March 14, 2022
Waking minutes
Since last week, Iâm keeping track of a new metric. The metric is this: The number of minutes between when my alarm clock goes off and when I check my phone. The goal is that the number grows. The goal is to completely remove checking of any sort from my morning. Within âcheck my phoneâ is email, social media, WhatsApp, any messaging a...
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March 10, 2022
The hardest thing
The hardest thing about starting a business is winning the first client. The hardest thing about exercising every morning is getting started. The hardest thing about speaking on stage is the walk up the stairs. The hardest thing about writing a book is showing up at the blank page. The hardest thing about making new friends is the open...
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March 7, 2022
Prepare to be lucky
We pretty much get what we expect. The optimist and the pessimist are both correct. They each find the world they are looking for. It's a new week and you donât yet know what it will bring. Just for now, throw hopes and dreams out the window and prepare to be lucky. Notice what enters your consciousness when youâre open to possibilitie...
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March 3, 2022
Reminded, not taught
Sometimes we donât need to learn anything new, we just need to remember what we know. I guess itâs why people have tattoos on their forearms, signs on their wall and desktop backgrounds on their computers. Constant, daily reminders to bring the best you to every situation. Here are my reminders. The truths that the best version of me l...
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February 28, 2022
In the helicopter
If Iâm feeling overwhelmed with detail I picture myself in a helicopter, seeing the situation from afar. Itâs a way of regaining perspective and shifting my attention to the big picture and the long term. In Frozen, Elsa sings, funny how some distance makes everything feel small. A friend likes to think of the earth and space, remember...
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February 24, 2022
Ten things I know for sure (this week)
1. Focus and attention are the best gifts you can give. 2. Thereâs little point making little plans. 3. Not everyone cares for coupon codes or haggling. 4. Insecurity is loud and confidence is quiet, not vice versa. 5. Owners of smelly pets donât always realise their pets smell. 6. People you have never met are rooting for your success...
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February 21, 2022
A hundred million dollar idea
After selling my marketing agency and taking some time to decide whatâs next, I began a phase of idea generation with my husband, Ben. After deciding I wanted to get back in the arena, the plan was to come up with a hundred million dollar idea that we could throw the kitchen sink at. Each of those thought processes is explained in its ...
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February 17, 2022
Always something better to talk about
Last week I was at an event with someone weâll call Pandemic Pete. Pete was angry and wanted everyone to know. He had opinions to share. Masks, vaccines, travel restrictions. The âscamdemicâ had cost him bigtime and it was time someone paid. Unfortunately, the only people paying for Peteâs misfortune were the people he was ranting at, ...
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February 14, 2022
Hey, itâs okayâŠ
If you havenât got it all figured out If your family donât understand your work If you pretty much live in activewear If you have embarrassing taste in music If you leave the event to get an early night If you donât want to âjump on a callâ If you stay on airplane mode all weekend If you opt out of the round If you turn down the invita...
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February 10, 2022
The biggest indicator of long-lasting relationships
John Gottman began his research in 1986 when he set up the âLove Labâ. There, he invited couples in and hooked them up to electrodes whilst asking them a series of questions whilst they were sitting next to each other. After questioning, he secretly labelled them masters or disasters. Gottman found that the masters were still happily t...
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February 7, 2022
Your zone of genius
The zone of genius concept is one way of discovering how you are uniquely placed to serve. Various versions exist, but I like the Gay Hendricks depiction of a three-circle Venn diagram. Complete the zone of genius exercise by drawing the Venn diagram and writing the following in each circle: Circle one: What you enjoy Circle two: What ...
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February 3, 2022
Making space for what you want
If youâre in a job you hate, thereâs no room for the job you love. The same with a relationship, your home or the city you live in. The space is already occupied, so the option that will truly make you happy has to work harder to reach you. It has to push past your status quo to make itself seen. Not changing is easy. Staying still fee...
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January 31, 2022
Your culture book
The book Delivering Happiness, written by the late Tony Hsieh, gives fascinating insights into how he built Zappos, the company he led as CEO, that was bought for $1.2 billion by Amazon in 2009. Zapposâ focus on culture was so strong they invented something they called a culture book. Tony emailed everyone in the team to ask for 100-15...
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January 27, 2022
What do you train for?
The athlete trains to complete. To run the race like never before. To keep their cool in front of the crowd. The salesperson trains to close. To plan, pitch and seal the deal. To handle the objections and complete the sale. The grand master trains to checkmate each opponent. The lawyer trains to fight in court. The boxer trains for the...
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Oprah once said she doesnât want âto just be successful in this world⊠to make a mark or have a legacy.â Instead, she wants âto fulfil the truest, highest expression of [her]self as a human being.â Powerful. Some questions: Am I fulfilling the highest, truest expression of myself as human being? Are you fulfilling the highest, truest e...
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January 20, 2022
Five questions to truly know yourself
Once you know yourself, everything changes. You have more confidence. You are happier in your own skin. You cannot be side-tracked or feel shiny object syndrome or FOMO. You cannot be confused or sad. Once you know yourself, the rest is obvious. You know what youâre here to do. Knowing yourself really matters. Here are five questions t...
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January 17, 2022
Observations of truly happy people
1. They see the best in others Happy people donât put people down. Happy people donât hate. They give the benefit of the doubt and they look for the good in whoever they meet. You wonât catch them gossiping or hating on anyone. 2. They know who they are Happy people arenât trying to impress everyone else because they are indifferent to...
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January 13, 2022
Twenty lessons learned writing twenty books
Since 2013 Iâve written (and co-written) twenty books including four childrenâs storybooks, three workbooks, two guided journals and, most recently, one book of morning affirmations. Two have been published, seventeen are self-published, and one will be published in July with Hodder & Stoughton. Here are the twenty lessons I learned wr...
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January 10, 2022
When to celebrate
In 2018 I was in Australia, supporting my friend as she competed in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. One day I watched an England badminton player called Raj Ouseph play a menâs singles match against a Singaporean. The rules of badminton state that you must win by two clear points in a close set. During the match Raj faced four match...
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January 6, 2022
How to set goals and achieve them
Set a goal and write it down. Then stare at it. Imagine yourself achieving it. Imagine what you have written down being your reality. Assess how you feel. If a goal is worthwhile it will fill you with excitement. Youâll feel it in your whole being and youâll be raring to get started. If it fills you with anything less, youâre probably ...
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January 3, 2022
This yearâs mantra
The word mantra has two Sanskrit roots. 'Manas' meaning âmindâ and 'tra' meaning âtoolâ. A mantra is a tool of thought. At the start of each year I choose a mantra. This mantra will sum up the year and underpin what I do. In 2018 it was: If youâre going through hell, keep going. Told to me by a friend, I think this is a Churchill quote...
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December 30, 2021
My top 5 business-changing decisions
1. Finding a millionaire mentor This mentor helped me think bigger and in better ways. He saw things differently. He could differentiate true opportunities from distractions in disguise and I learned so much from every chat. 2. Joining a mastermind group Weekly meetings, with purpose and structure, with four other entrepreneurs traveli...
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December 27, 2021
I might not get this chance again
My favourite athlete is New Zealand rugby player Beauden Barrett. He started playing for the All Blacks in 2012 and has won the World Rugby Player of the Year award twice. When asked about how it feels to be selected for the national team, Beauden said that he never says no to an offer of playing for the All Blacks. He explained that h...
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December 23, 2021
We all want the same things
I have joined a new gym and itâs busy. Full of people. Every machine is taken, thereâs kit everywhere and a queue for the squat rack. The first few visits filled me with dread. Everyone annoyed me. I was frustrated having to wait around for equipment. People took ages doing their sets and they played on their phones for too long in bet...
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December 20, 2021
Make your vocation your vacation
Create a life you donât need to take a holiday from. There are many unhealthy cultures that permeate business advice, but the most widely-accepted is, in my opinion, actually the worst. Grinding and hustling all year except for a handful of âwell-earnedâ breaks, including Christmas, is practised and recommended by entrepreneurs and bus...
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December 16, 2021
Nailing your colours to the mast
Some people support political parties like they support a sports team. Their party can do no wrong. They remain loyal no matter who is in charge or what they say they will do. The devoted supporter is challenged on their beliefs and doesnât want to show weakness, so defends policies they donât quite agree with, to save face. The politi...
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December 13, 2021
"Was I weird enough?"
An incredibly intelligent friend with ADHD and Asperger's told me that he often, after leaving a social event, asks himself: was I too weird? I think he's asking the wrong question. The people that stick in your memory are those who stand out. Of the thousands of Uber journeys I've taken, I remember the drivers with the stories. Of all...
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December 9, 2021
Throwing the kitchen sink at it
One key difference between entrepreneurs that make it and those that donât is focus. Putting all of their energy in as few directions as possible (ideally one) in order to go further. Switching between projects doesnât just cost your own brainspace. It costs your brainspace in other peopleâs heads. They donât know how to help you. They...
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December 6, 2021
Changing your mind
When politicians change their mind itâs seen as negative. Inconsistent. A U-turn. They are expected to stick to their convictions so they donât look like they made an initial misjudgement. Even for the rest of us, thereâs a stigma. We are reminded we used to want to live in Spain, we never wanted a dog, we wanted to study law at univer...
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December 2, 2021
The mushroom effect
The mushroom effect is where, in the absence of big problems, small problems appear bigger. Itâs molehills dressed as mountains. Itâs the phenomena of needing something to worry about and inventing issues. Perhaps our minds feel uneasy without fear. Weâre so used to low level anxiety that when itâs missing we believe itâs cause for con...
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