Melbourne Cup, How to pick the winner

In  Australia, where I live, we have an annual horse race in November, the Melbourne Cup, which stops the country.

You have to experience it to believe it. It is an unofficial holiday, with parties at work, almost everyone bets, women wear hats, and there is a TV propped up on the desk come race time….

To back the winner of the Melbourne Cup is easy. You just choose the winning horse. Thousands of people do it every year. So now you know. Too easy.

In my first real journalism job for the local newspaper, I paid $5 to go in to the office sweep and was absolutely delighted to get the winner and win $35, which was a lot to add to my meager pay check as a cadet! The Managing Editor came to congratulate me, but he was mostly annoyed that he had lost $500!

It’s a gamble. And I’ll have some fun every November for this amazing horse race, but it’s not the way I play my life. I like more calculated risks.

How many people, maybe yourself, pay a lot to win, but accept poor odds by doing nothing more than putting the money down? Paid for gym membership and never showed up, bought the book but never read it, attended the conference and never implemented a single suggestion? I have done this!

You are full of good intentions, even willing to part with your money, but then the challenge of making changes, taking action, trips you up... 

There are two reasons why this might happen; 

1. Poor alignment; the plan you had is not right for you.

2. You lack something; help or knowledge or encouragement or understanding or motivation. Something was missing to get you over the finishing line.

If you had everything you needed (no excuses please) then it’s time to look and understand yourself and set more aligned goals.

If you didn’t have everything you needed to achieve, work out what’s missing, and get it!

In both cases, most people miss motivation and understanding themselves. They have the money, they have the good intentions, but they are just gambling and the odds are they’ll lose. I don’t like those odds.

Getting self awareness is a job you choose to do, just like building a business and putting out the garbage. If you do the work, good things flow and bad things get handled (yep – they still happen). With self awareness you will know if you are being tripped up by a lack or poor alignment.

So good luck with the Melbourne Cup, have fun with your flutter, but when it comes to your life, don’t gamble. 

Get a system that helps you understand and get alignment.

4me2realize incorporates these principles.

Picture credits http://www.racingweb.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/masteroreilly.jpg

	CASTALY LOMBE Chief of Makin' it Happen
	Be the change you want to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi

Live Your Why » Don’t Be Afraid to Jump.

Don’t Be Afraid to Jump.

Oct 19 2010

by Castaly Lombe

“Be the change you want to see in the world” – Mahatma Ghandi

I clarified why I’m here in 2007. It is to use my unlimited love and boundless creativity and enthusiasm to move, awaken and open people to the possibilities in themselves and in this amazing world and be an agent for positive change.

When I clarified this into words, it was like a chorus of angels started singing. Suddenly I understood how everything that had happened, good and bad, had conspired to bring me to that point. I could also see very clearly where I was going and what I needed to do. I was so inspired.

My husband and I had established a software company in 1989. It is very successful — #1 in its niche. I had learned tons building the business with him and our amazing team. He was very happy, but I was struggling with motivation. We set up Anti-Chaos Systems in 2006 and its first product flopped. It wasn’t aligned with my purpose. Then, in 2009, we released 4me2realize. What followed has been amazing.

Starting a new venture is full of pitfalls. Most businesses fail in the first 5 years. We are no exception; getting traction has been exasperating. But, do you want to know something really weird? Even though we are just starting and experiencing some real challenges, I am having the best time!

The things that would have once sent me sideways or backwards, both personally and professionally, are just blips on a radar that is guiding me towards a greater vision. Motivation is not a problem. I never work. I am playing everyday, discovering and learning more than I ever have before. It might look like work to some, but if you are coming from your heart it’s just pure joy.

4me2realize is perfectly aligned with my purpose. It helps people realize their potential. In building this business I use all of my God-given skills. I get people all of the time telling us how they connect with and love 4me2realize, how it helps them build the life they love and fulfill their purpose.

I am frugal by nature and my husband and I are investing a lot in 4me2realize. I feel like I have jumped off of a cliff because all my fears about money are free falling. I am shit scared a lot! You take a risk to follow your heart. Then, you discover what it takes to have faith in yourself. After a while, instead of being scared and falling, you start to fly. It is exhilarating.

I don’t want to mislead you; this transformation has had some dark, muddy, slippery, cold and fearful moments. The burning light was and is to clearly follow my purpose. It’s like a guarantee. If I am true to myself, then everything will be alright. I cannot go wrong if my burning desire is true. And there is some pain and resistance and self-awareness that must be unlocked. All I can say is… the seeking is worth the reward.

In today’s busy, competitive world, it’s so easy to get distracted and sidetracked. When I get lost, I go back to my purpose. It gives me comfort, strength, guidance, direction, motivation and determination.

What is really weird is that once you get hooked into your Why, it doesn’t really matter what you do, or what other people think. Conventional definitions of success and failure melt away. You have your own yardstick. Your life purpose doesn’t limit you to one thing — it frees you to do what makes your heart sing, whatever that may be.

With heart singing passion, joy, love and enthusiasm,

Castaly Lombe

PS Here’s a poem that sums up everything 

One Hundred Possibilities, One Authentic Life

When you think there is only one option
There are walls and limitations.

There are one hundred possibilities
for you to realize your potential.

How do you transform boundaries
into boundless opportunities?

Let your thoughts run free
as they were meant to be: creatively.

When you have one hundred possibilities
pick the one that suits your best. Be true to you.
Know WHY you do what you want to do.

When you have one hundred possibilities,
You have a choice.
Choose who you are, Choose how you will live.
Choose your rules. Choose the meaning.

When you have one hundred possibilities,
you have to decide –
Who do you want to be? What’s important?
When do you let go and move on?
Change. Take responsibility.

When you have one hundred possibilities,
you have to take action.
Action that resonates and motivates.
Action that inspires and frightens you.
Action that ignites the fires of creation and brilliance
that for so long lay dormant within you, softly burning.
Massive action that stuns you from the stupors of mediocrity.

When you have one hundred possibilities
the chains that shackle you break.
Your heart opens.
When you have one hundred possibilities
you can live one, authentic life.

Source: http://liveyourwhy.com/

	CASTALY LOMBE Chief of Makin' it Happen
	Be the change you want to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi

  

 

What is more important, your life or your money?

Do you do business? Involved in the business world in anyway? Have you ever bought or sold something? Then you know that in this world everything revolves around one thing, a financial transaction. Nothing happens until something is sold. (Really?)

And when something is sold, a record is kept, a financial record. Where would the world be without financial systems? Started by the Egyptians more than 3 thousand years ago, and still going strong! They track every transaction, every nuance of buyer behaviour and market favour.

No one would start a business and get very far without a financial system in the background, ticking over, recording every sale, creating balance sheets, profit and loss reports, budgets, monthly and yearly reports. Taking the financial pulse of every artery of business, letting us know those vital statistics, allowing us to make adjustments, chart our course and create wealth and success, and avoid failure and ruin.

Wouldn’t you agree these financial systems are VERY important.  But it is ONLY money. There is one thing even more important, YOUR LIFE.

What system do you have for your life?

If your life is worth MORE than MONEY, why wouldn’t you treat it with MORE respect, more importance, time, consideration, priority? Hmm.... thought provoking I hope.

Because my life is more important than anything I own, I have developed a system that tracks my EMOTIONAL transactions. You see -  there is more to life than financial transactions.....MUCH MORE.

I get a balance sheet of my Life, assets, liabilities, expenses and income, in terms of who I am and who I want to become, my strengths and weaknesses. What I get and what I give when I contribute my talents to the world.... I have my budget on goals, aspirations and achievements and reports on projects & progress. I can see where I need to make adjustments in spending – emotional energy that is wasted and where there are opportunities for self development.

I record my assets in magic moments and my expenses in wisdom and lessons learned. I live fully. Just like a well run business, I track my transactions to achieve my fullest potential.

If you have a business head, have you ever thought about a system that would help you run your life like you run a business? A life management system?

Since the Egyptians humans have been creating systems, since Aristotle, humans have sought improvement in higher realms, ourselves.

Combine systems with self development and you empower yourself to achieve your fullest potential. 

4me2realize combines a life management system, technology and psychology. What’s missing? Only You.

Kindest regards

Cas

Castaly Lombe -  Chief of Makin' Things Happen

Director Anti-Chaos Systems Pty Ltd

 

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi

Phone +61 1 300 344 070  www.4me2realize.com

How heavy is it?

source : http://www.lostartsmedia.com/images/NatureInLove01.jpg

Have you ever noticed how bad stuff gets more attention than good stuff? It weighs more somehow. Why is this?

My husband and I were in travelling with a group in Germany when we found ourselves in the midst of a fight, over something silly, yet it absorbed all our attention. We didn't notice the glistening snow, or the beautiful forest or our smoky cold breath hanging in the icy air. We talked and thought all about this problem we had with these people.

When we became aware that we were immersed in this crap, we asked why... the key is asking good questions....and we could see a pattern, that when ever there is a problem it gets more of our attention. More than when there is something good happening.

We put it down to a biological legacy driven by the need to survive. Back in "cave man" days problems had to be solved to ensure the survival of the social group.  But the problems we were giving all our emotional attention and energy were not a matter of survival, they were just plain silly. What amazed us is how we had got sucked into this emotional vortex. And we got out. We stopped focusing on this silly problem, decided what we would do, and got on with more enjoyable things.

People are much more motivated by pain than pleasure, sad but true. You get much more attention if you're "clinically depressed,' rather than coping and thriving! You buy newspapers and magazines that relish bad news. It's so intriguing when someone else has cocked up! Media magnets know this so well. They make millions from our inherent interest in bad stuff.

But at the end of the day it is a CHOICE. Your choice. What you invest your emotional energy in defines you. Ask yourself, what are you choosing to focus on and what meaning are you giving it? Are these thoughts dragging you down or building you up? Choose to build. Reject thoughts that destroy. Learn whatever lesson is there for you and then move on. Your emotional energy is just as important as your physical vitality. Are you fat and lazy with your thinking? Are you feeding your brain junk food?

Become aware of what your brain and thinking is consuming and producing. What are you reading and listening to? Is it building or destroying you? What are you thinking, positive or negative?

My son had a bad dream when he was little. He was frightened to go back to sleep again. As I sat with him he visualised the bad dream, then we got a big black imaginary marker and drew a big black imaginary cross right over those bad thoughts. We crossed them right out. He realised he had POWER to CHOOSE what he was thinking about and to turn off destructive frightening thoughts. This was an amazingly simple, powerful life lesson and he uses it all the time.

Personally, I restrict the news I listen to, the people I let into my inner circle, the amount of advertising I see. I have chosen the place I live to give me peace and serenity. I read and view television and internet content selectively and I minimise the time I spend there. I am discerning. I exercise rigorously my right to CHOOSE what my mind consumes. This discipline frees me to create the life I want.

The bad stuff can consume a disproportionate weight of your attention. That's natural as you learn the lesson, but don't get stuck enjoying the dramatic weight of bad stuff. Move on.   

4me2realize helps you become aware of the weight and impact of your thinking. Use it regularly to exercise your right to choose, the discipline to create the life you want to realize.

 Kindest regards

Cas

Castaly Lombe -  Chief of Makin' Things Happen

Director Anti-Chaos Systems Pty Ltd

 

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi

Phone +61 1 300 344 070  www.4me2realize.com

What story are you buying?

I recently looked at some face creams and treatments that promised to make me more beautiful and less wrinkly. The asking price was nearly $1000. I was attracted to the promise of a more youthful visage.

It got me thinking what was driving my attraction? If I am more “beautiful” with less wrinkles, what then? Do I get more compliments, more sex, do I feel better? Does it take $1000 worth of wrinkle treatment for me to “feel” better?

You see, I can’t see my face. Unless I look into a mirror, my face is completely hidden to me. BUT everyone else sees my face. So, the premise goes.... how my face looks affects what everyone else sees and thinks about me.

And we all want to be liked right? So there lies the appeal of a youthful visage, to look more beautiful, the assumption is we will be more liked, loved, wanted, accepted, approved of, admired... all in a pot of cream for $1000. No wonder people buy it, but what you are really buying is a story.

I once met a lady heading for 100 years who was one of the most beautiful people I have ever met. She could whistle like an angel and was a fighter for good causes. We sat in the sun and she and told me her philosophy on life. Her eyes twinkled with life and joy. Her inner beauty transcended her stooped figure, wrinkles, grey hair, her shaky hands. She was a delight and a lesson that true beauty is an inner quality that transcends all outer appearances. We all recognise true beauty when we see it, but it is not something that fits a definition, because truth and beauty are uniquely individual.

We all know “beautiful people” we avoid because of their ugly personalities. So being beautiful on the outside is not automatically going to deliver you happiness and love. And a good thing too, as physical beauty is a fleeting thing!

So pots of creams, the wraps, the clothes, the house, the car, are external things sold on hope and the “unstated” premise that this accessory will win you what you already possess, love, approval, appreciation, recognition, security. It really is a scam of the most outrageous proportions.

We lust after external things because we are seeking feelings, internally. But looking for them in the external world is an unfulfilling quest, because it is never ending.

Could I just feel good about myself even though I have wrinkles, spots and blemishes? Absolutely yes. Will people avoid me, dismiss me, reject me if I look old? Absolutely not. Yet the beauty industry is worth globally thousands of billions of dollars. It trades on our insecurity.

Don’t get me wrong I love my face creams, make up and the way I feel when I dress up. But I don’t buy the story. I am not less if I look my age. I am not fighting my age. I accept my age, embrace it, love it. I earned it!

Have you ever noticed there appear to be two worlds? The one inside you and the one outside you? What I feel about myself, my life, my world, depends on what I think internally. This is an insider’s game. If I think I am beautiful, then I am.

All the things we seek externally, love, admiration, approval, acceptance, security, respect and recognition, are the things we lack internally. Finding a way to them from within is critical to fulfilment and happiness that doesn’t end when the pills or potions do.

When the sales woman asked me what I was worried about, wrinkles? I answered “No, not wrinkles, my wrinkles were being taken care of by my failing eyesight!” What I was really after was something that would make my sensitive aging skin “feel” nice in our very dry and cold climate. If the $1000 cream does that, then I will buy it knowing what I am really buying into.

If you are on a path of finding happiness from your internal world, then 4me2realize can help you on your journey.


Picture credit to http://thump01.pbase.com/g6/74/450574/3/75063618.RpANKH8Y.jpg

Kind regards
Cas

Castaly Lombe
Chief of Makin' Things Happen

Anti Chaos Systems Director
"Be the change you want to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi
Phone +61 1 300 344 070  www.4me2realize.com

Connection, the ultimate gift to yourself.

A few weeks ago I wrote about defining your Life Purpose in response to some Realizers who struggled with the very first question, “What is your Life Purpose?”

I want to cover another aspect of this important, first, momentous step. The importance of which was brought home to me one early rainy Sunday morning when I wandered down through wet paddocks, to our remote brown river with a very good friend, stripped off and swam and talked nakedly about the importance of connection to one’s self...a fitting spiritual start to the day’s divinity. First I want to assure you... you already know what your Life Purpose is, at some level, you know. Your whole brain, body, heart and soul and every experience you have ever had up to now, has defined your Life Purpose. You know what it is, it is inside you. You were created out of the dust of the universe to achieve Your Life Purpose. If that’s too cosmic for you, think of it as your God given Purpose.

The problem is in our “busy” world you might not have ever consciously sought it out. To find it, you have to reconnect with yourself. This connection is tricky, especially in today’s noisy world. In some ways we spend our whole lives trying to connect with our inner selves and to know ourselves truly. It is no accident that Anthony Robbins starts his signature Unleash the Power Within event with the stated outcome “Know thy self!” Hardly original, but as true and relevant today as it was 2000 years ago!

To know yourself you have to have some connection with yourself. I imagine your life is a lot like mine. I juggle many responsibilities, there is a never ending demand on my time and attention, the phone is ringing, there are constant SMS and email messages demanding an instant response. People have expectations of me and rely on me for their living.

There is always a pile of washing, grass to be cut and houses to be cleaned. There is television, radio news in the car, DVD’s, You Tube and a million other distractions. How the hell to cut through all this stuff and get connected to yourself? Connecting with yourself almost seems like another unrealistic demand in an already overwhelmed world...

1. Value yourself. Your are worth it. You deserve it
2. Make Time. Make some space. Come up for air.
3. Understand everything benefits from giving time to yourself.

Recognise that contemplative time for yourself is as important as time with your partner or time at work. The others all suffer if you are measly with yourself.
 
To find your Life Purpose is to free yourself, to allow you to be True to thyself, and allow your inner light to shine. There is a noble purpose to this exercise that reaches far beyond yourself and to the universe as you unlock the gifts and talents you have to give...which makes it very satisfying.
 
In your decisions lies your destiny. Decide now that the self is central and take action on that priority. If you don’t have a Life Purpose then you haven’t done it yet...
 
Timothy Ferriss wote The 4-Hour Work Week, which became a NY #1 best seller. In it he says “Are you inventing things to do to avoid the important?”
 
“Being busy is often used as a guise for avoiding a few critically important but uncomfortable actions.” Ask yourself, am I hiding behind busyness?
 
Sometimes creating a Life Purpose may make you uncomfortable. You sit staring at the blank page or screen, looking at far away vistas while searching desperately for the true internal self. You squirm.
 
It is far easier to turn on the TV, go and eat something, do something else, like clean the house, or send an email, surf the internet.

David Whyte’s Book “The Three Marriages” describes knowing the self as “the most difficult marriage of all” the other two being with our partner and work.

“All of our great contemplative traditions advocate the necessity for silence in an individual life; first, for gaining a sense of discernment amid the noise and haste, second, as a basic building block of individual happiness, and third, to let this other all-seeing identity (ourselves) come to life and find it’s voice inside us.....It can be disconcerting or even distressing to find....this internal marriage (with ourself) calls for a kind of cessation, a stopping, a fierce form of attention that attempts to look at where all this DOING arises from. For the busy mind, for instance, it is almost impossible or even painful.”
 
Mr Whyte’s vocation as a poet makes his writing lyrical as he recognises our universal struggle to identify and connect with our true voice.
 
No amount of software can help you uncover your Life Purpose. Time and contemplation, stillness and “fierce attention” are the keys. So turn off the TV, radio, computer, phone, go to the park or the paddock, the river or the beach, go to the mountain or into the forest. Listen to beautiful music or silence. But hold fast to your desire to find your shining light within, to call it a name, to define it and live by your true nature.

Once you know what your Life Purpose is, 4me2realize will help you align everything you do with it. From that point on life becomes a lot easier. You may even find you do less and have more. You are less busy because you are more focused on a clearly defined Purpose. You will have the gift of empowering clarity. It is the antidote to a busy life, a fulfilled life.

 Tough it may be, worthwhile it is.

I like Timothy Ferriss description of laziness “to endure a non-ideal existence and let circumstances or others decide life for you....”

All these principles are incorporated in 4me2realize.

Why not try it now, click here to try it now? 4me2realize 60 Days FREE TRIAL

And if you order now you’ll get 3 months of free on-line support and a year of FREE upgrades.

Kind regards

Cas

Journal Writing - Power and Pitfalls

This letter is 795 words and will take you two and a half minutes to read. It gives insights on the power and pitfalls of writing journals.

The Pros and Cons of Keeping a Diary

Thursday 2 December 2010 From my Canberra desk

G’day,

Many people think of journaling as a “Dear Diary” type of self absorbed and useless exercise. And it can be that. Or it can be a gift of clarity. The difference between the two is structure and discipline.

I have used a journal for years. The developmental stages of my journal charts my personal growth. In my youth, it was a completely unstructured, self absorbed, stream of consciousness narrative. Reading back is nauseating! In my middle years it became more structured and positive, starting with a section on gratitude. No longer seriously self absorbed  but probably not that riveting to anyone else but me. And that’s Ok, it’s for my eyes only.

And while this was a wonderful improvement, I was still having problems. It was hard to track progress on individual goals in my life, it was chronological rather than subject organised. It was hard to remember and look up particular life lessons learned or anything else, no search function! It wasn’t secure and subject to getting lost or read by others! And it was painfully slow and time seems to be speeding up and I had less to spend journaling!

Journals are however priceless when it comes to problem solving and that’s why they survive. You can have a conversation with yourself, stating the problem, and then systematically raising and evaluating solutions.

Because you have to write it down, you have to slow down your thinking. This is very beneficial. Our thoughts are lightning fast. It’s not till you really question your thinking, make the unconscious conscious, that you realize how your thinking is influencing your actions.

Everything starts with a thought.

Not all our thinking serves us well. Slowing down your thinking by writing will help people identify more clearly what is driving or not serving them.

That’s where the second tenant of journal writing comes into effect. Using structure and discipline will stop you sliding into self centred absorption. Ideally you want your writing to slow your thinking so you can identify the things that serve you and those that don't in your thinking and behaviour. There is a trap, in self centred writing, to use the writing medium to justify yourself to yourself. Not very searching, but satisfying if you are content to stay where you are.

By using structure in your journal, you are being guided to analyse your thinking and your actions with an intellectual discipline. If your goal is to buy a house and you’re no closer to you outcome; what would you prefer, to know your right in whatever story you tell yourself, or identify the thinking and behaviour which is limiting you from achieving your goal?

At the end of the day it's your choice. You have to accept the rescue.

My final journal development is 4me2realize. It solves the problems I was having with my journal. It is secure, protected, can’t be lost and it’s structured. I can look at entries by subject or in chronological order, like a normal daily journal. It also helps analyse what I do in relation to my Life Purpose, which gives me clarity. It also helps me see when I am engaging the behaviours that help me and those that do not serve me. It took me a while to “realize” that this system was better that what had taken me years to develop, but when I did, I was hooked.

4me2realise is great for people who are not good at writing, or don’t like writing. The entries can be short and quick and 4me2realize will link them to your overall goals and projects. You can quickly see what you are doing and what is working for you and what is not happening. The journal writing will give you clarity and 4me2realise will pull all your life together into a meaningful whole. After all, you life is not separate bits, but a whole, marvellous life.

It’s your life to be lived, enjoyed and realized.

All these principles are incorporated in 4me2realize.

Why not try it now, click here to try it with a 60 day money back guarantee.

4me2realize 60 Days FREE TRIAL

And if you order now you’ll get 3 months of free on-line support and a year of FREE upgrades.


Kind regards
Cas