Author: cm_admin

Last week I shared 3 simple things I encouraged you to do, or to take action on in 2025. 

Today, I am going to suggest three (3) “simple” things that you could STOP doing this year (and week), which would make a significant course correction in your general feeling of well-being. 

I have tried to find three of the most impactful things, but also 3 things that are actually not that hard to do. 

They certainly won’t cost you much, except a little extra attention and consciousness. 

They are also quite easy to do, but that unfortunately means they are also EASY NOT TO DO. 

Doh!!!

However, I know you are committed to doing the things that make your life more joyful, easeful, and less hard, so I know you are on board.

Here goes.  

Want to know a secret? 

These 3 tips are also about me warming up my writing skills for 2025. 

I thought I would start the year with a gentle ease into it, and then we will pick it up from there – and go a little deeper in the coming weeks and months. 

So for now, let’s see what 3 things I have to offer for the first Newsletter of 2025. 

Here we go…

I am guessing you have plenty of things happening at the moment, as we approach the end of the year, so I will endeavour to keep this tip short (like me). 

Noting that good things, when small, can be twice as good. 

Today’s tip was inspired by real-time and real-world events. 

My older brother is holidaying in Bali for a couple of weeks, and on Day 2 we had a minor ‘tiff’. 

And I figured it would be useful to share with you the “root cause“, and how to avoid something similar during a socially-rich festive season. 

As we approach the tail-end of 2024, I was wracking my brain trying to think of the best ways I could serve you in the weeks ahead. 

Last week we talked about Plans Vs New Years Resolutions. 

This week I am going to talk about how to have great conversations this Xmas, and not fisticuffs, or a need to start 2025 with a list of apologies. 

During 2024, I was working with a number of clients who own their own business, or are around the CEO level, so I have had plenty of great opportunities to not only observe, but talk about what makes great and positively impactful communication. 

The reality is this: In business and in life – poor communication is a HUGE energy-drainer, time-waster, and is anti-optimization.

In business it reduces profits. 

In our personal lives it costs harmony points. 

No one wants that. 

Especially when it is ‘holiday season’. 

We want holidays to equal relaxation, lightness and a whole load of harmony.

So here are 3 simple Tips to help you communicate better.    

I am a fan of owning the results in my life. 

I much prefer to ‘win’. 

I am also not a fan of ‘winging’ the stuff that really matters. 

Which means today we are going to have a sticky beak (peak) at how to start the New Year with a bunch more certainty, when it comes to creating your ideal experiences in 2025. 

We are now officially at the tail-end of 2024. 

It is almost time to tie a bow around it, say bye-bye, and have a look at what’s next. 

Now, is also a great time – at the front end of December – to get more intentional about 2025. 

Especially with the most important business in your life. 

The business of you doing you, with this playing field called ‘life’. 

And we don’t really want to do show up like an amateur. 

However, let me put a cavity here. Of course you can show up however you want. What I am suggesting is if you want to have more sh#t work out for you (more wins), then my suggestions, may be of great benefit. 

So let’s dive right in. 

 I have wanted to have a conversation about a topic I am calling ‘calcification‘ for a while now. 

Mainly as it relates to our minds.

But then I saw some breaking news in the USA about a form of calcification that has been pretty well known in health circles, but is very unknown by the general public. 

And it also directly impacts the mind (via the brain). 

In fact this chemical, knowingly added to most municipal water supplies, is actually shown to lower IQ (among other things). 

And just recently a case was won against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the USA, where a judge in the Northern District of California ruled in favour of the following: “The scientific literature in the record provides a high level of certainty that a hazard is present; fluoride is associated with reduced IQ.“

Most people don’t know that fluoride was originally chemical waste, but then it got repackaged, repurposed and marketed as a thing to protect against cavities, due to it’s ability to calcify things.  

While I was in Australia (Mildura) last week, I did a presentation (and a number of coaching sessions) where I asked people to raise their hands if they liked to lose. 

You know what? 

Funnily enough, no one raised their hands.

Though one person did suggest that it depends on the context. 

Well noted.  

But for this conversation, let’s assume that the vast majority of people don’t like to lose at things that they care about (they would prefer to WIN). 

And one of the most important games – from my perspective – is this thing called “The Game of Life“. 

I personally have somewhat of an aversion to losing. 

I prefer to WIN at the things that are most important to me. 

Like great relationships, optimum health, meaningful work, or having a LOT more elevated emotional experiences (joy, awe, excitement, enthusiasm, love, etc.) than survival emotions (anger, frustration, fear, doubt, etc.).

I much prefer when things go in my favour. 

And do you know what makes a lot of difference in the outcome?

Whether I am “WINGING IT” (and hoping it all works out in my favour) or whether I OWN IT and roll my sleeves up to do the (right) work.  

If we expect things to work in our favour – like high vitality and health – but we just wing it, the chances of winning are greatly reduced. 

The odds might be a 50 / 50 or even worse. 

Hence why we are going to briefly talk about hamsters and helicopters today.  

Last week I was interviewed for a Podcast by Beth Martens – the author of the GREAT book ‘Journey‘ – which she calls ‘King Hero Interviews’.

It was great to be invited to the conversation and yes I also had to brush up on my King Hero persona beforehand.

I also did not get the topic of discussion ‘Navigating Complex Relationships‘ until about 18 hours before the call, of which were 8hrs of sleep. 

So I was interested in where the conversation would go. 

Beth was also quite vocal about her views over the last few years, so I knew she would be asking me some very specific questions about my thoughts around health measures, government over reach, suspect ‘science’, the state of the world, polarization and where I thought we were heading in the future. 

In the end, complex relationships turned out to be a great topic to explore. 

How do we manage complex relationships, when there may be (very) polarizing beliefs that challenge the fabric and durability of many relationships – intimate, familial, friends, and even work colleagues? 

So we dived in (for almost 2hrs) and these are some of the key things that came to mind for me.     

A lot of people mean well when they are passing on ‘self-help’ teachings. 

But like ‘Chinese Whispers’, through the retelling the actual teaching can become distorted to a point where it eventually becomes incorrect. 

This is one of the reasons why I like the yoga taught at The Practice in Bali. 

Octavio has put a lot of time, energy and effort (20+ years) into trying to best understand the traditional teachings, which were trialed, tested, and replicated over 1000’s of years. 

Most people don’t realise the traditional teachings of yoga are more about creating an elevated ‘mind’ as opposed to a flexible body. 

So today I want to talk about another ‘teaching’ that has been mistaught. 

A few years ago I was hanging out with an Army buddy, at his modest but epic vineyard in the Barossa Valley, where he was creating amazing wine. 

He was also so deeply immersed and knowledgeable in the process of wine making from the bottom up (the soil, plants, seasons, weeds, etc.), I was in awe. 

This buddy also had some PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) issues he was working through. 

One of the things I shared with him, was to consider solving ‘life’ issues (that were causing stress), by directing his attention the land and the vines – which he knows so intimately – and see how nature deals with similar ‘issues’.

This helps connect to the now, get out of a story, and see what the ‘reality’ is of the life cycle.  

Like being reminded that you cannot control everything, like the weather, for example.

There are so many lessons that Nature shares, which can be applied to day-to-day life. 

So the other day, as I was wandering around our lawn and pulling weeds, I had this thought…