Dare to dream?

"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself "  - Soren Kiekegaard.

I'm sure you must have heard about living in "comfort zone", What exactly is comfort zone? Let me elaborate. Couch surfing on a Sunday afternoon vs. getting up and going to Gym or mucking around at Facebook instead of giving time to your family.

These are just trivial examples of mundane things that we could do when finding ourselves upset or frustrated on not having a growth opportunity. I got hang of this concept in one of my communication class during screen business course, Stretch zone is what lies outside of our comfort zone. I call it the "growth zone" because you meet growth opportunity aka learning experience only when you are outside of your comfort zone.

If you leave the moment to go back to comfort zone, you will lose opportunity to grow, in our example opportunity to be with our family or lose some extra fat at the gym. If you wish to take advantage of this moment you need to find the lesson or the learning ripe for the picking. Why not just live comfortably in our comfort zone? Because if you wish to live your dreams, you are going to have to grow. Growth only happens outside of your comfort zone, meaning when you push yourself and when you are uncomfortable.

"if you do what you usually do, you'll get results that you usually get" - Anonymous.

I can harp on this concept a lot, however only thing that counts is getting the drive to get to your purpose. During the Xmas break take this opportunity to ponder on what actions you might need for next year that will make you uncomfortable and closer to your purpose. Wishing you very safe and happy holiday season and see you in 2018!


"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction" - John F Kennedy.

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Want to build momentum?

Want to build momentum? quickest way to do that is get up and get going! If you just sit there you are going to be forced to move by the changing times, movement is part of the human experience. You are either going to move yourself in the direction of your dreams or you are going to be moved by the progress of society.

Think about the universe it is in constant motion and we are part of it. To be static it to be out of the flow of the universe. If there is something between you ears stopping you for being in motion for goodness sake take care of it. Get moving, allow the flow of the universe to carry you to where you want to go. Think about it this way if you want to surf a wave on the ocean you have to do your part to get in motion and the wave will the rest. So what are you waiting for? I remember years ago I read this book by Justin Herald, in summary it said the same thing shortest way to reach your target is hard work.

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." 

- Thomas Jefferson. 

I remember the very first time I attended a meditation course 17 years ago, the very question that seeped through my mind was "who are you" we were meant to sit with a partner repeatedly posing this question. Pretty much like a Buddhist monk, years later I found out another way of doing it, but this time not by asking a probing question. This time (2007) I was on the road working crazy 24x7 to make my start up business success. I found the answer and I would like to quote another great man who agrees with me in this approach.

"Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do" - Steve Jobs.

Find out more about building momentum @ my Authentic Leadership course.

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Fail to plan is plan to fail

In most of my recent conversations with budding entrepreneurs this is the most important subject I harp upon. In todays fast paced business environment, and internet of things age it is very easy to forget the basics and get swamped in hurricane of information that is being thrown at us everyday.

Recently I have been appointed acting VP on yet another board which will make the current mark to 3 start up boards I am presiding on. All very different sectors one is Food Industry, second training and third technology company excluding my own brain child Green Lab Films & Media. I can not reaffirm anymore the need to better plan upfront to save toil later. However, I also know for fact no matter how much you plan things will still go wrong it will still rain during parade.

This is when having a plan B comes into action, you must have already heard about the buzzword "fail fast, fail forward" for people who haven't heard this term earlier. It means don't be afraid to fail "let fear not freeze your actions" which is another way of saying plan better my friend. I remember my maths teacher always use to say "Try and try again until you succeed" and I can't deny for fact how true it is for Lean Entrepreneurship.

In my 25 years of entrepreneurship experience (I started my first venture at fourteen, now don't calculate my age ok!) I can't tell how many times I have failed at one thing or another but still have kept going. From selling door to door instant dumplings mixture to selling pest control solutions to selling NB nature bonds to selling media technology and film distribution. One thing always led to another only what counted was not burying my head into failure but focusing on solution. In-fact that's what lean entrepreneurship and agile mindset talks about, which if succinctly to put in my words is nothing but planning enough to never run out of runway.

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. - Abraham Lincoln"

To read more about lean entrepreneurship or attend my upcoming seminar register here or put a comment below. Till then, Sayonara!

Photo credit: Dilbert.com & Scott Adams.

Fun Fitness Alternatives!

“Hit the gym, quit sugar, cut down alcohol, eat more veggies, meditate, floss your teeth, and get a health cover…”

Cultivating healthy lifestyle can seem like a mammoth task, but there are many ways to make it easier. Staying fit need not be an Olympic level commitment, if you don’t like lifting weights in the gym then don’t do it. If you don’t like running, don’t do it. No point giving grief to your limbs if you are not cut out for it. However! Fitness and well-being is thought process and a lifestyle thing, there are ways to get your exercise dose complete without forking out gym membership.

Consider this: “Your main goal should be for you to enjoy the physical activity” and find a way to do it more than four times a week. Also combine this with making better decision about food you put in your body and that’s it.

Here is a list of my favourite fun fitness alternative that doesn’t feel like exercise:

Hiking, especially with friends: I always love a walk around Woodcraft Lake near Blacktown NSW, I’ll be surprised if you can’t find a place to stroll or hike with family or friends in Australia. In darn blue Aussie accent “Hell yeah maties get on and get going…”

Zumba Fitness: I must admit I tried it myself once or twice apart from being the only guy shaking my booty along in class full of ladies. I felt like quitting every 5 minutes but I stayed on and after 15 mins I was not only enjoying it but sweating like a pig.

Weekly sports night: I love to play Tennis, TT & Badminton and make sure I book at-least one weeknight for it apart from socialising it is great way to stay fit.

Active Video games: Believe it or not Microsoft invented its first video game in 1990’s step dance (which you see at every game parlour) to overcome obesity in American kids. This was even taken further by Wii, Nintendo, Kinetic and Sony, I personally love playing boxing on my Wii and it is bloody entertaining and great work out.

Play childhood games: I don’t mean to push world’s population on name of fitness  J J… However playing with my 3.5 year old daughter gives me a good run for my breath. Best part is you get to re-live your childhood with kids and they never go out of energy J

Adult Gymnastics: That thing that couples do? Yeah? Do more of that, self-explanatory. Moving on! (Don’t laugh)

Clean the house: Yeah, yeah that’s my usual answer to my wife when she asks me to get up and clean when in middle of an interesting TV show on Sunday morning. I know it sucks sometimes but you name it vacuuming, gardening, dishes, moping anything per say does get you sweaty. Isn’t it? So what are you waiting for? Do it for love. Clean house, happy partner and fitness all in one!

Yoga: Build flexibility, strength, sweat and relax all in one. There are million types of yoga, and it is fastest growing fitness industry in Australia so go and check it out yourself.

There are several other ways to keep fit like martial arts, salsa dancing, rock climbing, golf, ice skating, swimming the list goes on and on… Staying fit could never get easier than this best to follow this five point approach if you need a push over the fence.

Say yes to it before you say no, commit in advance, go with a friend or family, and expect to suck in the beginning (like I did with Zumba) and finally have fun.

Learning experience or mistake?

This world has a way of trying to homogenize you. Trying to sanitize you. Trying to scrub you of your unique divine genius, this world wants to make you regular - Cory Booker

When we take action, we always make mistakes... knowingly or unknowingly. They are bound to happen and it's important to have a good attitude towards mistakes. Mistakes are an integral part of learning. They teach us what we need to learn. As Miles Davies once said, "Do not fear mistakes; there are none". 

Today when I look back, I know I have done ample of mistakes some of them have costed me huge losses. However, at that time I wasn't sure if the learning I was getting out of so called "learning experience" would make me a better person. But I have realised now actually they did it was like a tiny drop of water in the ocean of experience called life.

Second thing I learned about mistake was not to take them seriously, this helped me immensely to grow as a person and understand others point of view. people who think you should know how to do something perfectly almost immediately are making a fundamental error that can prevent learning in both themselves and others around them. There is no end to new things you can learn from your mistakes but you would only realise that once you have gone past it.

So at times when I get understanding of the "learning experience aka mistakes" I just take one lesson at a time and keep moving.

"Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans" - Lenin.

Make your work break count!

Have you heard new adage “sitting is new smoking” …

When I heard about it I thought hell yeah! better I had quit smoking already now I need to quit sitting too? Until I got diagnosed with chronic back pain couple of years ago. I told my chiropractor “I am quite fit bloke” how come I got back pain in-spite of working out and leading an active lifestyle? He mentioned about science of posture and how human body is meant for hunting in the fields and not sitting in front of a damn computer whole day long. 

Now if this was 1860, I could have done something about “hunting in the fields” part but in 2017 it is a pretty tough gig. Specially living in this civilization makes it even harder to imitate our ancestral modus operandi.

We might have come from the planet of the apes but now since we are in the information age let’s see how we can still quench our postural thirst by staying in “well-being worker” limits. This is what I suggest as our plan of action to make our work breaks count.

Breaks are good, but do we take them? Ask yourself “what makes a good break for me?” taking yourself to local park? calling a friend? checking into gym? Laugh out loud with colleagues?  Or it might be just eating your food mindfully – which one is your fit ? Find it and use it.

Ensure you drink more than 2 litres water: Have you been asked this questions - Do you drink enough water? I am sure you would know the benefit but it has an added advantage of making you run to toilet pretty often and also break the sitting posture cycle for the sake of your bladder.

Get a fitness tracker: A little bit of technology to help you motivated and stay on track, most of the trackers can now start to beep (like mine) every 50th minute of an hour asking you to move your body (I said body…)

Don’t press the send button:  At times you’ll catch yourself sending an email to person sitting at the same floor? Have you done that? I know I have, why not try the alternate and walk to the person to have a chat.

Catch that yawn:  Yawning is actually a signal from your brain craving for oxygen! That is body’s natural response to initiate a break in posture. Next time when you catch yourself yawning at work get up and stretch yourself.

7 min refresher: It is scientifically proven 7 minutes is what it takes to break your postural pattern, experiment all the activities you could do in 7 minutes like brushing your teeth after lunch with an added advantage of dental hygiene.

Power Naps: There is a misconception, you don’t have to actually sleep merely closing your eyes and listening to some relaxing music for 10-20 mins would do the job.

In conclusion, it matters less what you do than why you’re doing it. Pay attention to three aspects of body, mind and spirit to tune into your own energy style and choose work break activities that will truly refresh you.

How to fix bad mood??

Mental well-being is described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as “the state in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” 

It’s important to understand that well-being is distinct from happiness, which can come and go, whereas well-being is a consistent state of wellness, satisfaction and contentment. In Australia, many of us work and strive to improve our well-being and quality of life, and that of our families. 

Elements that can contribute to a person’s well-being are:

Health.

Personal relationships.

Feelings of safety.

Standard of living.

Sense of achievement and purpose. 

Feeling part of the community.

Future security.

Good mental health is more than just the absence of mental illness. A positive state of well-being includes feeling good and functioning well.  In totality your mental well-being is linked with not only you but people around you, it is in direct proportion to the quality of your personal and professional life. A bad state of mind not only destroys your day but does subsequent harm to family and workplace, let’s look at few ways to tackle a bad mood.

How to fix a bad mood?

•“Remind yourself that whatever it is that’s causing distress, will almost certainly pass (few things last forever)

•“Try to keep negative life events in perspective; ask something like ‘is it really that bad?’ or ‘how bad will this seem in a week, month or year?’

•“Focus more on what you have and less on what you don’t have; more on what’s going well rather than whatever it is that’s not going well

•“Reassure yourself you’re not alone and you don’t have to cope on your own; tell yourself there are others who care and who can help.” 

“Positive thinking is very useful at times, but positive action can be just as or even more powerful.

So in addition to changing our thoughts, one or more of below behaviours could help to overcome  a bad mood:

•“Exercise – activity is not just good for our physical health but also very beneficial for our well-being

•“Put on your favourite tunes and soak up the positive energy.

•“Call a friend – a problem shared is a problem halved.

•“Read, listen to, or watch something funny – laughter is a powerful anti-depressant!”

•Get out of the lazy funk

•Check your mood monitor score:  https://www.mindhealthconnect.org.au/mood-monitor

In conclusion I would like to quote :

There is no passion to be found playing small -  In settling for a life that is less  than the one you are capable of living – Nelson Mandela.

The more a man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and well being – Confucius.

What You Are Made Up Of?

The impact your life has on society is going to be determined by what you do when life is difficult. It is easy to be productive when life is easy but can you find empowering meanings when the odds are stacked against you to produce the results? It is easy to regurgitate clichés do you have the fortitude to do the work to take the action, or are you all talk? The greatest heroes have overcome the mightiest obstacles, and this is not a coincidence. Some people run from problems, but greatness does not allow you to avoid problems it is in the overcoming of your problems that defines you.

This weekend my two year old daughter was after my life to watch her recently favourite animation “The Good Dinosaur” being a Pixar film, I knew it was going to be fun. But I was totally bedazzled by the dialogue writing hats off to Pixar team and their writers. This is their third film I’m blogging about:

Butch the T-Rex [to Arlo]
“If you aren’t scared, you ain’t alive.”

Arlo: [laughs slightly] you guys would have liked my poppa. He wasn't scared of anything. [sighs] I'm done being scared!
Butch: Who said I'm not scared?
Arlo: But you took on a croc!
Butch: And I was scared doin' it. If you ain't scared of a croc bitin' you on the face, you ain't alive. Listen, kid, you can't get rid of fear. It's like Mother Nature; you can't beat her or outrun her, but you can get through it. You can find out what you're made of.
Butch: You’ll be alright, you are one tough kid

That’s your ultimate testing moment, which proves what you are made up of. The other day, I was speaking to my brother over phone about his struggles being an entrepreneur. Some wretched trader double crossed him, later he sent me a message “Life is full of idiots like these (that trader) who wants to burst your dream bubble (deal)” But he still chose to complete the deal even if it made him loss. At least to show what he was made up of, hats off to you brother! You are one tough kid!

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy - Martin Luther King, Jr.

yours -

@amazing_arvind