What Are You Doing?

What a big news weekend!

Aussie Cadel Evans won the Tour De France, a Norwegian man did unspeakable acts, Amy Winehouse died and my Bromance got engaged.  Like most big news, within a week we will have forgotten about it or moved on to other things.

Yes some of the news was tragic, some of the news was unexpected and some of it was shocking. For most of us it will have minimal real impact.  The lasting impact for each of us comes from our own actions.

Ghandi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." This goes well with the concept of "Be where your hands are."

Cadel Evans said both his training and rest process before going in to the Tour was "near perfect". Amy didn't want to go to rehab and Bromance had been carrying around the ring waiting for the "right moment". It is the actions that we take right here and right now that will determine our results in the future.

So what are YOU doing?




PS Congratulations to Bromance!
PPS If you are in Melbourne and want some further tips, ideas and Sparkenations come and see me speak at Ian Berry's Book launch on Thursday 28th June. More info here.   
PPPS If you are SERIOUS about getting more out of your life and building a life of your dreams, come to the three day Serious Abundance seminar in Melbourne 5-7 August where I will be sharing the stage with Dr John Tickell, Tracy Bartram and others. More info here 

Are You Willing?

I almost can't believe it.


It has been a week without TV!


Last Tuesday, Wifey and I decided that we would turn off the TV for a month. So we turned it off at the wall and unplugged it.  Me....who doesn't feel safe unless I am sitting there with at least one remote control in my hand!!!


A few friends asked us why.  Quite simply, there is nothing on.  Australia's new FreeView is a joke. All they have done is watered down the existing programs with additional reruns.  So on any particular night, we would watch the best of a bad lot. I found myself getting angry that I was wasting my life.  Bruce Springsteen said it best, 57 Channels and Nothing On!


So we decided to try a month with out TV.  We can use the extra time to read, play games, exercise or even.......talk!!  Communicate with the one we love??  OUTRAGEOUS!!


Anyway, it's been a week and I have survived!  No TV, no movies, no DVD's and no computer games.  No sport wasn't an issue for me because unlike most Australian men, I don't enjoy watching (or even playing) sport.  I don't miss the news because most of it is "infotainment".  It is what rates, not what I need to know.  I can get what I need from the internet or in discussions with friends.


I don't miss the advertising.  I can still buy things and not need anyone to tell me about it. I haven't missed any of the cop shows or lawyer shows (but I am sure CSI Geelong is not far away!)  I haven't missed the vegging out in a mind numbing stupor.


I have enjoyed the conversations. I have been more industrious in my work. I have played my bass guitar. I have been gripped by the books I have read. I have delighted in the friendships I have participated in. I have explored the internet (and found a lot of rubbish there but Lego Death Star Canteen was funny! It does have some swearing though so be warned!)


Are you willing to join us?  


I am not trying to create a new movement or a new month thing or a ribbon day or anything.  I am just suggesting that your life would be enriched by turning of your TV for a month.  You never know what you will find. You may even find yourself!

Are You In The Wrong Spot?

A friend sent me some samples of the funny (and sad) responses students give on tests.  One of the the responses was this picture.

It made me laugh out loud. But then I looked closer.

The dimensions on the legs have excellent perspective. The artist has captured the feeling of the person with the arms stretched out and smiling face. The pigtails are observing gravity. To me, an uneducated observer, this student is an excellent artist or at least has excellent potential.  To even see that this quadratic graph could be altered into the feminine form is fabulous.

This picture screams to me that this student would prefer, and possibly be better suited to, artistic subjects rather than math subjects.

I have seen the same in businesses and organisations. People whose skills are far better utilised in a different role than the one they are employed for. Workers who would be better managers, managers who would be better workers, customer facing staff who are better suited to behind the scenes, support staff who are better customer facing - you have probably seen the same.

If your default view of the world is not suited to your current role, change your role! Apply for a transfer, seek out alternatives, work on a project team - do what it takes to support your natural skills. You will be more successful, happier and get better results on your next exam!
I would give this student marks just for their interpretation of the question!

So are you in the Wrong Spot?

Come and Hear Me Speak!

I RARELY post commercial information but there are two events I am involved with that I really wanted to tell you about.
I won’t waffle on about each even, just keep it short and sweet.

The first one is a book launch.  A good friend of mine Ian Berry has just launched his new book “Changing What’s Normal”. To celebrate he has asked me to join him and Geoff McDonald to speak at a 90 minute seminar on Thursday 28th July.  Your registration includes a copy of the book and you get to hear three speakers to inspire you to live a beyond normal life.  Find out more detail and book your place here.

The second thing is late last week I was asked to share the stage with Dr John Tickell, Tracy Bartram and Dr Rosemary McCallum for a three day seminar on Serious Abundance.  I am so excited about this!  We will be sharing with you ways you can cut through the nonsense, get rid of the rubbish and live the life you want.  
You will learn: 

• Ways to have more fun in your life
• Financial Skills and methods to improve your relationship with wealth
• Work Life balance techniques to allow yourself time to connect with those who count
• Wellness – eat without being on a diet and have a healthy relationship with food
• Ideas to live with more passion and conviction.

Find out more about this event, including the Early Bird Special that ends Friday 15th July, by clicking here. 
As I said I am thrilled about both of these events. If you need a quick burst, come along to the book launch. If you are serious about giving your life a shake up and building something you truly desire, come to the three day seminar.

I look forward to seeing you at either event.

Warm regards




Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy 

Are They That Different?

Are they that different?
I am consistently surprised at the culture shock I get when I travel to the USA. I keep thinking we are so similar (and we are) but we are also so different.

It's easy to spot some differences. They drive on a different side of the road and a different side of the car. They have money that is all the same colour. They spell colour without the "u". But these are the easy ones.

Some of the more subtle or peculiar ones are: they use their cutlery differently (especially how they hold a fork), their food looks like ours but tastes different, their coffee is NOT coffee and their approach to customer service is very different to ours.

It would be easy to get in to a "whose is best" kind of discussion and the answer is no-ones. Each approach is not better simply different. Sometimes it is easy to see the differences like the ones mentioned, but there are others that are not that easy to see.  This is not just between cultures, it's also between people.

This is where a behavioural preference tool like DISC comes in handy. They enable you to consider others (like a partner, colleague, client or prospect) and determine how they like to behave and communicate.  You can then change your style to match theirs. This will enable you to have much more effective communication and better relationships.

DO NOT try and make them change to suit you.  Many have tried and failed.  You can never change others, only yourself.  The truth is that people are VERY different, regardless of cultural background.  Behavioural flexibility will increase your chance of success.

Are You Used To It?

I am here in Portland Oregon for work. Yesterday I took a drive out to the Colorado River Gorge. I call it drive by tourism. I took some photos as I drove. If you look past the bugs on the windscreen you will see Mt Hood in the background. I was blown away to be driving around and have this amazing snow capped mountain in the background.


I guarantee you that many locals will not even see it. We get used to things and don't notice how special they are. It is not taking it for granted, because I am sure the locals love it, it is just that you see it so often you get used to it and it blends into the background.


Are some of your customers, your team members, your support staff or your family the same? I am sure you know how special they are, how much they mean to you but it is easy to get used to having them around and having them do things for you.  


So are you Used To It? Make sure they know how much they mean to you and your business.

Lessons for the Lazy Traveller

As some of you may know, I am off to the USA for some work.

With all of the recent ash cloud sagas, my first concern was getting off the ground!  In fact, after a long wait, my 6am flight got cancelled.

I thought I would be on hold for ages and it would just be one long nightmare trying to get away. Ah the delights of Qantas!! I was on hold for about 3 minutes.  After a few more minutes on hold, the delightful reservations person had me on the direct flight leaving at 9am (rather than the one that goes via New Zealand at 6am) and had shuffled my connecting flight so I was only delayed by about 2 hrs.

YAY!!!

I was so excited.  No rude getting to the airport at 3am - I could be there at 6am!  No 3 hr stop over in Auckland, simple straight line flight to LAX.  It was almost too good to be true!! 

And then I got to the airport!!

I was so excited to go, and I am only a boy so I don't need much stuff, that I was able to pack everything I needed for the 12 days into my carry on bag. The plan is to do some shopping to get more cloths and so on and buy a new suitcase to bring it home.  How slick was I!!  The Lazy Traveller!  No waiting around for luggage for this little black duck!!

If only I could have chosen the security guard!!

Check in was a breeze.  Then went I went into the customs area, a security guard said he had to weigh my bag.  At 13kg it was too heavy and I had to go back to check in.  My little balloon of re-scheduled happiness burst and I plummeted to travelling hassle reality!!

I got back in the check in queue, which had grown dramatically.  The security guard has said, they may issue it with a sticker and I would be fine. The Qantas checkin person had no idea what I was talking about. She presented me with a sturdy plastic bag and said I had to spread the weight and check one bag in.

All my books and non-essentials (clothes) went in that bag. This left my laptop, Tim Tam's and essentials in the carry on.  Then back into the check-in queue for a third time.  There was a delay because some Dr kind of person from Medecins Sans Frontieres had a medical box with dry ice and they had to be sure about it.  By then I was thinking, "Damn their good work, just get out of my way!"

I asked every so sweetly, jovially and manipulatively if I could have two carry on bags (now that one was 4kg and the other 7.8kg). The check-in person politely said "No".  So now I have luggage to wait for.  In a flimsy plastic bag!!  I am expecting when I get to LAX for there to be a stream of jock's, socks jeans and books come streaming around on the luggage carousel!

To make it worse, when I went through customs the second time, the different security guard had no interest in weighing my bag!!  Arrrggh!!  If only I got him first. If only you could choose your own security guard!

A bit of healthy perspective though. I am now sitting in the Qantas lounge, checking email, writing my blog and planning my direct flight to LAX and then Portland.  It seems that my problems are high quality problems.

Such is the life of a lazy traveller!!