Monday, March 31, 2008

Issue 461 - Rebecca Romero Part II

Hi,
I hope Monday finds you well.

I had to make a decision about the title of today's waffle, I nearly called it 'Staggeringly Bad, Staggeringly Good,' and before I get to Rebecca Romero, I want to cover the staggeringly bad...

The new Terminal 5 (or T5 to use the swanky 21st century name) opened last week.
Years of planning struggles, years of building, and billions of pounds led British Airways to declare 'we're ready!' and that the terminal would offer a smooth experience from day 1...

What actually happened was that despite 6 months of training, staff didn't know where to park, so arrived late, and once they'd got through security, they then got lost in the building.
(this isn't an April Fool by the way, it was all too real)

This meant that the fancy new luggage handling system didnt have enough staff to do the actual handling, leading to massive backups.
This led to passengers only being allowed to check in hand luggage (quite what they were supposed to do with their suitcase I don't know), and then when the backup got so bad, flights were cancelled en masse....

All in all a shambles and an airport with one of the worst reputations in the world did a good job of justifying that reputation!

You'd think the project had been run by one of the idiots from The Apprenctice, but no, it would have been 'professionals.'
British Airways admitted to 'minor problems' and said 'it wasn't their finest hour'.

That's British understatement in full flow, as the T5 fiasco adds to our recent line of big project cock ups, from the Millenium Dome, to the Wembley sports stadium, to T5.
God help the 2012 Olympics...

That leads me, and rather smoothly even if I say so myself, to Rebecca Romero Part II.
I first wrote about her last year with the title 'Rebecca Rows To Cycling Celebration.'

After being a World Champion rower, and winning Olympic silver for Britain in Athens, Rebecca decided to give up rowing and try something new.

She wobbled round a cycling track and couldn't believe how the riders didn't fall off the sloped banking, but within 6 months she was riding high at last year's World Championships.
This year the pressure of expectation was on her, but she delivered with 2 golds, and is now a hot favourite for gold in China - not many people medal at the Olympics in 2 sports, so her already impressive list of achievements could get longer.

She's also talked about beach volleyball for the 2012 Olympic, and providing the court is built in time (London, so don't hold your breath), then I wouldn't put it past her.

Rebecca just decided that she will do something, finds out how to do it, and then gets on with the hard work.
Yes, she is a natural athlete, and has the legs and lungs to pull it off, but she also has the crucial mindset.

Self belief, combined with research and hard work, can take you to the most unimaginable places.

Ok, that's it for this week, as I shake my head at the staggeringly bad example of Britain this week, I also applaud and learn from the staggeringly good.

'Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. If you know anyone else who you think would enjoy the Great Gordino Newsletter, please pass it on to them!

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Issue 460 - To Pop Or Not To Pop?

Hi,
I hope you had a good weekend, whether you celebrated or not.
There was a huge amount of chocolate consumed at my end, I can tell you that for nothing!

A reader asked me how me my marathon training was going, so I thought I'd give an update.
Not long to go now, the race is April 13th, my race number is 4338, and as to how my training's going (huge amounts of chocolate notwithstanding!)...

Well it could be better to tell the truth.

I had the setback when I had manflu during the curling national champs, and lately my big toe has been giving me grief.
I suspect the reason for that is also curling related - I have switched to a new sweeping style, and although the new style has reduced wasted motion which caused my vomiting, the new style is heavy duty on my big toe, and curling shoes are fairly flat footed.

As a result, not only does the foot hurt when I run, but this weekend when I did a 15 mile stint, my over-compensation for the big toe meant I had a massive blister on my little toe.
It was a whopper - in fact it was so big it was hard to tell what was toe and what was blister.
I could have used it as a pillow, it was that big.
Now I know how Quasimodo felt (well, if his hump had been on his foot).

So, to sum up, I'm hoping the crowd is as encouraging as everyone says, because I reckon I'll need it!
(Donation link at the bottom, for 2 good causes)

As I read the paper this weekend I saw an article which seemed to make a great newsletter subject, on integrity.
It seemed that some MPs had voted in Parliament to close lots of village Post Offices, but within 30 minutes they were in local meetings set up to save village Post Offices!

Hmm...
It's this kind of thing which made me stand in the election in 2005 - where is the integrity, to say one thing and then vote the opposite?
It's a good point, but on reading the article past the headline and first paragraph, it's a different story...

In fact the MPs concerned had voted against a general opposition motion to halt the closures totally, because they felt it was a flawed plan.
This is something completely different, but I only found it out by reading into the depths of the article.
Had I just left it at the headline and first paragraph, I would have rolled my eyes and formed an impression of the MPs concerned which would be, well, wrong.

The media love to present stories with a twist that *they* want you to see, so actually the lesson about not believing everything you read is more important than the integrity of MPs.

If someone tells you something, check it, don't just accept it right away.
This particularly applies when someone knocks your goals - they may not have a clue what they are talking about, or want you to fail for *their* purposes.

Hold your own beliefs.

Ok, I'm off to go back to my blister dilemma, should I pop or not, and I'll leave you with the thought - do you make your own decisions based on proper research?

'Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. If you know anyone else who you think would enjoy the Great Gordino Newsletter, please pass it on to them!

Please sponsor my marathon:
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Grab my free 8 Step Goal Achievement Plan by sending a blank email to:
mailto:transform@getresponse.com

Monday, March 17, 2008

Issue 459 - I Know You'll Fail

Hi,
I hope everything is ok where you are.

So, has anyone ever said that to you - you're quite happily telling them about an ambition of yours, maybe you've even firmed it up into a goal, and you're all fired up with enthusiasm, and then the person you're talking to utters those words -
'I know you'll fail'.
Hmm....

A fellow reader (and book reader!) emailed me last week to ask what advice I give when you hear those words, as they had just had their goal thrown back in their face.
It's a good question, and it's an important key to my goal achievement formula, so here goes...

When you set your goal and decide it will happen, I advocate that you should tell as many people as possible.
This brings in all sorts of advice, and you can get great nuggets of information which will help you along the path.

One consequence of telling people about your goals is that you will *always* get some people telling you that you won't achieve it.
Some may tell you why some may tell you how, and some will have no reason, just the statement.
Don't be surprised when you hear it - on the contrary you should expect to hear it, and there's a good reason for it.

A lot of people subconsciously will want you to fail.
They won't want to see that someone has grasped the steering wheel of their own life, started to make their own decisions.
It brings home to them that they *haven't* done so, and as a result they want you to stay with them in that same boat.

Remember this may be a subconscious feeling, although it may manifest itself in very real words of discouragement.
My advice on how to react to this type of attitude is simple, and it's this...

Don't mention it to them again, and don't argue!

Yes, speak to as many people as possible about your goal, but as soon as someone starts talking negatively, don't talk to them about it again.
You will only expose yourself to their negative energy, which you don't need.

That's also one of the reasons I say don't argue your case, because you are wasting your positive energy on countering their negatives.
It is unlikely to work, and you might as well use your positive energy on peope who support you.
Then as you go further along your path to your goal, it's your actions and results which will argue your case for you.

I'm not saying you should blindly ignore negative advice.
You should assess any advice you get, but you need to differentiate between realistic advice offered in a constructive way, and plain negativity without grounds.

So, when people tell you that you won't achieve your goal, don't ignore it, but decide if it is genuine advice you can work with, or just negativity, and if it's just negativity then simply don't talk to that person about your goal again.
You'll be surprised how many of the nay-sayers will ask you how you are getting along when you stop talking to them about it!

Recognise their negativity for what it is, and it will only harm you as much as you *let* it harm you.

I've had many people in my life tell me I wouldn't achieve my goals.
Sometimes they were even right, but more often they weren't, and either way the result was not affected by their words!

Ok, that's it for this week, you can read more about this handling of negativity in my book, link below.

'Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. If you know anyone else who you think would enjoy the Great Gordino Newsletter, please pass it on to them!
Please sponsor my marathon:
http://www.gordonbryan.com/marathon08.html

Transform Your Life In 21 Days:
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How To Make Money From Movies:
http://www.gordonbryan.com/movies

Grab my free 8 Step Goal Achievement Plan by sending a blank email to:
mailto:transform@getresponse.com

Monday, March 10, 2008

Issue 458 - Downstairs Chafing...Ouch

Hi,
I hope Monday finds you well.

I did 12 miles yesterday for my marathon training.
It went ok, but I had forgotten to wear my cycling padded shorts.
That particular lapse of memory comes with a price to be paid in the chafing department, and let me tell you, I'm paying it today....
(sympathy sponsorship can be made via the link at the bottom!)

I'm not at all sure what to write about today, I have no single subject that screams to be written about.
So, I looked into the news of lat week, and came up with something that I'm a big fan of - responsibility.

There was a long debate and vote in our Government about whether there should be a referendum on the European Treaty.
The reason it was so important is twofold.

Firstly, the laws of Great Britain are made by the elected MPs debating and then voting on the bills of law put forward.
This means that every voter is represented in the process (more on that bit later!)
However, the new treaty means that that are now 60 more areas, in addition to previous ones, where the laws of our land are superceded by European law.
European law is not set by our MPs, but by bureaucrats, thus meaning we lose our right to make our own decisions.

That's important enough, but the 2nd reason this vote about a referendum was so important, is that it was promies by the government in the election.
One of their platforms for election was that there would be a referendum on the European Constitution.
Then there was a tinkering with the constitution, including a name change to treaty, so now the government say it's not the same thing.

This is a classic case of moving the goalposts, and the opposition parties did a poor job of saying so.
That means that the chap who beat me in the 2005 election has not kept a promise to the people that elected him.
It's things like this that make me feel I should stand again in the next election, and in general life I think people should always take responsibility.

Take responsibility for your actions.
Take responsibility for your circumstances.
Take responsibility for your promises, critical if you are a representative of the people, but just as critical when you represent *yourself.*

Ok, that's it for this week, I'm off to tend to my chafing, and here's this week's thought - do you take proper responsibility?

'Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. If you know anyone else who you think would enjoy the Great Gordino Newsletter, please pass it on to them!

Please sponsor my marathon:
http://www.gordonbryan.com/marathon08.html

Transform Your Life In 21 Days:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com

How To Make Money From Movies:
http://www.gordonbryan.com/movies

Grab my free 8 Step Goal Achievement Plan by sending a blank email to:
mailto:transform@getresponse.com

Monday, March 03, 2008

Issue 457 - I Think My Brain Might Be Too Big

Hi,
I hope everything is ok where you are.
March already!

I had a migraine over the weekend.
It's hard to describe how unpleasant it is unless you've suffered one yourself, but a full blown migraine is not something you'd wish on your worst enemy.

I was driving to the curling rink, to take part in the National Mixed Championships.
In the Mixed game there are 2 men and 2 women playing alternate positions.
One of the nice customs in curling is that you kiss the women 3 times before a game, and after too!
That makes 24 kisses a game, and let me tell you, at my sorry state of affairs, every one counts...

Anyhoo, on the way to the rink, I turned a corner, and noticed a smudge on the windscreen.
I went to wipe it with my fingers, only to find that when my fingers got to the area, I couldn't actually see my hand there either.
I drew my hand back, and noticed that the 'smudge' had moved to a different place, and for me this vision problem is the first sign of a migraine.
It's not good, even more so when I'm doing 60 mph at the time!

I pulled over as soon as I could, and took my pills, which experience has taught me to keep with me.
I could have then turned and gone home, but I was now closer to the rink than home so I pressed on.
By the time I got there my vision was holding steady, and I told everyone that I might not be able to play, it would depend.

As it happens I was able to play in a fragile state of health.
I was furious about it, it's so annoying that it seems to happen randomly and at such speed.
I try to cut out certain triggers, but couldn't think of anything in particular that had started this one.
I try to tell people it's because my brain is too big that it hits the inside of my skull, but people don't seem to accept that...

In the past I have tried to 'think' myself out of a migraine, to tell myself that I am fine, that it won't get any worse.
I've learnt that this doesn't really work.

It's true that worrying about it will not help, but I haven't yet shown myself that thinking it better makes it better.
As a result, the only thing I can do is accept it.

Acceptance is one of the things I talk about in my book 'Transform Your Life'.
Acceptance can mean you view many situations in a totally new light, and it can bring a huge increase in contentment, without changing anything apart from your thought.

During my fragile game, I was playing badly.
I couldn't tell if it was due to the migraine alert, or just bad play, but either way I was getting annoyed with myself.
Of course the more annoyed I got, the more I tried to force my game with my conscious rather than let my subconscious play as it knows how.
As a result my game got no better, until I realised what I was doing, and stopped trying to force things.

It's another lesson about achievement - wanting something desperately is fine, but if you take desperate action you an often make things *worse*.
Sometimes it's easier to relax and let the subconsious use the lessons you have taught it.

Results wise, my team came a solid 4th (4 teams).
Roll on next year!

Ok, that's it for this week - are you guilty of over-thinking things, when maybe you'd be better off just using the tools of acceptance and the subconscious mind?

Don't forget if you'd like to sponsor my marathon run, please click the link below.

'Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. If you know anyone else who you think would enjoy the Great Gordino Newsletter, please pass it on to them!

Please sponsor my marathon:
http://www.gordonbryan.com/marathon08.html

Transform Your Life In 21 Days:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com

How To Make Money From Sport:
http://www.gordonbryan.com/sport

Grab my free 8 Step Goal Achievement Plan by sending a blank email to:
mailto:transform@getresponse.com