some level - every person, every conversation, every situation, every day - has an opinion of you. Even the guy who sells you your paper and that chick on the third floor who you’ve never even spoken to. Big or small, accurate or not, good or bad, informed or ignorant, they all have an opinion and everyone in your world sees you in a certain way because consciously or not, you are constantly sending messages to those around you. Even when you’re not speaking, you’re telling those around you something about you. Keeping in mind that over ninety percent of communication is non-verbal, it’s easy to understand how we’re constantly ’speaking’ to those around us without uttering a single word or even being aware of it. It’s simple; to be more effective, we need to be more aware of what we’re saying (and not saying) to the people we come into contact with. Interestingly, the messages we think we’re sending are often quite completely different to what the majority are perceiving. And therein lies the challenge and the lesson Grasshoppers.

Worry Not

When I discuss this subject, I often get strong reactions from people who assert that “we shouldn’t worry about what others think of us”. Well, I totally agree with you; we shouldn’t worry (as such) but we should at the very least, have an awareness of how we are perceived by others. And not coming from a place of insecurity or some kind of need to be popular or liked, but for the purpose of being able to create and develop more effective, meaningful and rewarding relationships in all areas of our lives.

Communication

We know that on an interpersonal level, communication is our most important life skill. If we can’t communicate effectively with others (in our private and professional lives) then we can’t create that deep level of understanding and connection that brings us happiness, fulfilment and harmony. In fact, we’re more likely to create misunderstanding and disconnection because we’re constantly offending people, misreading situations and conversations and communicating inappropriately for that person, that situation and/or that conversation.

Am not, You are.

If you’re a teacher and the majority of your students consider you to be arrogant, then (1) you might wanna be aware of that and (2) you might wanna change your approach and your communication style. No, it’s not about compromising your message, your standards or being a people pleaser, it’s about understanding both sides of the communication process. After all, your students don’t live in your head and they don’t necessarily understand your intentions. Is it possible for you to be perceived as being arrogant without actually being so or realising that’s how people see you? Yep. And in this situation (as a teacher) you will need to learn, adapt, modify your style, increase your awareness and possibly get some humility… or sink. Or perhaps find a job where effective communication ain’t so high on the must-have list.

When Perception is Reality

If you’ve got teenage kids whose perception (rightly or wrongly) is that you’re too busy for them and that you care more about yourself than you do them (and you happen to be unaware of what they’re thinking and feeling), then you’re in trouble. Keeping in mind that their reality is in their head, their belief (about you not caring) is completely real. For them. Whether or not it’s our kids, our colleagues, our friends or the weird guy who lives over the fence, we need to learn to speak other people’s language and get a glimpse of (or insight into) their reality, if we want to have meaningful and productive communication with them . The question we need to ask ourselves is:

“How do I need to speak with this person (there’s no generic approach), in this situation, at this point in time, to create meaningful connection, real understanding and to produce the best possible outcome for both parties?”

Yes, it all sounds a little strategic, that’s okay; strategy is always better than ignorance or stumbling along in the dark. The truth is that in many situations and circumstances the majority of us have no idea of how people perceive us. We think we do, but in reality, we don’t. How could we, we’re not mind readers. We don’t live in their head, we live in ours but in some ways, we need to get a glimpse of what it’s like in their mind. You’ve never had a face-to-face conversation with you, have you? Sure, you have those internal dialogues but (naturally) you see everything through your eyes.

So how can we become more aware of how we’re perceived by others?

1. Listen more than you speak. Some people simply love the sound of their own voice. They don’t talk with people, they talk at them. They don’t have conversations, they give lectures. They don’t really want connection, mutual understanding or to listen to others, they want an audience and some attention. A soapbox. These people are highly unaware. Often deluded. Egotistical. Insecure. The only person who doesn’t know how annoying and self-absorbed they are, is them. “But enough about me, what do you think of me?”
2. Watch people. Consciously become more aware of people’s body language, their typical behaviours, habits and reactions and their non-verbal communication. What people do will tell you far more (about them) than what they say. Become more attuned to how they behave, react and communicate around you. Start to look at old things (friendships, situations, your marriage, business relationships) in a new way (put on some different glasses) and you’ll be surprised at what you learn. Most of us don’t see things, not because they’re not there to be seen, but because we simply don’t look for them or have that level of awareness. It’s like when you buy a new car and all of a sudden you see a million cars exactly like yours on the road. Yesterday you saw none, today a million. The only difference being that today you are infinitely more aware. Your perception has changed. You’re the same… but different. You’re driving on the same roads, in the same traffic (essentially) as you do every day, but instantly something has changed; your eyes have been opened to something you couldn’t or wouldn’t see yesterday. The lessons, the signs and the indicators are all there… but only if you want to see them. Of course we do this with our relationships and interaction with others; we see (1) what we want to see and (2) what we’ve been programmed to see over time.
3. Ask for feedback. If people feel safe and comfortable to give you feedback, they will. The trick is making them feel that way. Be open to that feedback and you’ll see things change for the better quickly. It’s easier said than done but do your best to avoid being defensive and precious. It is what it is. If they think it, they think it. Hear it, consider it and move on. By the way, hearing it doesn’t mean you need to agree with them. No, it just means that now you know how they think and feel. It certainly can save a lot of time, energy, problem-solving, guess-work and heart-ache if they will just tell us (honestly) what they think. Knowing how and what people think puts you in a better position to be able to communicate more effectively, openly and honestly and to create healthy relationships over the long haul because it means the conversations and relationships are not based on assumptions, misinformation or some kind of pseudo-connection. Sure, it’s not always an easy or comfortable process (to be so real and honest) but it’s well worth the effort.

I’m not done with this subject just yet, but that will do for now.

Craig Harper is a motivational speaker, qualified exercise scientist, author, radio presenter, television personality and owner of one of the largest personal training centres in the world. Visit Craig’s website motivational speaker for more life lessons.

by Craig Harper

Different Realities

Perception is an interesting thing. For the most part, it’s our reality. How we see things… is how it is. In our world anyway. And as I’ve said many times before, we exist and operate in a physical, three-dimensional world, but where we do most of our living, is in our head. We create our own reality (thinking, beliefs, values, fears, expectations, attitudes, standards, habits, behaviours) and we reside there for a lifetime. Sadly, some of us suffer there for a lifetime.

A Collision

Doing what I do for a living (okay, it’s a passion), I’m always interested to see how people respond to various situations, circumstances, events and challenges. Watching their perception (their version of reality) collide with a practical, day-to-day existence in the physical world is always enlightening. Observing how they interpret and react to different conversations. How they perceive and interact with other people. While one person interprets a particular situation as a disaster, another will see the same thing as an exciting opportunity. Someone else will see it as a lesson. And yet another will sleep through it. It’s also interesting when their reality (in relation to potential, change, possibilities, beliefs and ideologies) collides with mine.

Why all the Different Responses?

Because it’s not about the situation, the circumstance or the event, it’s about the person in it. It’s about what they believe is happening. What that experience represents to them - keeping in mind that things only have the meaning we give them. What will amuse one person (the rubber snake in the toilet perhaps) will terrify another because their reality is subjective; the same event isn’t the same at all. One will laugh, the other will cry. And not only will there be a different emotional and psychological response, but there will be a different physiological reaction also. Depending on what the event (in this case the snake) represents to the individual (their reality), their body will produce happy hormones or stress-response hormones. Yep, in some situations, how we see things actually determines what our endocrine system does; what kind of hormones it produces. Just thinking about something scary can produce metabolic, hormonal, cardio-vascular and respiratory changes in our body. Now that is freaky. Powerful thing the human mind. If only we knew how to drive it properly!!

That’s so Not Fair

Have you ever been through the experience of being wrongly judged or labelled by someone? Perhaps they thought you were aloof or arrogant, when in fact you were shy? Maybe someone considered you to be a complete snob because you didn’t acknowledge them, when in fact, you didn’t even see them. Perhaps someone assumed you were stupid, when you were actually nervous or intimidated. Maybe someone assessed you as flirtatious because you smiled (it happens). Or perhaps someone assumed weakness when you were simply being kind and accommodating? In my work I am constantly being assessed. I get emails every day from people giving me feedback about my performance; what I do, write and say and how they perceive me. While most of it is positive, it ain’t always. I have had feedback from different people in the same workshop on the same day ranging from “you’re a dickhead” to “that’s the best workshop I’ve ever attended.”

“We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are” Anais Nin

How does that happen? Because we all see, hear and experience different things - even in the same place at the same time. We create our own reality. We all interpret a different message. That’s why it’s possible for me to motivate one person and intimidate another at the same time with the same words!! Because it’s not about the message I’m intending to convey, it’s about what they believe I’m saying; how they are receiving it. Their reality. Their perception.

Assessing and Being Assessed

Like it or hate it, people see you (interpret your behaviour, your habits, your communication, your appearance) in a certain way. They will form an opinion of who you are, how you are and why you are. Without even knowing you. We all do it every day. From the moment you meet someone new, they are assessing you and you are assessing them. That’s how it works. That’s how we work. Everything you have experienced thus far in your life has taught you how the world works and how people are wired. And those lessons have given you an instinctive and unconscious ability to be able to assess situations and people quickly. Often with a high level of accuracy. But not always.

Perception Central

In the course of my work I do a lot of flying. Sure, my arms get tired. If only I had more feathers. Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Juvenile. Moron. Anyway… planes are kinda cool places because they are a microcosm of humanity. Being the geek and student of life that I am, I love to guess about my fellow sardines. Er, passengers. You’ll never find an environment where more assuming, judging, hypothesizing and labelling takes place than inside a plane. It’s like Perception Central. From the moment you hand over your boarding pass you’re being judged and you’re judging others. Our perception tells us that we should avoid eye contact with the big, scary-looking, tattooed bloke who’s making his way down the aisle (naturally, he’s going to kill us), and the same perception tells us that it’s not only okay to make eye contact with the cute four year-old boy, but that we should probably pat him on the head as he passes by. Until of course, he bites our index finger off with his cute four year-old teeth. Little treasure.

Are you a Policeman?

When I talk to people on planes they invariably ask me what I do for a living. Instead of answering them, I say “what do you think I do?” I have done this many (many) times and mostly the response I get is “you’re either a policeman or you’re in the military.” At least six or seven out of every ten people have a similar perception based entirely on my appearance; shaved head and beef-cake-ness. Clearly I don’t look or sound like a neuro-surgeon, an astronaut, a cabaret singer or a pastry chef. That’s it, I’m growing a pony-tail.

Beware the 1978 Volvo

Let’s say you’re in a hurry to get somewhere in your car and you’re approaching a set of traffic lights. There are two lanes for you to choose as you approach the intersection. In one lane there’s a 1978 beige Volvo Station Wagon, in the other there’s a new Red Porsche. Without thinking you pull in behind the Porsche because clearly the chances of you being delayed are significantly less behind a Porsche. You make that judgement in milliseconds because of your perception of (1) what kind of driver might be behind the wheel of each car (2) the likely acceleration of each car (3) how the respective drivers of those cars might typically pull away from a set of traffic lights and (4) we all know that red cars are fast!! The Porsche roars off, you experience minimal delay and your perception has served you well. But then again, the whole ‘choosing lanes thing’ might just be a boy thing. Or maybe a me thing.

So how do people perceive you?

Do we really want to know how others see us? Yes we do. And if you don’t, you should. For a range of reasons. On Monday I’m going to tell you why not knowing how others perceive you puts you at a disadvantage both professionally and personally. In life, in love and in business. And no, I’m definitely not saying that we should be obsessed with, or worried about how people see us. What I am saying is that most of us could do with a little more awareness and a little more understanding of how those around us see the world and everything in it. Including us.

Feel free to share a story of where you’ve judged or been judged. Or just say hi and share your thoughts.

Craig Harper is a motivational speaker, qualified exercise scientist, author, radio presenter, television personality and owner of one of the largest personal training centres in the world. Visit Craig’s website motivational speaker for more life lessons.

by Glenn Capelli

Glenn Capelli is the author of Thinking Caps book and radio pieces as well as being a top Keynote Speaker. www.glenncapelli.com. You can contact Glenn at glenn@glenncapelli.com

by Dr. Tom Buckley

Why will two similar people start with a specific goal and on average only one achieves it? Why can two athletes of equal ability who train together every day doing the same training sessions but in competition one consistently beats the other?

In my experience there are two types of people where it comes to goal achievement: those who are interested and then those who are committed. The interested athlete will train, maybe even consistently, but most probably do not pay attention to nutrition or sleep, and is always cramming in training. The committed athlete makes time for training, looks at very aspect of their training and performance, and pays particular attention to rest and recovery.

So what has this to do with life in general? Ask yourself, why does one worker get promoted above another? Is one more alert to the potential opportunity while the other frequently suffers from sleepless, junk fueled days thus missing opportunities? Is one consistent with their performance while the other just has great days or moments?

Going on a fab diet for three weeks is someone interested in loosing weight, adopting a long term lifestyle change that is sustainable is commitment. Being home for ten minutes before sleep time is being interested; being home for bath and bed time stories, no matter what, is commitment.

Being interested usually results in great excitement at first where as being committed is less exciting. Being interested is all about excuses, being committed involves no excuses.

If you’re reading this, chances are your interested, but ask yourself: “are you committed?” Recharging requires commitment.

Tom Buckley a University lecturer and researcher in the field or Health Sciences whose doctoral studies focused on physiological responses to stress. Author of several peer reviewed publications and supporting author of Flip the Switch, his current research interests are in human factors related to performance and wellbeing

by Fiona Cosgrove

Life coaches, Performance coaches, Wellness coaches, Executive coaches. These are becoming everyday terms. With the increased pressure on us to reach for the stars, achieve our goals, fulfill our potential comes the dilemma of how to structure our lives to allow this success. The demands of daily life have never been greater and in this information age when the choice of services, products, guidelines is enormous, how do we come up with a plan to “be our best”? There is a big difference between consultants, mentors and coaches. The former two roles are more of a “telling” or expert role. They are bringing their often superior knowledge to the relationship and we learn from them. They tend to take responsibility for the learning and teaching process. A coach is quite different.

What a coach will do is:

• Act as a support person and “cheerleader”
• Help you find your own solutions
• Facilitate your path to change
• Let you take the lead
• Be a mirror to reflect your insights and awareness
• Affirm your strengths
• Show empathy and acceptance
• Hold you accountable

A coach is someone who will help you get there. A coach will not:

• Tell you what to do,
• Take on the responsibility
• Constantly offer advice
• Design your plan

Get the picture? If you find the right match for you, a coach can help you climb any mountain. But how do we find a great coach when there are so many people out there claiming to be just that?

A good check list might look something like this:

A great coach will:

• Be passionate and energetic in their commitment to help you be your best
• Be astute enough to recognize what is important to you, not them.
• Walk the talk
• Only offer expert advice at pivotal moments
• Have clear focus and positive and confident outlook
• Believe in you
• Be trained in coach psychology and the area that they are working in

It is a good idea to meet with a potential coach first to find out if you are comfortable with each other and you can connect with that person. Your coach will foster self acceptance and self respect and not hold themselves out to have all the answer. They will have a knack for honing in on our strengths, desires and values. Coaches are great listeners and enjoy our stories. Ask them about how they structure their sessions. A good coach will have a model they follow (but not their own agenda), which will become a vehicle for you to help you move towards your goals. They usually offer a program rather than a one-off session, understanding that change takes time and a methodical approach.

A coach needs to be able to take risks and confront us when necessary, yet at the same time be playful when appropriate and make the sessions fun - not just hard work. A good coach will not rescue us when we hit a difficult place but let us work through the dilemma. They will understand the importance of our journey and help us celebrate each successful step. They will eventually leave us with greater self knowledge, confidence and belief in our own abilities and if all goes according to plan – the ability to live a more fulfilling life.

Fiona Cosgrove has over 20 years experience in the wellness & fitness industry - owning and managing clubs in Australia and Asia, including No 1 Martin Place, NSW Fitness Centre of the Year, 2006. Fiona is the author of Coach Yourself to Wellness and she regularly runs corporate seminars and workshops in the areas of healthy lifestyle, motivation and wellness.

By Tim Sharp

As regular readers would well be aware, I spend much of my time talking about happiness and as part of this, I spend much of my time busting common myths and misconceptions about happiness. If we don’t properly understand what happiness is (as well as what it isn’t) then we’re always going struggle to achieve it.

Now I’ve heard some pretty bizarre and outlandish claims made about happiness in my time and so as a result, I’ve developed a new presentation titled “Hard facts, half-truths and absolute nonsense”. Today I’m pleased to bring you a brief summary of some of the more common half-truths and some of the absurd claims made about happiness with a view to helping you avoid falling into these traps and accordingly, being distracted from what will really help you create a happy life.

Myth 1: Happiness comes from having more money and more things

The truth: more money will lead to more happiness but only to a point. There’s no doubt that for someone living below the poverty line, struggling to eat or secure shelter, then money will definitely help. But once we get beyond a certain point, which for the sake of simplicity we’ll consider an average wage, then the return we get from increasing our wealth diminishes rapidly. That is, if happiness is our goal we’ll receive a much better return on our investment from pursuing other goals such as developing and fostering our relationships – which makes happiness the most valuable asset!

Myth 2: Happiness involves seeking pleasure and avoiding pain

The truth: as with the first point this is partially true, but only partially. Most people like pleasure and most don’t like pain; but happiness is much more than hedonism. In fact, the research suggests that although important, pleasure may be less important for our happiness than meaning and purpose.

Myth 3: Happiness is synonymous with being frivolous and irresponsible

The truth: Happy people are not silly but rather, tend to be very responsible and productive employees and citizens. In short, happy people typically outperform unhappy people on every measure so rather than being frivolous, happy people are healthier, more productive, better parents and better friends.

Myth 4: Life’s too serious for happiness

The truth: Life’s so serious we can’t afford not to be happy. I’m not naive enough to think life’s all wonderful but the fact that there are problems in the world means it’s even more important for as many of us as possible to be happy; because, when we experience positive emotions we’re more resilient and we’re more able to generate effective solutions to the difficulties we face.

Myth 5: There’s a secret to happiness out there somewhere

The truth: there is no secret. I’m sorry to disappoint some of you but the reality is quite simple…there is no one secret to happiness. And even if there were one thing that was very important for me it wouldn’t be the same for all of you because we’re all different. Happiness means different things to different people and accordingly, the creation of happiness will require different approaches for different people. But at the risk of contradicting my earlier statement, if here was a secret to happiness it would probably be discipline – having the discipline to determine and clarify your own happiness plan, and then stick to it!

So if you want to create a happier life beware of these and other myths. I urge you to believe happiness is possible but I also urge you to see the creation of happiness as something that requires work and time.

Dr. Sharp is one of Australia’s leaders in the exciting new science of positive psychology and happiness. In short, he is one of this country’s leading Executive Coaches, a highly qualified consultant on matters relating to human behaviour and psychology (particularly the application of positive psychology principles within organisations and teams) and a sought after public/corporate speaker. For more information please email info@thehappinessinstitute or visit The Happiness Institute

by Diana Ennen

Many of you are already established in business with your website in place, your business cards tucked away securely awaiting the next networking opportunity, and your promotional materials printed and filed away. You are set — Or are you?

Think back, when was the last time you revisited this area? When was the last time you recreated your promotional materials and added a new image? Have you actually read your website lately from the prospective of a potential client? If so, did it portray you in the best light and did it convince you to utilize your services? Did it have all your latest PR successes and latest services? If not, it’s time to jumpstart your marketing. The results, more clients and a new and improved you.

Here are just a few ideas:

Your Web Site

When doing your website or reviewing your website, take your time. This isn’t a race to the finish. Take it a page at a time and give it your all. Ask yourself:

Would it hold their interest? You need to make sure they aren’t bored with long paragraphs or unnecessary long wordy descriptions. They want to find what they came for quickly.

Is it personalized? When people come to your site, do they get to know you and your business or do they hear the same ole’ same ole’ that’s on all the websites in your Industry. It’s important to have you in there.

Get to the point. Go back and cut out unnecessary words, paragraphs, graphics, anything that just isn’t essential to the bottom line of providing the benefits of what you provide.

Is it understandable? Sounds simple, right? Go back over your site and make sure that you’ve clearly spelled out what you do. You know you’re the best, but have you adequately described this to your potential clients?

Can you add a few new graphics or colors or something to jazz it up? A change of your website’s theme colors can make a big difference in adding to a fresh new look.

Press Releases & Articles

How often do you write a press release and submit it out? Or better yet, when was the last time you did send one out? Ouch-that long. If you want to fine tune and bump up your marketing, then you absolutely need to write a good press release and get it out there. The main point in that sentence is — write a good one. How do you do that? Easy, make it something that informs and inspires. Make it newsworthy. Tie it into what is happening in today’s times and then connect your business to how you can make a difference. Did you remember the “call to action” paragraph, where you are telling them what you want them to do? And finally, just having a release isn’t enough. You need to actively submit it out and post it on your website, blogs, social networking sites, etc.

Social Networking

You need to do this. Actually you will want to do this. Once you get started you’ll love it too. So go ahead and do it. Most businesses will tell you that doing this makes a considerable difference in their business. Don’t have time to, hire a virtual assistant to do it for you.

Now, find the sites that interest you and get active and involved. Remember to succeed you need to be committed. You can’t just show up once every few months and expect it to work.

Your Promotional Materials

Just think how impressed your clients or even more important, those potential new clients, will be when they receive a letter on your new letterhead, with your new business card, a matching brochure, and maybe even a matching magnet with your business information on it. It’s time to jazz it up a bit and recreate a new image. You have so many more years experience in your business, let it show with your new promotions.

You’ll see how great you’ll feel with your new marketing image. Make it a goal to do this often. You and your pocketbook will be glad you did.

Diana Ennen specializes in publicity and marketing and helping businesses get the most out of their publicity efforts. She’s the President of Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant the Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA. Stop by for free information on starting a virtual assistant business and our free PR Informational package.

by Glenn Capelli

Cecil John Rhodes died in 1902 and amongst other things was the founder of the diamond company De Beers. After his death his Rhodes Trust establish The Rhodes Scholarship an international award for study at Oxford University.

Since then there have been a bucket load of famous Rhodes Scholars including the 1945 Nobel Prize winner Australian Howard Florey (the penicillin man), former PM Bob Hawke (Scholar 1953) and a 1975 Scholar in former Carlton Premiership Captain (and ex Head Boy of my old High School Churchlands) Mike Fitzpatrick.

However, my favourite Rhodes Scholar is not a politician, scientist, merchant banker or even footballer. My favourite Rhodes Scholar is the man who wrote the song Me and Bobby McGee – Kris Kristofferson.

I love Kris because he cannot only perform academically, he can also perform with:

• A guitar
• A mop - he was a janitor at one stage of his life
• A gearstick - he once drove trucks for a living and
• A stamina in that he has lasted in the music industry for decades

Kris Kristofferson is not only a Rhodes Scholar he is a Road Scholar too.

My figuring is that in today’s world the Rhodes/Roads mix is a good blend. Way back in 1995 the Enterprising Nation Karpin Report into Australian Leadership and Management Skills talked about the need for the T Skilled worker. This worker not only has deep specific, technical skills (the perpendicular part of the letter T) but also great broad skills (the horizontal part of T).

Broad skills include:

• Communication skills
• Empathy
• A breadth of learning
• Creative Thinking Skills

Broad skills are the stuff of Road Scholars; people who can get by in any given situation, people who can connect with others, people who are versatilists. A versatilist being a ‘person who can be a specialist in a particular discipline while at the same time be able to change to another role with the same ease’. In short, part Rhodes Scholar and part Road Scholar.

So master your Road Scholarship – learn something wide of your usual field, connect with folk who think differently than you, be curious beyond your own discipline and if ever you are busted flat in Baton Rouge – or anywhere else – have the Emotional Smarts and breadth to bounce back.

Glenn Capelli is the author of Thinking Caps book and radio pieces as well as being a top Keynote Speaker. www.glenncapelli.com. You can contact Glenn at glenn@glenncapelli.com

by Rob Wilkins

I am struck sometimes by the ability of individuals to trust process and intellect and not listen to that which they have always known to serve them best, their instinct. Instinct is not something that “occurs” but rather is something that, I would say, gifted individuals recognise and embrace.

It is the combination of intellect with instinct that creates that state of being mindful and alert to the possibilities of all situations.

Carl Rogers, the psychologist whose notoriety was derived by his now famous “Humanist” approach to psychology, once stated, ” I have learned that my total organismic sensing of a situation is more trustworthy than my intellect.”

Sense making is a term that is gaining amazing credence in Knowledge Management circles and my reflection of this is centered around this combination of intellect and instinct or “being mindful”.

My question is, “Is this a learned state or can it only be practiced by a gifted few?” (metaphorically speaking).

Jerry Braza PH.D, in his book “Moment by Moment” states “mindfulness is a natural state of living moment by moment”. The reason why this statement resonates so strongly with me is because of what I observe on a day-to-day basis as a Learning and Development Professional. I observe so many people caught up in the plans of the day, week, month or year and not giving their attention to the moment at hand.

Children provide a wonderful illustration of how the adult mind lets go of this natural skill of being mindful. I am reminded of a story of a family who are on their way to a party and come to a railway crossing that begins to indicate a train is coming. The father, who is driving and already anxious about arriving on time, thinks to himself “Great! Now we will definitely be late”. That is until his 4 year old daughter pipes up and says, “Daddy, Daddy, now we get to see the train go by! This is exciting!” The father appreciates the complete diversity of what his daughter is thinking and for a brief moment, appreciates being mindful and in the moment.

There is a lot to learn from mindfulness and what it means for recharging yourself and your day-to-day performance and I hope to talk about his in more detail in the future.

In the meantime, find yourself a railway crossing and enjoy the moment (metaphorically speaking of course).

Rob Wilkins is a Learning and Development professional with over 20 years experience in Corporate Learning and Development, Management and Executive Development, Learning Technologies and Organisational Performance Improvement. Currently completing his Masters in Knowledge Management and Business Information, Rob is considered a specialist in eLearning and Personal Learning Environments with a strong Knowledge Management influence guiding his research and professional development. Email: dawilkos@tpg.com.au : or more of his insights on a daily basis: Blog: http://roalp.blogspot.com