Are you always getting down on yourself, forever focusing on where you've fallen short of the person you aspire to be, rather than celebrating how often you actually are? Today is my birthday! Thirty nine. Again. (Yeah, i know, it never gets tired :)) I don’t share...
Latest Thoughts
Name Fear To Tame Fear
Need to find some "Tall Poppy Courage?" If you live in Australia, or have ever travelled here, you’ll have heard of the Tall Poppy Syndrome. It may sound like a medical condition, but it’s actually a cultural one, whereby people who become too successful (or aspire to...
The Power Of Daily Rituals
I’ve clocked up a lot of air miles over the last six months and stayed in more hotel rooms than I care to count. I didn’t plan it that way but I’ve had some amazing opportunities (like the chance to spend a week with Richard Branson) that I just couldn’t turn down. A...
Deep Roots, Strong Wings.
“Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth....
Challenge Your Default
We are all creatures of habit. The challenge is to create habits of thought and behavior that fuel our success and happiness, not stifle it. Indulge me for just a moment before reading further. Just cross your arms and once you have, uncross them and re-cross them the...
Forget Doing It Perfectly. JUST-DO-IT!
Over the last week I've been traveling around Australia speaking at numerous events - to bankers and realtors and, just this weekend, at the Business Chicks Movers and Breakers Conference in Australia's outback at Uluru (I posted some pics to Facebook yesterday - it...
Forgive Yourself. It’s Cheaper Than Therapy.
If you've never backed your car into a garage door, then I can highly recommend against it. However having done just that earlier this week, I can tell you that beating yourself does little to help. My latest blog & home-cooked video message (complete with all its...
The Agony Of Indecision
• Stay or go? • Expand or consolidate? • Rent or buy? • Have a baby or get more sleep? • Wait or act? • Say nothing or speak up? • Android or iPhone? It’s long been said that any decision is better than no decision at all. But decisiveness, like so many admired...
Your Words Create Your Reality
A woman recently came up to me after a talk to tell me how miserable she is in her job. "But it's been impossible for me to get a new job," she said "There's just nothing out there. Absolutely nothing." While I had no way to validate her situation my strong sense was...
Turn Setbacks Into Comebacks
After a whirlwind book/speaking tour of the USA, it’s great to be home in Australia and over my jet-lag (sort of). As busy as my trip was, it was incredibly rewarding speak at the United Nations Foundation and at several other events including my first ever trip to...
What are your beliefs costing you?
On Sunday I decided to ‘show up’ at the starting line for the Melbourne half-marathon (21 kms, 13 miles). I’d been on the fence about whether to go ahead with it as, in between all my recent travels, I’d fallen off the rails with my training. But show up I did with...
Stop Comparing! It’s A Race You’ll Never Win!
Growing up my mum always told me, "Margaret Mary, never compare yourself to others. It makes you either vain or bitter." It was good advice but, like all good advice, far easier said than done. Let’s face most of we mere mortals can be a bit insecure in our own worth...
Need To Call It Quits?
I recall once holding on to a pair shoes that made my feet ache every time I wore them for no other reason than I paid a lot for them. In hindsight, it was pretty stupid. I only remember thinking, “I need to get my money’s worth!” What about you? Ever stayed the...
Resilience: Build “Muscles For Life”
Albert Einstein once said that our problems cannot be solved at the same level of thinking at which they were created. It’s a powerful quote because, let’s face it, life is one long stream of “problems.” And in our increasingly uncertain and pressure-laden lives,...
What Makes A Marriage Last?
Yesterday I signed up on the dating website AshleyMadison.com. If you hadn’t heard of it before this week as the place married people go to cheat on their spouses, then you probably did this week after a cyber attack by some morally righteous online vigilantes hacked...
For The Sake Of What?
I’ve just spent the last week travelling around Australia speaking at different conferences, including one with Business Chicks at Uluru in Australia's outback (I posted some pics to Facebook yesterday - it was pretty spectacular!) A common thread that weaves through...
Five Leadership Lessons From A Week With Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson is a man I’ve admired as long as I remember. His books – jammed with stories of his entrepreneurial exploits and intrepid adventures on earth, sky and space – sit atop my bookshelves, their pages underlined with insights on taking risks, managing...
Are You Living By Design, Or By Default?
You and I have been born into a time where we have more opportunity and choice than ever before in history. But with the benefits of abundant choice comes with the responsibility to make wise choices – ones that enable us to live deeper and richer lives, not just more...
Avoiding Change? Making Changes That Stick
Change is never easy, even change for the better. It’s why so many people choose to stay in jobs they loathe, in relationships that chip away at their self-confidence or sticking to habits that rob years from their life, rather than embrace the uneasiness, uncertainty...
To All Imperfect (But Awesome) Mothers This Mother’s Day
It’s Mothers Day this weekend and hopefully my four children have remembered (with a little reminder from their dad) to at least get me a card. But as I reflect on this day dedicated to celebrating motherhood, I can’t help but think of the less important lessons I’ve...