Having A Vision In Life

Sometimes getting up is a real chore isn't it. You know you have to go to the bathroom, have a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and go to work. So you turn off the alarm, sigh, look at the ceiling. Sigh again.

You'd rather stay in bed, wouldn't you, than face the same old same old. It's nice and cosy and warm and you're comfortable. You don't have to do anything except lie there. So you snooze. And the alarm goes off again. And eventually you climb out of bed and just get on with it.

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For more insights and success principles, grab a copy of my book, 'Hoops and Freedom', today at http://www.hoopsandfreedom.com

Too Many Things To Do?

Have you ever felt overwhelmed or over-worked? You have a list of things you 'have' to do but can't seem to be making any progress?

That's how I've felt over the past few days! Having only recently released my first book, 'Hoops and Freedom', I have a project list of 22 things that I would like to get done. Just having a look at that list makes me feel like there is a mountain of work to be done, and the more time and energy I put in to getting those things done, the more new ideas I get on other things that could also be done.

This reminds me of one of the secrets of magic that one of my teacher's, William Whitecloud, conveys in his book 'The Magician's Way' - 'There's isn't anything to do but always action to take'.

That secret basically cuts out everything my ego believes it needs to do and shifts my focus to what I am creating. It is about focusing on my vision or end result, and taking direct action towards it.

Just by remembering that lesson, I was able to compose myself and prioritize what needed to be done. Although the list hasn't got smaller, it is more manageable because I am absolutely clear as to why I want to complete all those action steps. The lesson is to know what it is I am going for, why I am going for it, recognize where I am now in relation to that result, and then just take direct action towards it.

The answers are always really simple but I, like many other people, tend to make things more difficult than it needs to be. Thank you, William, for the lesson.

Until next time, keep taking direct action towards what you'd love to have. For more insights and success principles, grab a copy of my book, 'Hoops and Freedom', today at http://www.hoopsandfreedom.com

Receiving What You Love

It should not come as any surprise that I am a huge basketball fan given that I've just released my first book, 'Hoops and Freedom'. This story is one of my most fondest memories when it comes to realizing that the universe will give you what you love if you are in alignment to receive it.

I want to share my experiences as a volunteer at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (which still stands as the best hosted games ever). Before the Games, in 1999, I applied for a lot of tickets, which included tickets to watch the USA Dream Team play. As it turned out, I did not get any tickets to the basketball but I got a lot of tickets to the track and field events, which is another passion of mine. I was excited that I would be able to watch Michael Johnson, Maurice Green and of course, Australia's own, Cathy Freeman run.

I had also applied to be a volunteer at the track and field events hoping that I would be able to watch some of the events for free. But it was either late 1999 or early 2000 that I received a letter from the organizing committee stating my application to be a volunteer was unsuccessful. I wasn't too disappointed because I knew I would still get to watch a lot of the events including the 200m, 400m and all the relay finals. In fact, I was excited!!

As it turned out, two or three months before the Games were to begin, I received a phone call from a lady who said that they were going through some of the applications from people who wanted to be volunteers but had been unsuccessful. She said that as it happened, they were looking for volunteers for the 'Dome' venue. My initial thought was that it was probably where the badminton or volleyball events were going to be held. I politely asked her what events would be held there and she mentioned badminton, volleyball and a couple of other sports and right at the end, she said 'basketball'. That was it! I accepted the position straight away and she gave me all the instructions on what I had to do in terms of attending training sessions, being measured up for uniforms, getting ID passes etc.

I thought all my Christmases had come at once. My first day as a volunteer, we were shown around the venue and I was like a kid in a candy store. I was so excited just to see the venue, the athletes going through their practice sessions. I remember walking past the Cuban female volleyball team and the players were so tall! My first task for the games were ripping tickets at the door for the basketball games and that was a lot of fun. What then happened was five minutes after the game started, the doors at the front would close, and the volunteers were allowed to stand in the aisle way and watch the game (for free!!). The first couple of days, I saw the Canadian and Australian men's team play, the Australian women's team play.

Then I think it would have been the third or fourth day that the USA Dream Team played. There was such a buzz at the Dome that day and I remember saying hello to Lindsay Davenport (former World No. 1 tennis player) as I ripped her ticket at the door. Once the duties I had been assigned were completed, I raced to the aisle closest to the bench of the Dream Team. That day, one of my life long sporting goal was accomplished as I got to see the best men's basketball team display their skills and creativity. They put on such a show and I could not even believe that I was watching them play for free!! I had a little camera with me and I took a lot of photos of the guys performing on the court. The great thing was that I got to see the Dream Team play three times for free during the preliminary rounds. That indeed was a dream come true.

But that wasn't all. One of the few nights that I was not at the event (I think I wasn't at the event only 5 nights out of 16 or 17 nights), I received a phone call from one of my friends who was at the local ten-pin bowling centre (strange to be going ten-pin bowling when the Olympic Games are on in your backyard!) The first thing he said to me was that I wouldn't believe who just arrived at the bowling Centre. He started rolling off all these names of the Dream Team members. It was a surprise visit which hardly anyone knew about. He said to me that I had to get over there and meet the players. Initially, I hesitated because I wanted to watch the athletics on TV but I didn't need much convincing. Within 25 minutes, I had changed and driven to the Centre (which was close to my home) and as I was walking towards the front door, a young teenage Australian couple looked at me and thought that I was a member of the Dream Team (being bald and dark skinned). The girl wanted my autograph and I politely replied that I was not from the Dream Team and I was just going to play ten-pin bowling. I didn't want too many people to know that the players were already there. I later regretted not signing an autograph for her. That would have been my two minutes of fame!

Inside the Centre, there were only five other people there, with two of them being my friend and his younger brother. The rest of the people were some of the Dream Team players and a couple of team managers. There, I saw Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Gary Payton, Vince Carter, Steve Smith, Shariff Abdur Rahim having fun and really enjoying being out of the spotlight. I had a camera with me and wore a Michael Jordan tee shirt, which I hoped to get autographed, but in the end, I decided to respect their privacy and not bother them. I enjoyed seeing the boys carry on and taunt each other in a friendly way, and it was nice to see that they were guys just like me, wanting to have a good time.

That experience was such a rewarding experience and made me realize that if you have a vision of what you'd love to have and do not give up on that vision, the universe will conspire in some way to give you what you love. You just have to be in a position to receive it. I could have declined my friend's invitation and not gone and missed out on all the fun. But I took action! That was such a good reference for what it is like to get what you love.

I hope you enjoyed that story. For more insights and success principles, grab a copy of my book, 'Hoops and Freedom', today at http://www.hoopsandfreedom.com