Over the break, I'm sure you had some memorable conversations with friends or loved ones. Those conversations that are easy. They flow. There's a natural rhythm to the conversation that replicates the natural rhythms in nature. There are others where you might show a genuine interest in the other person, you ask questions, you actually listen to their answers, engaging in their response and ask follow up questions to gain more understanding of where they're coming from. Then the person you're speaking with will ask you a question, and within 20 seconds you know that person has disengaged, is thinking about something else, is distracted by an activity or something around them, and is not in fact listening at all, there's no rhythm. It's almost like a good conversation needs to have reciprocity. Not tracking it as a numbers game of who said what, but reciprocity like a balance, a rhythm, a flow, that goes in both directions. Both parties are curious, actually listen, take what's being said, ponder and stay in the conversation together. Sadly it seems that reciprocity, balance and flow is starting to dwindle in many conversations, relationships and meetings. Great pic Etienne Boulanger thank you. ​

Former U.S. Navy serviceman Mike McCastle pushed his body beyond every limit, covering more than 4 miles (6.5 km) with walking lunges and breaking two world records in the process. Mike was our guest on Ep 306 of The Mojo Sessions. Inspired by Greek mythology of the 12 Labors of Hercules, previously Mike undertook 5,804 pull-ups in a day to break the world record, pulled a 5,000-pound pick up across the Mojave Desert in summer, climbed a rope to the equivalent height of Mount Everest, and then broke the record for submersion in an ice bath....all for a greater purpose. Mike raises funds and awareness for causes such as cancer research, mental health for military veterans, and Parkinsons disease. Mike shows us the golden door way, the process we can take to set and be loyal to the standard.  Mike, now 38, accomplished the next feat in the surreal landscape of the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, as part of his personal “12 Labors Project” — a decade-long challenge consisting of twelve extreme physical trials. During his latest endeavor, McCastle set the record for the most lunges in one hour — 3,262 in total — and for the longest distance covered with lunges in the same timeframe: 2.2 miles (3.57 km). But he didn’t stop there. After surpassing both records, he continued until his body could take no more: 20 hours and 39 minutes of consecutive lunges, covering a total of 4.06 miles (over 6.5 km) and 4,769 repetitions. Many talk about it, Mike gets after it. Check out my interview with Mike at https://shorturl.at/E8W5E or search The Mojo Sessions on your fav pod player. ​

There are thousands of books that tell you that a critical skill for a great leader or company executive is curiosity. That may be true, but I don't think that alone is enough. I know leaders who pride themselves on their curiosity, they're asking questions, they're being inquisitive. The only problem is they never listen to the answers. They pose a question and don't listen to the response. They pose a question and move on in their own mind to what's next. Curiosity is shallow and hollow without listening. It's a bit like being on a rocking horse....it gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere. Curiosity and listening, have to sit together. There's no point in asking questions and probing if you're not prepared to listen to the answer and consider what the other person is saying, feeling or the point they're trying to make. Curiosity and listening must be practiced together. There’s no value in asking and probing if you’re not prepared to hear the answer. Combine your curiosity and listening, put those two things together then you will be in the few. This applies not only to conversations with others, but can be applied to conversations you have with yourself. When you ask yourself a question, consider your answers. Sit in silence and think.  Photo shoutout to Gary Butterfield. ​

Whilst hiking on the northeast coast of Japan, I happened to cross a small train station at the back of a fishing village. I used the men's toilet. This photo was taken of the toilet and shows a scenario where a father could demonstrate to his son how to use the toilet. As world leading behavioural expert Dr John Demartini asked on The Mojo Sessions Ep 101, "What are your actions demonstrating?" Kids are always watching and how wonderful is this, that a father can actually demonstrate to a young boy exactly what's required when in a men's toilet. This is an insightful reflection on the importance of actions over words, especially in the context of parenting. It's a beautiful and concrete example of how everyday situations can become teaching moments, and another reminder for all of us, that we are constantly being observed, especially by those who look up to us. ​

That was a sound you heard often in a library when somebody was speaking loudly. The library was a place of knowledge, study, learning, reflection and well ....quiet. Today finding a little quiet is a rarity and a precious thing in a library. Today it's groups of people catching up, mothers groups with toddlers, tutors instructing students, and this week even a sales guy set up making sales calls so the whole library could hear Mark's conversations. I recently interviewed Sarah Boyd author of Turned Down the Noise on The Mojo Sessions (details below) - it's so relevant in a noisy, overstimulated world where silence has been abandoned in the library and the so called quiet carriage of the train. A saviour has been my Loop Earplugs.  They are not digital, just like a normal set of earplugs, but they muffle sound. I use them all the time... on flights, the library, the quiet carriage of the train, concerts, loud environments. The amazing thing is you can still hear a conversation with another person, but it muffles the outside noise. Interesting technology. I was skeptical until I tried them. Anyway, I take them to the library now! GB

Gallup recently released the results of a very large poll of workers from across the world. They asked a question "What's the most important attribute you need from your company owner?" The results will surprise. The number one response by light years was Hope. Hope comes from having a clear picture of what's ahead for the company, a leader knowing the steps to take in order to capitalise on that future, having a set of values or behaviours that will direct the team in the right direction and a clear understanding of why they do what they do.
Many company owners have it in their mind, but it's not published. In Adelaide recently during my keynote a company owner said. "When I think about the future and what I can see, it excites me. I can feel it rising in me." This lady could viscerally feel that vision in her whole body. It was an inspiring moment and certainly helped emphasise my point about a dream, a North star, or call it your vision, for the business. 
Drew Ginn, a member of the famous Oarsome Foursome once said to me "If not you, then who? If not now, then when?" This company leader had previously never really sat to think about the future and the possibilities for the company. She had never taken time to sit down and visualise what it looks like, and when she did she had a visceral feeling within her whole body.... true excitement that gives people HOPE! Thanks to Ron Smith for the pic. 

​Train time is my creative time. Sometimes I have a 3 hour trip in front of me and it's creative bliss. When I saw the partnership planned between shared workspace provider Industrious and high-speed rail company Brightline to bring coworking to the rails, I had transit envy. Recently the Florida-based high-speed rail service Brightline launched a partnership with the shared workspace provider to turn parts of its railway stations and even entire train cars into dedicated co-working spaces The co-working spaces are available in many USA railway stations now and there's also bookable train cars you can set aside for business meetings or private events whilst on the rails. With the frustration we all face with the airlines I think a lot of people would turn to rail travel if we had stations and carriages adapted for business on the move. To get off a train with co-working facilities and lob into a shared workspace at Central Station in Sydney... my creative heaven. Oh, and there is uninterrupted wi-fi thanks to Starlink. GB

​The interview was set up with a guy that was said to be the world's best productivity leader. He was late for the interview. Before we take on the advice of so called opinion leaders or experts we first need to look under the hood as to who they are, what they've achieved, do they live by their standards and do they have the cred to influence the behaviour of others? In this day and age with so much information floating around we need to inject a dose of reality into how, what and who we listen to, and the advice we consume. There's an old saying "be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt." In a recent interview with Harvard Psychiatrist Dr Blaise Aguirre, he said "don't take advice from someone you don't want to be like." Thanks to Sebastian Herrmann for the pic.

Early afternoon in a café in Surry Hills Sydney, I've had my quota of coffee for the day so I ordered a lemon and ginger tea. A pot was delivered to the table and we continue our conversation. It wasn't until I've had three or four mouthfuls that it occurred to me that this was not the normal tasting lemon and ginger tea that comes with a teabag. Curious, I opened the lid and as you can see it was chockablock full of real ginger chunks and lemon pieces. I've now been back to this café five or six times for a cup of tea. Most cafés when you order a tea, give you a teabag, hot water and a pot. That's the expectation, that's the norm, the construct. It's only the few who will go the extra mile to give you something that is fresh, full of flavour, takes a little more effort, but it's so much more satisfying and creates a small point of difference in the endless sea of cafés in the surrounding streets. ​

CEO: "The culture is toxic, we are working on changes." 
ME: " Perhaps we start with the first 25% to get to the tipping point of change, based on Malcolm Gladwell's recent book The Revenge of the Tipping Point?"
CEO: " I've read it, great book"... Then why aren't you doing it?

Why? For many we want the next thing. We don't read, listen or watch... then detach, consider, set a strategy for the takeaways and then execute our learnings ......before we consume the next supposed silver bullet.

In the case with this CEO we are setting out to change the whole culture, to change the whole business at once. Instead I think Gladwell's approach, which is so well researched and curated for the company owner who wants to make change to customer perception, employee engagement, leadership teams, is to start with the first 25%, get them aligned, and then you are setting up the tipping point. 

​In fact, Barry O'Reilly (Ep 312 The Mojo Sessions who wrote Unlearn), said to create a culture of Unlearners, start with the first 11%, that's where I would start... identify your first 11%, work hard at alignment, then use the first 11% to influence and progress to the first 25%. 
Thanks  Алекс Арцибашев for the pic. GB