by admin | 2 Jan, 2021 | Andrew's Blog, Mindset
2021 is finally here, but really, what’s changed except the date? I know many people have been saying, ‘I can’t wait until 2020 is over and 2021 rolls around.’ They’ve been talking as if, as soon as midnight strikes on December 31, 2020, everything will automatically and magically change for the better. Well, here we are in the first week of 2021 and the only thing that is going to change, if it hasn’t already, is your attitude about making this day – no matter the date or the circumstances – the one when you stop waiting and start winning.
Many people have described the year 2020 – as if the year has anything to do with it – as; ‘a dumpster fire,’ ‘crappy,’ ‘one to forget’ and many other expletive-laden and negative statements. Can I just say, the year had nothing to do with it? The fires had nothing to do with it, the riots had nothing to with it and COVID had nothing to do with it. We, ourselves, had everything to do with it! Yes, that’s right and as much as I know I am ruffling some feathers, I don’t want anyone to waste 2021 by thinking their success, happiness and wellbeing has anything to do with what’s happening around the world. Instead, it has everything to do with what’s happening between our ears!
I have experienced the same year as everyone, and it has been tough for me, like everyone. However, I have said it before and I will say it again, 2020 for me was the most transformational year I have had in a long time. Going into isolation was tough but what I needed to face my insecurities, then get to know and love myself better. Losing many speaking jobs and significant income was terrifying, but exactly what I needed to transform my business online with a global reach. More time at home being unable to go anywhere was lonely and frustrating at times, but saved me money, helped me focus on what’s most important and allowed me to create new things, like my podcast. I know my experience of 2020 was different to other people, but I do know it was a great year for me because I chose to win, not wait.
Please, don’t think in any way I am diminishing what people have faced or what they have had to suffer through and overcome. But then, that has nothing to do with a virus and everything to with living in a world where challenges happen. There’s no doubt, we are in a season, when fear, anxiety and uncertainty are rife, and it can be tough to navigate at times. In fact, there has been more than one time, over the last 12 months, when I have found myself sobbing and in a fetal position on the floor. I just want to encourage you not to think, just because it’s a new year, that things will magically get better. Let me tell you, things will get better the second you decide to win and not wait.
When I say, ‘win and not wait,’ I mean start today – yes, today – taking action to make your life the best it can be. Forget about what’s happening around the world, forget about the fact that it’s a new year and the pressure is on to make a new year’s resolution, and focus on what’s most important in your life. If it’s your health & wellbeing, which I hope it is, stop waiting for a vaccine, the second you take action, you win. If it’s your relationship(s), stop waiting for someone else to make the first move and act. When you do, you win! If it’s your business, stop waiting for a better economic time and get into action. As soon as you do, you’ll be a winner. Stop waiting for things to go back to normal and start now to create your new and improved normal. The second you do, you are winning.
You see, winning has nothing to do with holding a trophy, getting to the top of the mountain or achieving the goal. Winning happens the moment you take action and start moving in the direction of what you want, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant that movement may be. So, it’s with my greatest encouragement that you stop waiting and start moving today. What stops us all, including myself on a regular basis, is ourselves and our fears, anxieties and insecurities. So, I want to urge you to listen to my podcast this week with Morgan Beard, called ‘Behind the music.’ I guarantee it will help.
2021 can be an awesome year for you. Not because it’s a new year, not because it’s not 2020 and not because things will magically get better. It will be an incredible year the instant you decide to stop waiting, start choosing and start winning. You get to choose how this year will be, so, choose abundance, choose courage, choose action, choose love, choose gratitude, choose health, choose significance, choose legacy, choose fun, choose laughter, choose progress and choose different.
Most of all… choose YOU!
by admin | 19 Dec, 2020 | Andrew's Blog, Mindset
There is a wonderful quote, I am unsure who to credit it to, that says; ‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift and that’s why we call it the present.’ I want to unpack it a little in this week’s blog, because I can see the answers to a glorious and happy life residing in those nineteen words, if we pay attention to them and take action. In fact, take a leap of faith.
I will come back to the leap of faith shortly, but let’s look at this quote to start with, because it gives power to the idea of a leap of faith. ‘Yesterday is history!’ What is the one thing we know for sure about history, any history? Well, the one thing I know for sure about history is that it is set, and cannot be changed. As much as I may like it to be. That being the case, why do we spend so much time – me included – thinking about it, dwelling on it, regretting it and beating ourselves up over it? Can I make one simple suggestion? Learn from it, forgive yourself (and/or others) if required and let it go, or you will never move forward in life.
‘Tomorrow is a mystery!’ We often try to predict, control and foresee the future, when it’s not possible. We may go to a clairvoyant, palm-reader or other so-called future predictor to tell us how our future will turn out. We may read our star signs and see what we can glean from that. Please hear me on this, our future cannot be predicted, controlled or manipulated, because there are too many elements, out of our control, that will impact it. Can we control the weather? Of course not. How will that potentially impact our plans for tomorrow? Can we control other people? We wish! How will that affect how our tomorrow will turn out? What I’m saying here is, as important as it is to have goals, dreams and clear purpose for your life, spending all your time in the future will make your head explode.
‘Today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present!’ Why is today a gift? I believe for several reasons, and I will just mention two. The first and most important is the gift of life. If you woke up this morning and are looking down on the grass, then you should celebrate. I have often spoken about the miracle of life, and when we think about the miniscule odds of our existence, we should rejoice in every moment we are alive. The second reason is the gift of choice we are given every moment of every day. What do you think will most impact your future and most glorify your past? It’s the choices we get to make in the present. If you can learn from your past and if you are clear on what you want in the future, then the choices you make in the present moment will most profoundly impact your life.
In this moment you don’t need to have all the answers. In this moment you don’t need to understand the process. In this moment, you don’t even need to know the path forward. All you need to do is have the have the courage and make the choice to take the first step… a leap of faith. It is fear in the moment that most stops people, as it has me. Fear from thinking too much about the failures of the past and how they will affect us moving forward and fear of how we can possibly create the future we desire. This fear paralyses most people, except those with faith.
I talk about faith all the time, because to me it’s the most powerful tool we have in our arsenal to live our best life. If the poor choices, mistakes and failures of yesterday are all history that we cannot change, how do we move forward successfully in life without the faith that things can change? If tomorrow is a mystery, and there is no we can accurately predict how things will go or what will challenge us, how do we negotiate that without faith? It is the leap of faith we take in the present moment, not knowing but trusting, that will get you to where you want to be.
I have spoken ad-nauseam about my journey. As I sit here writing this blog, I am living a life of joy, passion and purpose, that I love every moment of. How I got here only makes sense as I look back over the last 18 years to that one fleeting moment I made the illogical decision to write my first book. The leap of faith I took on that day, opened up the path, and each day in each moment the steps of faith I took led me to exactly where I didn’t even know I wanted to be. I am incredibly grateful.
In this week’s podcast called, ‘Just, the next step,’ I speak with Sean O’Leary, who calls himself the ‘Transformed Man.’ Sean started his journey at 135kg (300lbs), had kidney issues, was verging on diabetes and was experiencing pain in pretty much every part of his body. Within 12 weeks, he had dropped five clothes sizes and transformed into a purpose-driven man who is now lean, energised and healthy. At the lowest point, when he made the decision to transform his life, he had no idea how it would happen, and so he started with a leap of faith. He is very clear in explaining that his success did not come from motivation, ability or knowledge of the process, but from just taking the next step. Often, he didn’t know what that step would be, or where it would lead, but his desire to change his life and willingness to keep stepping out in faith helped him to be living his best life.
Faith is trusting in advance that which only makes sense in reverse, says author Phillip Yancey. So, by definition you are not in control. There is a force with you and around you that will lead you to the destination you are after, but you need to let go of the failures of the past and release the need to have all the answers for your future. Trust in God, believe in the universe and just know that if you take a leap of faith, the path will almost magically appear under your feet and lead you to the most amazing life you could ever possibly imagine. Start leaping with faith today.
by admin | 28 Nov, 2020 | Andrew's Blog, Mindset
The comparison trap is a killer. Have you ever found yourself looking at, comparing yourself with and/or envying something about another person? I have, often and for much of my life. I wished I was a more talented footballer and would often watch other more skillful players with envy. I would look at people who seemed happier, fitter, more popular, more outgoing and more successful and I would wonder what was wrong with me. Have you ever done that? If you have, let me tell you, there is nothing wrong with you, or me. When you focus on what you have, and not what you don’t have, everything will change, in a great way.
There are two main challenges when you play the comparison game, and these will paralyse you and keep you miserably stuck in your life. I am assuming you don’t want to be miserable or stuck, so it may be time to turn your eyes back onto yourself. The first challenge with comparing to others is that it requires that you move your focus to something that is out of your control. This automatically leads to fear, anxiety, discouragement and insecurity. The second challenge is that you can never win the comparison game, because, if you keep looking, you will always find someone better than you are, in some way. So, if you want to be discouraged, anxious, insecure and stuck, then keep comparing yourself to others, but if you want to achieve amazing things, then just focus on what you have and what you can do.
Australian 1500m swimming legend, Kieren Perkins, ironically, was not a great swimmer when he started on his journey. In fact, the only reason he started swimming in the first place was because, whilst spending lots of time at the local pool, as a child, rehabilitating a leg injury, he watched the swimming squad and decided he wanted to be a part of it. When he started with the squad, his coach was very clever, and knowing that Kieren was not a great swimmer at that time, just encouraged personal improvement. He taught him never to look sideways or compare himself with other swimmers, but just focus on what he had and how he could improve with each swim. This mindset and approach led Kieren on to three consecutive Olympic Games where he won two gold and one silver medal in the 1500m.
In my podcast this week called, ‘You’re here now, what are you going to do,’ I talk with the amazing Deborah Stathis. I was so inspired by her willingness, despite her horrendous circumstances to focus on what she did have and what she could do. Just a few weeks after a devastating car accident which left her with serious facial, head and brain injuries, and, being told she would never function normally again, it would have been very easy for Deborah to fall into the comparison trap. She could have spent her time in a victim-mindset, focusing on all of the people who didn’t have horrendous facial and brain injuries, but that would have just sent her spiralling into a very bad place.
Instead, Deborah faced herself in the mirror and said, ‘okay, you’re here now, what are you going to do,’ She looked at what she had, and that was, a vision for a better life, the possibility of rebuilding her face and her life, inner strength and determination. She thought about what she could do to make that happen, and then off she went with what she refers to as a ‘relentless pursuit’ towards creating her best life. Let me tell you, this is a podcast worth listening to and her book, Beyond Trauma, will help you start focusing on what you have and what you can achieve.
I have said it before and I will say it again, you are good enough right now. Whatever you are currently working towards, stay focused on what you have and what you can do. Looking sideways is the fastest way to discouragement and regret that I know. Yes, there are people healthier than you. So what? Yes, there are people more talented than you. Who cares? Yes, there are people more successful, in certain areas, than you. Big deal, go and create your own success! Where you are is where you are. It’s the starting point, and it’s okay. Focus on what you want, be clear on what you have, start working on what you can improve and keep going with a ‘relentless pursuit.’ I promise you, if you focus on what you have, you will find enough for you to go on to achieve everything you want, and more.
by admin | 7 Nov, 2020 | Andrew's Blog, Mindset
Emotions, hey? They can either work for you in an incredibly positively powerful way, or they can take you down and out and turn potential into pulp. Have you noticed how, when you feel strong emotions of empowerment, excitement and determination you go forth and create wonderful change in your life? Have you also noticed how anger, anxiety, bitterness, fear and resentment can immediately lead to action, or inaction as the case may be, which defeats, discourages and destroys? What if I told you, that you were in control of the direction of your emotions and the path your life takes?
Have you ever worn a pair of sunglasses? When you put them on, what happens to the colour of the world you see? It changes, right? What colour does it change to? Whatever the colour of the lens, right? If the lens is green, the world is green. If the lens is brown, the world brown. If you put on glasses with blue lenses, you don’t see red, right? If you go inside a dark room with the sunglasses on, what do you normally do? You probably take them off I imagine. Then what about when you go back outside on a bright and sunny day? Put them back on? I’m sure you do. So, the concept of sunglasses is a pretty simple one to understand, right?
The point I want to make with this seemingly obvious and inane dialogue around sunglasses is that you get to choose the colour of the lens you look through and you also get to change the lens if you want a different colour, or more or less bright. In the same way, your emotional state is light or dark based on the lens you are looking at a certain situation through, and, you also get to change that lens, if you choose to. Isn’t that amazing news? Well, it’s actually great and tragic news. It’s great because, you get to change the lens, change your emotional state and positively change the outcomes in your life. It’s tragic because, if you buy what I am saying, there’s now no one else to blame for the way you feel or the actions you take as a result. D’oh!
The most powerful example I can think of about the impact of the lens, is when I destroyed my professional football career many years ago. Yes, you read that correctly. I destroyed my professional football career, because of the lens I chose to look through. I won’t go into the whole sad story, but I will say the trigger was when I woke up on a Saturday morning two weeks after the end of the season in 1987 and I read in the newspaper that I have been de-listed from the club. I was the wearing the, it’s-not-fair, victim-minded and it’s-your-fault lens. Through that lens, I saw red and became angry, bitter and resentful. As a result, I proceeded to do and say things that destroyed any future potential as a professional athlete.
Now, had I chosen to wear the, self-responsibility, desire-to-improve and gain-constructive feedback lens, I would have felt very differently and taken some very different actions in response to that event. Had I done that, who knows what may have been the long-term result? So, I want to encourage you, this week, to adjust the lens you are looking through if it’s leading to an emotional state that will lead to a choice that you will later regret. Please don’t ever live with regret, it’s no fun and so easily avoided!
When you don’t get the result you want, put on the I’m-good-enough and I’ll-try-again lens. When someone says or does something that is not nice or fair, put on the I-forgive-you and I-hope-you’re-okay lens. When you make a mistake or a poor choice, put on the I-forgive-me and learn-the-lesson lens. I promise, when you choose the right lens, no matter the situation or circumstance, you will create emotions that will strengthen your physical wellbeing and move you into positive and life enhancing action.
It is our emotional state that has the largest impact on the life we live, so a feeling of emotional intelligence and freedom is one we need to cultivate. This week’s podcast, called ‘Finding emotional freedom’ with Mandi Freger, will help if you are struggling with anxiety, stress or other potentially destructive emotions. My friend, the best thing you can do, when confronted with a challenging situation or circumstance – to insure that you respond, don’t react and build, don’t destroy – is to make sure you choose the right lens to look at it through.
by admin | 16 Oct, 2020 | Andrew's Blog, Mindset
As I write this week’s blog it is Saturday morning. Let me tell you, I am scrambling. Why? Because there is an incredible live-streamed event happening today between 12 noon and 4pm that I know will absolutely bless some people, and I am working to the very last minute to see who I can encourage to join it. I have no idea who may attend in a spur-of-the-moment decision and take the information they receive, apply it and then take action that changes their life. If that happens, I know they, and I, will be singing!
This is going to sound harsh, but we live in a society of quitters. In fact, we are often encouraged to quit if; there is some kind of risk, we are considered not smart or talented enough or if we try to save face from failing in our attempts. I have done my fair share of quitting things, because; they seemed too hard, I believed was not good enough or my efforts didn’t seem to be working. Looking back at those things, I will never know if I could have actually achieved the end results and been singing with joy, because I took myself out of the game prematurely. What about you? What is it you have quit too soon? What have you given up on and then justified to yourself was the right move to make, when deep down you regret not following through? Hard question, I know, but a critical one if you want to be singing with joy, the way you deserve to be.
You and I have been blessed with an incredible capacity that we rarely ever really explore, unless we are forced to. I want to encourage you, this week, to explore that capacity because you can and because you choose to. I was totally inspired by Derrick Kirk, my guest on this week’s podcast called, ‘It’s not over.’ Derrick was forced to explore his capacity as he was orphaned at 6 years old and homeless at 18. As a result of what he was forced to do to survive, he learned to believe and trust in his own capacity, and now chooses to do amazing things and impact the world in a big way. It is definitely a podcast worth listening to.
Winston Churchill, famous English Prime Minister, kept, as he likes to call it, ‘Buggering On.’ During WW2 the vast opinion in the UK at the time, was to give in to the overwhelming forces against them. However, Churchill stuck relentlessly to his decision, even as his sanity was being questioned, to ‘never, ever give up!’ History will show that his attitude that it was not over, and his iron-clad decision to keep going led to singing and dancing in the streets of London and other cities all around the world.
I played my first senior game of professional football when I was 18 years old in August 1983, and I played my second game, 20 months later, in April 1985. So, what happened in those 20 months? I played every game in the reserve grade team, I played well in almost all of them, and I missed selection week after week after week, for 20 months. What really happened in those 20 months? I made a decision to keep showing up, no matter what. Despite the fact there were many times I doubted myself, threw a tantrum and felt like giving up, I just kept going because I knew it was not over, until I was singing! In that time, I got better, stronger, fitter, more resilient, more determined, more mature and more equipped to be a professional footballer, In fact, the best time of my seven year professional football career, was the 20 months I missed selection every single week.
If you give up, you will never know what you can achieve. So, just know that’s it’s not over until you are singing, and, if you keep going with focus and determination, you will be singing, trust me. Keep going and you will be singing as you reach your wellbeing goals. Keep buggering on and you will be harmonising as you restore the relationship that is fractured. Make the decision, it’s not over until you are humming as a result of your business success, your financial achievement or whatever else it is you are aspiring to.
I say it often, and I will say it again, you are good enough to live the most amazing life you can imagine. The difference between those who do and those who don’t, is not luck, intelligence, ability, age, education or circumstances. Success is one hundred percent earned and owned by the people who know, in their heart, that it’s not over until they are singing. I wish for that you do some singing, as a result of the thing you persisted with, in the very near future.
by admin | 26 Sep, 2020 | Andrew's Blog, Mindset
Inspiration comes when you least expect it, as long as you are expecting it, that is! There you go, some wisdom in the first sentence of this week’s blog! For me, wisdom came on Saturday morning as I was jogging on the spot on my porch, as the rain bucketed down all around me. I was looking at the rain and enjoying the sounds, sights and smells, and I smiled as it just reinforced to me that no matter what happens in my life, all outcomes are great!
I am going to tell you a really dumb little story to try and make my point this week, but before I do, I want to just share a little of the conversation I had with Nick Bracks on this week’s Podcast called, You can’t lose. Nick is a man who, like many of us, has had a mental health journey to the point where he had serious issues in his life. Nevertheless, now on the other side and helping many people as a result, his attitude inspires me beyond belief. He said that no matter what outcome you achieve in life, it’s always a win. Now, I know many might disagree with that statement, but then it’s all how we look at things, right? He said, for himself, he will either get a successful outcome, or he will get a lesson that will help him in his life. So, for him, he cannot lose. What about you? That’s something to ponder as you deal with the current circumstances in your life.
So, every Saturday for me is ‘Muscle Up Saturday.’ I get up around 6am, jump on my bike and ride to the outdoor chin-up bar at a local park and do my session. I love it, mostly when it’s over, that is! This Saturday, I woke up to the sound of torrential rain. In my younger years I would have braved the weather anyway with my catch-cry that, ‘I am waterproof!’ I have to admit, with no apologies, in recent years, I have softened a little. Not to the point I would use the rain as an excuse, but certainly to the point I would modify my session. I was however in a dilemma as I had no idea what I would do.
The outcome I wanted was to be able to get to the park and do my muscle ups, the outcome I ended up with was just as great, in fact maybe better, as I was proud of my creativity and willingness to find a solution. This is exciting stuff, isn’t it?? I grabbed my 17.5kg (40lb) dumbbell from the garage and went out onto my 2m by 2m undercover porch just outside my front door and, as the rain was pelting down, I did 10 sets of a full-body dumbbell exercise, squats and jogging on the spot. As I was jogging on the spot at the end of the session, trying to get my steps up to reach my goal, I was looking out over the rain-soaked-landscape and thinking, ‘this is an awesome outcome.’
Boring story, I know, and, it’s really not about me telling you how great I am. I just want to reinforce the message you will hear if you listen to the podcast with Nick Bracks, that no matter what outcome you end up with, it’s always great, if you choose it to be. It’s so wonderfully true, if you believe it and expect it to be. In my professional football career, the initial outcome I wanted was to be successful, the one I ended up with was being sacked. The sacking led me to significant self-reflection and learning, and a very fulfilling fitness industry career. An incredible outcome. When I bought a café, the outcome I wanted was for it to be a successful business. The outcome I ended up with was that I was out of business and in $100,000 debt within two short years. It was at that time, as I questioned my next step, that I decided to write my first book, which has totally transformed my life. An amazing outcome.
I could tell you story after story, but I would rather you reflect on your own experiences where you may not have got the outcome you initially wanted, but instead you got one far more exciting and fulfilling, even though the circumstances at the time looked pretty devastating. I want to encourage you to believe in your heart that all outcomes are great. I want to have peace-of-mind and confidence in knowing that whatever you are experiencing right now, you will look back with perspective and gratitude knowing that it led you to an incredible outcome. With the right attitude and a proper perspective, all outcomes you experience are great!
