Wayne Pearce,  footy legend, motivational speaker and coach was speaking at an event Lyndon and I attended last night – and it was a delight to hear him speak.  I’m  always so happy to hear from professional sports people as they exemplify focus, commitment and countless other  inspiring and admirable qualities. 

He discussed the brains incredible plasticity and how we can rewire our brains – just one of my absolute favourite topics!  He also inspired and challenged leaders and business owners to give people a sense of belonging and bring a sense of meaning to what they do, which is so important for everyone, regardless of their role.

Brings to mind what David Rock was teaching us at Results Coaching Systems Leadership Day a few months ago.  The brain needs certainty, a sense of status, autonomy, relatedness and fairness in order to be in an optimal thinking space…  just one of the fascintating things about the brain that we can take into account when coaching!

Wayne also kindly autographed a note to our son Ethan which totally made his day.

Thanks for coming to Dubbo Wayne!

Wow, my first document on my apple mac.  Just doing a typing test, getting a feel for it.  Lyndon says this has a good interface, which I believe means that we will have a good working relationship – i.e. If my Mac were a person we might refer to Mac as one who is amiable, easy to connect with.  I’m looking forward to getting Skype on this – hopefully by tomorrow so I can have a face-to-face conversation with Yvette at 11am.

It’s time for me to be writing another blog – perhaps an announcement that I’m a mac user now?  Or that I am speaking two languages in the computing world – I am getting tech savvy aren’t I?  The salesman in the apple shop says my challenge in getting questions answered by local people is due to the fact that I’m using cutting edge technology that people aren’t familiar with.  Fancy that! Me?! 

Oh, and it would have been useful to time that little bit of typing.  It probably took no longer than it would have on the office PC. I am looking forward to building my relationship with my new friend Mac.  Oh, and I must add – I’m really looking forward to the day he’s paid for himself, and enabled us to purchase his friend Mac Pro for Lyndon – and together they are supporting us to create a strong financial future.  These guys are money making machines (with all the learning we’re doing about the internet) and we’re so proud of them and value them greatly.  Now technology doesn’t get in the way of my connecting with people and making a difference - it serves the bigger vision powerfully!

Inspiration and excitement is surrounding me this week, so it’s a quick catch up here to keep you in the loop. I’ve just completed an amazing coaching series with a long distance client who has successfully rewired her brain – her definition of the process, and an accurate one. She’s completely changed her focus in a specific area of her thinking, so that she’s no longer traveling down the highway of negative thinking and reacting badly, but choosing an empowering, positive focus. She literally has created new wiring in her brain – as we all do when we create new habits. There’s so much learning in there I will write more soon. Here’s a brilliant, easy to understand article I came across this week if you want to delve more into the fascinating science of thinking - The Brain at Work, By Adrienne Fox.

My brother Greg and his beautiful wife Nicole, welcomed their baby Mikayla Joy into the world this morning, Sister to Matthew and Cousin, Niece, Granddaughter to the rest of the family – we all love her immediately! Congratulations! Lots of excitement!

Yesterday I spoke at a State Conference on how change can bring positive outcomes – inspiring stuff… as I mentioned in my previous blog, it’s when the door slams shut in our face (and we stop crying and look around) we see the gorgeous French doors (more opportunities, often better ones) that we would have missed otherwise. We choose how long we stand around crying for!! We choose our focus. To say “I can’t help feeling angry” is not entirely correct. Your thinking is keeping you there, so in a way you can’t help feeling that – because it’s in line with your thinking – but you can choose what you think about! Take charge of your brain!! What do you need to focus on to move forward?

I can’t help feeling excited – but I must confess it’s because of my thinking! I’m thinking about ideas and inspiring stuff and believing the best days are ahead of me – why worry about things I can’t change? One thing I can always change is my attitude.

Viktor Frankl said it so well… “The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedoms is to choose ones attitude in any given circumstance.”

Have a great week – look for the inspiration and excitement!

Cheering you on, Kerrie

Mothers Day is a special one - there’s no way you’d be here except that you had a mum! I hope you had a fantastic weekend - I spent Saturday at a beautiful location on the outskirts of Orange at Mary Brell’s Women, Wine and Wisdom. I wrapped up the day with “Wisdom in Everyday Life” and we had a lot of fun with that and everyone left buzzing - which I think is the general idea of a girls day out!

Mothers Day was spent with my whole family, Mum was blown away with the gift we gave her - a digital photo frame so she can enjoy all her favourite pictures of her grandsons - and us too of course!

I thought I’d share something I wrote in 2007 for Regional Business Magazine - it was of course, for regional women, but no matter where you are girls, you are amazing, full of potential and most likely more gorgeous and talented than you realise. Please translate this into your own scenario and celebrate the life your mum gave you.

Please click here - tribute-to-country-women

Have a wonderful day!

Possibilities are endless! An exciting thought – certainly keeps me on my toes and this week has been full-on keeping up! It’s good to remember that with all the opportunities and the busyness it brings we can still create opportunities for essentials like taking time out! So I’ve been prioritising my time out and exercising this week, when it could have been pushed to the side (easily!) and I really enjoyed my swimming this morning. (Of course I still have some emails to catch up on!)

I’m off to Orange tomorrow with clients and friends to speak at Women, Wine & Wisdom – the third of the “Women, Wine & Wellbeing” series I’ve spoken at, with my dear friend Mary Brell – a very inspiring woman who created this series of events for regional women. More on that later – I’m still pulling it all together! Just thought I’d share some ponderings I wrote earlier in the week… hope it’s useful! Love Kerrie

Have you ever been really clear on the outcome you wanted - but been delivered a completely different and sometimes unappealing outcome - to find that it was actually better than you really wanted? I have often. This is why I’ve learned and continue to learn to be detached from the outcome. Let’s just go in open minded, core values guiding (such as generosity, authenticity, empowerment) and see what happens. I’ve been thrown some ugly looking outcomes that soon after I’d been so thankful for. If the door hadn’t been slammed in my face I wouldn’t have seen the gorgeous French doors to my left.

I find it useful to step back and look at the bigger picture. Is this outcome so, so important? Can you take this path with your core values intact, being true to yourself? What other possibilities are out there? I’ve discovered that possibilities are everywhere. Like the air we breathe but we don’t see evidence of it until we start looking.

Have a wonderful weekend, think big, and remember to make your mum feel oh-so-special!

Sandra Groom was my one of my first Mentor Coaches and has become a dear friend. Her first visit here was the day after we started moving in, and the whole house was full of boxes. It’s not everyone you feel comfortable with when you’re surrounded with stuff to the point of having to eat outdoors because there’s nowhere to sit indoors.

Sandra is ever loving and accepting, so it was with no hesitation that I welcomed her along with her thoughtful, generous friend Rob Kalka, CEO of World Youth International to stay with us on the weekend. The house is more in order now of course, although showing signs of recent travel and busyness. We had a wonderful time, and Sandra came bearing gifts, as she does, including a beautiful hardcover book “The Complete Pocket Positives”. It contains such gems as “Friendship consists in forgetting what one gives, and remembering what one receives” – Alexandre Dumas, 1803 – 1870. French Novelist.

Another, which speaks to me of the many wonderful friends in my world (who may be reading this) is “Each new friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born” - Anais Nin 1903 – 1977 French Novelist

Thank you to all my dear friends who have brought out the best in me, fanned the flames of possibility, stretched and challenged me to become who I am today. I love you dearly and I thank you.

This past week has been amazing.  Ok, the whole year has really… I am learning so much all the time, coaching brilliant, resilient, inspiring people and having a ball.
I’m doing more travel than I’d like to be, but it’s only for a season.

In May, for example, I’m only traveling out of town once – and only to Orange, which is 90 minutes away.  I’m speaking at Women Wine & Wisdom, hosted by the gorgeous Mary Brell… it will be a lot of fun.

For now though, I’m downloading the last few exciting days.  Last Thursday I met up with Mark Crutcher, a previous client (see November 07 archive) for a quick catch-up since his recent Fiji trip with his family, where he was awarded NSW Retailer of the Year.  His standards across his 3 IGA supermarkets are all outstanding, and his attitude to staff and customers is so generous and respectful.  His attitude to life is brilliant actually.  I wish everyone could hear his inspiring story… Hmm, something to discuss over coffee next week perhaps

We spent three days at Paul & Mary Blackburn’s at their generous invitation, for their “Inner Reflections” retreat.  I had expressed (slight) concern to a friend that they might have a 24 hour period of silence…. So when they announced that it was part of the weekend, Lyndon killed himself laughing… why would he think I couldn’t do it?!
Actually I was looking forward to it and quite enjoyed it.  I really cleared my head of all the busyness and constant ideas and to-do lists… which have really been building up lately with all the travel and intense learning we’ve been doing.  Sigh… (contendedly)  how nice to really, really relax.  I met some really special people and my major insights were around how happy I am and how fun I am… and noticing that I can get too serious at times…  look out world – I’m more fun than ever!  Please don’t be embarrassed if I feel the urge to start skipping!

Back from another trip (this is getting ridiculous – we’re averaging every second weekend away)…  It was the big weekend with family for Grandads 90th, and the arrival of Nuy and her family from Bangkok.  I see my Grandparents in Sydney quite regularly, but my cousins are scattered all over the east coast of Australia, so getting everyone (almost) together is pretty special.  I adore my cousins and have special memories of our childhood.  So much has changed in our lives, but the bond of family keeps us connected, even if it’s been a while since our last conversations.

We bought a fabulous digital camera on Saturday so we could capture some family moments as well as all those other random moments when you wish you had a camera.  We’ll be learning to post photo’s and videos on our website, which I’m really looking forward to.  YouTube here we come!  What a great way of connecting and sharing news.

Entertaining friends from Thailand has been so much fun and a chance to see things from a different perspective.  Everywhere we went was a great photo opportunity – we had over 300 photos on our new camera over the two days.  We stopped at Scenic World in the Blue Mountains, rode the Scenic Railway and Cable Car, then home via Orange, where we took photo’s under the gorgeous autumn leaves.
We arrived home to dinner with James Hall & Hannah Welch, who were part of the second team I took to Bangkok, (December 2002).  Nuy was delighted to see them and it was fantastic to reminisce about our time in Thailand.

The next day we visited Dubbo Zoo, (we’ve never spent so long in the Australian section!) then on to Dad & Mum’s farm, via The Burrells farm… to experience sheep shearing, tractor driving, get up close & personal with horses, cows and countless other animals, not generally seen in Thailand.  Of course a farm trip is not complete without Dad’s special BBQ and dinner under the stars, a little cold, but absolutely worthwhile.

Thank you for coming to visit with your beautiful family Nuy!!!

Training weekend with internet guru’s Dale Beaumont & Shaun Stenning… Absolutely mind-blowing… my head is spinning, with technical stuff I can’t get my head around, but more importantly – a sense of the unlimited possibilities.   I’m getting a glimpse of how phenomenal the internet is.  Sorry, I’m speechless here… a little tired from traveling, a little (okay, a lot) excited about what we’re doing here.  I can’t wait to share the excitement with you!!!  Our website will be going live as soon as we’ve done all the admin involved and had the site built – early June is most likely.

I’ve recently been noticing how people judge others by their own perceptions and world view.  For example, a generous person will easily recognize and value generosity, because they speak the same language.  One who is more self-focused and small thinking will misconstrue a generous act, seeing it with suspicion, questioning “what’s in it for them… what’s she/he after”.  I’m sure you could identify people you know who obviously have an abundance mentality – “there’s plenty for everyone”, or a scarcity mentality –“I have to get in and get mine before the greedy people do”.

As always, there’s much learning… I am so thankful for the generous people in my world and the wonderful friendships I develop with like-minded people.  I’ve also been learning that I can assume the best in people and rush in with enthusiasm, then be disappointed when things don’t work out.  I’m paying more attention to my intuition now, and being careful to align myself with those who share similar core values and beliefs.

One of the great discoveries over the past month is my friendship with Karen Saunders.  We will be working closely together on a number of projects and complement each others businesses and skill-sets beautifully.   You’ll read more about Karen in future blogs.   She’s amazing and I’m so excited about her possibilities and our possibilities.  Gosh life is wonderful.

What is wonderful in your life, and what are your possibilities? Go looking and find that they’re as endless as they are exciting.

Yesterday, 1st April was a full and exciting day, beginning with Chamber of Commerce Breakfast, where I met Damien Lynch & Deborah Barit, who are writing a book and surveyed attendees at the breakfast. They asked for me for an interview later in the day, which of course I made space in the diary for! It was great to share the moment with my new friend Karen (who will feature in future blogs I’m quite sure) and learn a little from these authors, although they had us doing most of the talking.

Preparations are underway for my Grandfathers 90th Birthday in Sydney and visit from Thai friends, flying in from Bangkok for all of 4 nights in Australia… it’s looking like being a very full-on, exciting few days.

Before I can think too much about that, it’s time to get ready for a few days in Sydney learning and preparing for our website… the one I’ve dreamed of for a while, but didn’t know such a thing existed. I have resisted the idea of building a website as I didn’t want just an expensive business card… something that will advertise my coaching services… no, it had to be the Taj Mahal of websites, one that is generating an income itself, and providing amazing value, learning and development for those who access it. I have found such an opportunity!

I met Dale Beaumont in 2007 after I read one of his books (which featured a couple of friends and colleagues), made a thanks card and sent it off with my congratulations on his achievements and acknowledgement of how clever and inspiring he is. Seems he liked the card as he invited me to lunch when next in Sydney. Those little cards can go a long way; I wish I wrote them as often as I think to. Although that means it’s all I’d do all day! There are always people to be thanked and congratulated. Who’s in your world you can acknowledge today?

So we’re off to Sydney tomorrow to learn from Dale Beaumont and Shaun Stenning – they’re website developers and internet marketing guru’s – and wonderful, generous, inspiring young human beings. I’m a little daunted by the technical side which is not me at all – but I have my darling Lyndon with me, who’s actually excited about that part. I’m excited by the opportunity to stay connected with clients and friends and connect with new friends everywhere. Woo Hoo! Here we come!