Defeatist? Me?

My problem, if I can call it that is that I usually keep going, no matter what. Pushing myself beyond physical limits to prove a point. After all if I can't motivate me, then how on earth can I hope to motivate you. Yesterday I was told by a good friend that I am getting older, that I'm not in my twenties or even thirties anymore, but to accept that we can and do slow down as we age. SLOW DOWN - me? Never! OK, well occassionally yes I have to. And today is one of those days.

There's been a lot of colds and germs going round. Everyone I seem to come into contact with is chewing razor blades, or knows someone who has. My daughter succumbed last week, and I feel that today and for the next couple of days I am going to succumb myself. Gah, so much to do.

It was interesting though. Friday and what I know now was the onset of the cold proper, I went to  my usual 6am gym class, there was only 2 of us and the trainer, so he pushed us hard. Now I don't mind being pushed beyond limits as I do like a challenge. But when my heart felt like it had gone out of rythm I knew I had a problem.

Sure enough, onset of cold proper and I am now sitting in bed (2 days after starting this post) coughing up furballs... and gosh is it painful. Needless to say I won't be training this week :-( at the moment it feels like 1 step forward and 3 steps backwards with my health and fitness goals. But it has (and will) give me time to think.

So - what has crossed my mind so far?

• Well I need to clean up my diet. If it was a heart attack I would have to seriously look at what I am eating. Not that it's bad, just not as good as it could be.
• My personal records are a mess. Due in part to the recent re-decorating. But I feel the need to ensure my kids and my partner will be able to find the right documents and of course the legal stuff that says who gets what :-(
• That when I look back at my life and what I have managed to achieve - my legacy isn't brilliant yet. I have a large body of work, but I do feel that my job here isn't done and I have more people to influence and motivate, so I can't go just yet.
• That I do need to stop occassionally and allow my body to recover before pushing ahead again.
• but not to waste a moment either. Which is why I am sitting, propped up in bed with my laptop catching up on a few personal jobs while I cough.

I'l speak soon

Elle

Well I am here to dispel that theory.

At 91 Allan Stewart made history for being the world's oldest university graduate after completing a Bachelor of Law at the University of New England in 2006. Now at age 95 he has enrolled in a Master of Clinical Sciences at Southern Cross University.

Stewart says he lives by the maxim

"as long as you keep pedalling the bike, you won't fall off"

And believes in 4 pinciples

• Fitness of Body
• Fitness of Mind
• Spiritual Fitness and
• Purpose of Life Fitness

Maybe it's time to throw away your excuses and go for that goal after all.

Reported in HR Leader 30 March 2010 - p8

Tell us where to send it, and we'll send you the number one success book of all time.

My friends Vic and Lisa Johnson are doing this crazy marketing test where they're giving away Napoleon Hill's "Think & Grow Rich" All it costs you is the price of postage.

I'm helping them with their big giveaway and wanted to make sure you got your copy before they take this offer down. Get the details here: Think and Grow Rich

You can only buy one copy, so your friends will have to stop by and buy their own.

Elle

P.S. Vic and Lisa are actually shipping these so you need to give them your address before they run out.

Got Your Free Copy of Think and Grow Rich?

Take any kind of event or training course or program that you are planning on taking or a new area you want to study in. Can you imagine how little benefit you would get from going to that event / training course if you went in with arms folded tightly across your chest with an attitude that says - I don't want to be here, I don't want to learn anything new, in fact you can't teach me anything new. My personal belief system says what you are saying is completely wrong and I just cannot believe what you are telling me.

Now it could be argued - why on earth would you bother going to any kind of event or training course with that kind of attitude. But as a trainer I see it all the time. We ask participants (trainees) what they were hoping to get from the course, and how did they hear about us. The answers are not surprising for some people. The boss sent me. The boss thought I would benefit from coming. And did you? Well no, but I knew I wouldn't. Waste of time really, but if the boss wants to waste his money, then so be it - who am I to say no to a day away from the office...but the food was great.

Over the course of a few weeks I have been fortunate to get a couple of free tickets to events I wouldn't normally have gone to. Plus I paid for a ticket to see something I have not seen for over a decade.

Each time I go to an event, or read a book, or see something on the television I tell myself that I should suspend my personal belief system and to gain as much information as I possibly can. Only once it has been processed and applied to my life can that information become knowledge. And only when you truly live the changes can it be even vaguely classed as wisdom.

So - what did I see recently?

Well Don Tolman's intro to Boot camp for Brains and the importance of eating real foods and lots of them. And if you look at the innards of a fruit or vegetable - how like they are to certain parts of the body. As with all things, the sceptic in me says, yes and statistics can be manipulated. But one of the things I was doing before going to Don's seminar was to incorporate more whole foods and less processed foods into my diet - figuring that if my stomach is full from natural stuff there will be less chance of me wanting to eat processed stuff (and less room for it too). So his food message was timely.

Last Friday I went to see Gary de Rodriguez - Humanistic Neuro Linguistic Programming. Now we all know the importance of being able to think positively and how that will impact on our lives. Well that's not it - and Gary explained the bits we were all doing wrong. After a particularly tough start to 2008, I do need a way to switch off the negative chatter and hope to get to one of Gary's more detailed seminars later on this year.

What can I say - I am a student of life and am always finding ways of learning new things and expanding my thinking and being. Living is guaranteed (at least for a while) growth is optional.

And then last night I went to an open air concert at Member's Equity stadium here in Perth, and home of the Perth Glory. Well the ladies in the audience (myself included) aerated the pitch quite nicely with our heels. But we went to see some music. Galvatron from Melbourne. Cheap Trick from the USA and Def Leppard from Sheffield, England.

What struck me about all three bands, but especially Def Leppard who have been together for a very long time (they made America almost before they found razor blades) was the passion in which they approached their music and their playing. Being up close and being able to see the faces of the musicians / artists of course reminded me that is what most of us are missing from our lives. Passion for what we do.

We live out our lives without getting even vaguely excited about what we are doing. It's really quite sad.

So, whatever you do today, and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow is get excited about it. Get passionate about it. How good would it be to be able to spend every day of your life doing what you love to do, and being paid to have a damn good time.

And that's definitely worth thinking about

Elle

Our self concept encompasses many things including ego and self-esteem. Without the positive concept of self we are adrift in a sea of could have been, maybe's and should have's. However it is the negative side of self concept is the one that tends to dominate most of our lives. 

No? Don't believe me?

Well consider how many times have you decided you weren't good enough, or you couldn't do something because (insert negative chatter here) or because you didn't think you had enough time, money or energy. Or you were going to wait before starting something because the kids were too little, or there were jobs to do around the house, or you thought you needed to satisfy everyone else's whims and personal ego's before deciding to spend ANY time on yourself! That's what I mean by having a negative concept of self. Because you didn't think you were worthy / worth it you didn't put in the effort.

But how do you move from the negative of self concept to the positive of self concept?

Well there are many things to consider. However, I would consider the main one to be that of values. What do you value about yourself? What do you like about yourself and what you have achieved to date?

This is a lesson in learning how to look within.

If you say you value health but eat poorly most of the time, then you are at odds with your values and your self concept will suffer.

If you say you value your family time together but spend a lot of hours at work, and not necessarily working, then you are defeating your self concept in two ways. You are not being productive and consequently poor time management means you don't spend time with those people you say are important to you.

Determine what values you have and hold. Then you need to determine whether your actions are in line with those values or not. Once you have determined these thiings, you will be able to develop strategies to improve your self concept, by ensuring your actions do coincide with your values.

Normally I must confess I shed a tear or two over what might have been had he lived. But not today. Today all I can see is his smile. He had a wonderfully wicked smile that managed to light a dull room. That was my brother. And that's how I want to remember him from now on. Happy and smiling. I can actually see him "up there" chucking a massive party tonight - and this year dad, aunt pauline and uncle ray are invited - damn its going to be a big one this year !! and not just because of the extra guests. No, today is going to be big because he's decided we should celebrate life. No matter how long we have to "live" we need to live big and enjoy every single moment. And that's what I shall be doing this week as I head towards my birthday and of course my own personal new year.

Do I set New Year's Resolutions? Of course, what new year would be complete without a scrawled bit of paper with some impossible things written on it. Of course I could always pull out last years list, dust it off and change the date....I mean isn't that what everyone else does?

Saying that though - I have achieved many great things this year. And more will be coming - no i am not saying that to try and persuade you that I haven't been procrastinating. Actually I haven't been procrastinating - just busy and productive as you will find out in the not too distant future.

Anyway, enough rambling from me this evening. I have washing to put on the line and more to fetch in. And a book to read as I drink a glass or two of wine in honour of my folks. Have a great party guys, but don't get too loud I have to go to work in the morning.

Love you always

Elle xoxo

I have been focussing on entirely the wrong things of late. I know what. Yet I find I cannot switch my mind away from them very easily. Unfortunately because they are the "wrong" things, I have been unable to devote any thinking or doing time to the right things. I have to admit I am working on me just as much as you are working on you. But I have identified my behaviours, my thought processes are being pulled back in line and I am now beginning to focus on what matters most to me.

Of course everyone will have a different sphere of focus. But for me - it is making a better life for myself and my children. I need to lead by example and normally do - but I too can be guilty of wasting time. So, if my time is precious - would I be happy with today's performace so far or could I do better? I know I've been sick - real flu that has knocked me for six - as opposed to a cold that people say is the flu (if you know what i mean) - but feel like I am spinning my wheels. And the reason is - because my focus was on the wrong things.

If you've ever tried to meditate you will know how hard it can be to focus on a simple thing to clear your mind and allow it to stay clear, focussing on your goals can be the same thing. Hard if your mind keeps wandering off onto unimportant matters. So, one way to ensure your mind stays focused is - to get excited about your goals. If they don't inspire you to think about them - you are not going to do the work you should on them. The other thing to do is to think about what your life would be like when you have achieved that particular goal item, or in my case - series of goal items.

I want to move house. I know where I want to go and what the house will look like and contain....and I know what i need to do in order to get there...so I am working backwards, but living my new life forwards. What do I do each day in my new life...and is that better than my current life. You bet it is. But I am not just "day dreaming" because I know that in order to get to that point - I need to think big and work harder.... so please excuse me, but I need to get back to my work.

Speak soon

Elle

I've spent a good proportion of my life - reading, thinking and now sharing what I have discovered written in dusty tomes that form part of my life. And I am at once amazed at how many books I have amassed and read, but how much we miss. There is so much to read, to discover, to explore - other people's journey's, thoughts and things that inspire them, that there isn't any time left over to sit and say "I'm bored".

Saying that - I woke this morning feeling a little "down". I know why - one of the reasons is - I've stopped writing. This is not a good thing. I am on the brink of launching the next phase and need to be writing. Of course not having a computer for a week did not help matters ... so I lost my momentum and need to find it again and get going. The other reason is - a lack of exercise. I spent part of last night cleaning and dusting my bedroom, but it can hardly be classed as exercise. Monday nights are my exercise nights - usually without fail I walk / run 8k's....but last night was cold, wet and stormy and given that I am getting over an ear and throat infection didn't think it prudent to get chilled....so a lack of endorphins. But I was also hoping to connect with a friend last night - but circumstances prevented that from happening...so a real combination of reasons for my flat emotions this morning.

So what did I do? Well I came to motivateme - yes, when I need a boost, a kick in the pants or some plain old fashioned common sense, I come here and re-read some of the entries. It doesn't take long to get back into the right frame of mind to get going again.

Where do you go to find life's great stories?