Thinking Ahead Journal 3rd January 2011

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Ideas and Insights from the eGurus Community www.eGurus.info 3rd January 2011

Thinking Ahead is a collection of blog posts from members of the eGurus Community. Each contributing author retains their copyright for their individual content. The material contained in this publication is general and is not intended as advice on any particular matter. The authors expressly disclaim all and any liability to any persons whatsoever in respect of anything done by any such person in reliance, whether in whole or in part, on this publication.

3 January 2011

Thinking Ahead www.eGurus.info

MICHAEL NEAYLON

MICHAEL NEAYLON

Sales Superstars

Will You Persist or Prevail in 2011?

JAN 04, 2011 03:05P.M.

JAN 04, 2011 03:02A.M. Welcome to the first Brand Stand for 2011. I hope you had a relaxing break with the people that matter in your life.

Looking at covers and layout for the book in Borders over the weekend, I found some tempting reads.

One was ‘Be A Sales Superstar. 21 great ways to sell more, faster, and easier in today’s tough markets.’ by Brian Tracy.

He excels in explaining the focus you need to achieve the sales you want.

Practically. Clearly. Succinctly. Essentially he reminds us that when it comes to our sales, we all need to be doing one of these three activities all the time.

I’m keeping the first newsletter simple this year. Might not be the shortest yet, but it is simple.

1. Prospecting.

2. Presenting.

3. Following up.

As many of us use this time to reflect, set goals and resolutions for the year ahead, I thought I might start where many good goals finish; the end. The end, that is, of the book I’ve been writing for some time now.

The second draft is now with an editor (being a recovering perfectionist I couldn’t hand over the first).

Couldn’t agree more. Making sales is an area I see clients avoid all the time. Been guilty of it myself. But if we’re not selling, we’re not producing. If we’re not producing, how can we profit? We can all be doing more of these three. Contstantly.

To your sales success Michael Neaylon

We’ll no doubt thrash the content about a bit to make the best book possible. But I thought I’d give you what is currently the last section of the book, as it sums up a couple of lessons I’ve learnt and, I hope, gives some inspiration for 2011.

Author of the forthcoming book, ‘Marketing Makeovers: How To Bring in Big Money for Your Small Business.’

Don’t Prevail. Persist.

There are days I force myself to make that extra call or attend that meeting I’m not entirely sure about, to design a brochure, hone a campaign or rewrite the website. Perhaps you know the feeling. You’d

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rather hibernate than cultivate. That’s when the real work starts. But it doesn’t mean the work can’t be fun.

I urge you to inject some variety in your routine. Enjoy the journey.

Don’t be your own slave master. One of the best exercises I did this year was to face my own inner taskmaster. He’s still there. I have to keep him at bay some days. I’ve got a vigilant work ethic, and can be pretty disciplined but that can also work against me. Being clearer on what I want and why, enables me to ask that same clarity of clients. Its a winwin.

That effort is paying off. He made just over 200 steps on crutches the day we did the gig.

That’s not prevailing, that’s persistence.

For the days when you don’t want to pick up the phone or feel terrified about speaking in public or negotiating that higher fee, don’t just think of James, think of yourself. Think of the times you’ve conquered your own demons or won your own battles. When something mattered to you so much that the fears dripped away. Think of the time your desire to achieve your goal, backed by consistent, persistent action, took on a life of its own.

This book is an example of persistence over prevailing. There was a time, not that long ago, when I decided that I was over hearing myself on group coaching calls sounding like a victim. Not to my coach or the other callers, but myself. That moment made me think that I’ve invested too much in this book, in telling people about it, sharing the process, blogging about the book to keep feeling like a failure; especially as I

The word prevail implies to me to suffer. To persist, however, means to overcome the suffering stuff and get on with it. I encourage you to

believe I can help more people - including myself - by writing it.

persist. And make your marketing matter.

Funnily enough it was around the same time that I decided to change tack with my target market and how I approached them, to increase the research, reinvest in the learning I was receiving and concentrate on getting the book written and published. I soon started inviting people on to be case studies, a hunch I had from the moment I wrote the book - to give you the reader a greater variety of thoughts and experiences beyond my own.

Make 2011 your best yet.

Michael Neaylon

This is persistence. It worked when I gave up smoking eleven years ago and its working now. It beats the hell out of prevailing.

DR JENNY BROCKIS

Author of the forthcoming book ‘Marketing Makeovers: How To Bring In Big Money For Your Small Business.’..and yes, it’s soon to arrive, complete with case studies.

Keep those synapses firing: Could this be the key to understanding the origin of brain diseases?

Someone who’s persisted much more than me is James Gribble. He’s a great guy; quietly self-assured, positive and bright, with a great sense of humour. He’s also quadriplegic.

I was privileged to MC an event to raise the chances of Sydney artist, Jessica Murray, getting her painting of James into the Archibald Prize.

Two years ago James had a severe accident in Zambia while travelling around Africa.

JAN 03, 2011 08:27A.M.

Waiting to go Tiger fishing on the mighty Zambezi River on a terribly hot day, James fainted whilst sitting on a stool, falling backward onto hard sand. The result of this seemingly innocuous occurrence was catastrophic. The impact of the fall severely bruised his spinal cord and broke his C4 and C5 vertebrae, leaving James with voluntary movement only from his shoulders up.

Meeting James and his family was inspiring. Everyone I spoke to mentioned that James is never bitter, not even for a moment, about his fate. He works at least 5 hours a day 6 days a week in an effort to walk.

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just how many of the proteins and diseases are interconnected.

As a sign of tremendous collaboration and desire to accelerate further discovery and use of this data, the scientists have released all of their findings into a public domain at their website G2Cdb No wikileaks required here. It’s all there to be shared.

They suggest that the proteome of the PSD will help us to gain further understanding of the brain in the same way that the genome assisted our understanding of DNA. Other fascinating findings Include: • That the proteins in PSD are important for certain cognitive behaviours such as learning, memory, emotion and mood

One of the key findings in Alzheimer’s disease is a loss of synaptic connections.

The synapse is the place where brain cells communicate with each other via their dendritic branches. The cells do not actually touch but are

• And also for social behaviours, addiction and drug abuse.

separated by a space called the synaptic cleft. It is across this space that brain chemicals or neurotransmitters cross to stimulate the adjoining brain cells and trigger further electrical messages to be passed along forming neural circuits or pathways.

Looking at how the PSD has evolved over time and contrary to expectations, the researchers discovered that the PSD has been resistant to change over the millennia.

This means that synapses of rodents are not that dissimilar from humans, making further research using rat and mice models very suitable for studying human brain disease. Looks like we have more in common with our rodent friends than previously recognised.

Without synapses brain cells are unable to communicate to each other.

Sorry, I’m going to get a bit technical here, but it’s important to help understand the article.

Sets of particular proteins that bind together to form a molecular hub called the postsynaptic density or PSD occur at the synapse, in the terminals of the dendrites. Animal studies had previously shown that the PSD plays an important role in brain disease and behaviour. However until now, little has been known about the human PSD.

These findings provide further valuable clues adding to our understanding of the brain and how some brain diseases may develop. Àlex Bayés, Louie N van de Lagemaat, Mark O Collins, Mike D R Croning, Ian R Whittle, Jyoti S Choudhary, Seth G N Grant.

Characterisation of the proteome, diseases and evolution of the human postsynaptic density. Nature Neuroscience, December 19, 2010 DOI: 10.1038/nn.2719

Researchers from the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute and Edinburgh University have used a technique called proteomics to extract PSD’s from the synapses of patients undergoing brain surgery. Their findings are quite remarkable.

Related Posts • What’s the story about diabetes, cholesterol and your brain?

They have discovered a total of 1461 proteins, each encoded by a different gene in these human synapses.

This then allowed them to systematically identify those diseases that affect the human synapse.

• DHA (fish oil) Of No Benefit Once Alzheimer’s Disease Is Present.

• Are today’s 70 year olds smarter than their predecessors?

Professor Grant who led the research team revealed that over 130 brain diseases involve the PSD including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, some forms of autism and learning disability.

• Our brain reveals it has a second way to store memory.

• The true cost of dementia and Alzheimer’s to the world.

Professor Noebels, Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Human Genetics at Baylor College of medicine said that of the 1461 proteins identified, “every seventh protein is involved in a known clinical disorder and half of them are repeat offenders. Researchers will now have a strategic starting point to start to unravel the complexity of brain disorders”

• Could B vitamins be a way to save your brain from Alzheimer’s?

• A little ray of sunshine for Parkinson’s Disease: Vitamin D • Sugar, sugar, too much is bad for your brain and memory.

• Vitamin E rich foods linked to a lower risk of dementia.

The research group has also created a first molecular network to show

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• Growing New Brain Cells: Scientists Discover New Compound.

by pleasure, perhaps even selfish pleasure. I’m not suggesting that’s appropriate as a way of life. But I do think we spend way too much time in our life doing things we don’t want, that we’re not good at, with people we don’t like, and without getting any reward. Why not do something different this year?

PETER WEBB’S “WISDOM CIRCLE”

Therapy IS the Therapist!

JAN 03, 2011 03:53A.M.

Heck, there’ll be plenty of times when life isn’t perfect. Sure, you might get stuck in traffic, fight with your partner, struggle getting the kids to sleep, do work that you don’t want to do just because it’s in your job description, or force yourself to be more disciplined at work. But those things are going to happen anyway. Why would you deliberately schedule more of those things in your goal setting as well?

So do yourself a favour when you’re setting your goals for the year: Don’t create goals and activities that involve struggle, complication, hardship and sacrifice. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, especially if you’ve done other goal-setting programs. But hang in there - I’ll explain ...

I’ve got ten guidelines here, broken down into three areas: Choosing the right goals (4 guidelines), planning (3) and taking action (3).

Choose

“The King’s Speech” - What a beautiful and eloquent movie! Colin Firth deserves an Oscar for his role. But more significantly, this is an exquisite depiction of the true meaning of therapy. It’s not what the therapist does so much as who the therapist is! What did you think of the film?

1. Do what you love

GIHAN PERERA

So only choose goals that you want to achieve. In fact, I’ll go a step further and say you should only choose goals that you will love to achieve. This isn’t about being selfish; it’s about choosing wisely.

It’s surprising how many people set a goal because they think they “should” do it, or they “need” to do it, or somebody else wants it for them. Those goals are the first to go when life gets in the way.

The Hedonist’s Guide To Getting Things Done: Goal Setting Made Easy

2. Love who you’ll be Think carefully: Are you going to be happy - truly happy - with the person you’re going to become if you do achieve your goals?

JAN 03, 2011 12:04A.M. Most goal-setting programs are hard. The system might sound easy, but achieving the goals is difficult. It usually takes discipline, willpower, a strong mindset, hard work, sacrifice and struggle.

If you get that big promotion, will you be OK spending more time away from your spouse and kids? If you go on that carrot juice diet and lose 20 kilos, can you tolerate having to gaze longingly and wistfully at chocolate cake from now until the end of your life? If you get all those business travel opportunities, can you cope with spending wasted hours in airports, taxi queues and hotel rooms?

No wonder most people fail at their goals or New Year’s Resolutions!

I’ve got a different approach to goal setting: This year, choose, plan and achieve goals that bring you joy, ease and happiness - not only when you achieve them, but along the way as well.

Be sure you’re willing to accept all the consequences of achieving your goal.

Now I know this flies in the face of many (most?) goal-setting programs!

So be warned that what I’m going to share here might be controversial, confronting or conflicting with other advice you’ve seen. But hey - if you do embrace my advice, you will enjoy the next twelve months. So what have you got to lose?

3. Think big Most people don’t fail because their goals are too big; they fail because their goals are too small. Those goals are easily forgotten or tossed aside when something bigger comes along. So make sure you set big - but achievable - goals.

The title of this article is tongue in cheek. A hedonist is purely motivated

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As Jonathon Kozol says, “Pick battles big enough to matter; small enough to win”.

9. Take a big step first A rocket uses most of its fuel in escaping the Earth’s atmosphere. After that, it takes very little energy to keep going.

4. Know the reason why It’s not the “what” and “how” of a goal that motivates you; it’s the “why”.

Sometimes you’ll end up with something that wasn’t exactly what you imagined, but it still achieves the same result.

Many of your goals - especially the biggest and most important goals are similar. Don’t start with baby steps; start with massive strides. The good news is that often just a few strides can make a big difference, and then everything else is easy.

Plan Obviously I’m not suggesting you do dangerous things, like suddenly taking up squash if you’re unfit. But if it’s OK to start walking for 30 minutes a day, start walking. Don’t “build up to it” with unnecessary little steps - e.g. buying new sneakers, starting a journal to record your progress, telling all your Facebook friends, shopping for a new T-shirt to celebrate the start of the journey, and plotting the optimal walking route for different weather conditions. Sure, these small steps are easy, but it’s

5. Love what you do Plan to enjoy the journey. If it takes willpower, discipline or sacrifice to achieve your goal, it’s harder to do and easier to slip up. Instead, make it fun!

It’s no fun to crawling out of bed an hour early to exercise, but perhaps you can make it fun by exercising with a friend, so you make it a social event as well.

the first big step (literally in this case) that matters.

It’s no fun to set aside 10% of your income for wealth creation, but what if you also set aside another 10% as “play money”, to be spent on fun and frivolity?

Do something towards at least one of your goals every day. After all, why wouldn’t you? These activities are fun, not a burden or a chore. So, in addition to working towards your goals, you’re adding some fun and enjoyment to every day of your life!

10. Do something every day

It’s no fun to call past customers to bring them back into your fold, but what if you invited them to a cocktail party instead?

More importantly, at the end of the year, you will have taken 365 steps enjoyable steps - towards achieving your goals. That’s 365 more than the average person.

6. Hang out with people you like Life’s too short to spend with people you don’t like, love, inspire or are inspired by.

So that’s it. Those are my ten guidelines for easy goal setting.

Good luck, and I wish you all the best for making 2011 the best year of

Decide who you want to spend more time with this year, and make sure they’re part of your journey. They don’t have to be actively involved in helping you achieve your goals - although that’s a bonus. But make sure they’re around. And be especially sure you don’t neglect them while achieving your goals.

your life.

BLOG

Immerse Yourself In Public Speaking.

7. Get help Whatever your goals, there’s a good chance somebody else has already achieved them. So find the right mentors and ask for their help. You might have to pay, or you might not. Either way, it’s the best way to fasttrack your success.

JAN 02, 2011 11:41A.M. It is fair to say that if you stand on your feet and speak once in a blue moon, it is going to be very difficult to overcome any fears and become confident and effective as a presenter. The reality is the more that you do it, the easy it becomes. The more you speak, the less fear and anxiety you feel. The more you speak the more skilled you become at the methodology of presenting and engaging the audience.

Do 8. Start before you’re ready You won’t have all your preparation complete. You won’t know exactly what path to follow. There’s always a reason not to start today. But if you’re waiting for the perfect moment to get started, you’ll be waiting a long time. The perfect moment is now.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers, The story of Success” identified that most successful people, one way or another found themselves in circumstances where they were immersed in what they were doing and they became experts. This includes the likes of the Beatles, Bill Gates,

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champion Ice Hockey players and top Lawyers.

If you want to become more confident and effective as a speaker and presenter, then you need to create circumstances that allow you to immerse yourself in speaking. Rather than speaking once in a blue moon, or even once a month, you need to speak weakly, even 2 or 3 times a week. How can you immerse yourself and make speaking a regular occurrence, rather than an occasional thing that you do.

Here are some things you can do • Volunteer to chair your weekly team meetings • Volunteer to do community presentations at community groups, Lions Clubs, Apex Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Probis Clubs etc This issue includes contributions from Tanya Rutherford and Alicia Curtis.

• Join a public speaking club such as Toastmasters, Rostrum or the Penguin Club

The ebook is created from the top articles that have appeared on the OTM Academy during the period October 1st 2010 through to December 31st 2010.

• Jon a non profit health advocacy group, such as the heart foundation or cancer council and volunteer to be trained for their “speaker’s bank” and go out educate and raise awareness about the issue.

Topics include:

• Join a club or community group and take on a committee role that involves speaking

• How to create the conditions for team members to maintain their motivation

• Join a public speaking mentoring group

• The role of awareness in providing service excellence

Regardless of how you do it, if confident and effective public speaking is important to you, what are you going to do to make standing on your feet a regular occurrence, rather than a once in a blue moon occasion that you dread. How are you going to immerse yourself in public speaking.

• Various ways to ensure a consistent and high level of service delivery • The link between listening and conversational skills • Identifying personal values

GARY RYAN

What Really Matters! Volume 2, Number 4, 2010 ebook released

• Workplace trust

JAN 01, 2011 12:13A.M.

• Planning for 2011

What Really Matters! Volume 2, Number 4, 2010 is now released.

• and much, much more!

• Problem solving

As this is a free ebook you have permission to share it with others, providing you do not change or alter the ebook in any way.

You can download the ebook here.

I encourage you to search the blog tags on this site for all the other free ebooks that are available for you.

Gary Ryan enables individuals, teams and organisations to matter. Visit gary and http://garyryans.com

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3 January 2011

THE MONEY GUIDE DONNA HANSON’S BLOG

When the best policy is actually necessary

Printing Your Holiday Snaps DEC 31, 2010 06:36P.M.

DEC 31, 2010 09:54A.M. If you are taking a heap of photos over the Christmas/Summer Holidays, don’t just leave them on your camera, consider the following to share your memorys beyond the day you captured them.

In November we decided to replace our second car after the old one was sentenced to death row during a regular service.

Digital Picture frames From as little as A$30 you can buy a digital picture frame [retail stores are a bit dearer so check on line]. I picked a 7” one up from http://www.citysoftware.com.au/ for $29.95, plugged a $11 4GB USB stick [picked up from Woolworths supermarket] loaded it with photos and gave it to my mum and dad for Christmas. They LOVE the frame and it has pride of place in the lounge room. It is something they look at

In researching new (small) cars I noticed that many of the modern popular features are not available in the base/lower versions of several models. You need to buy the higher version to get those features.

For example: • Side and curtain airbags to elevate the model from a 4 to 5 star

and remember special times without having to get dusty old albums out.

ANCAP safety rating

Internet Photo Sharing If your family and friends are interstate or overseas you may want to share your photos over the internet. You can use free sights such as http://www.flickr.com/ and http://www.photobucket.com/ but I prefer sites such as http://www.dropbox.com/ where you can invite friends to look at documents and pics in folders - up to 2GB it is free. The benefit of Dropbox is that if you refer friends you can get more space for yourself but it automatically syncronises your files so it is easy to drag and drop photos into folders once you have set it up. You don’t even have to remember your log in!!!

• Bluetooth connectivity (for your phone and/or MP3 player) • Rear electric windows • Cruise control I don’t consider such features as luxurious bells and whistles. To me they should be standard based on the way many in the western world are living our lives right now.

So going for the premium version of a model doesn’t just get you sexier exterior and interior trimmings plus a more powerful stereo – things you may not really need. You need to upgrade to the premium version just to get the 5 star safety rating – a really valuable feature to all.

Physical Pics - the old fashioned way There might be some photos you physically want to print out. You could buy yourself a photo printer [who knows your current PC printer may be able to print if loaded with photo paper], but the cheapest way to print out some snaps is to load them onto a USB stick or take your memory card to your local Harvey Norman, KMart, Big W or Officeworks type store. Shop around as some have specials where you can print photos for as low as 9c each! Most major shopping centres will have at least 1-2 places where you can print out photos.

Similarly for personal insurance I have noticed a similar trend in personal insurance following the recent season of product upgrades.

In the case of car buying our extensive driving experience makes us better equipped to identify and assess the value of the extra features in the premium versions of models.

So don’t let your wonderful Christmas holiday memories gather dust....get them reminding you of the fun you had.

Happy New Year

Not so with personal insurance where many of us have no direct experience.

With personal insurance going for the Premier or Plus version of a policy doesn’t just get you a bunch of lovely ancillary benefits that may aid your comfort when you claim.

Increasingly I am noticing that you need the top version to get the more generous definitions of core policy terms – the terms that will affect whether you can successfully claim at all.

A disability example

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For example, the definition of disability will affect whether you are considered sufficiently disabled such that you can claim under your income protection or total & permanent disability (TPD) policy. It is a core policy term and you want a generous definition that increases the scope of situations in which you could receive a benefit. A narrower definition may mean that even though you are unable to earn at full capacity you don’t receive any insurance benefit.

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Found this article useful? Then please spread the word:

With some income protection and TPD policies I have noticed you need to select the Premier/Plus version to get the market-leading generous policy definition of disability.

You may also enjoy these related articles: 1. Four types of life insurance

Similarly with trauma insurance policies the top versions have the market-leading definitions for core (the most common) illnesses such as cancer, heart attack and stroke.

2. Insurers never pay, right? Wrong!

3. Thwack! Zero income. How long will you last?

How do you know?

You’ll only realise this if you take the time to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). You won’t realise this if you are just ringing around getting quotes and making a decision on premium price under the assumption that most products are similar.

DR JENNY BROCKIS

Get More Sleep: Your New Year’s Resolution for 2011?

What you should do

DEC 31, 2010 08:51A.M. In the past I’ve often recommended you don’t just choose the cheapest insurer because they usually are cheaper due to being stricter with their policy terms.

Now I am extending that to explicitly recommend you don’t just choose the base/cheapest version of an insurer’s policy. The premium version may offer market leading terms for core features – a bit like the 5 star versus 4 star safety rating in cars.

Take the time to read the Product Disclosure Statement and understand the core differences between basic and premium policy versions.

And if you don’t have the knowledge and/or time to make that thorough comparison then outsource to a qualified, experienced financial planner or insurance broker. Their fee will be worth its weight in gold in ensuring you purchase a good value-for-money policy.

It’s New Year’s Eve and if you are still struggling to come up with those great new ideas for what is going to transform your work, business or life in 2011 then the best place to start could be in bed.

Yes, grabbing an early night instead of waiting to see in the New Year may let your brain come up with the answer.

Sleep. We all need sleep to consolidate our memories. But more than that, we also need sleep to allow those memories to be reorganised or

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restructured and make them stronger.

GARY RYAN Our strongest memories are usually those with the most emotional attachment. That’s why we can remember so clearly those events such as 9/11, the Haiti earthquake, and (dare I mention it?) Australia losing the Ashes.

Business Success Podcast Interview with Annemarie Cross DEC 30, 2010 11:34P.M.

During sleep we hang on most tightly to the most emotional part of those memories. Our brain activity during sleep is particularly active in those areas concerned with emotion and memory consolidation.

OK, that’s about keeping those memories stronger, but where does that help us with looking for the best new idea?

Researchers from an article in the Current Directions in Psychological Science have indicated that it is the brain’s ability to reorganise and reconstruct memory during sleep, which is the crucial tool to allow us to come up with creative, new ideas.

This means that even during this holiday period when many of us are perhaps staying up later than usual and getting less sleep, we are also depriving ourselves of the ability to come up with our best novel ideas.

So while you can manage with less sleep, why not start the New Year with the brain fitness resolution of always getting enough sleep every night and let that creativity shine.

Listen to a short interview on the Business Success Podcast hosted

by Annemarie Cross.

Annemarie is a Branding Specialist and Business Coach and recently requested if I would be happy to be interviewed on her Business Success Podcast show.

Happy New Year!

In this interview I talk about:

Ref: Elizabeth A. Kensinger and Jessica D. Payne. Sleep’s Role in the Consolidation of Emotional Episodic Memories. Current Directions in Psychological Science,

• The importance of organisational values • How to hire the right staff, and

Related Posts

• How to build a top performing team, and much more!

• Release your creativity: by watching a funny video clip

Please take the time to listen to the short interview here.

• Feeling jetlagged? The longterm implications of long distance flying.

Gary Ryan enables individuals, teams and organisations to matter.

• How good is your sense of direction?

• DHA (fish oil) Of No Benefit Once Alzheimer’s Disease Is Present.

• Are today’s 70 year olds smarter than their predecessors?

• Women:The face of Alzheimer’s disease.

• Why Our Brains Need Us To Walk • Now we know our brain has two methods of learning.

• Our brain reveals it has a second way to store memory.

• Kids brains need exercise to be able to learn.

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DIFFERENCEMAKERS COMMUNITY BLOG

LIFELONG FITNESS

Is discipline your bridge between thought and accomplishment?

Protect your brain with once a week strength training

DEC 30, 2010 06:02P.M.

A study of 65 to 75 year old women published earlier this year showed that one year of once or twice a week strength training improved brain function.

DEC 30, 2010 05:01A.M.

December 5th is my wife’s birthday. And in 2009 it was the day Jim Rohn, one of my heroes, passed.

The women did either an hour of resistance training either once or twice a week . They were compared to a control group and a balance and tone training group.

Of all Jim’s quotable quotes one stands out for me at this time of year when so many people make new years resolutions they will never keep.

Jim said Discipline is the bridge between thought and accomplishment.

The twelve-month follow-up results have just been reported and showed that the ladies who were did the strength training exercise program

How disciplined will you be in 2011 to turn your thoughts into reality?

shows retained cognitive benefits. They also incurred the least health care costs, so they saved themselves money.

I have the honour and privilege of mentoring people in 9 countries. One tool I share with many is the rituals I keep daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. I encourage my clients to create their own rituals document and many report back that it helps them immeasurably in achieving their goals.

Interestingly, the group the group that showed the ongoing results was the once-weekly strength training group rather than the twice-weekly training group. The authors of the study think that this group probably kept up their exercise more than the twice weekly group.

You can download my rituals one pager here.

As well as of the cognitive benefits, money saving benefits of once-weekly strength train ing were also sustained 1 year after the study finished. The once-weekly strength group had fewer health care costs and had fewer falls than the twice-weekly bal ance and tone group.

Create your own rituals document, be disciplined, and 2011 can easily become your best year yet.

I can help you by becoming your performance partner for a period.

Please checkout my mentoring programs here.

This study shows once again how being physically fit is directly related to brain health. It also shows the benefits of strength training. Most people only think about aerobic exercise as protecting their brain but this shows the importance of strength training.

On most Monday mornings wherever you happen to be in the world I can provide a 30 minute mentoring session for free. See details at the above link.

Even just once a week of strength training showed lasting benefits.

Be the difference you want to see in the world Ian Founder Differencemakers Community The Change Master - catalyst for changing what’s normal for the good of people, our planet, and for profit Want to do well while doing good? Please watch a six minute video here and then get in touch with me.

Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business

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DIFFERENCEMAKERS COMMUNITY BLOG

MICHAEL NEAYLON

The Thankful List

The King’s Speech

DEC 30, 2010 12:08A.M.

DEC 29, 2010 07:10P.M.

For many people around the world we have just finished giving and receiving gifts. Of course upon receiving gifts we have given thanks in appreciation of what we have just received.

I highly recommend seeing The King’s Speech. My father took me to see the film yesterday. Apart from the majestically understated performances, it struck many chords with me, as I’m writing on presentation skills and leadership for the book; these three things in particular.

A few days later it is worth slowing down and reflecting on all the things for which we are thankful.

The Dalai Lama has shared that western people, despite their wealth spend most of their life suffering. The suffering comes from wanting something they don’t have and not appreciating what they do have.

Speak up. People want to hear what you’ve got to say. Seeing Hitler in the movie reminded me of the need for good people to speak up with more influence more often.

The Festive Season often results in people receiving some of the things they have wanted. Unfortunately it is not long before western people then want something different, or better than they currently have. So the suffering starts again! It is for this reason that this time of year provides an opportunity to stop, reflect and to consider all the things for which you are thankful.

Step up. One of the most striking moments in the film was a simple one.

When the young Elizabeth treats her father as the King he is about to become. The moment is beautifully played as he accepts the mantle, then instantly becomes a loving father again. Can you step up to the person you need to become and keep your humanity intact?

Speak to many by speaking to one. Whoever your audience is; an auditorium, your prospects, your blog readers or an entire country, imagine they’re your best friend. Speak to them with warmth, humour and the authority that only a true friend with important words can say to another.

The act of writing your list seems to make it real. As you write down each item you automatically reflect on why you are thankful for that item.

To create your Thankful List I encourage you to be as specific as possible.

Think of all the things from all aspects of your life for which you are thankful. For example name the people for which you are thankful.

The more I write, the more I sell, the more I see and learn, the more I discover that the professional is personal. Who you are informs what you do, which in turn informs who you become.

You will be amazed at both the length of your list and what you have included on it. Interestingly, it is a list that, once started, seems to keep growing.

To your succes Michael Neaylon

Once started, place your list where you can see it regularly. You’ll be amazed at the tension in your life that is reduced from running your eye over your list on a regular basis.

Author of the forthcoming book, ‘Marketing Makeovers: How To Bring In Big Money For Your Small Business.’

What’s on your Thankful List?

michael@mcme.com.au

11

www.eGurus.info

3 January 2011

SAM MAXWELL

“But quite honestly, my mind set sort of clicks straight over to thinking, ‘Alright, well I’ve been given a start, now I have to go on with it’.”

Matt Ebden receives Australian Open Wildcard DEC 28, 2010 06:07P.M.

Ebden will kick-start his 2011 season at the Brisbane International, the same tournament where he qualified for the main draw in 2010 and went on to defeat Austrian Jurgen Melzer, a player who went on to end the year at world No. 11.

He will use his improvement and experience from 2010 to set his sights on a bigger 2011 season.

“For me 2011 starts this week with Brisbane and to be honest, for me, the goal at these tournaments is to win them and that’s what I’ve been working on with my coach,” he said.

Matt Ebden will this afternoon be confirmed by Tennis Australia as a recipient of a wildcard for direct entry in to next month’s Australian Open at Melbourne Park.

“That’s where Australians want to see their players in these tournaments, they want to see them winning, they don’t want to see them just in the first round.

Ebden has enjoyed a consistent season throughout 2010 in a year that has seen him reach a career high ranking of 162 in the world, establish himself in the Australian Davis Cup squad and also qualify for his first Grand Slam main draw appearance at the Australian Open.

“Come Australian Open time, with a wildcard I’ll be fresh going in there, then you’ve got it all to play for and if I can put my best on the park, round after round, I’m confident I can match it and beat many of the guys who will be in the draw.

At the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff event prior to Christmas, Ebden lost a tight semi-final in a deciding third set tiebreak to Australian #2 Peter Luczak, with Luczak having to save off four match points to defeat his younger opponent.

“It’s just about getting out there and doing it.

“So I think I’m ready for it, I’m ready to get stuck in there and show my true potential.”

While the wildcard now gives the West Australian finality as to the tournaments he will play throughout January, he is taking nothing for granted and is looking forward to a strong showing throughout the Australian summer.

Regular updates of all Ebden’s matches and progress will be posted to Facebook and Twitter. Ebden can also be followed via his personal Twitter account @mattebden to keep track of his latest thoughts.

“It’s a massive honour and achievement in itself to receive the wildcard, and to be recognised and to be believed in by people who have been at the top of the game is something quite special,” Ebden said.

For more on Ebden’s Australian Open wildcard, read his exclusive interview with PerthNow published earlier this morning.

12

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