Tonight I feel like Jason of the Argonauts.
By all accounts I should be coming in over Northern California and heading down to San Diego at around now. Unfortunately I have spent today testing all forms of UK Bank Holiday public transport to get to London. San Diego was cancelled as the busy, busy, busy work I was doing last week spilled over into this week.
All being well if the 'transaction' I am supporting at the moment comes to fruition then I will get at least two years worth of work sorted out. Well at least 40% of my target which will give me huge freedom to go and find even more Freedom.
Which leads me to working the bank holiday weekend. We have a bid team meeting at 9am tomorrow - and the client wonders about our commitment!
Touching wood and crossing fingers - failing that we are depending on the raw talent of a team of thirty people working on the bid.
Oh, and why Jason? Well the effort it takes to travel the length of this country on public transport on a bank holiday weekend Sunday has to be experienced to be believed. At least I understand why the roads are so clogged.
PS Took a couple of hours out on Saturday to check out the tigers again!
Monday, 28 May 2007
Tuesday, 22 May 2007
Busy, busy, busy
It has been a very busy time. So much for having a lifestyle business to give myself a better balance in my life!
Mind you I spent the first three months of this year travelling and spending great time with my family.
This week is London, Edinburgh, York, London and then one day at home before jetting off to San Diego for ten days. That should be fun though - Leadership Academy - my favourite event of the year. That and the great California roll in the hotel bar.
Mind you I spent the first three months of this year travelling and spending great time with my family.
This week is London, Edinburgh, York, London and then one day at home before jetting off to San Diego for ten days. That should be fun though - Leadership Academy - my favourite event of the year. That and the great California roll in the hotel bar.
Monday, 21 May 2007
Tiger, tiger, burning bright!
Yesterday turned out to be a bit of a surprise. The biggest surprise was ending a day out standing about 30cm from a Siberian tiger looking her right in the eye. Stunning.
Thirty years ago (I now realise I am old) I travelled to the most famous theme park in the North of England at the time, Flamingo Land. I have to say that my memory was not great - being primarily that of a soggy, dull day, a very bad piece of animal theatre where the gorilla escapes into the crowd and a sad, muddy pond with some drab looking washed out flamingoes.
For the last five years apparerently we have moved to a place only fifteen miles away and never thought to go there - until the curious young man in our lives decided he needed entertaining every weekend.
So we went and we were very surprised. In many ways it is sad that animals have to be kept in zoos, however it would be sadder if they didn't get the attention of zoos and so the animals became extinct. And praise to Flamingo Land as they have combined a typical rides style theme park with an excellent zoo with plenty of space for most of the animals.
Such a joy to watch Mini-Me running around shouting 'Camel', ' Giross', he hasn't quite mastered giraffe, 'Tortiose', 'Tractor', ' Lion', and finally, 'Tiger'.
We bought season tickets so we will be back to prowl with the tigers who live in a large pen with windows all around so you can get up close and very personal with them.
Such a wonderful day, more so as it was such a surprise.
Thirty years ago (I now realise I am old) I travelled to the most famous theme park in the North of England at the time, Flamingo Land. I have to say that my memory was not great - being primarily that of a soggy, dull day, a very bad piece of animal theatre where the gorilla escapes into the crowd and a sad, muddy pond with some drab looking washed out flamingoes.
For the last five years apparerently we have moved to a place only fifteen miles away and never thought to go there - until the curious young man in our lives decided he needed entertaining every weekend.
So we went and we were very surprised. In many ways it is sad that animals have to be kept in zoos, however it would be sadder if they didn't get the attention of zoos and so the animals became extinct. And praise to Flamingo Land as they have combined a typical rides style theme park with an excellent zoo with plenty of space for most of the animals.
Such a joy to watch Mini-Me running around shouting 'Camel', ' Giross', he hasn't quite mastered giraffe, 'Tortiose', 'Tractor', ' Lion', and finally, 'Tiger'.
We bought season tickets so we will be back to prowl with the tigers who live in a large pen with windows all around so you can get up close and very personal with them.
Such a wonderful day, more so as it was such a surprise.
Friday, 18 May 2007
Lead from the heart
Recently we were travelling back from Anthony Robbins Date with Destiny Gold Coast. It was Truda, Phoenix and myself. The journey door to door was an incredible thirty-eight and a half hours. A long time for a little boy of eighteen months.
What I have learned with young children is that they are designed to test you to your limits. No matter how good your state management they will push and push. Of course this all part of their natural development in establishing boundaries, and creating nurturing and engaging relationships. Well that is my story and I am sticking to it.
Certainly stuck in an enclosed space with a very active and curious young man for the seventeen hour leg from Singapore was at times very searching of my limits.
When we were deplaning (what a lovely Americanism) a man walked past and said to me, 'You really have a great impact on a lot of people'. I thanked him and thought he must have been at Date with Destiny. As a trainer you often get spontaneous feedback from people by the simple virtue of being present as they make some significant changes in their lives.
Nonetheless the gentleman came back over and said, 'I really mean it. You have touched a lot of people on this plane as they watched you care for and attend to your son.'. He went on to say, 'I never cared for my children like that. You have really made me think about how I am with my grandchildren'. He had a tear in his eye.
I was moved and thanked him for the generosity in sharing his story.
I was simply doing the best I could with the resources I had available to me at the time. I hope that I lead from my heart as this is best I can do and the challenge we all live with everyday, to come back to our hearts as the empowering resource in our lives as people.
Perhaps if you lead from your heart you will find the natural leader emerging.
Something to think about, something to feel about.
What I have learned with young children is that they are designed to test you to your limits. No matter how good your state management they will push and push. Of course this all part of their natural development in establishing boundaries, and creating nurturing and engaging relationships. Well that is my story and I am sticking to it.
Certainly stuck in an enclosed space with a very active and curious young man for the seventeen hour leg from Singapore was at times very searching of my limits.
When we were deplaning (what a lovely Americanism) a man walked past and said to me, 'You really have a great impact on a lot of people'. I thanked him and thought he must have been at Date with Destiny. As a trainer you often get spontaneous feedback from people by the simple virtue of being present as they make some significant changes in their lives.
Nonetheless the gentleman came back over and said, 'I really mean it. You have touched a lot of people on this plane as they watched you care for and attend to your son.'. He went on to say, 'I never cared for my children like that. You have really made me think about how I am with my grandchildren'. He had a tear in his eye.
I was moved and thanked him for the generosity in sharing his story.
I was simply doing the best I could with the resources I had available to me at the time. I hope that I lead from my heart as this is best I can do and the challenge we all live with everyday, to come back to our hearts as the empowering resource in our lives as people.
Perhaps if you lead from your heart you will find the natural leader emerging.
Something to think about, something to feel about.
Dream new dreams
Art Berg said that we should dream new dreams.
One of my dreams is to bring an amazing and blessed individual to the UK to speak if I can find the right client, Robyn Benincasa. Robyn was the first woman to really make it big in adventure racing spending ten days in the company of four smelly men covering 500 miles of rough territory in a rough ultra-marathon over mountains, through jungles, over desert and water.
The best thing about Robyn is that she is so feminine and sweet, at the same time having biceps to shame most weightlifting men.
If there is one inspirational speaker in the world I would pay to see it is Robyn.
Today I inched that dream closer to reality and with luck and a fair wind over two thousand people will get to share in Robyn's tremendous gifts of energy, love and inspiration.
Fingers crossed.
One of my dreams is to bring an amazing and blessed individual to the UK to speak if I can find the right client, Robyn Benincasa. Robyn was the first woman to really make it big in adventure racing spending ten days in the company of four smelly men covering 500 miles of rough territory in a rough ultra-marathon over mountains, through jungles, over desert and water.
The best thing about Robyn is that she is so feminine and sweet, at the same time having biceps to shame most weightlifting men.
If there is one inspirational speaker in the world I would pay to see it is Robyn.
Today I inched that dream closer to reality and with luck and a fair wind over two thousand people will get to share in Robyn's tremendous gifts of energy, love and inspiration.
Fingers crossed.
I'm Swedish
Well that was a little surreal. I go to bed blogging in English and the next time I blog in I am Swedish! My hair is still dark (grey) mind you!
I finally worked out with my new found Swedish skills that Sprak allows you to change your language choice and indeed Swedish was ticked. How odd?
I am back to boring old English (UK) now.
I finally worked out with my new found Swedish skills that Sprak allows you to change your language choice and indeed Swedish was ticked. How odd?
I am back to boring old English (UK) now.
Thursday, 17 May 2007
It's a party!
Well parties and birthdays always go together in my mind.
This evening was actually a kind of school reunion going by the rather fancier name of alumni event. It was one of earlier employers and it was an excellent gathering, albeit rather packed, in the centre of the City.
Traditional foods were served, fish and chips which are ever so fashionable nowadays.
Indeed it was so busy that I only got to speak to around five people. Even so I got a number of leads to pursue although that was never my intention and I am still busy on my current engagements.
All in - a day well spent. Now I just need to eat less fish and chips otherwise I will no be able to see me feet at this rate.
This evening was actually a kind of school reunion going by the rather fancier name of alumni event. It was one of earlier employers and it was an excellent gathering, albeit rather packed, in the centre of the City.
Traditional foods were served, fish and chips which are ever so fashionable nowadays.
Indeed it was so busy that I only got to speak to around five people. Even so I got a number of leads to pursue although that was never my intention and I am still busy on my current engagements.
All in - a day well spent. Now I just need to eat less fish and chips otherwise I will no be able to see me feet at this rate.
It's a birthday!
Well I guess it must be someone's birthday today. And I am reminded by an invoice in my inbox that it is two years since I set up The Freedom Factory. How's that! Still in business too.
It was a great day - there I was travelling back to York from London on the train. I had been crewing at Anthony Robbins' UPW event in London and was with Truda. I opened my laptop and saw a whole bunch of emails from work.
The really interesting part is that whilst I know I could have responded to them I knew that my time had come. I called Cathryn, my boss at the time, and said that my time had come. I had no idea what I was going to do, I just knew I was drawn to contribute more with my life and it was done.
I was out. No salary, no bonus, no fear.
Twenty-four hours later The Freedom Factory was born.
And it is still here - and what a two years it has been.
It was a great day - there I was travelling back to York from London on the train. I had been crewing at Anthony Robbins' UPW event in London and was with Truda. I opened my laptop and saw a whole bunch of emails from work.
The really interesting part is that whilst I know I could have responded to them I knew that my time had come. I called Cathryn, my boss at the time, and said that my time had come. I had no idea what I was going to do, I just knew I was drawn to contribute more with my life and it was done.
I was out. No salary, no bonus, no fear.
Twenty-four hours later The Freedom Factory was born.
And it is still here - and what a two years it has been.
Wednesday, 16 May 2007
And one more thing...
I am currently listening to the stunning Amy Seeley singing Gravel Lines. It is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. I Stumbledupon it on a website by photographer Jesh de Rox and it is his intro music.
Track down both - you will not regret it.
Track down both - you will not regret it.
Start now!
There is always a beginning and this not actually my beginning. It may be the beginning of the blog and actually I am starting the story half way through.
Today I am working in London. It is an exciting return for me working with a Big Four firm putting a bid together for a significant client engagement. It has been a few years for me since I have done this and it is all fresh again.
It is also the first time I have done this since setting up The Freedom Factory. Oh, The Freedom Factory what is that all about?
Well my experience over the last three years has taught me that finding freedom is actually a repeatable process, not an aspiration but a something we can go and get everyday. And I am a Factory worker. And what is freedom, freedom to choose happiness above all else.
And last thing, I miss my little boy tonight. His appetite for words in incredible. I must watch my language!
Today I am working in London. It is an exciting return for me working with a Big Four firm putting a bid together for a significant client engagement. It has been a few years for me since I have done this and it is all fresh again.
It is also the first time I have done this since setting up The Freedom Factory. Oh, The Freedom Factory what is that all about?
Well my experience over the last three years has taught me that finding freedom is actually a repeatable process, not an aspiration but a something we can go and get everyday. And I am a Factory worker. And what is freedom, freedom to choose happiness above all else.
And last thing, I miss my little boy tonight. His appetite for words in incredible. I must watch my language!
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