You May Never Be Good Enough For Everybody!!!

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Rod's World

Stage Two of writing about the shadow that comes with investigating possible opportunities in situations where you meet new and interesting women and you are deep in lacking confidence because you are listening to all those stories your identity has been telling you for years and years.

Self-criticism can be debilitating because when our criticism becomes internal, it can be very difficult to shake.

You know that little voice that chimes in when you screw up? The one that tells you you’re no good, or that you made a stupid decision, or that you can’t succeed? That’s the voice of self–criticism. And you’d be surprised how often that little voice runs the show.

Marisa Peer of MindValley has a great suggestion for dealing with this form of criticism. She encourages you to change that niggling voice of self-doubt into your own personal cheerleader.

The first step is being able to recognize the negative self-talk when it’s in action. The second step? Flipping the commentary to something more positive.

Marisa suggests imagining what a supportive parent or teacher might tell you. Would they tell you that you’re no good and that you’re only going to screw it up? No. They’d tell you that you’re a rock star and that you should keep trying and that you’re smart enough to get this done.

“It’s okay to make mistakes because you learn,” explains Marisa. “It is okay for someone to point out your mistakes because you can get better. What’s not okay is to beat yourself up.”

Unfortunately, I did not do this Saturday at Mojo – The Dance of Connection, I got stuck in my identity and gave myself a good beating.

What do the masters say about self-confidence, lets have a look:

1. Saturday night I failed Number One.

2. Forgot some of these essential self-loving things Saturday: Hey You.

3. Thich Nhat Hanh is one of our wisest.

4. Goethe learnt this at an early age, earning royal recognition at the age of 25: Who You Are.

5. Pride can be deemed to be negative or positive, most religions see it as the former and aim towards belief, in their god and yourself.

6. I am all these things at times: This Is Me.

7. In the book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable: Transforming the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Dr Brené Brown, vulnerability is defined as “uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure.” Brené says that “vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy and creativity.

8. Fear or Love: Choose: Don’t Choose Out Of Fear.

9. More about Fear.

10. Be Okay for it to be Okay to be you: Be Yourself.

11. Your dreams do not live inside your excuses.

12. How good are you at resisting the world: Break Free.

13. Self-Care 101.

14. Written by the worlds greatest philosopher, Ms Unknown points to the magic of self-belief: Could It Be Magic.

15. And we finish with a silent meditation.

I am empowered by Brene Browns take on self-confidence. “Being vulnerable doesn’t just require courage and self-confidence. It requires self-compassion. Having self-compassion has profound effects both internally and externally. Even showing compassion to others can’t actually be achieved unless you have compassion for yourself. “When you cannot ask for help without self-judgment, you are never really offering help without judgment,” Brown says. “Because you have attached judgment to asking for help.”

This concept extends beyond helping. Whether it’s related to health, career or relationships, judging something about yourself means that you will always judge that same thing in others. For example, you must be able to accept and receive love before you can truly provide it.

Though 85 per cent of adults say they are capable of giving and receiving love, more than 30 per cent of men and women fear to be alone and tend to lose themselves in relationships. Reading Brene’s research and insights make me ponder where I am at the moment with all of it.

The playlist today contains that song from The Greatest Showman. We begin with Pink Floyd, followed by pop diva Jessie J. Then that song, Next is the Spoken Word from Jim Carrey. A fine rock song from Audioslave follows. The penultimate tune is from Ariana Grande, and we finish with disco diva Donna Summer: You May Never Be Good Enough For Everybody.

I feel that I am in the shadowland of the journey of having Love and Respect For All, Everyone Included be the world paradigm. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

inner peace 6

You Were Born An Original Work Of Art!!

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Rod's World

I am a Warrior of Love, It’s a 12-month long training program that allows you to live your life from Essence/Lifeforce instead of the identity we have built up over our lifetime. this is the link to my mentors’ school: Living as Essence.

My Essence is Unlimited Intimacy, recently as I search for it I have entered the shadowland where it does not exist in my life. My identity has taken me to many dark places over time as my solution is to wish it would go away, definitely not to spend time hanging out with it which is what Arion, my mentor sees as the way into healing and that I also intrinsically know is the way.

I write daily love memes and original Inner Pilot Light prose on my Facebook Newsfeed and have been given two opportunities recently to receive intimacy from two women I rather fancy as possible partners. The first put a heart on a love meme that spoke about being authentically loved. My reaction was to go into deep shadow thoughts about why would she do that and construct a maze around any possibility… I took this to my weekly session and did some work on sitting with the possibility versus rejecting it without any evidence as to it being a possibility. This morning I wrote the following

Dearest Rod,

You try SO hard to be perfect. But how do you think life will be better if you’re perfect?

Don’t you realize that your imperfections make you adorable? Just think what a beast you’d be if you were some Stepford person?

Freckles decorate a face.

Scars suggest a life well risked.

Mistakes make you relatable.

And holes in your jeans give others a place to sneak in tickles.

Relax your perfectionism, darling, and celebrate your glorious imperfections.

I sure do,

Your Inner Pilot Light.

About 10 minutes later a heart emoji appeared underneath it, this time I thanked the person and wished her well on her overseas travel, a slightly different reaction from an entirely different space. Who knows what will happen in either case but it appears shadow work frees up possibilities.

So what have our philosophers and society said about hanging out in shadowland over the centuries? Here is what Jung and his cohorts have said:

1. Shadow and Light, they travel together. Sometimes we forget this.

2. They travel together to remind us that we have a choice moment to moment: So Small.

Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman, 1887
Born	Walter Whitman May 31, 1819 West Hills, New York, U.S.
Died	March 26, 1892 (aged 72) Camden, New Jersey, U.S.

Signature

Walt Whitman was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.

4. I think this 17th Century poet, critic, philosopher and theologian is pointing to our building up the strength of our stories as being the truth as we get older: Faded.

5. That smudgy name is the renowned Brene Brown. What if we were not afraid of our fears, but saw all opportunities as joyful?

6. I would definitely agree with this, on my three-month silent meditation retreat I spent the first two months quietening my mind and all the ways it thought I was doing it wrong: Bette Davis Eyes.

7. For one with such fame not much is known of his health issues. He produced the majority of his work from the age of 34 to 44. In 1889 at age 44, he suffered a collapse and afterwards, a complete loss of his mental faculties. He lived his remaining years in the care of his mother until her death in 1897 and then with his sister Elisabeth Förster–Nietzsche. Nietzsche died in 1900.

8. How we label our shadows sometimes, good sense: Pablo Picasso.

9. To dismantle them you must enter them.

10. Which included her shadow and her light: Song for Frida Kahlo.

11. Marcel Proust, was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental novel À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time; earlier rendered as Remembrance of Things Past), published in seven parts between 1913 and 1927. He is considered by critics and writers to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. He died seven years before the final volume was published.

12. How many of us are willing to do this: Waiting For The Sun.

13. From a champion of the shadowland of both types, drugs and alcohol, comes a summation after playing in the field for a long time, myself, it was forty years.

14. Shadows of beauty and mystery, not many people I know relate to them this way, perhaps my fellow Warriors of Love: Busy Being Blue.

15. And for our final lesson today we receive our lesson from the Godfather of darkness, Carl Jung.

I am practising sitting with my shadow world and not creating chaos by resisting it, perhaps other miracles will appear in my life as I continue down this path.

Today’s playlist is loaded with ballads. We begin with Carrie Underwood, then a newbie to me, Alan Walker. That song by Kim Carnes follows. Then two obscure bands in The Modern Lovers and TinPan Orange before we move on to the iconic Doors. K. D. Lang finishes this fine collection: You Were Born An Original Work of Art.

I know that I am closer to Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included when my Essence of Unlimited Intimacy is present in my life, I thank the Warriors of Love for creating a space for me to practise in. Until next time we meet, my dear friends.

When we have each other, We have Everything!!

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Rod's World

Defining family can be a tough thing as the word “family” alone is a powerful word that conjures up multiple different meanings and emotions. How does one put into words all that define how they feel when it comes to what family is?

Oftentimes people will say a family includes a mother, father, and children all living together under one roof. Some might say a family can be anything that involves love.

Webster’s dictionary defines a family as “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.” This definition is a good starting point when trying to define what family consists of, however, there are modern-day definitions that redefine what family is today. Yet, do these definitions define what family means to you? What comes to mind when you think of what family means?

Whether it is a mother and father together, a single mom or dad with kids, or possibly your friends that help to fill the void that your biological family wasn’t able to fulfil, the word family is a powerful word. These are people that surround you with care, concern, and love. These are the people who see you, who understand what you are going through and through it all, they stand by your side loving you through life.

For me, it includes my three beloved siblings, Hugo, Ruth and Jann and my extended dance community friends. Some say I am extremely lucky that I have been able to get on with my siblings for such an extended period of time as often people have to replace their siblings with others as it just hasn’t happened that way.

How has society spoken about that unit that takes our attention on a daily basis, here are some of my favourite things:

1. Its all in the roots that keep us connected across time as we go in our different directions.

2. For me, this has always been my siblings and when they were alive, my parents: We are Family.

3. Find these ones, they are your family.

4. But can you have both, I’m lucky that I do: Respect.

5. Does family include the quality of being loyal – “his extreme loyalty to the Crown”. A strong feeling of support or allegiance.

6. And from what some of my friends have said to me, they cannot even spend time under the same roof, it makes me feel so lucky: True Colours.

7. George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond.

8. My siblings and I have made that choice on those days of struggle: Someone Like You.

9. I think that this may have a lot to do with how family relationships work out, imagine if we did this all our lives?

10. Find the Others: I Choose You.

11. They could be called the 12 Commandments of relationship.

12. And they were very sharp: I Don’t Feel Like Dancing.

13. But always be willing to ask.

14. You don’t remember the size of the house, later on, you remember the memories that occurred in them: Make Me Smile.

15. And we finish with a wide choice you can take your definition of family.

Childhood is supposed to be fun and carefree; but, the truth is, even little kids have stress, anxiety, and other issues affecting their mental well being. That’s why it’s so important to foster healthy habits early on and encourage resilience and self-esteem from day one. I reached out for a few top tips to help you with your Family journey.

Focus on feelings:

Let children make mistakes:

Let children make decisions:

Nurture them:

Lead by example and take care of your own emotional well-being:

I’m not sure if all of these things happened in my life so I count myself lucky that my family has turned out so well.

Some drippy songs in the playlist this week: We begin with Sister Sledge, then the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. My favourite version of this song by Kasey Chambers is next, followed by Adele. Then 3 S’es finish it off: Sarah Bareilles, The Scissor Sisters and Steve Harley: When We Have Each Other, We Have Everything!!

From all that is written about families across the net, we have a little way to go to fulfil my world paradigm of Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included. Until next we meet, my dear friends.

It is What It Is, No Means No!!

Posted on June 13, 2019 by Rod's World

I went to a social occasion where a very lively conversation on consent was held recently. In my mind, this does not happen nearly enough in our instant gratification society, where things seem to be assumed as we do not have the time to discuss what works for all parties involved in interactions these days.

To me, evidence of this in the level of divorce, domestic violence and sexual assaults that take place daily around the planet. How different would communication be if we took the time necessary to set respectful boundaries for our social interactions?

How has the world related to gaining consent over the centuries, here are some takes at it:

1. Possibly the most patriarchal argument that bad men use in cases of sexual assault, that the way she dressed caused them to act that way, not their inherent evil.

2. This is becoming more widespread day by day, in our country recently our Federal police raided our national broadcaster in the name of national security, how to promote fear in the population 101: You Say,

3. In granting people consent, you take away their inferiority complex.

4. It is a legal contract, everything else within it needs to be based on open communication: Till It Happens To You.

5. Apathy has its price.

6. And it has a name, sexual assault: Don’t Touch My Body.

7. As the title of this blog says, No means No.

8. Unfortunately, this seems to be the direction the world is heading in Roll Jordan Roll.

9. Here is the opposing view when it is personal, not universal.

10. The state does not get to oppress their citizens unless the citizens allow it: Get Up, Stand Up.

11. Unfortunately, men may lie to get into government though.

12. What do you consent to in your life, creeping or soaring: Your Love.

13. Consenting to a cause where you are willing to die, that’s rare these days.

14. It isn’t only humans that require consent, remember how our beloved moggies behave when we move them: Best Kittycat Song.

15. MLK pointing out why consent is so important.

At the end of the discussion we had set what were basic premises for consent in the area we were discussing, it felt great.

The playlist today begins with two pop diva’s, Laura Daigle and Lady Gaga. Then a spoken word piece followed by a choir. Then two great classics from Jackie Wilson and Bob Marley. We close with a number from a cat: It Is What It Is, No Means No.

This is an area society needs to do a lot of work on if we are to live from the world paradigm, Love and Respect For All, Everyone Included. Until next time we meet, dear friends.

We Don’t Make Mistakes, Just Happy Little Accidents!!

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Rod's World

I go around to my sister Ruth’s, I call her Ruthie place on most Tuesdays for family connection. It comes out of a practice we used to do of taking our dear mum who passed at the end of 2017 op shopping, think thrift shops for the US nearly every Tuesday for seven years. She advised me that she had visited St. Arnaud, one of the towns we sent 4 years during our childhood. This was 50 years ago, and for some inexplicable reason, I remembered it used to be called The New Bendigo goldfields and that the only remaining item of that name was a derelict cemetery 10 km outside town on the Donald road. Mind you, I have not been there for 30 plus years. I am such a research nerd, no fact, however small leaves my grey matter.

We began talking about our memories of the place, our friends’ names, the local pool and then for some reason I moved onto the mistakes I had made. This is not a complete list, but here goes: 1. Setting the lounge room chimney on fire so that the Fire Brigade had to be called to put it out. 2. Setting the paddock behind our house on fire with matches and lying about it, yes the fire brigade had to come again, who’s the closet pyromaniac. 3. Sinking the other rafts in the Scout regatta by putting holes in their drums with a hammer and nail punch, we were quite inventive with this, I don’t know how we weren’t thrown out. My sister asked me why would you do things like that, I have contemplated it and come up with the devil in me was looking for an escape clause.

What do mistakes cost us and how has society looked at it, here we go:

1. I have never lit a fire again in my life, I say I am terrible at it.

2. The pyromaniac in me needed a couple of lessons: Firestarter.

3. I have come to the realisation that mistakes are just our shadow side talking to us, sometimes in funny ways.

4. This appealed to the People Pleaser in me: U Can’t Touch This.

5. Mistakes are definitely an essential part of our formative education.

6. Mistakes, your own personal Power Ranger: Gangsta’s Paradise.

7. Regarding the fire stuff, luckily, both of my parents were loving and understanding.

8. Marilyn’s mistake: messing with the POTUS: Happy Birthday, Mr President.

9. By the greatest quoter, Ms Unknown, but a beauty.

10. How many of us are guilty of this: Rehab.

11. Sofia Villani Scicolone, Dame of the Grand Cross, OMRI born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren is an Italian film actress and singer. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Encouraged to enrol in acting lessons after entering a beauty pageant, Loren began her film career at age 16 in 1950. She appeared in several bit parts and minor roles in the early part of the decade until her five-picture contract with Paramount in 1956 launched her international career. Notable film appearances around this time include The Pride and the Passion, Houseboat, and It Started in Naples.

Her talents as an actress were not recognised until her performance as Cesira in Vittorio De Sica’s Two Women; Loren’s performance earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1962 and made her the first actress to win an Oscar for a foreign-language performance. She holds the record for having earned six David di Donatello Awards for Best Actress: Two Women; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; Marriage Italian Style (for which she was nominated for a second Oscar); Sunflower; The Voyage; and A Special Day. After starting a family in the early 1970s, Loren chose to make only occasional film appearances. In later years, she has appeared in American films such as Grumpier Old Men (1995) and Nine (2009).

12. One, Two, Three, begin the forgiveness: Courage.

13. If you have people around you who do this, time to say goodbye to them.

14. Do Buddhist monks doing a three-year meditation retreat in a cave make mistakes: Hell Yes: Mirror.

15. From this list comes the message, your job is to learn.

Did I stop making mistakes after we moved from St. Arnaud nee New Bendigo, FUCK NO!! I am 64 and am sure I still have several hundred to go, but they all will be part of the beautiful journey we call life.

The playlist rocks tonight. The Prodigy smashes you First, Two rap icons in MC Hammer and Coolio follow next, then a throwback with a tune by Marilyn Monroe. Amy Winehouse follows with the penultimate piece being the spoken word by Bruce Lee, in Chinese with subtitles. We finish with more rap from Little Wayne and Bruno Mars. Enjoy, I did creating it: We Don’t Make Mistakes, Just Happy Little Accidents.

So mistakes, all the more reason we need to embrace my world paradigm, Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. Until Next time, my dear friends.

There Lies Hidden Love in Each Friendship!!

Posted on June 4, 2019 by Rod's World

Just spent a glorious weekend looking at Relationship with my fellow Warriors Of Love: Where we Hangout on line. One of the distinctions we looked at was How attachments learnt at an early age from our parents affect our ability to relate to society, as I had learnt a new set of distinctions on public speaking over the 6 previous weeks it felt like distinction overload. I relooked at it today and can see the benefit of studying the ideas a bit and how attachment can run your life.

So how has society dealt with attachment over the years, lets have a look:

1. I think they call it Mindfulness these days.

2. There is no try, yummy: Yoda’s Wisest Words.

3. Ralph Marston was a professional football player who spent a season in the National Football League with the Boston Bulldogs in 1929. His incisive motivational quotes are still used to this day.

4. His Holiness rocks: Contemplate Impermanence.

5. We are taught this from a young age, it takes a lot of practice to get over our early training.

6. I spent quite a bit of time away from my mum early on, it may have had some effect later on to my relatioships, ha ha: Can’t Remember to Forget You.

7. One word, Boom.

8. Due to the early influences we need to practice this on a daily ongoing basis: Let Go of Attachment.

9. The millennials take at it.

10. Laughing at yourself, real Self Love: I Love to Laugh.

11. Yasmin Mogahed received her B.S. Degree in Psychology and her Masters in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After completing her graduate work, she taught Islamic Studies and served as a youth coordinator. She also worked as a writing instructor at Cardinal Stritch University and a staff columnist for the Islam section of InFocus News. Currently she’s an instructor for AlMaghrib Institute, a writer for the Huffington Post, an international speaker, and author, where she focuses most of her work on spiritual and personal development. Yasmin recently released her new book, Reclaim Your Heart, which is now available worldwide. Visit her website, yasminmogahed.com, where you can find a collection of her articles, poetry, and lectures.

12. Now known as spiritual bypassing: Spiritual Bypassing.

13. One of a humans shadows, having to be in control, not easy to let go.

14. Is this Enlightenment?: Young and Beautiful.

15. And we finish with some uber wisdom from Ram Dass, if you need it or don’t there’s still work to be done.

I lost the sheet about the attachment styles so have meandered a bit from it, but it is worth a read.

The play list contains a lot of Spoken Word and even one silent track. We begin with Yoda, then to the silence of Art at Chance. one of our three female singers is next, it’s Shakira. Back to spoken word with Alan Watts. The over to the musical Mary Poppins. The penultimate spoken word is from Candance Van Dell and we finish with a sultry number by Lana Del Ray: There Lies Hidden Love in Each Friendship!!

I believe that racism comes from us attaching to the identities we are taught to attach to at an early age. That is why my mission is to have the world paradigm be Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included.

Until next we meet, my dear friends.

I like the Way You Make Me Feel!!

Posted on May 30, 2019 by Rod's World

Its Reconciliation Week in Australia, this is the official blurb for it:

At the heart of reconciliation is the relationship between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. To foster positive race relations, our relationship must be grounded in a foundation of truth.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long called for a comprehensive process of truth-telling about Australia’s colonial history. Our nation’s past is reflected in the present and will continue to play out in future unless we heal historical wounds.

Today, 80 per cent of Australians believe it is important to undertake formal truth-telling processes, according to the 2018 Australian Reconciliation Barometer. Australians are ready to come to terms with our history as a crucial step towards a unified future, in which we understand, value and respect each other.

Whether you’re engaging in challenging conversations or unlearning and relearning what you know, this journey requires all of us to walk together with courage. This National Reconciliation Week, we invite Australians from all backgrounds to contribute to our national movement towards a unified future.

Our local cancel has been showing indigenous directed films nightly, last night I saw a beautiful documentary named Connection to Country: Here’s the Trailer.

So how do you connect to your land, your family and your friends? Lets have a look at what the world has said about it:

1. The one that this is happening with liked my Facebook picture yesterday. Is this a call to action?

2. it is what it is: doesn’t work to wish it was another way: Chemistry.

3. I’ve got the music in me, literally.

4. I can’t hear what you are saying from the sound of the energy emanating from you: Good Vibrations.

5. They aren’t called the gateway to the soul for no reason.

6. The greatest thing you can say to someone: I see You: That scene from Avatar.

7. And they are free.

8. Our indigenous people have a Treaty with the land here in Australia: Treaty.

9. This is what is written on Victoria’s landing page, beautiful: When you remain in your own authentic rhythm and peace you can exist and thrive as both a strong and tender thing simultaneously. Like poetry. Or plants. Or breath,
moving through the body. This is where your power lives.

10. And to the animals and the plants as well: Say Something.

11. All hail a life long friendship, they know all your tricks and when you need to be loved.

12. I don’t want to talk about the hummus: Listen to Your Heart.

13. One word: Brene.

14. My favourite refreshment: Follow The Sun.

15. And our final lesson for today is that what and whoever you connect with, be it the land or a new lover, it’s not about you but how you leave them feeling.

So I hope this helps you strengthen your foundation of connecting with our planet and its inhabitants.

Today’s playlist begins with another unknown pop lad named Asher Angel. Then back to the beaches of California with the Beach Boys. Next is the scene from Avatar that always makes me cry. Then we have the biggest selling indigenous song ever by Yothu Yindi, you can dance if you wish followed by pop diva Christine Aguilera. Roxette is the penultimate song and we close with a live version of Xavier Rudd’s anthem: I like the Way you Make me Feel.

My wish is we all connect through the paradigm, Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. Until next time, my dear friends.

It’s Impossible to Live Without Failing At Something!!

Posted on May 27, 2019 by Rod's World

My friend Emeli Paulo from Collective Potential has returned to her source: Here’s the Link., fortnightly workshops on different purposeful subjects after attempting to generate a national road trip in supporting Mental Health initiatives, due to difficult circumstances this did not happen, I’m glad she survived the experience and retains her passion for transforming people, Emeli is very good at it. Collective Potential has inspired many people and will continue to do so in the future, despite what could be seen as a failure, but what is life without failures on the way? There is that well known saying by Abraham Lincoln: If you have never failed, You have never Lived.

So how does society look at the fine line between Failure and Success? Here are some of my favourite Quotes on the subject:

1. James Cameron is a bit of authority on this subject. Cameron’s Avatar and Titanic are the highest and third highest-grossing films of all time at $2.78 billion and $2.19 billion respectively after many films that did not meet with financial success.

2. Remember what Abraham said: Rise Up.

3. Thomas Edison said: “I speak without exaggeration when I say that I have constructed three thousand different theories in connection with the electric light, each one of them reasonable and appears to be true. Yet only in two cases did my experiments prove the truth of my theory. My chief difficulty, as perhaps you know, was in constructing the carbon filament, the incandescence of which is the source of the light.”

4. From the queen of quotes, Ms Anonymous. comes this worldly advice on the subject: Give Your Heart a Break.

5. Failure does not equal not trying. Michael Jordan missed: 12345 shots during his NBA career. Damn in perfect order, the guy truly was the greatest.

6. You may fail many times before the success you seek arrives: Keep Failing and You Will Succeed.

7. Squiggly lines will get you there, staying on the straight and narrow is limiting.

8. Learning 101: Changes.

9. This quote is not actually what Thomas said, but it reads better than 3,000 times as stated in his above statement.

10. The Chinese have certainly come up with great quotes over time, think Lao Tzu, Confucious etc, etc…: Shallow.

11. Get up, Stand Up.

12. Get what Napoleon says, just one step: Don’t give up too soon: One Step Ahead.

13. From the world’s most famous cigar smoker, I love this quote.

14. Famous for his 2006 TED talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity, which has had 57,609,622 views, his ideas on education have raised some heated debate. 57 million views lean towards success in my humble opinion: Wannabe.

15. And the final lesson for today, don’t stop climbing, one step forward, sometimes three steps back.

So if I look through my life, I have had plenty of both failure and success. Was one better than the other, could it have been different? Not really, at 64 I have learnt to accept the lessons learnt and keep moving forward one step at a time.

The playlist today contains some very popular songs, over 100 millions hits for quite a few of them. We begin with Andra Day, then pop diva Demi Lovato. The spoken word for today is from Moversity, we then return to the 19’s with David Bowie. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper follow with that song. The penultimate song is by one of New Zealand’s most popular acts, Split Enz and we finish with The Spice Girls: It’s Impossible to Live Without Failing at Something!!

I think that I have learnt a lot from setting my goal as seeing the world paradigm being Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included. Until next time my dear friends.

People Underestimate Their Capacity For Change!!

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Rod's World

Is there a right time to communicate something? I have been wishing to apologise to someone for a while as to how I had been relating to her based on her physical looks versus who she was as a person. I had held her as being far too beautiful to consider talking to someone as decrepit as me. It was meeting another member of her family that made me realise what a beautiful heart she had and how she showered unconditional love on her friends who did not make gross judgements like I had. I have run into her a couple of times recently but both times we have had our party faces on. Crowded rooms, dancing and interruptions every few minutes from people we both know. Comments like the cake is nice or that’s a great track is about the level of conversation.

How has society treated the right time to have a deeper conversation, or am I being precious. This is what they said:

1. That puts the question directly in my face, how much do I really want to do this?

2. An extended Nike quote: This Is How We Do It.

3. Known for his role of Col. Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man, Lee Major was definitely in the right place at the right time as this series as it ran for 5 years and was one of the most popular shows on TV at the time.

4. I am more and more being able to pick the moments: Hooked On A Feeling.

5. Michael Bloomberg is an American businessman, politician, author, and philanthropist. As of April 2019, his net worth was estimated at $62.1 billion, making him the 6th-richest person in the United States and the 9th richest person in the world. He has joined The Giving Pledge, whereby billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their wealth. To date, Bloomberg has given away $8.2 billion, including his November 2018 $1.8 billion gifts to Johns Hopkins University for student aid — the largest private donation ever made to a higher education institution.

6. With the right time added in, miracles can happen: Anything Could Happen.

7. This is what happens when we live an identity-based life and do not listen to what the essence in our heart is telling us to do.

8. Unfortunately, this is not what we are taught in life, that every moment is the right moment, Fortunately, we have the chance to unlearn all the bullshit rules we are taught around this: Right Here, Right Now.

9. Have to agree with Nelson on this, often the mistake is in waiting too long and it becomes overripe leading to catastrophic results.

10. How often do we live these regrets over our lifetime: Mr Wrong.

11. Time is precious, better that you don’t waste it procrastinating.

12. Choose wisely: Perfect.

13. And Martin Luther King Jr did do what was right, he transformed a nation.

14. At 64, I’m not sure about this. Not sure how much time I have left: A Thousand Years.

15. Sometimes it doesn’t feel this way, but it has turned out to be true.

The further I got in writing this the more my head started to throb, this is always a sign that I am avoiding what I need to do to be in balance. Its time to get in contact.

The playlist is pretty modern today featuring only one song that has the number 19 before it. We begin with Now United then travel back to Blue Swede. Ellie Goulding is the first of three pop divas making way for Fatboy Slim, Mary Blige invites her friend Drake along for a sultry number then to the mega huge; Ed Sheeran. We complete with one of my favourite tracks about time by Christina Perri: People Underestimate Their Ability to Change.

I have to get past this there is a right time judgement of life if I am to have the world paradigm become Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

My Story Matters because I Matter!!

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Rod's World

Have you seen it, I’ve watched it five times, etc. etc.. I’m talking about the latest Netflix sensation, Brene Brown’s special The Call to Courage. I’ve watched it once but have viewed everything on Youtube several times over the years. The title of this blog is one of her quotes, and when her last book Dare to Lead was released I pre-ordered it three times by mistake, my two friends I gifted it to were rapt.

I have read every book she has written at least twice because she is a great writer and makes it easy to receive many aha moments per page. Let’s list them:

The Gifts of Imperfection.
Daring Greatly.
I Thought It Was Just Me: But It Isn’t.
Rising Strong.
Rising Strong As A Spiritual Practice.
The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting.
The Power of Vulnerability.
Braving The Wilderness.
Connections Curriculum – 12 Sessions.
Dare To Lead – Brave Work.
Women and Shame, Reaching Out.

Oops, I have not read them all after seeing the list, two to go. I put Brene Brown quotes in Ecosia Images, I use Ecosia search engine ILO Google because of the fact they plant a tree for each click, and there were hundreds, it’s like all of her words are a quote that can transform your life. These are the ones I have chosen, It’s time for some Brene bliss:

1. These days of the online world, they are called Trolls.

2. And the booby prize is …: Perfectionist Complex.

3. Don’t forget the little things, remember to stop and smell the Roses.

4. If you only do what you know what you feel safe doing, the word boring comes to mind. Time to step up to mistake land: Another Lifetime.

5. Happy, Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy, Joy.

6. My marketing mentor laughed at me when I said I could do research for everybody. Andrew said, what about working with people you like working with, find the others: They must deserve It.

7. We are not Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, at the base of it all, we are all human.

8. Shadow and Light travel together, attempting to ignore the shadow is pure bullshit, the pain will remain and return tenfold until you are willing to deal with it: Growing Pains.

9. For me, it lives in the realm of what we don’t know we don’t know.

10. Kur-it. This is why my English students often stare at me with strange looks when I pronounce words for them: Reach Out.

11. Repeat after me, I am Enough. Repeat after me, I am Enough, etc. etc…

12. And at the base of it all, there is Love: Love Myself.

13. How do you respond when a beloved shares their life with you?

14. To be totally balanced in our bodies, we need to feel it all: Comfortably Numb.

15. And fro Brene’s final lesson, it’s a long one and a doozy. If all you get is the aha moment from this one then Brene has done her job.

My top three: Daring Greatly, Rising Strong and Dare to Lead. It is also worth checking out her website, her free resources are awesome: Access to all Things Brene.

The playlist begins with two newbies to me, Jubyphonic and Nao. The spoken word has of course to be Brene, that’s next. Pop diva Alessia Cara follows and then we go way back to The Four Tops. Then my favourite Self Love song from Hailee Steinfeld and Pink Floyd close the set: My Story Matters Because I Matter.

So that’s my love letter to Brene Brown. She would be a fan of my lifetime paradigm: Love and Respect for All: Everybody Included. Until next time we meet, my dear friends.