Life philosophies worth learning from..

This article "My life philosophy: 50 lessons from 50 years" appeared on my RSS feed today.

The author shared a lots of good life principles, and I found many of them aligning to my own, or those that I love to adopt.

Here are my top 10 favourites life principles:

• Self-care comes first. If you're not healthy, it's tough to be happy. Before you can take care of your friends and your family, you need to take care of yourself. Eat well. Exercise. Nurture your mind, body, and spirit. Your body is a temple; treat it like one. If you don't have your health, you've got nothing.
• You get what you give. Your outer life is a reflection of your inner life. If you think the world is a shitty place, the world is going to be a shitty place. If you think people are out to get you, people will be out to get you. But if you believe people are basically good, you'll find that this is true wherever you go.
• Be impeccable with your word. Be honest — with yourself and others. If you promise to do something, do it. When somebody asks you a question, tell the truth. Practice what you preach. Avoid gossip.
• Don't take things personally. When people criticize you and your actions, it's not about you— it's about them. They can't know what it's like to be you and live your life. When you take things personally, you're allowing others to control your life and your happiness. Heed the Arab proverb: “The dogs bark but the caravan moves on.”
• Don't make assumptions. The flip side of not taking things personally is to not assume you know what's going on in other people's heads. Don't assume you know the motivations for their actions. Just as their reality doesn't reflect your reality, your life is not theirs. Give people the benefit of the doubt.
• Always do your best. Your best varies from moment to moment. Some days in the gym, for instance, I'm able to lift heavier weights than on other days. Some days I can run faster than usual; some days, I'm slower. That's okay. What matters most is that I give my best effort every time. No matter what you do, do it as well as you can. This is one of the keys to success and happiness.
• Action cures fear. Thought creates fear; action cures it. What we're actually afraid of is the unknown. We like certainty, and choosing to do something with an uncertain outcome makes us nervous. Taking the first step can be scary, but each additional step becomes easier and easier. When you act, you remove the mystery. Action creates confidence. It creates motivation. (Most people think motivation comes before action. They're wrong. Action leads to motivation.)
• You're more likely to regret the things you don't do than the things you do. That's not to say you should be an asshole, or that you won't regret making big mistakes. But generally speaking, you're more likely to be sorry that you didn't introduce yourself to the barista at the coffeehouse, didn't go bungee-jumping with your friends, didn't stay in touch with your friends. 
• Make room for the big rocks first. It's easy to let your time and energy be sucked up by trivial errands and tasks. You find you no longer have space for the things you thought were most important. Don't do that. Always carve out time and attention for those people and activities you value most. If the house doesn't get clean because you were hanging out with a friend, so what? If you didn't mow the lawn because you went to the gym instead, that's a good thing. Tackle the important, then the trivial.
• The meaning of life is the meaning you decide to give it. Some people are searchers. They wander through life looking for answers…but rarely find them. Others accept without question what an outside authority tells them is true. I believe that the meaning of life comes from within, from the things that you lean to prioritize and value. Nobody is going to tell you what life should mean to you; you have to decide that for yourself.

To be honest, there are many more good life principles listed in the article by the author, but there is one book that contains even better life principles, that is found in the Book of Proverbs in our bible.

You'll be happier if you focus on efforts and attention only on the things you can control....

Each of us has a large number of things about which we're concerned: our health, our family, our friends, our jobs; world affairs, the plight of the poor, the threat of terrorism, the current political climate. 

Within that Circle of Concern, there is only a smaller subset of things over which we have actual and direct control, such as how much we exercise, what time we go to bed, whether we leave for work on time; what we eat, where we live, with whom we socialise. 

You'll be happier and more productive if you dedicate yourself to your Circle of Control and ignore your Circle of Concern.

Excerpts from "My life philosophy: 50 lessons from 50 years"

Consistently is more important than intensity

Leadership, relationship, love,... this is the most convincing, educating and power sharing I have ever heard.  

If you want to know WHY people fall in, and stay in love… listen closely. Simon Sinek Explains The REAL REASON People Fall and STAY In Love!

How to achieve more in life - its time to get SMART!

​We are struggle for time in our busy lives. We are either busy to finish our tasks at work, or we are busy with our family chores. For some, it may be a case of finding enough time to spend time with their love ones, or even finding time to work on their life goals or aspirations. 

I constantly find it tough to get all the things I want to do completed. There are "projects" that I have started at home but never finished. I would love to reorganise in my closet or my kitchen pantry but never quite find the time to do it. Then, there is also my career aspiration, my personal bucket lists to tick off, and most importantly, relationship building with the Lord, yes, I am a bible beliving, Christ fellowing Christian.

Time and time again, I will reflect on my life, where I am, how I am currently going, and what am I going to do about stuff that are yet unaccomplished and undone.

I often share something with folks around me, or to those poor souls who happen to unwittedly seek advice from me, we need to be SMART about things!

SMART, or rather the, the acronym  - S.M.A.R.T  - really stands for:

   Specific

   Measurable

   Achieveable

   Result Focus (can also be Relevant)

   Time-bound

It is all about asking ourselves these questions:

1. Specific - What am I trying to accomplish? What's my goal, How and why will it be accomplished?

2. Measurable -  How will I measure whether I have reached my goal? What are the key indicators?

3. Achievable -  Is it possible, is it realistic, has it been done before by others? Am I just a dreamer?  Am I ready or capable to do it? Do I have the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities and resources to accomplish the goal? Will meeting the goal challenge me without defeating me?

4. Result Focused - What is the reason, purpose or benefit of accomplishing the goal? Is it personal development or ego? What will reaching the goal brings me and what sacrifices do I have to make?

5. Time bound (Time-boxing) -  What is the established completion date? Are there any urgency to complete it, how long do I have to complete it?

Sounds like a business oriented management speak? Perhaps. But perhaps this is a technique that successful people have picked up, that I can learn to utilise in my daily life. Perhaps if I have the discipline to follow this SMART way of doing things. I could achieve much more outcome that I have always wanted or dreamt of doing.

Challenging myself to think differently!

I often find myself reverting back to my comfort zone or doing something I am customed to the same way, the same method, the same process, everytime.  We are taught and trained in schools to "follow the process", to align what we do "according to the best practices".  This is not wrong by any measures, but do we sometimes pause to evaluate and think about what we do, and figure out if there are actually better ways of doing things that we are not aware of, or are we too busy to consider what we do and determine if the process needs to change?

How often when things are not working, or when some process is broken, we often try to remediate them by adding more processes, more steps to try to overcome the situation.  It's crazy.

This reminds me of a famous quote “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Perhaps we need to pause and think through what we do, we need to constantly evaluate how we do things and if our processes, the methodologies are still relevant, effective and right. We need to challenge ourselves to "think outside the box" and to avoid "group think".  We need to have the courage to change, and most importantly, not afraid to learn new things, new ways to do things differently. We need to cast away the mindset that  "you can't teach old dogs new tricks", be bold and courageous to try new ways, new methods, new processes. We might even surprise ourselves.

Photo of the day - 22 April

A photo of leaves from a liquid ambar tree.

The liquid amber tree leaves are very much similar to maple leaves, in terms of palmately lobed shape and fall foliage color. Also, both these trees are adapted in similar growing conditions.

Liquid Ambar (also known as American Sweetgum, Redgum, and sometime also spelt as "Liquid Amber") is a genus of 4 species of deciduous trees in the witchhazel (Hamamelidaceae) family. With a somewhat discrete distribution range, these trees are found in North and Central America, East Asia, and Turkey. These impressive trees produce some of the most spectacular autumn foliage known, and Liquid Ambar styraciflua, in particular, is a breathtaking sight when in full autumn color. The genus name literally means liquid amber, and refers to the resin exuded by the winter buds. Known as storax, the resin is used in perfumery and cosmetics.

The sorry state of Hyde Park

Before I get 1000 responses saying I am talking rubbish here, I am referring to the Hyde Park in Perth, or more accurately, situated in Leederville, in the city of Vincent. So for all the readers out there, the one I am referring to is not the one in London, Chicago or Sydney. It is right here in my own hometown here in Perth.

After having not been to Hyde Park since end of last year for a wedding shoot, I went there to check it out for a wedding I am shooting tomorrow. Back in my mind, I thought Hyde Park in this current autumn days would yield great imageries. I would get nice soft light peeling through layers of leaves from the maple trees. The golden light in the late afternoon would create a really romantic backdrops for the bridal couple. Ah, heaven!

Much to my surprise and great disappointment, when I surveyed the ground yesterday, the park (or should I say the lake) was in such a state of dismay. Ok, Hyde Park is now off the list of locations I would advice my couples to do their formal portraits until we get lots of rain in Perth, hopefully lots and lots of rain in the winter.

One does wonder why will happen to the water birds that the lakes in the park typically support. There were still patches of water in the once totally filled up lake. The waterbirds (ducks, Ibis, geese, etc) were making do with whatever the little patches of water left. It was indeed a very sorry sight....

Photo of the day - 3rd September

I am very tempted to call this image "Footprints" or "Footprints in the sand". There are a few of variants of this poem which can easily found on the web. This poem is commonly attributed to Margaret Fishback Powers (who wrote this in 1964). However, it appears that this poem was actually written much early in 1936 by another lady, Mary Stevenson.

Here is Mary Stevenson's version:

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Finally, a note of this image... I took this photo at a place called Perry Sandhills near the town of Wentworth in NSW. Perry Sandhills is a vast 400 acres of continuously shifting sand dunes. From the vantage point in which I took the photo one could easily imagine being in a desert. I was also trying to explore minimalism and capturing the wave patterns in the sand in within this landscape.

I hope you this photo as much as I do.

Photo of the day - 20th August

Bordered by a wide stretch of the Murray River, home to majestic River Red Gums and a fantastic variety of birdlife, Kings Billabong Reserve is an ideal place to discover nature and history within minutes of Mildura.

Local Aboriginal people enjoyed the billabong's rich life-supporting wetland food supply. Shell middens (kitchen hearths), burials and scarred trees indicate a lifestyle celebrated on these banks for centuries.

Kings Billabong took its name from Captain James King, who navigated the Murray River and its tributaries in the late 19th century. The Chaffey Brothers, supported by Alfred Deakin who later became Prime Minister, selected Mildura (originally a sheep station) as a suitable location for Australia's first irrigation settlement. The reserve was logged until the 1950s to supply fuel for steam-powered paddleboats and pumps. There was also cattle grazing, cultivation and dried fruit rack sites in the reserve until 1989.

Photo of the day - 19th August

I just came to read the following piece of news:

Largest Wind farm to be built in the southern hemisphere

The largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere is to be built in Victoria's southwest. The 140-turbine, $1 billion Macarthur wind farm, which will produce enough energy to power more than 220,000 homes, is slated for completion by early 2013.
...

Wow, 140-turbine wind farm. This is definitely something unheard of in Australia, something I thought would never be accomplished in Australia given the lack of political will to invest substantially into renewable energy.

I thought the Greens will be shouting against this scheme, participating in rallies, holding placards with the mobs against building the wind farms to protect some native plants specimens or some migratory parrots.

Before everybody started accusing me of being a supporter for the climate change camp, let me put this straight. I believe that the world is warming. Whether the warming is caused by purely human activities or but some natural factors, the verdict is still out there. The science is still rather inconclusive. But I believe we all have a part to take care of our environment the best we can. We know that burning fossil fuel is definitely not the way forward for generating our ever increasing energy needs. We need to look at something more sustainable, cleaner and cheaper! Wind energy should definitely be part of the solution.

It is surely good to see that Victoria is getting some meaningful investments into renewable energy. I sure hope my home state of WA will do the same one day. The size of the wind farms in Esperance and Albany are just pitiful but nevertheless encouraging. I do hope that Verve Energy that runs the Albany Windfarm and Horizon Power that runs the Esperance Wind Farms will put up more wind turbines than their 12 and 15 respectively.

Note:The photo above is in fact taken at the Albany Wind farm last year.