Connecting to the world

L. Learning I. Impacting F. Friendship building E. Experiencing How can we encourage one another and build one another up? How can each of us change to a life grounded in friendship building? How can people who do not have a habit of reading and a drive to be educated, be encouraged to do so? How can we encourage those who are not comfortable with sharing their experiences to do so? Learning is as much about growing friendships and community that produce relationships that last. Where we can impact each other with real information and we learn to be accountable to each other (not for each other). With learning, it is as important to grow friendships numerically as we ourselves are growing personally. To do otherwise is a waste of energy and time. So what is L.i.f.e.? Life is not a university course. It allows and encourages the sharing of life experiences in light of the knowledge we have through education ...

Is My life affected by my circumstances or do I build on my dream I have a friend who spent several years in prison. When he was released he made a comment to me that everyone he seen after his release was a lot happier. What he came to realise was that he was the one who was happier. Because he was happier he spread this where ever he went. You see he had made some decisions for his life and these decisions were not based on his circumstances but on what was important to him. So when something went wrong it did not alter his happiness. His focus was on where his life was going and not on what went wrong. He would count his blessings and name them. It is like the saying – two prisoners looked out the window – one saw stars and one saw bars. It is important to take in to build up our lives – it is also important to give out, this also builds up our lives. We learn as much from giving of ourselves as we do from taking in. What we speak with our tongue needs to be guarded. So when we lif...

Proverb: - “A wise person harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace” Are you lazy? Not me. I'm busy. Up early, up late. My schedule is filled from beginning to end. I love what I do and I love getting stuff done. I attack a daily to-do list with the same intensity I have for spending a day of pleasure at the beach. It's great to keep busy and accomplish stuff, isn't it? What is keeping you busy? How could you reorder your schedule this week to achieve even more? If we grasp what true diligence is all about as presented in this Proverb, we may discover that we are simply being hectic sluggards. Here's why. This Proverb describes the diligent person as busy and wise. In other words, a diligent person uses both his brawn and brain. He analyses his situation and makes wise decisions in his labour. He knows how to act and speak in different situations. He doesn't back down from challenges, but seeks to navigate around or through them with ...

Cheering each other on 1. Active or passive, congratulations must be true • Congratulations are affirmations about who people are and what they do matters, and that they are making a valuable contribution toward achieving the shared mission (the goal). • Telling people what a great job they've done or presenting an award is an active congratulation. • Passive congratulations are such things as stepping aside and letting a team member go forward with a tricky, complicated, and important project, without exercising some sort of control or even offering advice. • You can never out do true congratulations – it needs to be timely, responsive, unconditional and enthusiastic. 2. No score, no game, and cheer the progress. • At cricket matches the crowd doesn’t sit silent as the ball is hit down the ground for a six, before clapping and cheering. Cheer the progress, not just the results. Measurement (score) shared with everyone generates excitement. • The more the congratulations ar...

Being in control of achieving the Goal There are three areas to address in achieving goals 1. You need to have a playing field with clearly marked territory. • Goals and values define the playing field and rules of the game. • Leaders decide what position team members play and then leave the field and let the players move the ball. • Freedom to take charge comes from knowing exactly what territory is yours. We need to have the boundaries defined 2. Thoughts, feelings, needs, and dreams are respected, listened to, and acted upon. • You can't be in control unless the rest of the organization supports you and doesn't rip you off, or rip apart your work. • Golden Rule of Management: Value individuals as persons. • Information is the gatekeeper to power. Everybody needs full open access to information. Managers must be willing to give up the levers of control they've worked a lifetime to get hold of. It's tough to be boss without being bossy. People are valued 3....

• Knowing I make a difference in the world – believing the world is a better place because I am here Being worthwhile is about understanding, not the work It is how I help others – not how much I earn The result is self esteem – this is real power • Goal sharing – everyone works towards a shared goal Trust – putting others first –this will lead towards everyone supporting the shared goals. Making sure everyone helps in goal setting – people support what they create. Goals drive you into the future to the place you want to be in. They focus attention and productively. • Values are the guide for decisions and goals and actions Our plans are our future – our values are now Plans are set – values are lived. Plans get us to move on – values keep our focus (they sustain the effort) Values are only effective when you demonstrate them by your behaviour and insist others behaviour the same way. In any successful business values are the real boss. When we get together to do a work it is not the ...

Australian troops at Milne Bay World War 2 - Papuan campaign We remember those who fought for our freedom Australian forces defeated the Japanese attempt to capture the strategic Milne Bay area in August 1942. During the Battle of Milne Bay two brigades of Australian troops, designated Milne Force, supported by two RAAF fighter squadrons and US Army engineers defeated a smaller Japanese invasion force made up of Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces units. This was the first notable Japanese land defeat and raised Allied morale across the Pacific Theatre.