You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2019.
Well, here we are again, at the end of another year.
2019 was another big year for this humble little blog and I went past 2.6 million views since starting in 2010
Thanks everyone for your support this year, I really appreciate all of you and trust that 2019 will be your best year yet.
I now have written over 2,500 posts on this blog since I launched and here are the 10 posts that have generated the most traffic in 2019: Read the rest of this entry »
One of my annual goals is to read 25 books on my trusty kindle, and this year has been another year of learning and entertainment from some terrific writers.
I try to read a variety of genres and authors, ensuring that I don’t become too insular, whilst maintaining my knowledge in areas of life that are important and interesting to me.
So, of the 25 books that I read in 2019, here are my top 10: Read the rest of this entry »
Italian poet, Cesare Pavese is credited with saying,
“We don’t remember the days, we remember the moments.”
How true.
As we reach the end of another year that has gone far too quickly, many of the days have become a blur.
But in the midst of the routine, there have been some significant and memorable moments for us as a family.
At this time of year we can often spend a lot of time waiting in line.
At the shops, at the movies, at a theme park.
We stand and we wait, as we edge slowly closer to the front of the queue.
What happens while you wait?
Do you huff and puff and complain about how long it’s taking?
Do you check your social media and respond to a couple of trivial texts?
Or do you share your excitement with the people around you, eagerly awaiting the end of your wait?
Those sparkly lights that I see as I walk around my neighbourhood, all point to a wonderful celebration.
As do the trees with angels and stars on top.
All of the music and singing.
The smiles on children’s faces as they anticipate the big day.
The gift giving and receiving.
In a recent interview, long-time Miami Heat forward, Udonis Haslem was asked about the culture of the organisation and he responded,
It’s one thing to have a coach give the message and do the things that coaches do. But it’s different to have someone in the locker room that’s a living, breathing example of the culture that you want to transfer to those guys, that you want to impart upon them.
There’s no doubt that Udonis is a great leader.
He has contributed to 3 NBA titles during his tenure with the Heat and his pre-game speeches are iconic and inspiring.
And the above quote explains why he is so influential within that franchise.
The person who is willing to work harder and longer will always beat the person who relies on natural ability.
The person who trains the house down will always beat the person who doesn’t feel as though they need to.
The person who is able to overcome challenges will always beat the person who relies on avoiding pain.
The person who keeps going despite the voices that have advised them to stop will always beat the person who floats along because they always been told how good they are.
Logan, Hayden and Madison all ready for their first day at their new school
It’s that time of year again when we send and receive Christmas cards and letters with updates from friends and family, so in that spirit here is the annual message from our tribe.
2019 has been a year of massive change for our family, with our big move to Bendigo after a change of roles for me. The kids have displayed extraordinary resilience as they have said goodbye to their friends and started attending a new school. Their transition to our new life has been truly remarkable. We have bought half an acre here in Bendigo and are excited about the prospect of building our dream family home there, along with a pool for the kids. Read the rest of this entry »
I had a good day at work today.
Something that had been requested and planned for a few weeks was finally able to be executed and it resulted in a great experience for our customers and much better outcomes for my staff.
Everything was going well and I was feeling very positive about the progress that I was making as we headed into the new year when a network crashed in one of my sites and half of my team couldn’t do their job for about 30 minutes.
I took a deep breath and made a few calls to inform key people and let the other sites know what was happening.
One of my guys said, “I knew this would happen. Everything was going so well, that something bad had to happen.”
I shook my head and corrected him.
There’s a week to go before Christmas.
From now on, the shopping centres will be packed with people looking for those last minute gifts for their loved ones.
Car parks will be packed.
Queues will be long.
Stress levels will rise.
And I suspect that not many of them will be feeling too festive.
