“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” Mark Twain

Fear is not the enemy- it’s our comrade. Fear comes not with the aim to stop us in our progress but as a means or reminder for us to create greater awareness. The feelings that fear bring are real we cannot deny how we feel. However, the reason we are fearful is no more real than the thought that has created it to exist.

Use fear to assess the situation but don’t let how you feel stop you or hinder your advancement. Actually, it would be better to use fear as a sign that you must take action because whatever fear that exists now will only reappear in absence of action. The reason why fear exists is only based on assumption and thought and if you really what to remove it action will prove assumption wrong.

Fear is simply your ego trying to protect it’s own definition and we shouldn’t allow our ego to get in the way of work that needs to be done to live the life we truly desire.

Enjoy this little dose of inspiration.

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Summary

Lee Cockerell is the former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World Resort. As the Senior Operating Executive for ten years Lee led a team of 40,000 Cast Members and was responsible for the operations of 20 resort hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping & entertainment village and the ESPN sports and recreation complex in addition to the ancillary operations which supported the number one vacation destination in the world.

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One of Lee’s major and lasting legacies was the creation of Disney Great Leader Strategies which was used to train and develop the 7000 leaders at Walt Disney World. Lee has held various executive positions in the hospitality and entertainment business with Hilton Hotels for 8 years and the Marriott Corporation for 17 years before joining Disney in 1990 to open the Disneyland Paris project.

He is now dedicating his time to public speaking and writing, having recently published three books. Lee also performs leadership and service excellence workshops and consulting for organisations around the world as well as for the Disney Institute.

There is no question that Lee has a great deal of knowledge and experience that we could all take something from. Enjoy this chat and please let me know your thoughts.

Key Take Outs

• On being organised in life. Being organised is a learnt skill, if you are not organised you can improve in this area. The fact is that we all have the exact same number of hours in the day yet some people get more done and seem to live with more balance than others, the reason for this is that they are either organised or very fortunate to have a team of people around them to assist them with this. I believe being effective allows you to become more purposeful in life.
• Know your core values. If you are not aware of what is important to you in life than you may always find yourself doing things that are not important and this is a sure way to achieve less. Know your values, know your visions and then with some level of discipline and purpose focus on those things first and foremost. You will notice the difference that this has on your life.
• Learn to be disciplined. Discipline for me was taught to me. I learnt it and I think this is something I should be grateful for as I don’t believe it’s as common with younger generations. We can become more disciplined without the need of punishment by another if we fail to act.

Firstly, it’s important that you know your desires and to know your values. This will make it easy to take action as required. And like most skills it is progressive, so start disciplining yourself with smaller more actionable tasks and then as you build your discipline spread wider. Most of us don’t like doing the shit work and will always make time for the fun and this is what often separates the successful from the unsuccessful, they persevere and discipline themselves through the bad as well as the good.

• Build trust. According to Lee it takes time to build trust. You will build it by being open with people. Being integral with who you are being and what you’re doing will build a greater level of trust among others. “Be more then you do.” People are always watching, if you are incongruent with what you say your credibility will be shot. Say as you do and really just be human, don’t allow the dark sides to show in stages of adversity.

Do you have any routines and rituals that you believe contribute to your success?

Scheduling his day and keeping to routines. Exercise, good diet and sleep are important aspects of this.

What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?

Be more open minded. You can be more than you expect. Don’t underestimate the influence you have on other people.

Lee’s interpretation of success

I am complete. I have family and we are all good shape.

What is your number one productivity advice?

Have solid routines.

What advice would you give someone that needing/wanting to make change?

Decide what you want to become an expert in.

Quick round questions

Favourite Food

Meatloaf with green beans and mash potato.

Favourite Leisure Activitiy

Holidaying and relaxing.

Favourite book(s)

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel

Quote

“It’s never too late to get better.”

Do we all have a why?

Yes. You have to figure out what it is but when you do life will be great. Wake up everyday and think about how you can make life better for others.

What does living life with passion and purpose mean?

By adding value to peoples lives. Being a teacher.

How to find Lee and other links

You can find out more about Lee at his website here.  

If you are interested in finding more freedom, fulfilment and happiness in your life take the opportunity to jump on the Discovery Call. Valued at $250, this is a one on one coaching session to help you define your hidden why and discover the action steps to getting your there. Here is the link to schedule a time that suits. 

“Many of us feel stress and get overwhelmed not because we’re taking on too much because we are taking on too little of what really strengthens us.” Marcus Buckingham

The lifestyles that we live can be so consuming and so overwhelming to the point that we become stressed, burnt out and less effective in life. Actually, such situations can force many of us to give up pursuing our dreams. If you are feeling overwhelmed or feeling like you are about to get swarmed by a busy and chaotic week you’ll enjoy this thought and practical advice.

Here is what I have learnt. Firstly, I believe that we have to keep those things that are important to us within our schedule. When we are busy it is easy to cancel these things first but these things are the fuel to keep us alive. I also believe that in these times when things become even busier than normal it is a great opportunity to cull the rubbish that has infiltrated our schedule. Keep the good and dispose of the bad. (more…)

Summary

Sam Alibrando, PhD, is an organizational consultant, psychotherapist, author, teacher, workshop facilitator, collaborative mediator, and executive coach. He has worked on the three-dimensional model for nearly 35 years and has taught it to thousands of people. He is currently an assistant professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where he teaches executive coaching.

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Dr. Alibrando is also the author of a new book “The 3 Dimensions of Emotions: Finding the Balance of Power, Heart, and Mindfulness in All Your Relationships.” Just as there are three dimensions of the physical world , there are three dimensions of the interpersonal world. How well we learn to navigate them directly corresponds to how well we live our lives, how happy and fulfilled we feel. (more…)

When Awareness Becomes Natural: A Guide to Cultivating Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Sayadaw U Tejaniya

The more I practice mindfulness the more clarity I gain around my life and what it all means. Books like this assist greatly in understanding my practice. We are all bound by our minds and bodies and how they interact not only interdependently but also with the external reality. Like sponges, our minds and bodies absorb almost everything we are exposed to and if we are without awareness I believe we can become to much of everything else and less of our true selves.

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There are both good and bad to what we can absorb yet regardless everything has the ultimate influence on how we behave and how we coexist. This coexistence is important with our outwardly relationships but even more paramount to the relationship with ourselves. Awareness not only allows us to better understand all this but also how we react, respond and allow it to direct our lives. If you desire happiness, which I think we all do, then awareness created through mindfulness practices is beneficial. (more…)

There are many techniques to help pull you from a low and this is one of them. I have and still do use it in down moments and have encouraged others to as well. The results are powerful!

When you are feeling like nothing is going your way or that the universe is conspiring against you think back to a past happy memory. What was that moment? It may have been something recently or it may have been something many years ago. Perhaps a childhood thought. (more…)

Summary

Ann Purcell is an award winning author and musician whom has been teaching meditation around the world since 1973. Ann currently oversees the teaching of Transcendental Meditation in girl’s schools and communities in several countries in Africa.

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In addition, she has worked on curricula and course development for universities and continuing education programs. Her latest book, The Transcendental Meditation Technique and the Journey of Enlightenment was published on March 13, 2015 and her 7th album was released earlier this month (August 2016). She regularly writes for the Huffington Post. (more…)

A very powerful question to ask in relation to life all the way down to the finer moment by moment situations. Does it matter? It is the subject at focus that can include bigger picture life topics or smaller task focused. Will all this matter at the end of your life?

The answers and thoughts that are raised from this question will help you in your effectiveness in life. How? Think about what you are doing in life today. What is your main occupation or life objective and why? What is its purpose and does it matter? When you get to the end of your days why does it matter? (more…)

Summary

David Hare is a personal development trainer and Life Coach from Leicestershire, UK. Before setting up his own business in 2004, he was global public relations director for a leading multinational logistics company. In his youth he worked as a strawberry picker, dishwasher, barman, golf course caddy, Italian fast-food chef and Indian takeaway driver.

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He also had a six-year academic career including posts at the University of St. Andrews, The Sorbonne and The Open University. He has been a practicing Nichiren Buddhist and member of Soka Gakkai International since 1985.

In this chat we talk about his personal journey and the lessons within that. We discuss the contents of his book, “The Buddha In Me, The Buddha In You,” in relation to Buddhism, coaching and importantly his “chanting” practice that he contributes to much of his success in life. Great lessons and wisdom within this episode for us all. (more…)

Emergence: Seven Steps for Radical Life Change by Derek Rydall

The author of this book, Derek Rydall, spreads messages of inspiration that we can all benefit from. The premise for the thought is that all that we are and all that we wish to be is already within us. He claims that self-help is dead and to really emerge into your full potential and purpose you need to know, as Derek states, “that life doesn’t happen to you it happens through you.”

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He uses the analogy of the acorn that grows into the great Oak tree to define the Law of Emergence, a term he coined. Understanding that we have all risen from a seed and that, like an Oak that grows into something great, nothing needs to be added. All the the Oak is meant to become is already within.

He does suggest that personal development is an essential part of allowing our natural gifts and talents to flourish. Just as a tree will grow to its fullest potential when correctly cared for and nourished so will we.

(more…)