Thoughts

Headwinds

When you’re on a mission to change the world, you’re going to hit some headwinds. Below is a transcript from a conversation I had with a client last week about how they’re dealing with headwinds, and how they can use them…   Right now, I feel like my wings have been clipped. For the past […]

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What are your Change Dragons?

You know what’s better than building things up in your imagination? Building things up in real life. – Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way   This period of lockdown has given us a golden opportunity to ask ‘what do we want? For ourselves, for our organisations, and for society. Personally, I’ve become really energised […]

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Roll Up Your Sleeves

“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” John F. Kennedy   Early in my career in Perth, I worked as a Chartered Accountant for one of those big consulting firms. This was back in the day when you couldn’t leave the building without your suit jacket on. You always wore a […]

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Marry Your Builder to Your Architect.

A couple of weeks ago, at our most recent Change Makers workout, our guest speaker lobbed an interesting question to us: “Are you a Builder, or an Architect?” She was referencing The Lego Movie. In Lego society, most people are Builders. The Builders follow the rules, do what’s asked of them, and are good citizens. […]

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The Moment of Courage

  Courage is one of those qualities that distinguishes the bold from the bland. When what’s right and what’s safe are two different paths, your degree of willingness to be courageous is what determines the path you take. When what you truly want comes with uncertainty and risk, courage is your link between intention and […]

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You’re More Resourceful Than You Think

  You’re more resourceful than you think. In my younger days, I was sent to work in Leeds in the UK by the global accounting firm I worked for. Coming from sunny Perth in Australia, it was quite the cultural and climate contrast! Never one to turn down an opportunity to explore a new environment, […]

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Courage is a Practice

When people face something big and scary, they’ll often say “I need to muster up the courage to tackle that.” Kind of like courage is something that’s scattered around the place in small bits, and they just need to gather up all of those small bits and create a big courage ball. Then they’ll be […]

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Be An Explorer, Not A Tourist

I was in Bali in June last year, chasing some much-needed sun in the midst of the dark New Zealand winter. I took a surfboard with me, of course. Like about one million other people who had the same idea that I did. I’d never surfed in Bali before, so I didn’t really know what […]

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Meta-Skills For Interesting Times

“May you live in interesting times. May you live in an interesting age. May you live in exciting times.” This phrase purportedly has it’s origins in China.  Over the past couple of hundred years, its popularity in the western world has tended to peak whenever the world goes into turmoil. I think it’s fair to […]

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The Source of Courage

Recently I wrote about Do You Need Confidence, or Courage? It seemed to the hit the mark with plenty of readers. It’s a topic worth exploring more. A quick rewind: Confidence comes from courage. Courage is what you have when you face something scary, and you do it anyway. Confidence is what you have after you’ve […]

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