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?

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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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.
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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.
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The Weekend!

Sat. 5 June, 2010
1 Learn. Well I figured today that if I'm going to be running a business then I'm going to need a better office space. I've already got the space ready and the office furniture I have at the moment is sufficient, so my main problem is the computer. Im currently using my partners lappy while lying down in bed in front of the TV which isn't very professional. If I get my own computer put into my own area of the house then I can conduct business better with few distractions (not counting facebook). I spent the day looking around computer stores to see if there was anything that interested me. I soon found out there's so much to learn about computers and the range at the shops isn't great so I got home and researched everything I need to know. The computer I now want is something with at least 4 GB RAM, something in the range of an Intel Core i5 processor and a hard drive that's bigger than 500 GB. Theres plenty online that have those specs with decent prices some under a grand so it seems I have a decent selection of choice. I just have to make one.
2 Improve. My knowledge of computer technology has increased massively thanks heaps to my need for a new computer. My general knowledge prior to yesterday was "do I want a laptop or desktop? Apple or HP?". I didnt even know what Alienware was. Now I want one of these...
 
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3 Contribute. Driving lesson. Teaching my partner how to drive a manual car. Even though it was for only 10 minutes. Even though she thinks I panic when teaching her, therefore making her panic, I still think I gave her some decent advice to make her a better driver. She just doesn't know it yet.
4 Enjoy. A hot cookie from the cookie time bar in Queenstown. It was just magical when the temperatures started to drop late in the afternoon. That combined with a hot chocolate from Patagonia was just what I needed to stop my winge about how cold it was getting.
5 Action. Taking the action to research computers. A new computer and work area will be a huge step if I want to succeed in the financial area of my life. When you're at work your focus should be working. When you're at home your focus should be the time you spend for yourself and with your family. If I plan to work from home then I need to display professionalism by seperating them from each other. 0 comments

eureka!

Thu. June 3, 2010
1 Learn. Today I learned that I can keep a simple journal of my life by asking 5 simple questions every day. I also learned the basics of blogging.
2 Improve. I have improved my knowledge of the blogger website so I can now give readers something to actually read on this blog.
3 Contribute. I have given readers of my blog these 5 Questions which they can also answer everyday.
4 Enjoy. The most enjoyable part of the day was having lunch with my partner and daughter. They brought me pizza while I was at work and we sat in the car looking up at a snow-capped mountain range and watching traffic pass by. My daughter turned 1 last week and she was all laughs and smiles today. Another part of today that I thoroughly enjoyed was brainstorming my blog idea throughout the day. It gave me the motivation to finish work faster and get home to work on this page.
5 Action. I finally took the action of actually creating a new post. I spent the afternoon working on the page which is something I have continuously put off for weeks.
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