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Who is the person you admire the most and why?
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Pride comes before a fall
I think Pride is one of our enemies… it is impossible to learn when you are proud. It is impossible to relate to others when you are feeling superior. Pride affects creativity because it refuses to explore (because you know everything already anyway) and it also stops you from seeing the world from another persons perspective.
Pride is a constant enemy and we need to watch our backs because it longs to possess our souls. We know we are proud when we refuse to listen to advice or when we find ourselves jealous of others peoples success.
Trip through customs
After travelling through the worst turbulence of all time I arrived back in California late last night. With the thick beard that I am sporting I was expecting a tough time clearing US immigration. I made sure that my accent was distinctly kiwi and I waited with a dry mouth and a fair share of perspiration in the queue at customs…
It’s not that I’ve ever broken any immigration rules… for some reason immigrations queues make me feel guilty even when I am innocent. So I stood there praying and trying to work out which Official I would eventually see; would I get the friendly young guy or the stern old woman? Turns out I got “stern” but stern turned out to be friendly… she didn’t ask any questions and let me straight on through.
Phew… Does he anyone else feel wrongly accused at airport security these days?
On a plane again
In less than an hour I will begin lugging two heavy suitcases halfway across London to Heathrow; in big cities getting to the airport is definitely the most difficult part of travelling.
I am so looking forward to going to Los Angeles again and getting stuck into the business of raising finance for my projects. I have several possible meetings lined up and I really enjoy this side of the business.
It’s also great going to a city where I already know so many people and have a large number of terrific friends. I think that is what makes a city enjoyable or otherwise… the people that you know. I surprise a lot of people when I describe Los Angeles as one of the friendliest cities in the world. When you pass a stranger in the street they nearly always say hello… that’s why I love LA.
Fear, Greed & Gratitude
Fear and Greed are the two emotions that motivate people when it comes to money. These two states sit at opposite ends of the seesaw and people often bounce from one extreme to the other… it’s a very anxious and uncomfortable way to live.
I found myself a prisoner of both fear and greed when I tried to learn how to trade currency online a couple of years ago (a dark art if ever there was one).
I find that gratitude is one of the keys to avoid the fear and greed seesaw, not gratitude for what I will have in the future but gratitude for everything that I have right now in my possession. In the West, we are of course all incredibly wealthy but because of our capitalistic environment we cannot always appreciate or enjoy our own wealth. There are people around the world who would kill for the hot shower that you had this morning, and the very fact that you have computer on which you can read this blog means you are already in the top 2% of global wealth.
You can cultivate your own grateful attitude by writing down three things you are grateful for every morning.
Think big like Federer
I watched Roger Federer win the Australian Open this morning. I could watch Federer play tennis every day of the week, he is so inspirational because he’s simply so good. I heard that he will train for four hours each morning, that in the off season he goes to Dubai and trains ridiculously hard in the heat. It seems like he never tires of winning and he never tires of playing tennis… because he loves both things so much.
Loving being good at what you do is so important and trying to perfect your craft is vital if you want to be truly successful. Whatever you do… you can always try to discover new ways of doing it better. Enjoy exploring and live life like Federer plays tennis.
Why I love trains…
I love trains, especially in London, it doesn’t matter what your age, race, gender or class… everyone is packed into the same space.
In all honesty I could probably spend a whole month on the trains in Europe simply watching and listening to people. Their accents, their stories and their secrets all waiting to be investigated.
I guess for thirty minutes a day, in a big metropolis like London humanity is forced to collide and contend with itself.
The homeless spend a lot of time on trains in Europe. The cynic could say that it’s a great place to earn some coin (captive market) or shelter from the cold. But perhaps they love it because they get to ride with everyone else and for a small part of the day… everyone is treated the same.
