From the category archives:

Your Beliefs

Why You Are Free To Jump

I remember standing next to the diving block, staring down at the strong smelly pool water, and being scared out of my mind.
There was no way I was going to jump in.
I could see some of my school friends taking the leap next to me, but they were so much taller that me. (I’m only [...]

A Random Guide To World Domination

‘Happiness is a journey, not a destination’.
The beginning of any year can be a turbulent but invigorating place.
It is the time when we pick over the year that was, piercing out the ruts and cracks that have tripped us up and held us back and tied us down; bad habits, unresourceful mindsets, unconciously poor attention [...]

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Learn To Love Dancing With The Bad Stuff

Have you ever stopped to notice how often you complain about something?
Think back over the past 24 hours and try to remember the conversations you had, not just with other people, but with yourself.
What did you spend your time focusing on? The good stuff? Or the stuff that really made you mad, annoyed, sick, upset, [...]

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Are You Pretending To Listen?

Have you ever had one of those conversations with someone when you knew they were not really listening to a word you were saying? I bet you could almost hear them planning what to say next while you were speaking – their eyes taking on a dull glaze as they wait for a pause.
It’s really [...]

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Do You Secretly Do This In The Shower?

I know you do it.
When you’re home on your own. When you’re certain you won’t be overheard or interrupted by someone walking in on you.
When you strip off all your clothes, draw the curtain (or close the glass door) and stand wet and naked in the steam…
It doesn’t take long before the urge strikes. And [...]

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Is It Really Worth The Sacrifice?

Compromises. You make them all the time – humble little decisions to acquiesce that keep the wheels of life oiled and generous.
You may make a simple compromise over where to go for a meal, or what kind of car you buy or who gets to do the dishes. You may argue a compromise with yourself, [...]

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7 Powerful Reasons To Change The Rules & Start Feeling Great

Have you ever thought about why it really bugs you when your partner leaves the lid off the toothpaste? Or why you are obsessed with being on time while your best friend thinks nothing of always turning up late?
Why does one person live perfectly at ease surrounded by piles of clutter while another would consider [...]

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Warning! These Words Could Magically Improve Your Week

If you read last week’s post about chickens, then you will know that the words we choose to describe ourselves can actually end up caging us in.
They are almost like spells. We can describe ourselves to everyone as “serious” and serious is how we behave. We can magically label ourselves as “broke” and funnily enough, [...]

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Why Being Authentic Hurts Like Hell

There is so much being said in the blogsphere about the importance of being authentic. “You must be truly you”. Why?
Because in a world where connections are made in seconds between complete strangers, there is only one shaky platform upon which this immediate gift of trust is built; the belief that the person behind the [...]

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Wake Up! 7 Ways To Get Your Mind Off Autopilot

“People only see what they are prepared to see.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Have you ever starting off driving in one direction, only to suddenly notice you have taken a completely wrong turn purely out of habit? We can see where we are going, but we haven’t really been watching.
Whenever this happens we usually blame it on [...]

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How Are You Caging Yourself?

If you have an accent, I can tell where you’re from or where you’ve lived. If your speech is highly refined and your vocabulary complex, I can tell you’ve been buffed by your parents or your education to a gleaming shine. And probably you like to read quite a bit.
In the UK especially, the way [...]

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Chris Brogan, Hype and Prima Donnas

Chris Brogan posted the fifth video in his Overnight Success series yesterday, and it really got me thinking about the idea of belief systems and how people get sucked in to the story of their own hyped-up greatness.
You see, coming from the opera biz, I know a lot of people who appear to be huge [...]

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Why “Safe” Doesn’t Move People

Have you ever watched a politician make a speech that sounded like it should have moved you, but it just left you cold? Or a sports player who is technically brilliant but really doesn’t “do” it for you?
I see this all the time in opera – excellent singers who are great at hitting all the [...]

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