We just finished our ANZAC day long weekend here in Australia. The 25th April marks the day Australian and New Zealand troops landed on Gallipoli. In Australia, its a time of remembrance, a time for us all to be grateful for the sacrifices made by service men and women that fought for us at war.

I have never understood the concept of war. However I have always respected and felt a sense of pride whenever i saw the diggers march down the main street every year to bring awareness and help us  commemorate and reflect on the many different meanings of war.

We live in a pretty lucky country and its easy to forget how lucky we really are. There are no bullets flying over our head, we have no starvation and everyone can generally live a “good” life.

The problem with a good life is that we can become complacent. Having a good life handed to you can often lead to taking what you have for granted, which is why i am a big believer in consistently asking yourself the question, “what am I grateful for today?”

A wise person once told me that a good life can often be the enemy of a great life. With a good life we are happy enough to go along with whatever happens, taking things as they come and not necessarily taking any steps to improving our situation.

The truth is you can have so much more in life – you can have a great life! Its my belief that we should be striving for a great life because we have been given the gift of life in the first place. I would go so far as to say that it is our obligation to search for our special gifts that we have been given so that we can share them with the world.

By personally developing yourself you become acutely aware of what your purpose is in life and your purpose, i believe is the gift you leave behind, its your contribution to making the world a better place.

Watching the ANZAC parade last weekend i began to realise the legacy these people had left behind. Its not something they chose but they have the honour of bestowing their gift on all of us.

Choose to strive to be the best version of yourself that you can be and know that you can have a great life!

I found this music video by a classic Australian band, Redgum. Singer songwriter, John Schumann manages to capture the spirit of the ANZAC with his  stirring lyrics in “I was only 19″ . Have a listen and while you watch the images have a think about what you want to do with your life and what legacy you would leave behind

Have you ever been to a football game and watched what happens at half time? In most sports, the team gathers around in a circle and the coach stands in the middle motivating the team for the next half. The coach has the birds eye view perspective over the game and can provide critical input on what is happening in the match -  specifically pointing out what went wrong and what needs to be achieved to overcome the other team.

Its fascinating to watch the transformation in the team after the coach has passed on their words of wisdom and motivation.

Now transfer this method of thinking to your own life. Have you got someone overlooking your life path and commenting on what can be done to improve your game?

Its called having a life coach. The term has been around for a while now and up until about 18 months ago i thought it was just a hyped up business model designed for high end corporate executives to power up their efficiencies in their work life.

They say when the student is ready, the teacher appears and this was certainly the case with me. Like a lot of people i had a lot of emotional struggles and was finding it hard to see the forest from the trees.

I decided to explore the opportunity of having a life coach. Like most things as soon as i started looking, i was provided with the answer.

An amazing person came into my life by the name of Jill Mcintyre. Jill is one of those people that has discovered their purpose in life. She has a genuine gift in being able to help others succeed in everything they do by having the birds eye perspective. Jill is able to peel back the onion and explore every layer in your life and help you discover and define your habits, traits and why you live your life the way you do.

For me it meant taking control of my life again and pointing it in the direction i wanted it to travel. Just being aware of where our beliefs come from and having the tools and understanding to be able to change the way we think is incredibly empowering.

We all have fears and reservations about many things in life; it takes courage and determination to be able to address and explore those fears and by doing so you are opening yourself up to a wealth of opportunities.

I don’t usually promote others on this blog but i feel it would be doing a disservice by not sharing this person’s wonderful talents with others. Having Jill in my life has brought about some incredible changes in the way i think, the way i do and the results i have been achieving.

Having someone over my shoulder encouraging me, supporting me and guiding me gives me the edge in everything i do. Every time i speak with Jill its like the half time break at a footy match. She has a birds eye view and just at the right time i get the perspective i need to help me soar like an eagle.

Its important that we all strive to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. To do this requires the support of others . Life is not a dress rehearsal so make the most with the time you have by utilizing the tools and resources that come into your life.

If you would like a free personality profile done by Jill, click on this link and explore the possibilities! Personality Profile

Last week’s blogpost was all about the importance of family and how precious our loved ones are to us and how frightening it is when we experience the possibility of losing one. Well this week its the flip side…. this week i get to tell you about an addition to our family!

Yep my lovely wife is 14 weeks pregnant and we will be granted the gift of a new member in our family in October!

Its our first so we have some pretty special times ahead and i cant wait to experience them. So don’t be surprised if my blogs start taking a twist revealing some insights to my experiences in becoming a Dad. I am sure there will be plenty of lessons to be learned and i look forward to sharing them with you.

Lesson one has just been to enjoy the moment and start to take it all in. We have known for a couple of months now but i still wake up in the morning and feel enormous gratitude and am in constant awe at what we are creating together.

It really brings home what is important  and forced me to look at how i prioritise my life. Everything slips away into insignificance when you have something of this magnitude come into your life. In the end, nothing else matters so it really feels good to have this perspective on what is important.

What is important in your life? What is it that makes you get up in the morning and keep you focused on only the things that are special in your life?

This scan is from 11 and a half weeks and we have nicknamed the baby LBD for now which stands for Little Break Dancer. The moves it was pulling off in this scan were amazing! Must have got its Mum’s dancing skills

Following on from last weeks post, surrounding yourself with a stadium of supporters i thought i would share an experience i had yesterday that really rammed home how important not just our supporters are but how important the ones closest to us are as well.

Have you ever lost your child in a shopping centre or even lost sight of them for a split second in a crowded area?

Yesterday we were having a lovely day enjoying a bbq out the back of Mum’s house by the river. It was dark and we all had a few drinks and really enjoying the spirit of the night.

Everything changed in an instant though when someone noticed Luke, our youngest member of the clan was missing. Luke is 2 and a half years old and just at the age of wanting to explore everything in sight.

His Mum just popped up the shops briefly and entrusted us to keep an eye on him while she was gone. It only took a few minutes of conversation before we had the realisation he was gone and we all feared the worst.

Everyone swung in to action mode, grabbing torches, running around the complex, knocking on doors, calling out Luke’s name. It was a sickly feeling walking along the river bank with a torch, fearing the worst and hoping he was somehow asleep in his bed upstairs.

It was a good 10 minutes before we got the phone call that little Luke was actually with his Mum at the shops; she made a last minute decision to take him along with her.

The collective sigh of relief filled the air as we stood there contemplating what could have been. For the past 10 minutes we were in a state of panic – inconsolable until we knew what had happened.

When things calmed down i stepped out and looked back at the situation.

It made me realise how vulnerable we are when we let our fears take over our thoughts. Isn’t it interesting to see how our mind copes with different situations. All of us were white with fear of the possibilities and allowed the myriad of worst case scenarios to control our thoughts. Panic was well and truly set in and we would have done anything to know that our Luke was safe.

Thankfully everything turned out fine but there were a few lessons we all took away that night:

* Treasure your loved ones, they are all that matter in life

* Don’t let your fears overpower your thoughts

* When in a state of panic you are at your least effective

These fears are often nothing more than figments of our imagination; quite simply, our mind is producing the chemicals in our bodies to deal with any given situation.

Fear is a primal emotion and has its place in our lives. Its important though, to keep things in context when fear sets in. I often ask myself a question when i am feeling a superficial fear that is holding me back from stepping outside my comfort zone. I simply ask, “Am i safe?” This brings home what is real in my life right now. The answer is always yes and that thought patten ensures my perception of the event does not become my reality.

Put simply my fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.

Have you had an experience where your mind produced so much fear you could not think  straight? I would love to hear your story.

Cheers,

Matt

Woohoo! Its footy season here in Australia now and our national game for those that have never experienced it is Australian Rules Football. I am a mad Brisbane Lions supporter and this weekend i was lucky enough to attend a game in our Queensland capital, Brisbane.

We had second row seats and were entertained for two and a half hours where the game went back and forth all night. There were some tense moments where we were all on the edge of our seat, willing our beloved Lions to succeed. The boys played brilliantly and thankfully it was enough to give us the win.

So why is Aussie Rules footy my topic today? Well as i was sitting there watching the game last night i had a perfect perspective of the entire match. I was in the thick of the boisterous and noisy crowd yet close enough to sense the feeling of the players i was watching. When the Lions dropped off in intensity, the crowd would go quiet and that anticipation spilled over to the players and i could see them start to make errors and lose a little confidence.

On the flip side, whenever we kicked a goal, the crowd would go wild and 36000 people would be on their feet cheering the boys along. I could see the shift in spirit the team was having whenever the crowd got behind them. Their spirits would soar and their confidence grew as the energy of the crowd willed them to win with their passionate voices.

It was an amazing experience being a part of that energy that lifted the team; the chanting, the shouting, the flag waving all contributed to the team’s win at the end of the day.

It made me realise how important it is to have people around us that support what we are doing. Whether we like it or not, the people we hang around with will influence the life we lead so we all need to make a purposeful decision to choose who we allow into our lives.

Having positive, supportive people around us will lift us to a higher standard and make us accountable and confident in the decisions we make. This is especially important when we step outside the usual expectations of society. Its unfortunate but people will sometimes strive to hold you down so that their life is not threatened or affected.

So when you decide to take on something new or decide you want a change in your life, back yourself and surround yourself with people that will back you also. Attracting like-minded people into your life is the first step to achieving your dreams and goals. Life wasn’t meant to be a solo affair and as they say it gets pretty lonely at the top so surround yourself with fun, positive, supportive people  and you will be kicking goals in no time!

Check out the Lions captain, Jonathon Brown getting the crowd inspired… Go the Lions!!