On Sunday we heard first hand about incredible work of Rahab ministries in Thailand, and got to support them through the pink pigs. In Thailand young women, really young women are sold by their families to prostitution, often under false circumstances and with the lure of a better life, but sold nonetheless.
I can’t imagine ever getting so desperate, that I would even remotely consider selling my daughter. It would never happen!
Imagine the outcry, the laws I would break and the news coverage.
It would shock our nation.
I’m reminded that my world is not the world. Every day young women are sold. There is no outcry, no laws broken, no news coverage.
My world, is not the world.
Tag: Facebook
It was a moment of sheer intelligential brilliance. “Immovable Deadlines”, I pondered.
When an immovable deadline exists, it is easy to deliver. When I have to speak on Sunday, or deliver a presentation to a big client. The deadline is immovable, and I always meet the deadline. Always.
I have known this about myself for years of course, but now I have a term to define it. To be more successful, all I have to do is figure out a way to make movable deadlines, things I put off, IMMOVABLE.
Brilliant!
Dazzling, even if I do say so myself.
I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. My life is going to be so much better. I will be a better leader, husband, friend. I am sorted!
Then, by chance I read some notes I made from 2 years ago. Written across the note are these words “IMMOVABLE DEADLINES”
I cuss slightly in my head and am reminded again how hard change is.
Change takes thought.
Reflection.
Time.
Resolve.
Discipline.
Then it takes all of those things all over and over again. And again. And again.
Its hard work!
And that’s why YOU don’t change. And YOU need to sort it out. Work harder. Hold the goal before YOU. Don’t YOU give up.
I say YOU, because clearly I haven’t learnt.
Playing around with a few tech toys recently and a couple of them are very cool.
Evernote
I used to use google notebook (which was in beta and they are no longer developing). Evernote is tool you can use for making notes about anything. You can be on a website and send a part of the text to evernote. You can email notes to it. I can take a photo from my phone of something I want to remember and it uploads. Or you can type a new note directly.
Whats more, there is a desktop version that syncs to the web version which syncs to my windows mobile (phone). Its free and very functional, or you can pay $45 US per year to have additional features and secure syncing.
Dual Monitors
Old technology, but have just set it up. I have been getting annoyed with the amount of paper I print out, just so I can compare to something else on the screen. This solves it and allows for much more.
Sure this looks really geeky, but it is awesome and don't know why I didn't do this a long time ago.
One small problem, I stole the second monitor off someone elses desk, will need to sort that first thing Monday.
iPod Nano
Watched my first video postcast on my Nano. Had it for a year and only listen ever listened to music, audiobooks and audio podcasts.
The quality was very cool and watched a podcast from TED. It was Jacqueline Novogratz from Acuman Fund talking about a third way to think about aid. Cool to see the images and the quality was remarkably good.
When I flew into Melbourne this week I knew broadly my hotel was in the Southbank area, so caught a bus, then the train, then walked around looking for it. Most people, I would assume, would actually look it up on a map.
When I went to the conference yesterday, I knew it was at the Tennis grounds. Again forgot to look it up, so just followed my nose.
Last night tried to lead some friends to a great place to eat. Failed completely, and got sore legs walking around the city, then ended up back near were we started.
Then I realised, that maybe the way I lead is a bit like that. I know the kind of area I need to head towards, but never really map out the way. I almost head there by trial and error without all the details worked out. Most times I succeed, sometimes I fail big-time.
Broadly knowing where I am going, but not really nailing down the best route.
Hmm
I'm not sure this is a great leadership trait.
I was talking to an ex-colleague the other day who fulfilled her dream and went to Costa-Rica. She said that she stayed with a really poor family by some beech for 2 weeks, and they were the so incredibly happy.
Poor happy people!
Then I found a recent article that states a full 27 Million Americans are now on anti-depressants. 10% of their entire population.
Rich unhappy people!
Maybe poor people don’t take anti-depressants because they can’t afford them. I am sure there are plenty of sad poor people around. OR maybe if we, (Western culture ‘we’), weren’t so worried about climbing the socioeconomic ladder, we wouldn’t be so sad.
Maybe then, we would focus on doing things that bring true happiness and not focus on buying things that brings happiness.
Maybe…
I remember it because it was the 8th of 8, 88.
Bob Addison and Dale Henderson took a punt and gave a young, uneducated, skinny bum the opportunity to work at Baycourt theatre.
I had been hanging around the theatre for about 5 years, and looking back I must have been one frustrating young guy. Full of potential but lacking discipline and a little bit strange to boot.
But I got opportunities to clean toilets, learn more about sound and lighting and play with pagemaker on computers (no mean feat in 88).
I learned about creativity, long hours, leadership, communicating with people older than me and doing crap jobs I didn’t enjoy.
I was 18, and I was privileged that Bob and Dale gave me a shot. After a while I moved on and learnt other things from other leaders. But they were some of the first people to see something in me, I didn’t see, even though they never got to see it delivered.
So anyway two key points I considered today.
- 21 years later, I wonder which 18 year I should be giving a similar opportunity to?
- Where did 21 years go?
Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘Tipping Point’ speaks of single events that then trigger other unrelated people to do similar things. I have been wondering if the Hawkes Bay Police siege might be a Tipping Point.
There have been a couple weird shootings that Police have been involved since the siege in Hawkes Bay with Jan Molenaar.
Last month, Shayne Sime, a paraplegic man was shot, and a connection made to the Hawkes Bay shooting and it was referred to in the media as "suicide by cop".
This week actor Rob Mokaraka was shot when he 'engineered' a confrontation with Police. He has a distant connection to the Jan Molenaar shootings.
Gladwell talks of a high profile person committing suicide in a car crash, and then the number of car crashes increasing, as people almost have permission to do the same.
I hope that Jan Mollenaar’s actions in Hawkes Bay aren’t a tipping point for people wanting to go out in a ‘blaze of glory’. I hope the media coverage doesn’t put more police personnel in harms way.
So now to the implication of this post…
It seems many Tipping Points are negative ones. I wonder what it would take to create a truly positive Tipping Point.
One that really makes a positive difference in the world.
One that the media would follow with as much interest as police shootings.
I am not sure it is possible?
Saw an interview on 60 Minutes this week with Kiwi Kerry Spackman. Kerry is a Neuroscientist for sports stars like Lewis Hamilton.
He was asked what made them successful and gave these four qualities
-
They are phenomenally hard workers
-
Their attention to detail was second to none
-
They have an ability to get over disappointment
-
They have an unshakable belief in themselves
A timely reminder to me!
Here is peice of art my wife did for me for Christmas. Will hang at work when I get back from leave. 
"I believe that I am responsible for my own personal development. Only I know who I want to become. Only I know my real strenghts and weaknesses, my passion and my talent. Only I know the price I am willing to pay to be who I can become."
– Fred Smith Sr.
How very true of me!