Lead a vivid life that does good

Month: March 2013

Why you should believe in failures like me.

School Report Tauranga Boy CollegeI failed at school.

The best mark I received was an internally assessed A1 in School Cert science. It belonged to another student called Andrew Nichol and was whisked away as quickly as it arrived.

I left school at 17 barely able to read, average at the more complex forms of maths, but strangely very good at accounting. Despite being a “failure”, I have discovered I am actually not as dumb as the school system lead me to believe. In my adult years I taught myself to read (by reading more and more books I actually enjoy).

I have also been given incredible opportunities to lead.

To learn.

To succeed.

Why?

Because throughout my life, many incredibly courageous people have believed in me despite my failures. They were courageous because I could have crashed, failed again and tarnished their good name.

I would not be who I am today without their generosity.

All of us have people who’ve believed in us against the odds. Therefore the implication is simple.

Who are we investing our time into, who might just succeed if we just see past their failure?

Who are you believing in against the odds?

Maybe its time you found someone.


Finally a shout out to just a few of the names I have randomly thought of as I wrote this post. Mum & Dad, Craig Jamieson, Dale Henderson, Bob Addison, Matt Ruys , Neville Stevenson, Ian Hogan, Colin Shotter, Dave Medhurst, Geoff LeCren, Glyn Gray, Jeff Smith, Bruce Thomson, Mark Thompson, Iain Hill, Jim Quinn,, Rowland Forman, Ken Frost, Campbell Forlong, Jim Grafas and of course Karina Nicol. Thank you for believing in me at various stages in my life. I am more grateful than words can express.

2 ways to learn from experience.

Waihi_Beach_SafetyThere is perhaps nothing more quintessentially New Zealand, than a day swimming and playing in the surf. As a child’s age and experience increases, so does their confidence. The waves they catch now are a far cry, from the waves they ran from as toddlers.

There is also perhaps no better example of experiential learning, than learning to be safe in the surf. You could read up on beach safety, but until you have been tumbled by a huge wave and felt the current ripping along the beach, the theory means little. Unfortunately many people in New Zealand get into trouble on our beaches because the rely solely on their own, very limited, experience and don’t learn from the knowledge of others.

Our best learning comes in two ways, through a blend of our own experience and from the experiences, struggles, skills and wisdom of others.

If you really want to learn quickly, constantly seek both.

Lately I have had the opportunity to lean in and glean insight from a few very talented people, many of them younger than me. Their stories, their background and their actions form unique lessons that have portability across many areas of my life.

I have been reminded that it is important to learn from my own experiences, but it is equally important to learn from the experience of others.

I think we forget to do the later all too often.

Being the best.

Trae - "My Mum is the best"I was honoured to hear a friend give a talk about being the best in everything she does. She spoke of what it means to be the best in her music, as a mum, for her boys and at agoge.

Her words reminded me how striving to be the best is difficult and I was challenged about how often I settle for less. What follows are a blend of her words and mine as I contemplated what it means to be the best.
Being the best means failure, as you struggle to live up to your own expectations

Being the best means embarrassment, as you publicly stumble along the way

Being the best means getting it wrong, as you learning new ways

Being the best takes risk

Being the best takes courage

Being the best takes sacrifice

Being the best takes faith

Being the best takes diligence

And the best of the best do all that … with humility and love.

Be the best!