Monday, September 21, 2009

21st Sep - Use The Riveting Tale of The Rivet For Your Goal Achievement!

Hi,
I hope Monday finds you well.

Ok, the rivet! here we go...

Riveting was, and still is, a great way to hold two pieces of steel or iron together.
It's like a nut and bolt, but without the nut.
The 'bolt' is heated til it is red hot, then shoved through matching holes in either piece you want to fit together.
Then it's bashed at the end to seal it, and the 2 pieces, together. Contracting when it cools, it makes the hold even tighter.

Ok, so why I am I telling you about the rivet?
Well it was featured in the BBC show 'Coast', which visited the North East England city of Sunderland.

A former massvie industrial heartland, one of the major works there was the shipyard, building massive ships all riveted together.
Then in the 2nd World War, the Germans were sinking ships faster than we could build them, so when Churchill put in the order for more ships, he went to the US rather than Britain.

Why?
Because the US had massive shipyards that were able to make parts of the ship in whole units, then weld them together instead of rivet.
There was no space in Sunderland to expand the yards to go to this welding technique, so the area faded away along with the tradition of riveting.

You can use this story in relation to your goal achieving...
Techniques change with time, and what worked in the past may not be the way to achieve your goal today.

However, it's unlikely that *you* will have to make that discovery, someone else will have done it for you.
You just need to be aware of current trends, and be ready to accept change if it comes your way.

Ok, that's it for this issue, I'm off to see if I can find something else as riveting as the rivet.

'Til Next Time.
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. Grab my motivational book 'Transform Your Life in 21 Days!' here, it'll cover this exact theory of readiness for change! Click my picture at the bottom of that page for the special price:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

16th Sep 2009 - This Year's 9/11 Issue

Hi,
I hope everything is ok where you are.

There were lots of 9/11 stories last week, and I saw 2 new documentaries myself.
In decided to leave my comments about the anniversary until this week, so here we go...

In 2005 I wrote an issue called Remembering Rick Rescorla, and I think his story is a life affirming one worth remembering.
You can read that issue via this link:
http://www.gordonbryan.com/120905.html

However, the story I want to cover today is something that came from a documentary about phone calls made from people trapped in the towers.
It was pretty painful to watch to be honest, but the relatives wanted these people's stories told, so I watched on.

One name stuck in my mind, that of Orio Palmer.
Palmer was a fireman, and like hundreds of others, he died when the towers collapsed.
A super fit man who ran many marathons, he had managed to get up to the 78th floor of the South Tower, carrying his full kit with him.

Audios were released of his messages to the ground as he made his way up.
The 78th floor was the bridge of the impact zone, and many people had been killed outright. Those that were left were facing a terrible outcome with little hope of escape, when unexpectedly a fireman appeared.

Like most others, Palmer probably didn't expect the building to collapse, but can you imagine the hope, reassurance and relief he must have given to the people there in their last moments?

Rick Rescorla was already in the buildings, and stayed there instead of getting out in order to help others, and he never made it himself.
Palmer was doing his job by going *into* the building after it had been hit.
The audios show him giving short bursts of information, saving his energy as he climbed, but they also show someone who was doing what he did every day, putting his life on the line to save others.

There are many stories from that day which deserve retelling, and I think I'll add Orio Palmer's to Rick Rescorla's.
They're worth telling because they are life affirming, and also because they help in key factor for contentment - perspective.

When you think things are bad for you, remember people like these 2, whose lives ended when they saved others instead of themselves, raise a smile to your face and thing again!

Ok, that's it for this time.

'Til Next Time.
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. Grab my motivational book 'Transform Your Life in 21 Days!' here, it'll get your attitudes in check! Click my picture at the bottom of that page for the special price:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Sep 2nd - Does Britain Have Ideas Above Its (Gas) Station?

Hi,
I hope Wednesday finds you well.
Before I start today's issue, Yelena Isinbayeva, new world record in Zurich last Friday!

Right then, onwards, and I was watching the ever fascinating 'Coast' on TV, where they tell stories around the coast of Britian.
I was a bit disappopinted to find them going to Norway, the implication being that there weren't any interesting stories left around Britain's coast!

Putting that aside though, it was intriguing nonetheless, and led me to wonder about certain attitudes.

Did you know that at its' thinnest, Norway is only 3 miles wide?
To the north of the country is a massive gas plant, which supplies a 5th of the UK's gas needs. That's a huge amount, and it runs to us via the longest subsea pipe in the world, over 700 miles long - impressive engineering to say the least!

What's amazing though is that the plant uses no gas itself, it's run by hydro electricity, and a scheme being developed in Norway could be used here.
If you have a river meeting the sea, you get a mixture of salt and fresh water. If you seperate the 2 via a membrane, the salt water will draw in the fresh water.
That will increase the volume in any area containing the salt water, which creates pressure, and that pressure can be converted into energy.

Britian has coast all around it, so this natural renewable source of energy could be right for us, but here's where the attitude comes into play...

Great Britain.
The name says it all, doesn't it?
You don't have to go too far back in history to find an era when the British Empire covered a 3rd of the planet.
I was brought up to expect foreigners to speak English, it was obvious.

Things have changed, and despite politicians in particular thinking that Britain is a power player on the global stage, in fact most of that ability comes from ties with the US.

Countries like Norway accept that they are small nations that can do very well by looking at local solutions. I have a nagging feeling that Britain still feels it is above the need to act like that. The problem is that this attitude leaves us ever more dependent on other countried to supply our energy needs, when looking on a smaller scale closer to home may be better.

It's a lesson which can be applied to our personal lives just the same - are we willing to take the necessary steps to achieve the bigger goal, even though we may consider the steps 'beneath us'?

Ok, that's it for this time, I'm off to read the gas meter...

'Til Next Time.
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. Grab my motivational book 'Transform Your Life in 21 Days!' here, it'll get your attitudes in check! Click my picture at the bottom of that page for the special price:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com