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

  

 

You are a lot like a rock, or not?

Most people think of rocks as ordinary, plentiful, basic, unchangeable, hard and uncompromising, massive, dependable, solid, certain.... maybe?


And maybe not. If you take notice, there are millions of types of rocks. That’s because they are changing ALL the (long) time in response to many variables. For example the rocks in some places of the earth’s crust are plastic, bending, flexing, moving continents, creating tsunamis.


Changing rocks is known as the metamorphic process. It combines the rock’s original state with time, pressure, moisture, temperature and chemicals to produce an endless variety of new rocks that is simply astounding.


You are a lot like a rock; you are a unique combination of pre-existing conditions like genetics, location, social environment, beliefs and experiences, just like a rock is a unique combination of chemicals formed in different environmental conditions.


And just like a rock, you can be metamorphed, over time to something entirely different according to the combination of actions around you and your unique self.


Unlike rock, you have choice. (How ironic, that biblical no-know, free will....) So you are not something that is passively subjected to time, pressure, moisture, temperature and chemicals. Or is that social conditions, genetics, environment, beliefs, experiences, location?


You, unlike a rock, have a choice of what to make of what happens to you. What happens to you is, of course, created by you to facilitate your own growth, even if you are not aware of this.


What you make of this depends on your choices. A rock is a logical and definable entity. We know exactly how much pressure is required to turn carbon into diamonds. Human nature (psychology) is not so logical or definable. No one knows exactly what you will do under pressure. Will you become more determined or give up? The choice is yours. And through your decisions, your destiny is created.


There are times when we all feel like rocks – hardening our resistance to change and growth. But even rocks can and do change. And what they become is quite often miraculous.


Start your own metamorphism. Understand where you are now, visualise your destination. Get clear on your current attributes and the ones you will need to create your desired future. If this all sounds like too much work, you can do 2 things, sit there like a rock and let it all happen to you, OR get 4me2realize and use it to start EASILY creating the future of your dreams.....


Rock on (sorry), Kind regards

Cas – a diamond in the makin’

P.s. This is impressive.... Most natural diamonds are formed at high-pressure high-temperature conditions existing at depths of 140 to 190 kilometers (87 to 120 mi) in the Earth mantle. Carbon-containing minerals provide the carbon source, and the growth occurs over periods from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years (25% to 75% of the age of the Earth). Now I appreciate my diamond ring!

Picture credits http://musingsatapicnic.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/heart-rock.jpg ;  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Brillanten.jpg


      

  

What do you see in the Mirror?

There is a great book called the E-myth by Michael Gerber. If you run a business or want to, it is a MUST read, especially for small to medium sized business. If you want to one day be big, then Good to Great by Jim Collins is also an absolute MUST.

In E-myth Michael explains that a business, whatever it is, is an extension of yourself, your own personal beliefs and your own world view. Your business will reflect you.

When I looked at the business my husband and I had built, I could see it was true. A lot of the beliefs, values and characteristics of US, were ingrained into the corporate culture of our business, honesty, hard work, perseverance. Standard stuff, but we also had; daring to be different, fun, commonsense, and caring! These were unique to us and our business.

Our business very much reflected our strengths.... AND our weaknesses. So if our business wasn’t performing, we had no further to look, than ourselves. Sobering stuff. But also liberating....

If there are things around you, in your business, your job, your relationship, your health or wealth that are not proceeding as you would like them, the first place to look for solutions is within yourself.

In most cases, what appears around you, is a reflection of what is inside you. What at first appears external, is in fact very much influenced by your internal reality. The good news means that it can change. That’s liberating.

The hard lesson, is that to change anything in your world, the most effective place to start, is with yourself. For many people, it is easier to blame the economic climate, their partner, their boss, their parents, for their predicament. It is easier, but not effective.

When we try and change we come up against RESISTANCE. At this point most people resign themselves to the “way things are” and do their best to cope. Successful people are different. They use strategies and systems that make changing their internal reality and therefore their external circumstances, easy and effective. Drat them, it’s actually natural for them.

The happy news is, these systems and strategies can be learned, used and implemented by anyone with the will.

Using 4me2realize will guide you everyday to adopt habits, strategies, thinking, behaviour and systems that will make changing your circumstances easier and more fun than a tonne of excuses!

Get into the habits of the highly successful, design your own life and live on your terms.

Let me know what external circumstances you have found that reflect your internal reality and what you did or are doing to change it.

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

Too Busy to be better bullshit

This is 417 words, will take you less than 2 minutes to read and is about being too busy to improve your life.

Too Busy to be better bullshit

What stops you improving your life, increasing your happiness, creating more loving relationships, advancing your career or education, maintaining optimum health and fitness, carefully crafting abundance and wealth?

Most people tell me they’re too busy! To be blunt, that’s bullshit.

Busyness is a choice. A very popular choice too! It’s almost a national epidemic.

A long time ago I became aware that when I was asked “How are you?” I said without thinking, apologetically and always “I’m Busy!”

I decided to change that. I’m busy by choice, so no more apologising. I like being busy, to me it equates with a full life lived richly! But I didn’t like being stressed so I decided to focus on the things that were important to me. I’m still busy but a lot more fulfilled and a lot less stressed... This took me a few years to work out and a lot of courage to carry out. But really anyone can do it and it doesn’t need a few years to work it out.

Busyness is often a symptom. It’s a story you tell yourself to avoid having a real conversation about what is really meaningful in your life. It’s an excuse to delay some overdue soul-searching. Busyness often is a euphemism for chaos, clutter in our life that overwhelms us. You probably are busy, but busy with WHAT?

Here’s a checklist to try if you have the busyness bug.

1. Is all this busyness getting me to where I want to go? Do I Know where I am going? Do you have a life purpose?
2. Do I like and know what I’m doing, or am I on auto pilot? 
3. Do I have a system that helps me get clarity about what I do and don’t do! 
4. Have I got my goals written down?  
5. Do I review them regularly, to keep me on track? 
6. Do I have a good reminder system, to keep me on track?
7. What do I need to change? What is wasting my time?

The first and last questions are really important and I could write many words on just this! Another day perhaps! After all.... I don’t want to waste your time, you’re so busy! Let me just say, you can use 4me2realize to beat the busyness bug by getting focused on what’s really important in your life.

So now when people ask me “How are you?” I say “Great thanks, busy doing the things I love, how are you?” And then they say..... “Busy!”

My Life Purpose

This article is 795 words and will take you about 2 minutes to read and will help you create an amazing driving, inspiring Life Purpose, the foundation up on which you can with clarity and focus build the rest of your amazing life...

What is the Purpose of your LIFE? BIG question.

I can’t tell you the number of people who stumble at this point. Stare at the screen for hours. Give up.

My advice is to persist, preserve. The reward is just amazing.

 When you nut it out, it is like sunlight streaming through clouds, you may hear an orchestra playing or angels singing. Your heart is light as a feather. Everything falls into place. You may laugh, you may cry with relief.

 Well that’s what happened to me. Everything made sense, all my life’s mistakes and achievements all meant something. I could see them leading me to this point and I could clearly see a path ahead. It was an enlightening, joyful moment. I wanted to share it with everyone I was so excited!

 A lot of people who love their jobs confuse their work with their life purpose. What you have to tease out is “what is it about my work that I love?” What are the essential elements unique to me, that I love?

 On the weekend I meet an old friend who is a press photographer. He’s been working for the same local paper for over 20 years. He isn’t just taking pictures, he wouldn’t still be there if it was “just” a job. He is a remarkable individual. Everyone loves and knows him. If I was to analyse him, his life purpose may be “to creatively portray and interpret the world in a way that captures, connects and moves people deeply to reflect and transform their own lives.”

 Notice, there is nothing about taking pictures in his Life Purpose? His camera just happens to be his current “tool” of choice... He can do this with any tool, in any role, with his kids, his wife, in his retirement, and today working for the local newspaper. And it sums him up perfectly, taking fantastic photos and connecting people throughout the local community. It isn’t just about him, but also about what he gives to the world through his talents.

 If you hate your job, then think about the things you love doing. Surfing? Horse riding gardening, painting pictures, helping people? What really turns you on? What gets you out of bed in the morning without an alarm clock?

Now what is it about these things that you love? What is behind it? What is essential to your character that is being satisfied when you do this activity? When you find that, you have found an element of your life purpose. Hooray!

 Craft it into some words. Take your time. This is your precious life.

 When I looked at my life, the things I loved best were writing and communicating to effect positive change. It was a common thread across several DIFFERENT careers, including motherhood, journalism and running a company. Creating change really turned me on and that is the main element of my Life Purpose today, to change the world and make it a better place... I do this by improving myself, raising great kids, running a successful business, selling my software. It encompasses everything I do and it so turns me on!

Your Life Purpose should encompass ALL aspect of your life, whatever life stage you are at, or whatever job you are doing. For example, selling Avon, as I did as a student, gave me many skills I later used in journalism! Being persistent was one! So it doesn’t matter if you are doing a job which isn’t your perfect job, because if you have a clearly defined Life Purpose, you’ll find the things in this job, that you have to learn, to get you to where you want to go...

Don’t limit your Life Purpose to the job you are doing, make sure it includes WHO you are when you are a lover, partner, parent, retired, working, playing, relaxing, being the one, true, unique, marvellous, amazing individual that is, the remarkable, ONLY YOU!

 Good luck with the Big Question, when you get it right, the small stuff is easy and it no longer dictates your life.


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

How do you achieve balance without joining the circus?

618 words, about one and a half minutes to read

Thursday 19 November 2009 from my Michelago desk at 3.30pm

G’day,

Life balance is a often used phrase these days as we struggle to juggle life’s demands while walking the work/life balance tightrope. Sometimes it seems just another unachievable concept to tease and stress you!

(Source http://www.popartuk.com/)

Life balance is often measured using the wheel. The exercise involves dividing your life into categories and scoring your level of satisfaction in each category. Like in the wheel below.... then you find out, is your wheel balanced or wonky?

The theory is that a balanced wheel is where all areas of your life are scored evenly, and that a wonky wheel suggests areas of correction. This can be useful if you are aiming for a balanced wheel! But it can also be rather arbitrary, subjective and not so helpful. In my opinion, it misses the point!

What if you are a professional swimmer? Then Health and Fitness category, by necessity, would be maybe 75% of your life balance and many other things would score lowly, because this is what you must do to achieve excellence! You have to focus on what you want to achieve. This isn’t a wonky wheel or a life out of balance, this is a life designed around achievement of specific goals. The point is not getting a balanced life, but first deciding what you want and then balancing your life, actions and decisions to achieve what you want.

Rather than getting stressed about balance, it is much better to decide on what you want and then balance your life toward the achievement of these goals. This can be a huge revelation and reducer of stress.

The same applies to a woman who has made her priority to be a stay-at-home mum. Her Life Balance will be overwhelmingly weighted towards looking after the children and the home. Her career/work category is going to score low and there is nothing wrong with that if that is what she wants. If it’s not what she wants, then it’s time to reorganise.

The wheel can be a useful tool, but it is important to also remember that all of us go through different stages of life balance. For example, consider the Life balance in each of the following three cases...


Thee circles represent the time and energy three people in very different circumstances would spend on their career, recreation and relationships. The time they allocate is affected by Life stages and their own aspirations, not a subjective and arbitrary notion of Life Balance.

You see, how you run your life is entirely up to you and where you are at in your life and what you are trying to achieve.

When you use 4me2realise, we take the guesswork out of Life Balance. As you journal, especially against your goals and projects, you note how much time you dedicated to this. At any point you can see how much time you have spent on a project, on a big goal and in any Life Balance category you care to create. In this way you can assess and decide if your life is unbalanced or perfectly balanced to achieve your goals.

If your goal is to improve your finances yet you consistently spend most of your time in health and reaction, well it’s time to get real! 4me2realize doesn’t tell you what to do, but it very clearly helps you see what you are doing and get alignment with what you want.

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

Help! What is my Purpose?

Hello everyone, my name is Iris Lisle and I am the person in charge of Operations and Marketing Communications at Anti Chaos Systems, the company that created 4me2realize. If you want to know more about me, I’m on facebook.

I have just started using 4me2realize and found it so useful for myself. And just to share with some of you, I found it confronting when prompted to fill out the ‘Purpose’ bit within the software. And yet I am so blessed to be asked this question....”What IS my Purpose?”.... Many people go through 50, 60 even 80 years of life without taking some time to think or have been privileged to be confronted with this question.

It took me a while to figure this out. But honestly, the first word that came to my mind was "serve". My Purpose is to Serve! It took me about a week and a half to perfect my description and it now has 68 words which captures the essence of my Purpose. Really it doesn’t matter how many words I can type in to describe my Purpose, it is about soul searching deep down, taking some ME time to take a step back and reflect; WHAT IS MY PURPOSE? It is being privileged enough to be confronted with this question. It is about knowing your CORE.

When you fill out your Purpose, do not be alarmed if you go blank! That’s what the system does, it makes you think and think really deeply. It gives you the opportunity to reflect (actually it forces you to!) every time you use it.


The hardest bit for me was seriously, the Purpose.

After that, it was a breeze!

I login to 4me2realize as frequent as I check my emails and facebook account. It keeps me honest, on check, on track and accountable.

It’s a wonderful system. I’ll keep you updated with my journey with using 4me2realize.

Cheerios
Iris