With success being my Ultimate Goal, I have to first define what success means in my mind. So to be a success, this person must become a person who is continuing to grow emotionally, spiritually, in their relationships with family, friends and strangers. Be a contributor to everybody and everything that enters their realm. Totally successful financially by gaining ultimate financial freedom. Totally successful in business and career. Living a lifestyle admired by many. Success is somebody who is also totally in tune with their personal fitness, health and well-being. Someone who has profound knowledge, continuously learning and somebody who never settles for anything less than they deserve. Committing themselves 100% towards every outcome they desire. Constantly achieving and improving in EVERY area of their life. Taking all actions necessary to achieve all of the above and enjoying the process.

My page is a tool to help me achieve my Ultimate Goal. Every day I will answer the same 5 Questions. Every week I will write a journal entry summarising my life during the week. I will also periodically give you, the reader, an insight into certain areas of my life. So please, enjoy my posts, feel free to replicate the process. My journey starts now with these 5 Questions...

1. What did I learn today?

2. What improvements have I made?

3. What did I contribute today?

4. What did I enjoy?

5. What actions have I taken towards achieving my Ultimate Goal?

video for offensive play for finals

youtube video here 0 comments

notes to my boys


3:2 Zone Offense

Responsibilities at positions

Top

Ball carrier (play initiator)
Feed hi posts
Pass away to wing if you need to create space to pass inside
Control reversals
Dribble entry to wing

Strong side wing

Cut back door when ball goes to high post (quick hit option)
Spread floor by staying as far back from 3 pt line as practical
Keep ball moving
Feed high post
Move to strong side corner if top man dribble entries or if quick hit pass isn’t made

Weak side wing

Keep floor spread (long skip pass reception)
Look for high post quickly on reversal
Look to feed baseline cutter holding at strong side short corner

Corner

Pass between corner and ss wing to make D move
Feed low post
Dribble penetration baseline = layup or 2 passing opions to bigs
Bang corner 3 if shot needed
Find rhythm from corner 3
Cut back door if ball is reversed to other side (ws wing)
Hold cut at far low post if ball finds its way into hi post
Look to receive ball at low post/short corner too
If wing player holds ball, continue cut to corner, mirror the stack from other side

Hi post

Start 2 high inside (knuckles)
Seal wing defenders high
Look to receive entry pass from top
Look to pass to back door cutter (ss wing on quick hit option)
Weak side high post (who didn’t get ball) flash towards basket create 3 on 2 situation (on quick hit option)
On dribble entry to wing, ss high post move to low post ws high post stay high
On low post entry, get low-high action running
On reversal, stay high but move into space looking for entry from ws wing
Aggressive moves to basket if ball received, but keep eye in low pass options
When reversal completed to corner hold high. Wait and flash to basket on dribble penetration, or x cut down to ss low post if we want to pound it inside

Low post

On low entry pass, run low-high action or make move
On dribble penetration, move to bottom of circle to create space for penetrator, or find space for reception of scoring pass
On reversal, hold spot at ws low post/short corner
If pounding inside, x cut up to ss high post



OUTSIDE PLAYERS
Remember…

Pass ball around, keep ball moving, don’t hold in one position at all
Passes between wing and corner will move that defensive player who has to cover both
Entry to low post should be relatively easy. Give big man a fast low bounce pass
Top player look for high post to start for quick hit option
If ball makes it to high post from top, ss wing cut back door, layups all day
If top cant get it to high post, pass away, reverse back, try again
If that doesn’t work dribble entry to wing, push wing player down to corner
When ball is passed across court on reversal, corner cut baseline, hold cut at opposite low post and we have 3 inside being defended by 2 low defenders. Feed inside
We don’t have to settle for 3’s if we need a shot, a few passes between wing and corner will open corner 3
Space the floor create bigger seams, make it easier for us and make other team work harder
Don’t dribble if you don’t have to. Only dribble if you are busting the baseline seam, dribbling out of trouble or moving to get a better angle on a pass
Dribble penetrating from the top wont work because there’s too much help D
Don’t hold the ball in one place too long. It lets the D reorganize
Make their O suffer by making them work harder on D. How? Ball movement. Simple
Chill out on O unless were fast breaking, which is our first option

INSIDE PLAYERS
Remember…

Start 2 high on knuckles
Seal wing defenders on 1st line, get entry pass, throw backdoor pass
If dribble penetration occurs from corner, ss low flash high to middle of key/bottom of circle
On dribble penetration occurs from corner, high post cut behind D towards baseline
On dribble penetration, once bigs have moved, both look for pass from penetrator
When ball is passed across court on reversal, both players hold positions, space floor
Look for low-high action ALL GAME LONG
Call for ball at low post when ball is in corner
Kick out if there are no options, we can always try again
Keep ball moving
Crash boards, no box out assignments, hit a gap between defenders and stay strong

BE A SUPERSTAR TEAM, TRUST YOUR TEAM MATES, MOVE THE BALL. PASSING IS THE KEY VS A ZONE. PASS, PASS, PASS, PASS PASS. IF YOU CANT FIND A SCORING PASS. DON’T WORRY, PASS AWAY TO AN OPEN MAN AND YOU COULD BE THE NEXT SCORING OPTION. REVERSE THE BALL
EXPOSE INSIDE DEFENSE, 3-2 IS DESIGNED TO TRY STOP OUR 3 PT HEAT BUT THEY ARE SACRIFICING INSIDE DEFENSE

0 comments

Another Working Weekend

Sat. 26 June and Sun. 27 June, 2010

1 Learn. Today was ridiculously busy during the weekend. At this time of year I spend 2 hours in the CBD a day. Over the weekend it would have totalled about 5 hours a day. What lesson was learnt? With Australian families on holiday, the cheap flights into town, the extra flights and the Queenstown Winter Festival off to a booming start, Queenstown is and will continue to be a hot spot for tourists and locals over the next week and a bit. Right now I'm at standing on a metaphorical beach, watching this tourism tsunami sweep through.

2 Improve. The game that got postponed on Wednesday got played on Sunday. I've been a bit off with my free throw shooting lately (since the Tuesday night league finals). At the start of the game things didn't look promising. I missed my first three attempts from the charity stripe. Luckily I found my touch again and hit my next 3 before half time putting me at a respectable 50%. What happened in the second half made me happy. I got fouled frequently as I tried to make plays and get points. It didn't matter what they did, I wasn't missing from the line. I went 12 from 12 in the second and my shooting was back in form.

3 Contribute. Sundays game was the first game of the season where my parents came to watch so we put on a show for them. Comprehensively beating the other team down with some sweet teamwork and stifling defense.

4 Enjoy. Same story. Another game, another win.We're getting good at this. That's 10 wins, zero losses with this team this season. Not sure what our streak over the past two seasons is but I'm sure it's up there. Expect more to come.
5 Action. Once again it's all work no play. My spare time was spent eating, sleeping and resting. Basketball was the only exception. I need to get into my routine so I can manage my time better. Once I do that I wont fall behind on my obligations, this blog being one. If I don't get a handle on it quickly, it's going to be a scramble to catch up. 0 comments

American Express Queenstown Winterfest 2010

Fri. 25 June, 2010

1 Learn. It's that time of year again. One of the biggest events on our calendar, Winterfest. With it brings the flurry of tourists, shoulder to shoulder crowds, lines for days, halting traffic but it's all worth it with all the enjoyable events that will take place over the next 10 days. What have I learnt so far from the first day of the 2010 Winterfest? Order a meal before you get hungry. Anticipate when you will need to satisfy your hunger well before your stomach starts rumbling. The reason I say this is because with the thousand of people in town, it's tough waiting in line for food. Even a fast food icon was struggling to keep up, McDonalds was moving at a snails pace. One thing I love about carnivals are the hotdogs and chips, but what makes them amazing is the carny tomato sauce. The hotdog trailer was in town tonight so we decided to join one of the lines there, about eight lines to choose from, being served by two people. I was starving, I needed a hotdog, the line wasn't moving as fast as my expectations, I learnt a lesson. Also, If you need a park in the CBD on a night like tonight, drive into town early, or alternatively use your contacts and park illegally outside their work for the time you're in there . One of my mates was working so he said to park up and he would keep an eye on it. Cheers bro!

2 Improve. There's so many things you can do with Google calendar, so many things to learn. I figured some of it out and spent a good hour on getting my timetable sorted. You can see the results on the Calndar page. I gave it a nudge and I think there's improvement there.

3 Contribute. Extra people means extra rubbish. It's my job to keep this town clean and I'm going to do a good job dang it. I did more runs through the CBD today and kept the place tidy. People won't notice my work, but if I wasn't out there people would notice the mess. At this time of year Queenstown can't afford to have that image.

4 Enjoy. The Winterfest opening ceremony. Earnslaw Park was packed with people, with all the entertainment to enjoy from the fireworks, to the food stalls, the music, the entertainers and of course the mulled wine from the Lion's tent, it was easy to see why everybody was attracted to that area of town. I had my daughter in a backpack and we were trying to find a decent position so we could see the floating stage (a custom built stage contructed with scaffolding over top of the lake). It was a mission trying to weave through the people but we found a good area just in time to see our Prime Minister John Key take the stage with Darth Vader, some storm troopers and Boba Fett. He opened the festival and called for the fireworks to start. It was a decent display of explosives with an awesome soundtrack to go with it. At that stage we took our daughter out of the backpack and she sat in my arms dancing to and enjoying the music. Great way to kick things off and looking forward to the next nine days of celebration.

5 Action. Get more organised to increase productivity by doing my calendar. Increasing my happiness by joining the population at the lakefront festivities. This weekend stay on top of the trash around town. It's going to be busy 0 comments

Positive Ten Experience

Thu. 24 June, 2010

1 Learn. In an earlier post I referenced the power of scarcity and in that I gave you a scale that measured desire on a scale of -10 to +10. Today I realised that you can use that scale for any emotion you want to make happen. For example. If I wanted to feel happy, I would measure my happiness on a scale with +10 being euphoric and -10 being depressed. I furthered that thinking and started asking how I could think, feel, believe and do with my body to get to different areas of the scale. That part was easy, +10 think of a time when I was at my happiest and think of this moment being the last moment I could be like that again. -10 focus on losing my daughter in a situation in which something could have been done to prevent the loss. Then I took that distinction up another step. We all want a positive 8 or above experience for every emotion which gives us pleasure. Ask the question "What has to happen to make this a +10 experience?". What happens next? You start to come up with rules. Some rules are helpful: If I blink more than 3 times then I'm +10 in happiness. Some rules don't help at all: If the sun sets from the east then I'm happy. It all depends on how you set up your rules. So try this... before you are about to enter a situation ask yourself the question "what needs to happen in order for me to have a positive 10 experience? Then decide to make your rules really easy to meet and with outcome that you can control. I guarantee if you do it properly then anything that seemed like a pain you can turn into fun.

2 Improve. My whole day was helped with the use of that new tool for new thought. I managed to find myself enjoying situations I normally wouldn't. Thursday is generally my busiest day of the week and some days its tough to find the motivation to work. The morning was spent dragging my feet, procrastinating and getting distracted by the solitaire application on my phone. Then I used the above tool to get me going. While I'm working, if I didn't stop for a break at any moment during the day, then I would have a +10 experience. Guess what happened? I went from tired and unmotivated, to having an amazing time doing something I normally find tedious. Now to apply it to other things in my life.

3 Contribute. Trademe.co.nz My partners addicted to it. I fueled her addiction by picking up a set of three pairs of pants for our daughter, those which had she won on the online auction site. It wasn't a coincidence that I was driving past the seller's house today. I drive past that residence every Thursday. I also made you use the +10 experience tool didn't I?

4 Enjoy. Queenstown is getting busy!!! It's a winter wonderland and people are stampeding into town. It's pretty fun watching the different types of people who come in and out of this place. It's hard to know who the real locals are but that's all good.

5 Action. Going to bed early tonight so I wont be doing much action towards my goals. Getting more sleep could technically be considered as an action taken. I have a good reason to go to bed early. Basketball training in the morning but more importantly our national soccer team is playing the current FIFA World Cup champions, Italy, in the early hours of Friday. I'm not too confident of a positive result for them but I am confident I can have a +10 experience otherwise. Do the calendar tomorrow!

Search Amazon.com for FIFA world cup 2010 0 comments

Snow Day

Wed. 23 June, 2010

1 Learn. Winter has officially hit Queenstown. We had a pretty big dump of snow overnight. There was about 8cm on the ground where I live. What have I learnt from this situation? How not to drive when the roads are layered with snow. As we were driving to work we approached a steep hill going down. At the first corner was a bus... Grill first into the side of a rock wall. That's how not to drive. I also learnt how to drive in those conditions. Speed stays constant, Brakes don't get touched. I was also enlightened when I had to put snow chains on the ute.

2 Improve. When I finally made it home after a long, slow day out working, I went to work on improving my blogs appearance. It's early days yet but I found a template that made my blog look a little bit better. I'll continually work at making it better in the future too.

3 Contribute. Due to the extreme weather, we rescheduled our men's league game over in Wanaka. Trying to get through the Crown Range would have been close to suicide so we're playing the game on Sunday instead. With all of my team mates having the night off, we decided to have a training session to work on some offensive plays. We are going to be running the same plays as the high school team therefore my knowledge of them has just one superior, the coach, who is also in my men's team. I shared what I knew with the other players to try help them pick it up as fast as possible. This will probably be the last training session we have until tournament and we're not too fluent at the plays yet so I'm not too sure how well it will work in a real game situation. Let's just wait and see.

4 Enjoy. The Snow. Waking up to the whole town covered in white was pretty sweet.

 
5 Action. Going to practice, training, doing my calendar. Those were a few things I did today. Still need more work on my calendar, I think if I spend 20 minutes a day on the calendar it should be great. 0 comments

Who Am I Really?

Tue. 22 June, 2010

1 Learn. Check out my Who Am I page. I learnt that if I generalise my answers to that question then I get a whole list of attributes to go along with that answer. For example: If I believe in my heart that who I am is a professional basketball player, when I dunk on somebody and they ask me why I did that, my reply would be "because im a professional basketball player and it's what I do". What else do professional basketball players do? Why limit my brain into thinking that I'm just another player. It seems like semantics, but if I can believe it then why can't I do it?

2 Improve. So I made some generalisations about who I want to become. Check them out on my Who Am I? page.

3 Contibute. This distinction is a very powerful tool to condition your mind into believing in your capabilities. Therefore I'm making you use it right now. Make a list, think of the person you want to become, be general, you look at my page for inspiration. When you believe that's who you are then you get a whole set of new behaviours and take actions you might of never taken before. If you change who you believe you are now, your goals that seemed out of reach will be closer than ever. That is my contribution to you.

4 Enjoy. No basketball today! Tuesday night basketball is over for the season after the loss in the final last week. I've been so busy lately that a day with no basketball is actually pleasurable. Just relaxing and doing a little bit of work is just what I needed.

5 Action. I spent a bit of time working on my calendar. Getting my life organised. I also advertised this blog onvarious sites. Technorati was one. I'm also creating a lens on Squidoo about my blog. Going to try and Lift my Twitter (follow me!) profile soon and working on the facebook page which will soon be just as big as this blog. Tomorrow I'm going to try change the look of this blog. Hopefully make it a bit more appealing.
0 comments

Air Up There

Mon. 21 June, 2010

1 Learn. I explained in an earlier post that I needed to find an online planner or calendar so I could schedule my life and plan my days and weeks ahead. I failed miserably. That was until I looked right under my nose and found Google calendars. How could I miss that? I already use so many other Google services, this blog for one. There's also Reader, Gmail, YouTube, AdSense, Picasa and Docs which I use on a regular basis. The calendar that Google have is very close to what I was looking for originally so I'm going to take a bit of time to learn how to use it effectively. You can soon call me Mr Organised.

2 Improve. This afternoon at basketball training I was feeling rather explosive. It felt as though I could leap to the roof of the gymnasium with no effort at all. As we were warming up I used that feeling to throw down dunks at a ferocious intensity. I managed to get a clean flush on a one leg takeoff, two handed tomahawk, running at full pace towards the basket, which I haven't ever done before. It was an awesome feeling knowing that my jumping ability is still rising.

3 Contribute. I shared with the boys in the basketball team some more items from the vast pool of basketball knowledge that is stored within my brain. I seem to talk a lot, but when the pressures on they seem to forget what they only just learnt. It goes in one ear and out the other. Can you really expect more from teenagers? Maybe one day it will click for them, until then I'll keep doing what I do.

4 Enjoy. We run a drill at training called one minute of defense. There are two lines either side of the court, 2 balls in each line. As soon as you get the ball you dribble towards the basket looking to score in any way possible. Problem is there's one person standing in the way. Sometimes you can get away with a cheeky basket while the defender is still preoccupied with the person who went before you. It's the defenders job not to let that happen and contest every shot. I was in a situation during the exercise where I got the ball early, so I decided to try get one of those cheeky buckets and maybe put a bit of flair in it by hammering a slam down. I thought I was in for the money because the person who went in before me was taking their time putting their shot up. As I leapt into the air,  the defender all of a sudden turned to me. He gave up on the previous defensive assignment because it wasn't worth his time. He had two options at this stage with only a split second to react. There was nowhere he could move to so he could either stand there and sample the salty seasoning of my sweaty shorts or he could push me away to try prevent the embarassment of having a face full of nut sack. He chose the latter, but instead of pushing me away from the basket, he pushed me up and towards it. What happened next was one of the greatest experiences of my playing days. I was so high in the air I was looking down ito the basket. My shoulders were level with the rim which is 10 feet from the ground.What happened next? I panicked. Instead of reaching out and grabbing the rim, creating a dunk which was worthy of a placing on SportsCenter's top 10, I got over excited and didn't really know what to do. I managed to finish off the play, a sexy wee finger roll with my forearm parrallel to the ground. I wish I got a courtside photo of the play, then it would probably be one of my most prized possesions.

5 Action. Jumped into the trading room today to see if I could catch some trades. I need to try and condition myself into spending the time in the trading room to enhance my financial situation. I'll work out that Google calendar tomorrow. 0 comments

Recharge

Sat. 19 and Sun. 20 June, 2010

1 Learn. Not the relaxing weekend I had planned. I thought I could get the chance to get some work done over the two days I had off. That wasn't the case. People to visit, things to do, games to watch. Obligations getting in the way of progress. What did I learn from this experience? Speeding is bad. We stayed in Alex a bit too long on Sunday so I tried to make up that time by speeding back to Queenstown. 30 kms down the road, in the wet and all of a sudden the red and blue lights start to flash and the patrol car turns and chases. 27kph over the 100 kph speed limit equals a $230 fine and 35 demerit points. The gain for my speeding? About a minute in total travel time which got eaten immediately when I got pulled up. The potential cost? Losing my family in a horrific car crash. I learnt my lesson and realise nothing is worth that price. NOTHING.

2 Improve. The reason I sped was to get to basketball training on time. It was going to be one of our last trainings before we go away to tournament. I made it there late and was in no mood to play. I warmed up on my own and my angry state wasn't at all productive. I started dunking resulting in the breakage of the the hoop I was warming up on. When I eventually started to play I was still feeling sour. The whole time we played I played hard and fast. The peak of my strength was reached when I received a great pass while cutting down the paint. Instead of doing what I normally do and softly putting the ball in the air for an easy basket, I decided to leap between two defenders, throw the ball down with authority and attempt to rip the rim off the backboard stamping my name on that bucket. A few plays later I made another aggressive move by trying to go through my defender on a driving dunk attempt. Unfortunately I didn't quite hit him hard enough and my hand fell just short of grabbing the ring again. My anger drove the improvement in my aggression.

3 Contribute. One of my good mates has a baby boy who is 3 weeks younger than my daughter. His birthday party was on Saturday afternoon so we got him a wee Tonka truck for his birthday present. It was a fun occasion with a lot of other babies there and catching up with my mates family who I haven't seen in years was a bonus for me.

4 Enjoy. The All Blacks played their first real test of the season on Saturday night vs Wales. The 66-28 drubbing of the Irish national team a week earlier didn't count because of the red card that was dealt to Jamie Heaslip in the 14th minute for twice using his knee on an All Black players head. The Welsh put up a tough and even contest in the first half, but Dan Carter showed his brilliance in the 2nd and led the team to a dominant 42-9 victory. It was also the last test match to be held at Carisbrook, Dunedin's aging football ground. Starting the farewell with the stirring Kapa-O-Pango haka and finishing it all off with an historic win, the old House Of Pain will always be remembered. Also, the aforementioned slam dunk put a smile on my face for a moment.

5 Action. I'd be lying if I said I took deliberate action over the weekend towards my personal development. I planned to do some work but the spare time I did get was filled with distraction and procrastination. I could reach for an answer and say I took the action of watching a sport that I love to improve the happiness in my life...
0 comments

It Doesn't Get Any Bigger

Fri. 18 June, 2010

1 Learn. In my sport, as you should know by now is basketball, there is one event that rules every other. This one contest between two teams has no rival. What is it? The seventh game of the NBA finals. It hardly ever happens because one team is clearly superior to the other. And when it does happen there should be a holiday in my opinion. Both teams have worked their behinds off during post season workouts, battled through a gruelling 82 game regular season, three rounds of playoffs tallying 12 wins and the occasional loss to that, adding another 3 wins each in the finals series leading up to this one deciding game to reveal the champion. No matter what happens, the winner deserves the trophy. So what did I learn while enjoying this spectacle? I learnt that Kobe still has nothing on MJ. He choked big time. He shot bad (6 makes from 24 attempts), he made bad decisions, he didn't even make the big play that everybody expected him to make (Artest and Fisher made those). He couldn't handle the occasion and his team mates held the team together for him. Luckily it's a team sport. Kobe, you may have only one less ring than His Airness, but you still have a loooong way to go before I will compare your accomplishments to his. Get five more MVP's and four more finals MVP's and then I'll concede.

2 Improve. To have the time to watch the game, I had to find a 4 hour lunch break during work. I had to use my time perfectly so I could manage my runs, catch the action and get ready for the weekend. I did a shift in the morning straight after morning training with no breakfast, I made it home to wash up and eat, did some more work, made it to a mates place just in time for the game to start, exited just after the trophy was presented, made it to the transfer station to empty the ute just before it closed and finished my last run just as it was getting dark. All in all, I think I did a pretty good job at effectively using my time, something that in the past has been a weak part of my organisational skills.

3 Contribute. Tonight I gave my time, my (limited) energy and most importantly my driving qualifications (manual shift, full car license) in getting my family to Alexandra for the weekend. After a hectic day it was tough trying to drive 90kms at 10:00 at night but we got there safely. The relaxation during my time off work would be worth it.

4 Enjoy. Did I not just say there was a game 7 of the NBA finals on today. What more do I need to enjoy myself? I would have been happier if it were a Suns vs Bulls final but watching the two most storied franchises hit it out against each other was the next best thing. BOS 79 - 83 LAL final score. Congratulations LA Lakers. 2010 NBA champions.

5 Action. Way too busy to focus on any business related actions so I'll say I took action to fill my time effectively. 0 comments

Morning Trainings

Fri. 4 June, 2010
1 Learn. Today I learned that the metaphors I use control the beliefs I have. For example I now use the metaphor "my business is like basketball". If I put in enough preparation, if i do the work, if i have a game plan, if I execute my plays with smart decisions and quick action, then there's no challenge that I won't eventually overcome. Let's look at Kobe's game today. Game 1 NBA finals vs the Celtic's. He applied those principals to his game and made an assortment of shots on his way to 30 points. He was able to overcome the challenges with what seemed like ease. Now that I can relate I will be able to apply that to the challenge that is business. I also learned that there's nobody in the world who can shut down Kobe.
2 Improve. So we had basketball training at the high school this morning. I'm the assistant coach of the local high school boys basketball team. Their trainings start at 6:30am on Friday's and I always join in so I can lead by example. We did a lot of running to warm up, a few shooting drills then it was into running some offensive sets to get the boys ready for their first game of the season which is coming up soon. For those that don't know what an offensive set is, I would simply say its similar to a choreographed dance routine with specific players moving to specific spots on the court to try and create an easy shot for one of their team mates. watch a simple example here. So we practiced that for a bit then played some 5 on 5. I ended up finishing the training with no energy left but felt I hadn't done enough to improve my skill set. As everybody else left the gym, I spent the next 20 minutes working on my jumping ability by exercising my legs, doing different jumping exercises. After that extra training I really felt that I had put in the work to increase and improve my vertical leap.
3 Contribute. My contribution for the day? I got posterised by one of the high school kids. He had an open basket and I busted my ass to catch up with him. I tried to go for the ball going under him but was there half a second too late. He leaped, I looked up and all I saw was a clean one-handed dunk and heard the sound of the rim being pulled down. So I'm glad I could contribute to this kids self-esteem and confidence. Now I wasn't postered to this level but here's a good compilation to give you an idea of what happened.
4 Enjoy. Lakers vs Celtics. The first game of the 2010 NBA Finals. The whole season leading up to these last few games. Today's game did not disappoint. Final score LAL 102 - 89 BOS
5 Action. I took the action of waking up and making it to training on time. As a result my health and fitness has improved. I also wrote a second post!
 
0 comments

Life Changing Distinction

Thu, 17 June, 2010
1 Learn. WOW!!! What a day I had today. I learnt a distinction that has changed my life. The Power of Scarcity. Basically the less you have of something you want, then the more your desire for it and if you have a large supply of that item then you will less likely want it anymore. For example: If I had 500 chocolate bars sitting in the cupboard and I tell you to help yourself, you might eat a lot of them day one, a few less the next day and by the third day you may not want any at all. So I still have a huge supply of bars but nobody really wanting to eat them. I decide to throw them all out because I'm on an anti-chocolate crusade to improve my health. A few days later, there's a few people around to watch the NBA finals and you ask everybody if they want some chocolate, assuming all the bars are still there. You open the cupboard to find one single bar. The one I missed. You take that into that lounge and share your predicament with the group.  
On a scale of -10 to +10 what would the desire for that chocolate be for most of the people in the room? I would say +5.  
What if I gave everybody a taste? Maybe +7 when they finish.  
What if they saw me eat the very last piece? Probably close to +10. 
The more scarce it is, the greater the desire. Now armed with that knowledge and a scale to measure, I tried to apply that distinction to life in general. I had to identify my most valuable asset. That was easy to come up with. My time. Most of all my spare time.  
On that scale, what was my desire for having some spare time at this moment? Around +4. I now needed to ask myself some questions to raise that level.  
What would I have to feel in order to get it to +7? I would have to feel that the most relaxing time during my day is at home and not at work.  
And last of all, what would I have to believe in order to get it to +10? I would have to believe that these moments were the last moments of my life, and I would rather be at home with my family than working in a truck...
2 Improve. From then on everything seemed to click. I spent every moment making sure I used all my energy toward effort and action. If I was going out now, I was gonna go out punching. My last moment will define who I was. My effort improved, my mood improved. It seemed every area of my life was instantly improved. Its funny, you hear the old cliche "live every day as if it's your last". Until you can relate to that saying it doesn't mean anything to you.
3 Contribute. When I got home I dedicated my time towards giving my family the most love I have given them in ages. I had more passion and excitement for our relationship than I have had in a very long time. It felt good for me and I bet it felt good for my partner. I'm not sure my daughter felt much different, she gets a lot of attention all the time. She's also a bit young to realise.
4 Enjoy. Today I enjoyed every single moment.
5 Action. I took a number of actions today in every area of my life that needed more development.I had a ton of momentum that drove me to take actions mainly toward my trading education. I also found that there was no moment during the day where I procrastinated. This new tool is and will be useful and I understand that it will be a keystone in my future successes.
0 comments

Just Smile

Wed. 16 June, 2010
1 Learn. Do you want an easy way to change peoples moods? Even the mood of a complete stranger? I learnt a technique today that seems like a relic in todays society. Smiling. I decided to keep a big stupid grin on my face all day and notice the reaction I was getting. I learnt that no matter who saw me smile. It was hard for them not to either.
2 Improve. My general mood lifted today as a result of my wee experiment. It was actually tough to let things get me down, not saying that's a bad thing.
3 Contribute. The donation I gave to the community today was in the form of that simple facial gesture. That contribution, I believe, made my town a better place for the duration I was out on the streets. It lifted moods, It made people think, It changed peoples focus. A free gift which everybody has a sizable stock of and something anybody can pass along. Imagine a world where everybody gives that type of courtesy every day.
4 Enjoy. So my smile made others smile too. When it didn't work it made me smile even more. I enjoyed wondering what people were thinking. What drugs is he on? What is he listening to on his ipod? Why the heck is that guy so happy? The grin was just the tip of the iceberg. I was laughing on the inside. People might of thought I was weird but I didn't care. My happiness was worth a hundred times more than their judgement. So the next time you find yourself in a negative mood, be a dick and smile at a stranger or two. You might enjoy it too.
5 Action. So I got slack on my blog for a few days so I spent the rest of the night writing. I slowly caught up on the missed posts. In bed by 5am. Wake up for work in 2 hours time. Hopefully not too tired tomorrow... Lets just wait and seeeee....ZZZZZZZZZ
0 comments

Ti i i ime, Is On My Side

Tues. 15 June, 2010
1 Learn. Time... nobody ever has enough. Today I learnt where I can find some. If I wake up one hour earlier in the mornings that would leave me 7 extra hours a week. That's a whole work day. over a year that's 365 hours. In a decade that's 215 extra DAYS worth of time. Can you survive with one hour less sleep? If its worth that much then I guess I can.
2 Improve. My mindset for basketball changed for the better today and the changes were incredible. I needed to pump myself up for tonight's big game so I made some distinctions about who I am as a basketball player. I found out that if I have ever had the experience in the past then whats stopping me from tapping into that ability in the future? Or right now? So I made a list of attributes of the perfect basketball player. Best thing about it was the fact that in some time in my playing career I have felt every one of those attributes, not all at once however. With that list now a great source of motivation and focus, there was no stopping me from being the best player on the court, displaying every great trait that I wrote down during the game. I had a great game. Played heavy defence and gave 100% effort the entire time I was on the court, which according to John Wooden, is the most important thing. I will share my list in the very near future as an add on to my "Who Am I?" page. My improvements came in my belief, my sense of certainty, that I can (and will) be the greatest player on the court... On ANY court.
3 Contribute. So with me being the best player on the court you would assume we won? Well that's not true. We went down by 6. The other team executed very well and our tactics for the game were very ineffective. One thing I didn't put on my list was to make free throw. I made one out of seven attempts tonight. Shocking considering I've only missed a total of three of them in my men's league from about 20 trips to the line spanning 8 games. And I made 42 in a row at the end of my training on Sunday. Moving on. That loss, my first loss of the season, got me in a very bad mood. I gave my all and this is the feeling I get? The feeling of being a loser? My state affected me so much that I was harsh towards my partner. That affected how she felt and we had a very unpleasant evening. I now realise that I can also give negative contributions. I contributed my bad mood to get my girlfriend in a bad mood. I have to work hard to ensure I give in a way that provides massive amounts of pleasure for the recipient and myself.
4 Enjoy. I found it very difficult to find some part of the day I enjoyed, but, I managed. Our national soccer team the All Whites, currently playing in the Football World Cup Finals, earned their first ever tournament point in history. A goal in the last minute of injury time tied the game for us against Slovakia. A monumental upset considering our world ranking. We play the Azzuri in about a week. Lets go boys!!!
5 Action. So I gave my effort to the team. Left nothing on the table, but couldn't get the result. I took the action to play my heart out and I will continue to do so every single game I play. Tomorrow I'm gonna wake up one hour earlier, quit sleeping my life away
0 comments

Train Smart

Mon. 14 June, 2010
1 Learn. Static Contraction Training. Have you heard of it? Apparently all you do is hold up a massive weight for 5 seconds for 1 rep. You could do a full body workout in minutes. If you can hold it for longer than 10 seconds its too light and you should go heavier. The guys that developed the training tested some athletes and tracked their progress. The test subjects were experienced weight trainers and had an average age of 38 years old. These guys weren't trying to pump up their findings by using rookie 20 year olds who can easily get massive results. After just 10 weeks of Static Contraction Training, these subjects...
  • Increased static strength 51.3%
  • Increased their full range 1-rep max 27.6%
  • Increased their full range 10-rep max 34.3%
  • Added 9.0 pounds of new muscle (one subject added 28.9 pounds!)
  • Lost 4.9 pounds of fat 
  • Added ½ inch to their biceps 
  • Added 1.1 inches to their chest 

When was the last time you made gains like that in 10 weeks? And amazingly they didn't train more than twice a week and spent less than one hour TOTAL in the gym!
So hearing these kind of results I had to learn more and I have designed a programme for myself which I can soon undertake. Now all I need is a gym membership or my own gear.
2 Improve. I wasn't that compelled to jump straight on to NBA.com as soon as I arrived home to check todays result, so with those actions I believe I have slowly improved in reducing my addiction to the website. Still had to see who took game 5 though. Celtics 92 - 86 Lakers. Kobe beasty in the fourth quarter but the C's take their first lead of the series up 3 games to 2.
3 Contribute. The high school boys learnt a trap defense at training today. It's a defense that surprises the other team and pressures them into throwing a bad pass which leads to an easy 2 points down the other end of the court. I had 4 members of my basketball team come along to today's training so we could have a run against them. Our objective for one of the drills was to try and score while the high school team tried to unleash this new defensive power. Growing up, being in a team which attracted a ton of traps, I knew exactly what to do. I shared my knowledge with the rest of my team. A simple play where we turn their pressure against them. Easy buckets for the boys now turned into easier buckets for us. It helped them too because now they had to adjust quickly to real game situations which will make them better players eventually.
4 Enjoy. The intensity of the training today was incredible. Their first real game of the season is on tomorrow against James Hargest College. There was hard running, hard passes, hard attacks to the basket but my favourite part was the hard fouls. I got elbowed in the throat which momentarily sidelined me. I got smacked on the top of the head, got pushed over landing on my hip, my arm got hit, my leg got hurt and I ended up bruised and broken by the end of the session. Why was that enjoyable? because at the start of the season these boys were soft. Now they have a "no easy baskets" mentality. I used to intimidate them, now they don't give a spit.
5 Action. Even though they picked up their intensity, I took the action to pick mine up too. I needed a good training today so I could set myself up to have a good game tomorrow. Finals night. Winner takes all. My action for tomorrow will be give my all to win that last game.
0 comments

My Job Revolves Around Basketball

Sun. 13 June, 2010
1 Learn. Most of my day involved progress in my basketball development, but I also did some work towards becoming a full-time forex trader. I did a goal setting brainstorm, focusing on that area of my life during my lunch break, and from that exercise I came up with close to 30 reasons as to why I'm being held back from achieving this goal. Now that I'm aware of these challenges I can figure out the solutions which will help me reach my goals faster. No longer will I let these emotions and behaviours hold me back. I also learnt from a friend of mine that he has a good friend who's a web designer. I have a few concepts for a website, and somebody local could be a good first step for me. At one point I was contemplating study in that area but whats the point when you can pay for those resources and get results instantly? One of the great principles of life, If you can't do it yourself, surround yourself with people who can.
2 Improve. My feet... With our weekly game of pick up basketball about to start, I had to get out of my work clothes and into the proper attire quickly. I went to the changing rooms for a bit of privacy. Stupidly, I took my shoes off and walked in with only my socks on. As luck would have it, the carpet in there was soaked. 4 hours of basketball later and my feet were wrinkled and in agony. I got home, shower and dry socks on. My feet rubbed raw. At least when they heal, they'll be tough like leather... mmmmmmmmm.
3 Contribute. As always, I stayed a bit longer at the court, but for once, one of the guys stuck around and we played some 21. I helped his development by playing against him and giving him some decent competition. There was a point there when our energy started crashing and all we did was shoot 3's and play poor defence. Some less than average basketball was played but hey, at least we got some extra training in.
4 Enjoy. I'm pretty grateful for having so little work on the truck today. I had 1.5 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night. That left plenty of time to enjoy playing the sport we call basketball.
5 Action. Every hour I spend with a basketball in my hand is another step forward in achieving my goal of becoming an elite level basketballer. I was supposed to take action towards my trading education but I spent a total of 5 seconds on the computer today, checking the time. I was able to spend some time putting in the effort to identify those obstacles which are hindering my progress.
0 comments

Alpine Golf

Sat. 12 June 2010
1 Learn. I played my first game of golf today since my Uncle was here. I have to say I'm very rusty. My tee shot on the first hole landed about 2 metres from the pin. Too bad that was the best shot of my round! So what were the lessons I learnt from this experience? Golf reflects the mood you're in. For example, If you're feeling great, every shot you hit is clean, it feels effortless and best of all the ball goes in the general direction of where you're aiming. If you're feeling pressured, like the pressure you have at your first tournament back after a short interval in your playing career, with a media frenzy focused on your extramarital affairs and personal life, then you wont be the threat you used to be on the fourth and final day of competition. If you're feeling the same way I was today, cold, then you three putt almost every hole and you need more Weetbix on all the irons you hit. It was a great day earlier on in the day. The sun was out, no wind, perfect for a round of golf. By the time we got to the third hole the clouds had moved in and with the wind picking up, the temperature started to drop very quickly. The snow up on the mountains didn't warm things up much either. We managed to fit 9 holes in before the heater in the car beckoned.
2 Improve. My golf skills actually took a dive throughout the round, ending with +14 thru 9. If there was one improvement it was my putting towards the end, sort of. I nailed my par putt on the 8th and on the last I found the perfect line 25 feet from the pin off the green. Too bad I left the pin in the hole because the wind left the pole slightly askew towards the edge my ball was rolling towards. It ended up rebounding off the stick and gave me a 5 footer for bogey. It seems pointless to tell you I missed the next 2 attempts to sink that stupid ball.
3 Contribute. My playing partner was a mate from Alabama. He's in my basketball team and has been travelling around Australia and NZ for a wee while now. My contribution? Showing him around New Zealand's golfing capital, Queenstown. The Frankton course has character which is why it was the perfect place for his first taste of kiwi golf.
4 Enjoy. I checked out Inglorious Basterds tonight. Enjoyed absolutely.
5 Action. I managed to find a few web developers that could make my planner/calendar. I also found some planner software which I could get which is just about to my specifications so I don't think there's any point in me hiring someone and wasting their time. If I come up with a website idea, however, then that research has come in handy. And I know exactly who I want designing it. He's not for hire, which makes him a must. So if you're reading this Matthew Inman, I'm gonna get you to design my web page, when I come up with a decent concept. Check out his stuff at 0at.org. I need to take more action towards my trading education and productivity. The more I learn and the faster I run this as a business, the closer I will get to financial freedom.
0 comments

First there, Last to leave

Fri. 11 June, 2010
1 Learn. Today I spent my lunch break determining my basketball goals for the next year. I had to establish the goal, put a date on it, identify the obstacles, name my associates, research knowledge in that area, put a plan of action in place and work out the benefits of achieving and costs related to not achieving. Through this exercise I was able to put a plan in action to become a very high level basketball player within the next 6 months, possibly playing at the 1st division grade. I now know what I must do to get into that fraternity of great players. One good summer... That's all I need.
2 Improve. I woke up for morning trainings earlier than I ever have before. I got to the gym 45 minutes before everybody else so I could work on some things before training started. I spent a ton of time working on my mid-range jump shot (approximately 15 feet from the basket). It must have worked because I didn't miss too many jump shots in our warm up drills. After a decent training, I once again stayed behind to squeeze the last drip of juice from my legs by doing more jump training, to the point where it would have been pretty funny watching me trying to walk. You know you've gone hard when you cramp after 5 minutes of driving your car.
3 Contribute. I have a pretty good knowledge of how to attack a zone defence (that's when the opposing teams players have a responsibility to protect a certain area of the court. The other type of defence is man on man, in which every player has a particular person to guard). For the last two years I've been playing against teams who predominately run a zone defence. I call it lazy defence. The boys at the high school were getting a bit confused as to what to do, but with 3 experienced players in the gym also, we were able to set them right. I developed my game in a way that I score most of my points inside the paint. Therefore most of my knowledge was for the big men, telling them where they should be at particular times, how they should move, what to look for and teaching them how to be physical.
4 Enjoy. I had a blast brainstorming more definitions for the "Who am I?" page. When you come up with a list of great behaviours, beliefs, emotions, goals and achievements, it makes you excited. Knowing you can be that person now makes you motivated. Another note. Thank you to everybody who gave me free food today! There's nothing like walking into a fish and chip shop, ordering a big feed, then the owner saying to you "for you buddy, no charge". And the dude who flicked me a couple of ham buns from his cafe today deserves a beer too. I'll keep you guys in mind for my future contribution entries.
5 Action. So I spent a bit of time researching online planners and calendars. I couldn't find anything that suited exactly what I need. I can't quite describe what I'm looking for but if anybody has any ideas, I'm all ears. I need something where the entries are easy to do and where you are able to easily see what you have to do next and whats coming up. If I can't find anything soon then I'll have to find somebody to make one for me. That can be my next action. Research developers.
0 comments

Who Am I?

Thu. 10 June, 2010
1 Learn. Today I did an exercise which helped me to determine who I really was. That exercise helped me identify a lot of habits and behaviours that are disempowering to my development. I then went on to the next part of the exercise, which was to determine who I want to become. To summarise, I wrote down a lot of personal qualities that I wish to display on a regular basis. That way I can see who I want to become, act like that person and when I become that person I don't have to change. See my stand alone page here to see the brainstorming I did in more detail. I also learnt that the foreign exchange market has $3 TRILLION move through it every day! which I'm pretty sure means the combined total of people who lost money added up to $3 trillion, which all went to the people who were on the winning side of the trades, getting a portion of it put into their trading accounts. Did somebody say potential?
2 Improve. My knowledge in the history of FX developed immensely today. How it started, when it started, what floating currencies were and how people can make money if the market is moving up or down.
3 Contribute. So I learnt a lot about forex today, it was only natural that I wanted to share that knowledge. Who better to share with than with my two younger brothers. Their ages are 10 and 12 and they seemed pretty excited about learning about the market. Imagine being a 14 year old kid with a mobile phone at school. You're sitting in class looking at the charting software on your phone and you're able to make the teachers weekly wage in that period. That's the level I want the boys to get to. And kids learn fast. I quickly realised that the video I had them watch was a bit too technical for them so they started getting bored, I had to rethink my strategy of teaching them so I started translating what was being taught on the video into their language. I used a lot of different stories which helped but it seemed they were most interested in how to actually make the money, not what the market was. It was on the fly kind of teaching and I hope the boys took some of it in today. I'll be more prepared next week when we do session number two. Jordan's FX classroom: Every Thursday 7.30pm.
4 Enjoy. I had a great night off from basketball, my job and every other distraction that stops me from putting in work. I enjoyed the time I had on the computer, watching videos that helped my education, working hard to inform my Bros on market basics and I thoroughly enjoyed brainstorming new money making opportunities over the course of the night. I don't get many nights off but when I do I will make the most of them.
5 Action. Day 3 of my positive thinking challenge went along without any major hitches today. There are times when negative thoughts creep into my head but I have strategies to find what the positives are. Also watching the online educational videos were another great action I took towards improvement. Tomorrow I'm going to search for an online calendar or planner so I can track the progress of some of my goals. That way I have a clear plan and definite deadline for my goals.
0 comments

R.I.P coach Wooden

Wed. 9 June, 2010
1 Learn. So I completely forgot to mention John Wooden in one of my previous posts. He passed away the other day. For those that don't know him look him up on Wiki. To put it short, he's the greatest basketball coach of all time. He won 10 NCAA Men's National Titles over a 12 year period coaching the UCLA Bruins. At one stage he won 88 games in a row and had 4 undefeated seasons during that time span. Those numbers, those records will probably never be close to matched as long as people play the game of basketball. So what did I learn from all this? Alongside learning Wooden's history as a player and coach, I also learnt some of the things he said to his players. He didn't just teach them how to be great players, he taught them how to be great men and leaders and set them up for a successful life. One quote from John Wooden that really was the money ball for me was "At the end of the game, only you will be able to determine whether you won or lost. It doesn't matter what the scoreboard reads, if we get more points than them but you didn't give your all, you're a loser". That quote is true for basketball, it's true for all sport but most of all it's true for life.
2 Improve. So the improvements I made related to that quote. That quote stuck with me the whole game during our men's league game vs the Cromwell Suns (last years finalists). If there was any stage of the game when I started to drag my feet, when my lungs were burning, when my legs didn't have the energy to explode up, I thought of that quote. I didn't want to be a loser. I hate losing. One of my games ended in a draw earlier on in the season and I got pissed off. My biggest challenge during the game was the challenge of trying to stop my man from getting rebounds. In the past I have been weak in that area, especially against the guy I was guarding. I tried to hit that challenge head on by playing more physical and not giving up on any play. At the end of the game he only got a couple of rebounds over me but no points for his effort. In my mind, I was a winner.
3 Contribute. My contribution for the day came by helping out a person with zero driving skills. I parked my truck up where I had to stop for at least 15 minutes. I was partly blocking a driveway but left enough room for a bus to get through. A few minutes went by, a few cars went through, when an Australian tourist pulled up in a Toyota Echo. I think its save to say that car isn't in the people mover category. So I stopped working and waved him on to come through the gap. He reluctantly crept forward then shook his head looking at me. I went up to his window and said "you're fine. There's heaps of room bro" with him replying "maaaaayte, eets too narrah" (translation: mate, its too narrow). So I told him to reverse up while I move the truck over. Normally I would be swearing and getting ready to punch something but decided "this is my chance to contribute!". Funny how changing your mindset changes the way you look at things. I even gave him a friendly hand gesture as he drove by (with more than one finger)
4 Enjoy. The greatest enjoyment of the day came at the medical centre. My partner is halfway through her 2nd pregnancy and today was the day when we could get a good look at the little boy or girl growing up inside. It was amazing. There's only one other feeling better and that will be when I meet him/her for the first time. We decided not to find out the sex. We got told a million different things last pregnancy (it's a boy, no it's a girl, I think its a teddy bear, Is that a tennis racket?) therefore we're looking forward to the surprise. Also more enjoyment came from our ugly win over Cromwell. final score 31-19, we couldn't get buckets if we were in a room full of watertight, vertical cylinders with open tops and flat bottoms. Score at the half: 13-3
5 Action. OK action was baaaad. Didn't make time to learn about forex, didn't get a dunk (came close but didn't want to risk the ball bouncing out. points were of a premium so I lay'd it up), I finished work a little quicker because I was motivated by getting to the scan but still wasn't as fast as I could have been. The one goal I did accomplish was my positive thinking. Day 2 complete with no negative thoughts. Next set of actions? Take another step towards becoming a trader and take my family with me. Positive thinking day 3.

Search Amazon.com for John Wooden The greatest coach of all time (Official) 0 comments

Semi Pro

Tue. 8 June, 2010
1 Learn. I realised today that my fifth question isn't as effective as I need it to be. It's all well and good to be thinking of what actions I took at the end of the day but it doesn't give me daily goals to strive towards for the next day therefore limiting my productivity. I will explain more later on. I've always known the power of positive thinking and looking at the sunny side of things but I never really implemented it in my life. I learned today that thinking negatively isn't as bad as it's made out to be. You just have to find the positives in those negatives. So I took up a new challenge today. No negative thoughts for seven straight days. When I do have one I can either ignore the negativity, acknowledge the negativity (which means I failed the challenge and have to start over), or look at the positives the negative situation has given me. It will be tough but the new habit I will develop will be worth it in the end.
2 Improve. The Improvements I made today came in the form of state management. What do I mean? State management is when you can effectively control what emotions you're feeling so you have more good moods than bad. The situation I found myself in this morning was not a particularly enjoyable one. I rang home to ask for a favour from my partner. Bad thing was, was she was in no mood to listen to anything I had to say and was only seeing the negative side to what I was saying. In her defense, Riley our daughter, had a bad sleep and was up all night. You get those when you're a parent sometimes. My partner had little sleep throughout the night, and the questions I asked her had already been answered on Sunday. Being a typical male, I didn't listen to a word she said in that conversation therefore I didn't remember it. As I was getting yelled at over the phone I tried to reason with her, with no success, so I hung up and waited for the call back or text message. The very second her angry message came through, I sent my reply worded simply "who do you love the most in this world?" that immediately changed mine and her state and we were able to resolve the situation straight away. We went from being totally frustrated to laughing and civil in a moment which helped our relationship remarkably.
3 Enjoy. That one text message is a contribution I made today. It was a small action that resulted in a major shift in a situation and our future. Anytime we find ourselves in that state again, we can ask that question and answer it. Do you want to guess the answer? it starts with "F" and ends with "amily". Some other contributions I made today: 12 points, a few rebounds and four fouls in our win against a team we drew with earlier on in the season. It was semi final night tonight so the loser went home crying. Gladly it wasn't us unlike last season when we went undefeated all year until we fell during the game that mattered. Finals next week.
4 Contribute. When the final buzzer sounded with our team up by 19 points, enjoyment along with a sense of relief was felt knowing we didn't choke this year, making it to the big dance. We had control most of the game but when I miss open jumpers and lay ups, get called for a foul on a clean block first defensive possession of the game, and sit on the bench due to foul trouble during critical parts of the game, I couldn't shake the sick feeling I had while thinking it wasn't going to be our night. My team mates pulled through and we got the W. Thank you guys! Also hearing the high school team had their first win in their first proper game of the season. Yeah man!
5 Action. So back to the theme from the answer for Q1. How will I re-word this question so it makes me take more action, with more focus than what I currently had? The problem I faced when answering the question was I had to look for answers at the end of the day. If I change the question slightly so it's now "what actions have I taken towards my Ultimate Goal and/or what actions will I take immediately (within 24 hours) towards its attainment?" then I have something to strive for the next day. The first half of the fifth question should already be answered the previous day. The action I took today was the more emails I sent away to get my goals as a full time forex trader underway. Actions to do tomorrow? Learn more about forex trading by watching 2 learning videos at LTGGoldrock.com. Wake up half and hour earlier. Dunk over somebody tomorrow night. No negative thoughts. Finish work faster than I ever have before. Enjoy my time with family and appreciate them.
0 comments

Long Live The Queen (Happy Bday Too!)

Mon. June 7, 2010
1 Learn. Listening to the gardening show on talk back radio this morning, I learned a lot of things. Like when growing pears, there's a fine line you walk while picking them. Apparently you have to pick them early and let them ripen in the bowl, but not too early otherwise they wont ripen properly. And you can be quite rough when pruning and moving hanging roses because they're quite durable. And if you got good bunches of grapes the first season you harvested your vine but it's no longer producing 2-3 years down the track, a good prune (down to maybe half the original size) and some fertilizer should do the trick. Also cockroaches can infest a whole tree which is disgusting but they are great for the garden and we shouldn't empty a whole can of fly spray on them when we find them. Something that I learned today, that is useful to me in my stage of life however, had very little to do with gardening. It was something to do with the questions I ask myself on a consistent basis. Do you ask yourself dis-empowering questions regularly? I found out that I do it subconsciously. For example: Why am I not performing at my peak? How come that person did that to me? Can I do the task, really? My brain can find lots of reasons but no answers therefore those questions aren't helping me at all. If I start asking empowering questions consciously then it will change my focus, my state and eventually my destiny. Questions like who do I love the most? And what can I do to overcome this task? And the magic question: What actions can I take to perform at the highest level possible and enjoy the process? So if I habitually ask those types of questions, my focus will be on finding better solutions.
2 Enjoy. The biggest improvement I made today was the time it took for me to do my run at work. I blitzed my best time by almost 45 minutes. Helped mostly to the fact that a lot of people thought I was taking the day off due to the public holidays so they didn't put their bins out for me to pick up. Those are just semantics. I worked hard and fast and finished early. My other improvements came with basketball again. Another training, another workout, more development.
3 Contribute. My brothers didn't go to school today, so they contributed their time to making the house immaculate for Mum. So I decided to contribute as well by buying them lollies as a reward. I would have helped them but they cleaned while I was at work.
4 Enjoy. The most enjoyable part of my day was making my partner feel weird when she came to pick me up from work. I decided I wanted to make something enjoyable by leaning in and asking for a passionate kiss. You know the one when you first start seeing each other? Anyway as I leaned in she gave me a peck, then a quirky look. Then when I tried explaining what my goal was she replied "eeeeeewwwwwwwwww" staring at my daughter who had a funny look on her face. We both immediately started laughing and the moment became special. Even though there was no first kiss type mmmwah. I also got home in time to see the last 5 minutes of game 2 of the NBA Finals. I just love the suspense when games go down to the wire and big plays get made. Boston beat LA in LA to tie the series at one win each. Its going to be a great Finals.
5 Action. We took more actions today towards setting up my office and ordered my computer from Dell. Then I emailed a few people trying to organise affiliate programs which I would like you to get involved with in the future. One being with a company that teaches forex trading. I have spent the last 2 years learning to become a Trader and will spend the next week organising my life to make it a priority. Making money from home is a lifestyle I could quickly become accustomed to. Could you become accustomed to it too? 0 comments

Just a lazy Sunday

Sun. 6 June, 2010
1 Learn. My learning experience today was pretty slim. I spent most of my day in bed. When I eventually got out of bed at 1:00 pm, I didn't really do much but absorb the nutrients from my toast, have laughing fits with my daughter, brush my teeth and get ready for basketball. What I did learn today was if I offer a ride to my partner, saying I'll drop her off on the way to the gym, I should leave an hour earlier than when I did. I won't go into details but I'll tell you I didn't get to the courts in time to find my shooting rhythm before we played.
2 Improve. My life at the moment is going to revolve a lot around basketball. My social team has playoffs starting this week. My men's team has gone 7-0 but we are going into tough 6 game stretch against good teams before the knockout rounds start. The games I am most looking forward to is at the start of next month at the Annual Gore Invitational Basketball Tournament. For players around here its one of the highlights of the season. The reason I'm so excited about this tournament is the test I will be facing. I think it could be the best competition I will get all year. I've heard there are 2 players from our provinces 1st division team playing for one of the opposing teams which makes this an opportunity for me to gauge my skill against them and see if the work I have put in has been significant. Its safe to say the improvements I made today have been on my basketball skills. I spent three and a half hours playing basketball, two of those working on my game, on my own, including improving my jump shot, my speed, my leg power and my fitness.
3 Contribute. Taxi Driver...The previously mentioned extended car journey stopping at the baby shop, KFC, the supermarket and finally the drop point at our friends house. It was all good though, I got payed in m&m's.
4 Enjoy. I LOVED being lazy and staying in bed until the morning was a distant memory. And when you don't get to do it often it feels so much better.
5 Action. I chose to stay longer at the gym after everybody else had left. That action of putting in more work than everybody is what will seperate me from every other Joe that plays the game.
0 comments