Curve Balls

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When was the last time you were completely stumped by a question, a request, or a situation you found yourself in? How did you handle it?

I am no longer tricked by curve balls. As a Toastmaster for the last 4 years, I practice dealing with curve balls every week in our impromptu speaking section called Table Topics.

The idea behind this part of the program is to learn to deal with curve balls—efficiently and effectively. The Table Topics master (Toastmaster in-charge of the section), draws up a list of questions and fellow Toastmasters are required to speak on the topic for 1 minute with no notice. The questions are usually related to the theme for the meeting and are unusual.

Once a year, Toastmaster International runs a Table Topics competition and all Toastmasters against compete with each other. Last month, I won our club’s Table Topics competition and next weekend I will compete in the Area competition for our club. Here’s hoping that I can handle this curve ball when it is thrown my way.

If you struggle with what to say, consider looking into developing your skills further in a Toastmasters club in your area. http://www.toastmasters.org/

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/

Hay House Writers Workshop

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Upon entering the room you could feel it, the energy of 500 aspiring to be or already published authors, was palpable. Over the weekend I attended the Hay House Australia’s Writers Workshop. This year was the first time this workshop was held over two days in Australia and every minute was filled with inspiration.The shared passion for writing joined everyone together and made it easy to connect with people.

Meeting and hearing the stories of everyday names from Hay House, some via video link— Louise Hay, Doreen Virtue, Reid Tracey and Leon Nacson who facilitated the weekend, was an experience and very empowering. There were people present from all states and territories in Australia, as well as the United States, France, Italy, South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, Canada and Sweden.

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Reid Tracey and Leon Nacson

The workshop’s practical approach to the good, the bad and the ugly of the publishing industry was refreshing and allowed us to realise it is up to us to ensure our goals are achieved. The following messages are my take away from the workshop:

1. Platform, platform, platform.

2. What message do you need to get out.

3. The book you write should change your life.

4. Write everyday—don’t wait until you are in the mood, snatch every 5 minutes you can to write.

5. Get a team around you to support your creativity.

6. Know your audience and give them what they want more of.

7. Connect with your tribe.

8. Just publishing your book doesn’t develop an audience—you are your own publicity officer.

9. If it is going to be, it is up to me—you are responsible for your own destiny. Don’t wait for somebody else to do it for you.

10. Remember your words could be the pivot that changes someones life.

11. Believe in yourself and your book.

12. The hardest part of publication is getting someone to read your book. I actually agree with this as I had the same problem when giving out my trial books for feedback.

13. Discover what is burning in your heart to write and change direction if necessary.

14. Write not to be misunderstood. This was part of my early learning when writing my book. When I counsel people I can tell if they are confused and  need more explaination however, with a book you don’t have this luxury so you must get it right the first time.

15. Write for your heart not your wallet.

16. Develop your own unique voice.

17. Everyone’s journey is different and there is no direct route to success.

18. You never know where your life will take your work—be prepared to change plans.

19. Own your work and go with it.

20. Be excited by the writing and publishing process—watch it change you as you grow on your journey.

21. You are your own brand. Use your own name to market yourself. Then if what you write changes over time,  your audience will go with you.

22. Join a mastermind group to help keep your focus on success.

23. Create mini deadlines for yourself.

24. The reason people are going to buy your book is because of you.

25. Self publishing your book still make you an expert in your field. They don’t need to be traditionally published.

26. Understand the need to commit to to your book.

27. Simplify your knowledge and talk about your book whenever possible.

28. Understand the gift of education and teaching.

29.Work with my vulnerability in the online arena compared to the security of my hospital job.

30. Have a strong purpose.

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Thanks Hay House for the weekend and my show bag.

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Share Your World – 2014 Week 36

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1. Do you prefer reading coffee table books (picture), biographies, fiction, non-fiction or educational?

I love books. Anytime I go shopping I can’t resist looking in the bookshops to see what is new. Although I do admit looking for bargains in second-hand bookshops and stalls is my favourite book pastime. I usually buy at least one book. My husband has given up. My favourite books to read and buy are non-fiction self-help books. I am particularly drawn to success manuals and self improvement books.  As I am nearing the completion of my book on what is important in eating disorder recovery, I am reading a lot of books on self publishing, which I find very helpful.

2. What is your biggest fear or phobia? (no photos)

My biggest fear is nyctophobia or fear of the darkness. In my own home this is not a problem however walking outside alone is a big problem for me. Walking with someone else even a child doesn’t seem to bother me, weird I know.

3. What is your favourite cheese?

My favourite cheese at the moment is blue cheese. My husband has been buying it to put on my pizzas and I have remembered how much I love the strong flavour. Blue cheese also goes well inside a dried apricot for a snack or appetizer. I think it is the delicate balance between sweet and sour that I like. Give it a try, you might like it.

blue apricot

 

4. What is your favourite month of the year?

August is my favourite month of the year because:

  • It’s my birthday
  • In Australia, it is the end of winter
  • Spring is around the corner
  • Usually I get to feel the sunshine on my skin again for the first time in months
  • If I am going to the NSW ski fields, it is the best time to guarantee snow
  • Flowers start budding
  • Baby animals are born

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/09/08/share-your-world-2014-week-36/

End Of An Era

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Have you ever kept putting off the inevitable hoping something would miraculously change and you wouldn’t have to move out of your comfort zone. It ended today for me. I have known for most of the year that my purple hair had to go. For the last twenty years, I have been colouring my own hair every 6-8 weeks with L’Oreal’s Casting Creme Gloss – Plum. It suited me and I loved being different.

My regular ritual took place in the backyard to ensure I didn’t make a mess by dropping the hair dye. Each time I would recruit a family member to come and check that I hadn’t missed any spots. It didn’t matter who was helping me the conversation usually went;

“A little bit here, turn around, again, a little bit more here, turn, and here. No not there”

“Where then?” I asked.

“Give me your hand,” replied my helper. Placing my hand with hair dye to the ready, they would then direct my hand to where the extra coverage was needed.

“Thanks, now I will be beautiful again” I relied sarcastically.

When completed, my hair did look great again adding colour to my face and instantly lifting it. The problem has been, now it only looks good for two weeks, if I am lucky. After which stage, a major grey strip would develop down the centre of my head, leaving me looking washed out and old.

From today I have joined the long line of women who have someone lovingly attend to their hair with permanent colour. I sat in the chair, watched and waited in awe as the colourist took her time dividing my hair into sections, placing the colour on each strand and regularly checked my grey hair was developing to match my other hair. This was the most attention my hair had received in a long time.

After my new natural brown hair colour was revealed for the first time, I was happy. The experts had chosen well and the colour suited me.  I would get over the fact that apparently purple isn’t a strong enough colour to cover the grey so I needed to move on. Part of me couldn’t help wondering what other excitement would come into my life now my purple era had ended and I was brunette again. I do believe things happen for a reason and now having seen the results I wish I had followed through on this thinking when I first realised—its time.

What has come to the end  of era in you life? What is stopping you from moving forward with the change you need to make?

 

Write Twice, Publish Once

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My father taught me an important rule of building is to measure twice, cut once. If you only measure once before you cut and your measurement is wrong there is no going back. As you can edit after publishing, this is not the same with blogging, however, I find that write twice, publish once helps with my writers block and assists the flow of my blog.

By writing on the topic from scratch each time, my creativity often flows in a different direction. There are always some key points that to my surprise, I frequently by chance write identical sentences to cover these topics. This information I take as the core to my topic and build the other ideas from each writing session to complete my blog.

To date, I have found the second attempt to be more creative and fills in the detail. This practice works best when there is a couple of days between writing segments. Don’t read what you have written prior to writing your second draft. Re reading your previous attempt may stop new ideas from flowing as your mind is biased by your words.

Next time you find yourself stuck, give my write twice, publish once technique a  try and let me know about your experience.

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Just Start

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Zig Ziglar

 

Are you waiting for you path to have all the green lights in a row before you start your journey?Don’t. It will stop you from reaching your goal. Start somewhere. It is only by doing that you figure out the best path to take to reach your goal.Set your sights on finishing each task you begin. Leaving things half complete disempowers you. Keep going and finish where you originally planned. When you reach your goal reassess your situation and see if there is a further goal to set. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there, you still get there if you start and keep working at it.

For me starting this blog took months in the planning stage, but I still needed to set it up and start blogging. I had no idea where to start I just did it. I slowly gathered momentum and then stopped when life got in the way. This meant that I needed to start again, which I did a fortnight ago. In this time I have learnt more about the realities of building a blog than I could have ever planned for. I now understand this blog is a work in progress and will take time to develop. My current goal is to interact daily with as many people as possible, grow my audience and develop a strong voice online.

If I had waited to know exactly what I was doing before I started, I wouldn’t be reaping the rewards from blogging that I am today. Listen to Zig Ziglar’s advice—start anywhere, it doesn’t matter where, then you will have the opportunity to finish where you want or need to.

Greetings, Stranger

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You’re sitting at a café when a stranger approaches you. This person asks what your name is, and, for some reason, you reply. The stranger nods, “I’ve been looking for you.” What happens next?

I looked around the room to confirm the stranger was addressing me as he entered the room. There was nobody else, so I smiled and replied.

“How can I help you? Are you looking for me personally?”

“Yes, I have been following you for the last few months and wanted to give you some feedback” said the stranger.

“Okay.” I was curious but not concerned as the tone of the strangers voice was soft, gentle and affirming.

“I’m Sam. What would you like to tell me?”

“The reason I have been following you is several months ago you grabbed my mother and pulled her from the path of an oncoming bus, probably saving her life.”

“I remember. She is a sweet old lady. How is she going? My actions weren’t special, I only did what anyone else would have done in the circumstances.”

“I disagree,” said the stranger. “It wasn’t an isolated case was it?”

“No” I replied. “My New Years resolution has been to pay kindness forward. To lookout everyday for situations where I can give help, support or guidance to anyone in need.”

“And I am here to tell you that you have been doing an excellent job. My mother pointed you out after her incident as she knew who you were. Since then, I have seen you help many people from all walks of life.”

“Thanks! I enjoy seeing the gratitude and smiles on peoples faces after our connection.” I assured the stranger.

“I wanted to find you because my company wants to  reward people like yourself. I will be starting an award in your name to be given monthly to people in our community who go out of their way to help others. You will be the initial recipient and we will donate $500 to the charity of your choice.  You will receive a thank you certificate acknowledging your recognition.”

“I wasn’t expecting any reward, although supporting my favourite charity is an excellent way to continue the pay it forward principal. Thank you. I am honoured and humbled.”

 http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/greetings-stranger/

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel-Themes

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Do you have movies that hold meaning for you from the first time you see them? What are the themes or life lessons of theses movie? Why do you enjoy it so much? One of these movies for me is the The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

The first time I saw this movie was at the cinemas when it was first released. I had free movie tickets I needed to use before their expiry and I thought it looked like it would be fun. To me however, it turned out to be much more and I wanted to know why.

Recently, it was on television so I planned my night around it to ensure I didn’t miss seeing it again. This time, whilst still enjoying it, I was able to pick out the themes and life lessons it addressed, which helped me to understand my connection. Which ones do you connect with or did you get something else from the movie?

1. Finding your individual way in a world that is changing around you.

2. Growing older.

3. Cultural diversity.

4. Knowing when a relationship is past its expiry date.

5. Finding lost love.

6. Loneliness.

7. Listening and responding to others.

8. Treating people with respect and dignity.

9. Sexual Identity.

10. Team Work.

11. Non-compromising Standards.

12. Caste system.

13. Living your dream.

14. Discrimination.

15. Trying to hold things together.

16. Acceptance and understanding.

17. Fatalism.

18. Breaking down barriers.

19. Honesty.

20. Independence.

21. Generation Gap.

22. Having a double set of rules.

23. Set in your ways.

24. Like father, like son.

25. Putting things right.

26. Controlling mother.

27.  Letting go of the past.

28. Moving on.

The main quote used throughout the movie develops more power as the movie progresses. It is  a good code to life by, don’t stop—keep going until you get to the gold at the end of your rainbow.

“Everything will be alright in the end, so if it is not yet alright, it is not yet the end.”

http://youtu.be/dDY89LYxK0w

Fathers Day

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Today in Australia is Fathers Day. The day we honour, celebrate and recognise the role our fathers play in our life. I have put together an acrostic poem acknowledging some of the roles our fathers play in our lives. Can you think of anymore?

F

Friend, Family, Financial Support, Fun, Fitness

A

Anchor, Action Roles, Adaptability, Assertion, Acceptance, Authority, Affection, Appreciation

T

Teacher, Trainer, Taxi, Tease, Terrific, Time Manager

H

Helper, Honesty, Health

E

Encouragement, Example, Emotional Stability, Effective Problem Solving, Emulate Behaviour,

R

Responsibility, Role Model, Relationships, Repair, Respect

S

Supportive, Safety, Sympathetic Ear, Sports, Strength, Self Direction, Self Compassion,

Thanks for everything

Redwoods Forest

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Coming from Australia I had only dreamed of standing in a forest of Californian Coastal Redwoods. These tall magnificent trees have fascinated me for decades. The first one I saw was as a child on television—I couldn’t believe my eyes. A tree so big you could drive through it. As an adult I know it as The Chandelier Drive Through Tree in Leggett, California. It is 2400 years old, 315 feet (96.1 metres) tall and has a diametre of 21 feet (6.4 metres).

On arrival in Rotorua, New Zealand imagine my surprise to discover there was a  forest that included Californian Coastal Redwoods. My dream had come true. This forest had a different energy to any other I had ever walked in. My husband agreed. It was inspirational. The forest gave me the feeling I could do anything while I was with them. The largest trees stand 67 metres (219 feet) tall and are 169 centimetres (66.5 inches) wide. They are the tallest trees that I had seen. They are part of The Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest—a 55,000 hectare forest originally planted from 1899 to discover which of 170 species of trees from around the world would grow in the area.

Redwood Forest

Redwood Forest

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Today, The Redwood Whakarewarewa Forest has an international reputation for its walks and trails. Entry is free and it is used by mountain bikes, walkers, hikers and horse riders. A growing concern, the forest regularly opens new trails. Unfortunately our time in the Redwoods forest was short due to the impending park closing time. For me, the experience exceeded my dream and I look forward to spending more time with these magnificent trees during my future travels.

Sculptures at Forest Entrance

Sculptures at Forest Entrance

What are your favourite trees? How did you feel if you were fortunate enough to stand in a forest of them?