 For 25 years I have had a problem with gluten. For decades I've accepted that gluten-free bread, that in some cases is like cardboard, comes in a loaf that never replicates a fresh loaf of traditional bread. Travelling through Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands recently, it was time for a brew. I pulled in at the What If Society. After ordering my Machiatto, I asked whether they had any gluten-free bread. Someone appeared from the kitchen, grabbed a fresh loaf out of the window and said "would you like me to cut a piece for you?" I bought the loaf. The bread was sensational. Probably one of the best gluten-free loaves I've ever tasted. The only rival would be Gordon Ramsay at the Savoy in London. My story is not just about the bread, it's about the intention. The lady brought me my toasted GF bread and explained how she made it.... seeds, sprouting etc, then explained how she made the butter and how she made the rhubarb jam. The coffee was great. On the wall was a poster that showed all the food producers they used in the cafe and not only the farm it came from, but where it was geographically located around the cafe. Everything in this cafe was intentional.Intentionality means you need to slow down. Haste does not bring intentionality. As the Navy Seals would say "slow is smooth and smooth is fast." This lady was not only the owner, the chef and the baker she was an artisan. Intentionality came in every aspect of her work, her standards, her product and her business. I would highly recommend The What If Society when you're passing through the Southern Highlands. It's worth a detour to find this hidden gem. But you'll need to be intentional as it's off the highway.
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 He said, "Burning Man changed my life. It changed my business. It fired up my imagination. It refueled my creativity. It made my life better." He would come back from Burning Man pumped, and want to tell everybody he met about his experience. He'd tell his story and people would glaze over, then move on. Then a friend said "Most people are asleep. It doesn't matter what you say to them. They're asleep. Then there are those who are dozing. If you can peak their interest, you may wake them up. Then there are those who are wide-awake. He said, go for those people and tell them all about it, because they are the people open to a new idea, they are curious, are actually listening and hearing, they want to explore a new idea. But most people are asleep." Since that conversation I have thought about most meetings, conferences, social gatherings, board meetings....and most people are asleep. Distracted, not listening, not asking questions, not probing, not taking notes... asleep. There's always one in the group who is wide-awake, asking questions, taking notes, asking a question, then a follow-up question, truly attentive, in the room, not distracted....there's always one person who is wide-awake. Most are asleep.
Thanks Christopher Kuzman for the shot from BM.  A car dealership in Adelaide has moved the service and parts area of the dealership to the front window.... you can see the guys working on your car. Driving past last week at night, instead of the front windows being lit up with new vehicles, they were lit up with cars on hoists, parts, toolboxes, all looking pristine, organised, and yes, it was behind huge plate glass windows on full display on a main road for all to see. Why?
I find it really curious when all of my life when you've dropped your car off for a service, you hand your keys to the front desk and your car disappears behind a large wall. It only reappears in a car park where you receive your keys back, your invoice and the pain of having to pay for what happened behind that wall. Now it's a feature, front and centre, looking clean, efficient, and seemingly something that's not hidden from view. Key take outs: The service part of the dealership is quite profitable I understand. Makes sense for it to be on show. It probably makes the mechanics feel more pride in their work to know that people can see their craftsmanship. It's contrarian to every other dealership who focuses on flogging cars. No doubt this will be something you will now start to see across the country as more dealerships start to redesign their dealerships to change the perception of service, the people who work there, the importance inside a dealership, and if nothing else .....to be different. I took a double take driving past to get my head around the fact that there were hoists and guys with toolboxes on the main road behind these massive plate glass windows and not brand-new cars with hefty price tags. 8 out of 10 people in every company globally are believed to be indifferent about their work. Love your work verses indifferent about your work. It's a great way to categorise where we are today with people and teams, and perhaps the basis of why so many people are disengaged according to Gallup, and happy to up and leave an organisation because they don't ... well, love it. Loving your work means you like the people you work with, you find true meaning in your work, you fulfil your own why, you can match your personal values with those of the company, having leadership you admire, having a direction to head in and trust in the leadership, they know how to get there, and a place where people feel trusted, a place where they feel safe. It's a lot to ask a leader to create that environment, but surely that's a good starting point as a checklist to say, "How do you have people love the work they do in your company?" When most are indifferent, the few are in love. What if you could...   Joel Green is a former professional basketball player & National Director of Nike Sports Camps. Joel had a challenging upbringing, growing up in an abandoned house in North Philadelphia. His cousin was murdered, he had a knife pulled on him, and he stood just 10 ft from another shooting. Years later, he tragically lost his older brother. In a profound moment in our conversation for The Mojo Sessions (link below) I asked Joel, if I could give him a quiet moment with his brother one on one, and he could ask him one question, what would he ask? Joel said "I would ask him if he was proud of me and what he was proud of." How often do we hear people say "I just want to make my parents or someone close to me proud." Perhaps we should be letting people know, those closest to us, that we are proud of them daily... so there is no doubt. The second part of Joel's answer is the profound moment. It's easy to tell somebody you are proud of them, but we must know what we are proud of them for. That takes observation, watching, listening, thinking, pondering, and appreciating with gratitude what it is that makes that person special, so when they say, "What are you proud of?" you are able to look them in the eye and tell them specifically. There's so much power in this simple act. Not just I am proud of you - we want to know what they are proud of us for. When I asked former Navy Seal, Andrew Paul what he believed were the most important things to say to a child he said "I love you and I'm proud of you". Enough said. GB
LINK to the conversation with Joel Green https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-mojo-sessions/id1530154809?i=1000610062444  We all want to level up. We all want to be our best. To improve on yesterday and continue to progress in our growth. Over four seasons of hosting The Mojo Sessions, some definite themes have appeared... And one of the popular areas is certainly performance and mental toughness. This edition of The Espresso is based on performance. The Mojo Sessions Rewind is a collection of specific conversations that tieback to a particular topic, in this case performance - being your best, levelling up and moving yourself towards your goals.
One of the major benefits of podcasts is that they live in the cyber world and can be saved and replayed at any time. I thought that occasionally I would do a 'rewind' and share a list of past episodes of The Mojo Sessions on recurring themes and topics that have resonated not only with me, but also with other listeners of the show. I hope you find this 'rewind' on the theme of Performance of value to yourself or someone you know. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 306 - Mike McCastle Unquestionably one of my favourite conversations ever was with Mike McCastle, Ep 306. When I said that all of us want to level up and improve...most don't...the few do. This was a conversation that sparked that narrative for me. That made me realise the most talk about it, read about it, listen, but do nothing about it...we want to be the few. The few that listen, take notes, curate our thinking, set a plan, execute, reflect, then do it again. Mike McCastle is an amazing example of how much potential lies within all of us, if we just go to that place to find it. The path out of mediocrity. The few loyal to the standard. Mike McCastle, inspired by Greek mythology of the 12 Labors of Hercules, 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 recently 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 be loyal to the standard. EP 306: Mike McCastle The Mojo Sessions: Episode 401 - Justin Su'a All of us go through times when we get knock sideways. All of us have times when we finish one season and start a new one. Finish one year, start a new one. Finish one job, start a new one. I was really curious about how the mental aspect would play into a reset and restart. Justin Su'a was such a nice guy, so easy to talk to, but I found his philosophies very valuable. The Mental Reset for a High Performance Season Ahead Justin Su'a is Head of Mental Performance for leading Major League Baseball team the Tampa Bay Rays. Justin works with players in the NFL, WWE, PGA, the U.S. Army, the IMG Academy, the Boston Red Sox and Google and hosts the super successful podcast "Increase Your Impact”. Working with the highest performers in the world of sport and business, Justin has a unique perspective on what it takes to operate at the highest level, recover after a loss, and reset for the new season ahead as a leader, a player, coach and as a team. EP 401: Justin Su'a The Mojo Sessions: Episode 230 - Jay Morton Jay Morton is not a guy that just talks about mental performance, he puts on his climbing gear and gets after it. After summiting Mount Everest a number of times, taking on plenty of mental and physical endurance events including racing cars, former Special Forces operator Jay Morton is just a normal guy. When he said, "I'm the most disciplined, lazy person you'll ever meet" he had me at hello. This is a great conversation with a guy who seemingly is pretty normal, but the mental strength he draws upon from within has him doing things that probably most of us could do ...we just don't get off the couch and do it. The Special Forces on Mindset, Strategy and Excellence Jay Morton spent 10 yrs in the SAS, 4 yrs in the Parachute Regiment, then summited Mt Everest twice. Jay is a guy who knows what it takes to become the best of the best. Whether serving as an elite soldier, training as a high-level shooter or becoming an expert in HALO (high-altitude low-opening) parachuting, Jay has always strived to be at the very top of the game... to find his greatness. Many of us are prone to underestimating ourselves but physical and mental endurance and resilience – as well as realising our own full potential – are well within our reach... if you have the desire to do the work. EP 230: Jay Morton The Mojo Sessions: Episode 210 - Dr Jeff Spencer He's not a coach, he's a corner man. He's been the corner man for multiple Tour de France winning teams, Le Tour arguably, the greatest endurance event, mentally and physically each year. He's worked with some of the biggest names in business. He is the guy that people go to to level up, cut through the chaff and achieve our ambitions. The thing that I took from the Champions Blueprint that Jeff developed is the first step in that wheel is legacy, having a mission, operating from a purpose. That's why his athletes and business leaders have such a sustained career, and don't flameout like most. Meet the Cornerman That Titans Turn To Dr Jeff Spencer is cornerman to some of our greatest achievers. A former Olympian, Jeff's client list boasts names such as Tiger Woods, U2, Nike, Richard Branson, as well as Tour de France winners, so it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about becoming a world class performer! Jeff specialises in helping would-be high achievers who currently feel over committed, over extended and overwhelmed, find clarity on why they’re stuck, get un-stuck and go from ‘over it’ to ‘killing it’. EP210: Dr JEFF SPENCER The Mojo Sessions: Episode 303 - Coach Dana Cavalea The high-performers in any industry, are ritualised. It's about their habits. Their habits, rituals, routines are the things they deploy day in day out under any circumstances, in order to ensure that what is a priority, what's important, gets done. Rituals and routines also ensure you don't focus on the stuff that's not important. Coach Dana is a master at setting up the habitual approach to high-performance. Embrace the True Habits of a Champion Coach Dana Cavalea spent the majority of his career as the Director of Performance for the New York Yankees. In 2009 he led the team to a World Series Championship and was voted by his peers as the top Strength Coach in Major League Baseball. The author of "Habits of a Champion: Nobody Becomes A Champion By Accident", Dana writes about the mindset and habits we can use to elevate ourselves to Champion status. Having worked side by side with some of the greats of Major League Baseball, Dana is the go-to guy for performance habits. Ep 303: Coach Dana Cavalea  "Let's get our to-do list done, get our revenue in order knock over a few of these big projects and then we can worry about culture. Yes, I know culture is important but we need to get this stuff done first, then we can do culture." This sort of comment is becoming more and more prevalent. Leaders know that culture is important, well, at least they say they do, but they are happy to focus on projects, to dos, busy, and revenue, and push all that before their most important asset ... their people. So now the people are speaking!
These same leaders are the ones who complain they can't find good people, they can't keep good people, that people won't go the extra mile, that people won't take the initiative, that people aren't satisfied and so it goes. One EXECUTIVE even said "we don't need to do it for the moment. Unemployment is so low it can wait." Unemployment may be low, but so is quiet quitting. The term has been given to people who are turning up to work, going through the motions, feeling unfulfilled, doing work that they feel has no meaning, working in a company with no direction, and basically not knowing what's expected of them. All the ingredients that make up culture. These same people are also looking around. The Most know it's important, it's only the Few that know it is the most important thing to do - prioritise it, set the plan in place, execute every day, demonstrate it through their leadership and play the LONG GAME...whilst at the same time, working on their strategy. Photo credit Redd F  During a break at a keynote in Sydney a guy approached me to share a story. He said "I have been advertising for a tradesperson on Seek.com and a bunch of other employment sites for two months and got zero enquiries. Zero replies. When I change the ad around and lead with, here's what we value the most in our company, here's what we believe in, our mission, here's what's important to us in our company...Oh, and by the way, here is the job we have available, he said I was inundated with replies."
Time and time again, we hear that we want meaningful work, with a company that shares our values, and leadership that has a direction, a plan, and cares for it's people. A company who will close the gap between say and do. Yet so few companies actually do it. So much time and money has been wasted on tactical execution of product and price alone and although we talk about it, we are forgetting the most meaningful part of the equation, the people. This is a true story and given the fact it was based on a trade when so much media is focused on the lack of tradespeople, it does beg the question... Why? To understand your Why, how that can co-exist with your Company WHY and then the outgoing message, listen to the excellent interview with Dr Gary Sanchez of the Why Institute... the feedback on this conversation has been overwhelming... it's very, very good. LINK to the interview https://shorturl.at/defIL  The Mojo Sessions Rewind “The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.” Sun Tzu THE STRATEGIC EDITION Over four seasons of hosting The Mojo Sessions, some definite themes have appeared. This edition of the Espresso is based on strategy. If there's one thing that "most" do is have a massive gap between the strategy they set a what actually gets executed. Off sites, conferences, strategy sessions, get-togethers with a whiteboard that all end up being forgotten, dismissed, never executed in the next 6 to 12 months. It's only the few that I actually implement the plan. Hell most leaders can't even remember what the strategy was! When considering this conundrum, I created a list of my favourite conversations on that topic of strategy from The Sessions that I hope might be of value to others. One of the major benefits of podcasts is that they live in the cyber world and can be saved and replayed at any time. I thought that occasionally I would do a 'rewind' and share a list of past episodes of The Mojo Sessions on recurring themes and topics that have resonated not only with me, but also with other listeners of the show. I hope you find this 'rewind' on the theme of Strategic thinking of value to yourself or someone you know. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 321 - Bryce Hoffman EP 321: Bryce Hoffman Red Team. Staying Ahead of the Competition in an Uncertain World Strategically, this was unquestionably, a key take out for me on strategy. The ability to be the one regardless of how improbable thinking like the enemy, and secondly having the courage to speak up, was a huge take out for me. Bryce Hoffman, the bestselling author of 'Red Teaming: How Your Business Can Conquer the Competition by Challenging Everything', helps companies worldwide plan better, using systems learnt from business and the military. Bryce became the first and only civilian to graduate from the U.S. Army’s Red Team Leader Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Red Team Thinking is a systematic way of making critical and contrarian thinking part of the strategic planning process of any team, providing a robust set of tools designed to challenge assumptions, expose hidden threats and stress-test your plans and strategies. Drawing on the latest research in cognitive psychology and human decision-making Red Teaming is a critical thinking tool to stay relevant, keep ahead of your competition, and cope with an increasingly uncertain world. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 209 - Jay Samit EP 209: Jay Samit Your Hidden Superpower Can Future-Proof Your Business At the centre of every strategy is the problem to be solved. Jay Samit has an incredible resume of problems he has solved for some of the biggest and most highest profiled brands in the world. For this Session, he talks specifically about understanding the problem, then solving the problem and how, although it seems 101, so few actually do it. Jay Samit has an incredible resume. He's created disruptive ideas for Adobe, American Express, AT&T, Best Buy, Clinique, Coca Cola, Disney, Ford, GE, IBM, Intel, LinkedIn, McDonalds, Microsoft, Starbucks, Unilever, Visa and more. Jay held senior roles at EMI & Sony where he pioneered breakthrough advancements in video, ebooks & digital music that are used by billions of consumers every day and worked closely with guys like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Reid Hoffman. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 404 - Mike Sarraille EP 404: Mike Sarraille Your Path to Becoming an Everyday Warrior It's not easy being the leader charged with overseeing and taking ownership for the strategy and the execution of that plan. Mike has a long distinguished history of being the trusted guy to set and execute strategy... in the brutal world of combat and the brutal battles of the boardroom. It takes courage, it takes becoming an everyday warrior. After 20 years of service as a Recon Marine, Scout-Sniper, and U.S. Navy SEAL officer, which included ten combat deployments, Mike Sarraille turned his attention to using the lessons he’d learned on the battlefield to help businesses develop strong leaders. Mike has seen a great deal in combat. Today, he brings the lessons he learned from the battlefield to his successful management consulting firm, Talent War Group, an elite consulting and executive search firm specialising in world-class leadership development and attracting the top talent out of the Military. We discuss Mike's journey so far, and his new book, 'The Everyday Warrior.' The Mojo Sessions: Episode 317 - Dorie Clark EP 317: Dorie Clark Becoming a Long-Term Thinker in a Short Term World Any great strategist has a long game in mind. In a world where the most have short term, tactical, revenue driven goals. It's hard to find a leader who can tell you where the industry will be in three or five years time let alone how their company will fit into it. The people who work in the business are craving direction and belief in a leader who can see the future and a way to get there. Most work on the short game. Great strategists play the long game. We live in a short-term, reactionary world. It's rare to meet a leader who has a long-term view beyond short-term metrics, a leader who has a hypothesis about what the future holds for their industry, category or their company. Named in the Top 50 business thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, Duke University Professor Dorie Clark is described by the NY Times as an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.” A frequent contributor to HBR , Dorie consults to Google, Microsoft, & the World Bank. This conversation uncovers her new book The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 320 - Annie Duke Ep 320: Annie Duke The Good Quitters Guide to Quitting So anyone who heard the show will know I'm a fan of Annie, her backstory, her work, and in particular, the idea of this latest book. The reason I've got Annie to finish off this Strategic Rewind is that in order to do the work above there are somethings you are going to have to quit. Quit the assumptions and constructs of doing what everybody else does. Quit being busy, distracted and not focusing day in day out, hour by hour on the set strategy. Quit breezing through meetings, emails and texts, and not talking face-to-face in person with people about the agreed strategy and the execution. Quit believing that having it in a spreadsheet is enough. We are told that the secret to success is hard work, determination, hours of practice and a never quit attitude. In this fast-pace changing world, what if a crucial skill is knowing when to stick at something or when to change track and walk away - to quit? Annie Duke, World Series of Poker championship bracelet winner & winner of the WSOP Tournament of Champions, specialises in decision making and in this conversation explains why learning to quit well is often crucial to our success. Annie gives clear strategies for working out when to cut your losses in business, a relationship or a career that's not taking you where you want to go. Perhaps making the choice to quit and being a quitter is the best and most profound choice!  About to run his dog at the sheepdog trials, I saw Peter in the corner of the yards. I asked "How you going today?"."Yeah, doing pretty good. Better conditions than last year when it was a bog and they were putting down sawdust on the mud so the sheep could move" Peter replied. "Not sure if that is the right term - not better, just different. Two years ago during the drought no one said a word when we had mud, it's all to do with your attitude isn't it." That day at the dog trials I was schooled. It's all about your attitude. Being better than last year was a judgement. It wasn't better, it was different. Only years back, Peter was diagnosed with cancer. It's been a tough ride, but here he was jumping fences in the yards with his faithful dog, rounding up sheep and competing with the best. He approached his diagnosis with the same attitude. It's not better. It's just different. It all depends on your attitude. Judgement, comparison and envy heavily influence and impact our attitude... oh, and he won the trial. GB
Photo credit Janko Ferlič - thank you.  Walking into retailer Lush, the shop assistant smiled and said "Hello, welcome". I watched the sales assistant for a few minutes as he wiped down fittings with a rag, rearranged stock and gave reassuring training advice to a new staff member. In a quiet moment, I said "How long have you worked here?" He said 10 years. I said "Wow, 10 years? He said "Yes, I love this store with all my heart." Curious, I asked "What is it that you love so much?" He said "The ethos and experience." He then went on to explain his 10 years of work working through the company to where he is today. It's fair to say he is a lifer. I walked away thinking that young kid is the few. Whoever is mentoring that young kid is the few. When most across the world are checking out, looking around for the next thing, not engaged, seeking meaning and not finding it, and certainly not providing an experience to be proud of, or inspired by, within a retail or service industry job, this kid is the few. There's an intrinsic motivation around a young worker like this. Then there's a leadership that sees the talent, provides the environment, gives work of true meaning, can articulate and deliver and walk the talk on their ethos, and go to the trouble of building a true experience that one can be proud to work with and around, and where we as shoppers will return to.
There is so much in this story. Most will blow through the story, but the few will take it on board and apply to their own company. If this young kid worked for me, I would feel so damn proud.  Over four seasons of hosting The Mojo Sessions, some definite themes have appeared. This was brought to light recently when a listener wrote asking for advice as to which episodes I believed could help her friend who was going through a challenging period dealing with trauma. I sent her a list of my favourite conversations on that topic, and it got me thinking that the list might also be of value to others.
One of the major benefits of podcasts is that they live in the cyber world and can be saved and replayed at any time. I thought that occasionally I would do a 'rewind' and share a list of past episodes of The Mojo Sessions on recurring themes and topics that have resonated not only with me, but also with other listeners of the show. I hope you find this 'rewind' on the theme of trauma of value to yourself or someone you know. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 109 - Iris Gardner EP 109: IRIS GARDNER Building The Strength To Emerge From The Darkness Iris Gardner spent her childhood off the grid, an ideal life in the woods for a kid, totally off-grid, heading out on horseback, confronting mountain lions, reading books, growing and hunting their food..until the day a sexual predator moved into the house, a family friend who would throw the life of a young 5 year old child into unspeakable darkness. Listen to a remarkable story from a truly remarkable lady who has emerged from that darkness with a message that will change how we view life and the life of our children. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 110 - Preethaji EP 110: PREETHAJI Creating A Life of Purpose, Free From Suffering Preethaji, one of the world’s leading female philosophers, founded O&O Academy, a philosophy and meditation school with her husband Krishnaji. She believes that you can live, as many do, a mediocre life with a purpose that is contrived, but a great life, career or relationship can only happen with an authentic purpose. Preethaji works with corporate leaders to discover purpose, connection and how to live in a beautiful state. Preethaji leads us to a whole new way of discovering love, passion, and our creativity. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 223 - Dr Sarah Woodhouse EP 223: DR SARAH WOODHOUSE The Disempowering Enemy Within Dr Sarah Woodhouse is a Research Psychologist specialising in trauma, helping people face this world and their past. Her book 'You're Not Broken' teaches us what trauma is (it's probably not what you think), how to recognise it, why it's there and how your past is likely holding you back. Sarah explains the pitfalls of ignoring awkward, upsetting episodes and how true freedom comes from looking back at your past with honesty. Using the latest research-based techniques, her own personal experience, and her twelve years of trauma research, Dr Sarah Woodhouse speaks with authority on this important topic. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 226 - Dr Bruce Perry EP 226: DR BRUCE PERRY Heal Your Mental and Emotional Wounds and Move Forward Professor of Psychiatry at Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago, Dr Bruce Perry's new book 'What Happened to You?' was written with Oprah. 'What Happened to You?' is a book that helps heal our mental and emotional wounds, wounds that many carry for decades and never give it a thought. Through groundbreaking scientific & emotional insights on behavioural patterns and actual brain science, Dr Perry explores how we can shift our approach to personal trauma by asking what happened to you? Oprah believes her first conversation with Dr Perry was one of the most important and impactful of her career. The Mojo Sessions: Episode 323 - Yemi Penn Ep 323: Yemi Penn Rewrite Your Story Documentary producer Yemi Penn believes we should create our own memo. Author of 'Did You Get The Memo?', Yemi, born in Nigeria, has endured her fair share of trauma for herself and her family, including childhood abuse and homelessness. Yet, today Yemi is a self-made millionaire, owning multiple businesses across multiple countries. Yemi shares mindset adjustments to rip up our old backstory and create the new life we want, daring us to create a new narrative for our life and ultimately write our own memo. https://www.themojosessions.com/  Our RFS Brigade was called out to a grass fire earlier this week. While on route to the fire, a call came over the radio from base saying the fire was currently at 20m x 20m, but with a strong gusty wind it can quickly go pear-shaped. Somebody in the back of the truck said "ahh it's only 20 x 20." Only the week prior we had been working on the Hill End fire at Alpha Road which, before it was contained had grown to 18,000 ha. That fire started as 20m x 20m. In fact, it started as a lightning strike, probably 1m². It's funny how hearing the 20 x 20 comment and working on a 18,000 ha fire, it made me think of our goals, and how quite often we only focus on the big end result and fail to focus on the process... ember by ember. What starts as a small ember grows into a little flame which grows into a fire, then into a bushfire, and before you know it, it's a blazing, running, wildfire emergency. We know it, but most don't do it. We fail to find the spark, the tiny ember in every project and to fan that small spark to create a flame. Iris Gardner a guest on The Mojo Sessions EP 109 said, "Keep an ember to blow into a bonfire, that can become a wildfire." What can happen when we focus on the process? Well look at the photo here on our first night at the Hill End fire when that 20m x 20m had grown to 1200ha in half a day, and that was just the start of a week long battle.
 How many brainstorms, creative sessions, or meetings will you sit through that involve coming up with ideas? Say you participate in two of those meetings a week times 40 weeks a year. That means you will be in 80 of those meetings this year alone. Let's say you've been in business 20 years -- so that is 1,600 brainstorms. If two ideas come out of each session, that means you have seen or heard well over 3,000 ideas. Where are they today? Logged into your memory? No - we can't even remember what's in our calendar for tomorrow, let alone an idea heard in a meeting four years ago. Day after day, I see leaders attend meetings, creative sessions, and brainstorms with nothing to write on. They let thousands of ideas go in one ear and out the other. Imagine if you were the diligent, disciplined, and proactive leader who took note of the ponderings today that could be tomorrow's thought-starter. Imagine the repository you would have in your journals, that you could revisit to harvest ideas when doing a killer presentation or finding an idea for a client brief. We often sit in meetings and don't write anything down, and the biggest fallacy is that we will remember the ideas being shared. The vast majority of outstanding leaders I interview on the Mojo Radio Show Podcast, keep notes and journal. Navy SEALS, entrepreneurs, scientists, wellness thought leaders, productivity leaders, mental strength coaches, you name it -- a journal is their repository of learnings and great ideas. It's the reason I created the Mojo Thought-Provoking Journal. Check it out here and start to capture your next killer ideas: https://www.garybertwistle.com
 "For me this year, it's about considered action." This statement came from a young, smart leader I worked with this week. His standard protocol was busy and reactionary. This year his own personal mission was to take considered action. Detach, think, ponder, consider, breathe, before racing into the next shiny object to be considered at that moment or point of decision. This is something you rarely see in leaders in the corporate world. True intention, a plan, working to an actual published strategy, and most importantly, consistent, considered ongoing action to bring that strategy to life. It's such a great phrase...considered action. (That'll be on a t-shirt by Friday).
 St.Peter Stiftskulinarium, Salzburg, Austria have served food since AD 803, making it the oldest restaurant in Europe, and by most measures, in the entire world. While there have been renovations and improvements done to the restaurant in over 1000 years, they live by the motto “We love the history, but we do not live in the past.” So many of us carry the burden of the past. We are told time and time again to live in the moment, Carpe Diem, be present ...yet the baggage we carry holds us back and in a lot of cases, is the barrier to us being our best. The motto from this restaurant will be on a T-shirt by Friday.Love your history but don't live in the past. That should be the motto for 2023. Yes we've been through some challenging periods over the last 2 or 3 years, acknowledge it learn from it, debrief it, do an after action review, but don't live there. At 1200 years old, you would have a hard time arguing against its' claim of being the oldest restaurant in the world..... although I sure someone will no doubt challenge that claim!
 During Ep 309 of The Mojo Sessions with Special Ops Pat McNamara (Episode link below) we discussed his process for getting sh#t done. He has 3 whiteboards in his house, one with today... on his fridge, so he sees it all the time, one in another room with this week's plan, and one in the other room with this year's plan. He breaks down what needs to get done, writes it on his whiteboard so he can see it, do it and rub it off... done. Pat is one of the most intentional guys I follow.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER produced a small book about his process of goal setting. There is a short para, early in the book, where he has open heart surgery and the doctor tells him to breathe ... daily. So he gets a whiteboard and 5 times a day, he breathes... each time having someone write it on the board so he can map progress... he did the same when bodybuilding. So the take out? Get a whiteboard or the like, be intentional, what stuff do you want to get done? Write it, see it daily, do it, rub it off and replace it. Motivation comes from progress. We need to see what we are attacking and map our progress... a good lesson for kids. LINK to the Ep 309 with Pat McNamara https://apple.co/3H9CLy2 or search #themojosessionspodcast on your fav pod player.  A few years back, the manager of WeWork Sydney approached me doing some research. How do we improve the experience WeWork? Me..."Stop idiots walking the corridors and common areas with headsets carrying on loud conversations, oblivious to those around them who are trying to work in peace, whilst they have these calls so loud they could be heard corridors away." I told him it was an issue. We come to WeWork to get work done, yet the auditory pollution from these people who constantly walk around whilst conversing on their headsets was causing enormous distraction.
It seems it's now become a global problem as employees used to the peace of their own homes, head back to the office . A recent survey by HR Magazine states that 52% of office workers are concerned that noise levels in the office may make them less productive. Nearly 2/3 of the same people say they get fed up if their noisy co-workers break their concentration, and 42% actually worry they will slip into noise rage if colleagues become too loud. Reporters say there's a mental fatigue that happens by hearing all of these distracting noises all day long. To me, there's a difference between white noise in a coffee shop to actually having someone on their phone having a conversation whilst you are trying to get some blue zone work done. People lose an estimated 86 minutes of productivity each day because of noise distractions, according to a study by Steelcase. Leaders listen up. Did WeWork do anything about it ....negative. If you ask for feedback, take it. Action it.  Rick Rubin is an American record producer, co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, has one 8 Grammy's and is basically... a legend in the music industry. His superpower.... he is best known for his talents as a listener. He is recognised for his ability to develop skilled notes of how artists can improve their songs along with providing them a safe space to create music without commercial and external pressure. Imagine if we did that for our team members, our friends and most importantly our children?
Imagine if you had a reputation with your team, your friends and especially your children of being a great listener. Part of being a great listener is making people feel safe. It's been a recurring theme on The Mojo Sessions podcast, trust expert Dr Abby Marano and mental performance Coach for The Tampa Bay Rays MLB team Justin Su'a both spoke of leaders, creating a safe place within the organisation, where people could feel secure, have their ideas heard, and know that their leader actually took a genuine interest in them as a human being. The key, be a great listener. Take a genuine interests of the person in front of you and make them feel safe.  It was a beautiful Spring afternoon and rather than sit in a coffee shop I decided to pack afternoon tea and do my Mojo MBA session at a quiet park bench. I took a thermos of hot water, packed tea bags, mineral water and a selection of non alcoholic beers, Corona, Heinekin and Great Northern on ice. When I asked the guy I was consulting with, would you like a non-alcoholic beer, he said no, it's too early in the afternoon for a beer. Curious. The non alcoholic beer is essentially just a favoured drink that tastes like what we know to be a beer in a can that makes it look or seem like a beer. Is it the alcohol in a drink that makes it a beer? Is it because it was in a can that looks like a real beer? Is it the perception of people walking past the park and seeing you with what appears to be a beer but is in actual fact of non-alcoholic beer in your hand ? Is it because you are so used to having a beer at the very end of the day, and this feels for all purposes to be a beer, it will be wrong to have it at 2 o'clock in the afternoon in a park? The non-alcoholic beer category is fascinating but this highlights to me exactly what marketing and brand is about and is being forgotten today. Marketing and brand is not the reality...it is the perception. It's just a flavoured drink in what looks like a can branded like a beer. Is it really a beer? That's in the eye of the beholder, and that's the value of the brand.
 What's going to happen this year... by December 2023, what can you see happening? Where do you think you'll be in 3 years? Where do you think your industry will be in 3 years? What do you think your company would look like in 5 years? Everyone of us has a desire to see a compelling vision for the future. When we don't have that vision for ourselves or the company we work for, we lose our mojo. As Major General John Gronski said on The Mojo Sessions, a leader must have a clear vision for the future and also a vision of the steps that need to be taken in order to get there. Most leaders struggle with putting a definitive vision or dream down on paper. Instead, try talking in terms of your hypotheses. This is something Dorie Clark author of The Long Game said recently on the Sessions (details below). As a leader, try saying "my hypothesis is that in 3 years this is what I think will happen to our industry or category, and order for us to take advantage, I can see what it is going to take and I believe we can do it.".. it's a hypothesis, your best guess, but lay out a vision. I would also add, you can/should have a hypothesis of what will happen in all areas of your life - family, learning, wellness, health, community, mission.
No hypothesis, no direction, no control , no mojo.  Imagine a coach, looking at their players coming back from their off-season break, overweight, out of condition, tired, distracted, no Mojo, and just not in the game. How would that be? Those players are going into a brand-new season in deficit ....before they even start. The idea is that players come back fresh. Physically and mentally in shape, ready for the hard competition in the season ahead.
When you consider that you are a corporate athlete, most come back from the Christmas New Year break in deficit, tired, no Mojo, unhealthy, no motivation, going into more of the same. Why? We eat badly, never put down the sword (your phone), always on, lack sleep, don't move enough, not really switching off, not stretching our minds with new learnings. Sadly because of this ongoing deficit it's why after a few years of doing this, we are... well... truely exhausted. So this Christmas, be one of the few who just relax and do a little bit of NOTHING! It's ok, it's your OFF season... switch off....come back..truely refreshed, juiced, mojo firing, healthy, clear headed.... it's all a choice. Life is not going to let up next season. My advice - GET BORED!  Matthew Dicks is a champion Moth Storyteller. The Moth is a New York based global storytelling community and he's a 50 time winner as the best storyteller. He's a great storyteller. He's written a number of best selling books ....yet he is a school teacher. Although he doesn't have to, he still chooses to be a school teacher. Recently I interviewed him for The Mojo Sessions. I asked Matthew, with all he knows about storytelling, his writing, his incredible life story as a teacher standing in front of kids every day, what piece of advice do you think you could pass on to parents. He said "I know what my students would say...."My parents look at their phone more than they look at me.""
Enough said. The conversation with Matthew Dicks closes out Season 3 of The Mojo Sessions and what a beautiful profound conversation it is to wrap up a big season.  It's a trap in construction. You quote, then just add this in, then add that in, ahh can we just do this... and before you know it....budgets, timelines, bandwidth, stress... have all blown out. The scope of what was, has now crept and blown out.... they call it Scope Creep.
The same thing is happening with our nutrition, our exercise, our learning, our attention. We have good intentions, then we miss a session, then that becomes two, then 3, then 4 and then before you know it, it's a creep, it's a month, 2 months... no exercise, no reading, constantly distracted, mojo lost....scope creep.. You set the scope for yourself and before you know it, you finally stop, do an audit and it's been months, scope creep. Great term. Consistency beats intensity. Rituals, routines, accountability partners, daily check ins with yourself and your plans, daily audits the night before your day begins to check your wagon wheel, all work....but nothing beats the moment when you close the door on creep and make the decision to be disciplined. Ep 214 The Mojo Sessions with JP Dinnell "Discipline is rooted in the truth you tell yourself" |
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