Thoughts

We all harbor two things: A desire to be significant Fears about our ability to be significant These two things compete for our attention all the time. Which one do we listen to? The desire, or the fear? Our desire to be significant is…significant. We want to be seen. We want to matter. As we’ve […]

When I was about six years old, my grandparents went on a cruise ship from Perth to Bali, Indonesia. That was back in the day when you were allowed to go on board the ship and visit when it was in port. Which is what my family planned to do. Except I was terrified of […]

Hey. This one’s for you if you’re a people leader, advisor, or if you’re simply keen to help people learn and grow. If someone comes to you with a problem, how do you help? Do you tell them what to do, or do you get them thinking for themselves? In my early days as a […]

  I’ve just got back from a week on the beach in Fiji. But wait – it’s not what you think! I went to plan and write my next book (ok, with a little surfing thrown in). I had a hugely productive week, and I’ve come away feeling pretty good about where I’ve got to. […]

  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, […]

Here are three tips on how to own your strengths.

The late novelist David Foster Wallace tells a wonderful story about ‘incuriosity’ in his commencement speech This Is Water: There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys, how’s the water?” And the two young fish […]

  I’ve recently returned from my annual windsurfing trip to Gnaraloo, in the North West of Western Australia. Eventful as always, this year provided something extra special… I was sailing out to sea at high speed, about 500m from shore, and was looking for the next swell to ride back to the reef. It was […]

Most people find changing behaviours hard work. Our brain wiring is often set to drive a default pattern of behaviour, and unless we can get a good look at the wiring diagram, we’re going to be playing around in the dark. Here’s a tool that my clients find really useful to help them change to […]

“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 […]