Lessons from the Ski Slopes
Welcome to February’s Connections Newsletter. This month’s newsletter is focused on lessons from the ski slopes. Also I wanted to remind you that this is the month of passion – no not just Valentines Day but also we are offering The Passion Test in London on the 25th – more details below. Plus – as always some fun and inspirational stuff! Enjoy!
We have just come back from a wonderful few days in Austria skiing – I simply love being amongst the snowy mountains – another passion!
I was thinking about what skiing can teach us in the allegory of life – and the biggest thing I noticed this time was – awareness. I am always saying to people who are thinking of working with me that awareness is the key to living life consciously. The more aware we are of who we are, and who we are being as we move through life, the better the outcome. By better I mean that we can create what we intend to create instead of just having stuff happen and then wondering why!
My skiing is ok; I am pretty competent and can ski down most runs as long as it is not a black run! What I saw this time as I was tackling a pretty steep (in my world) run is that the more aware of where my weight was on the skis the more control I had, and the better I skied. Not only that, but when I was more precise I could actually go faster and let the skies run. Now if you are a skier you will know that when you brake a lot is when you get really tired. Your legs begin to burn and it feels harder to control the skies. However if you can let the skies run and stay in control even though you are skiing faster, it is a much easier and more fun ride.
On the days I got tired from braking my whole technique was less precise and my turns were ragged and I felt less sure of myself. That made me brake more and so I got even more tired. It was a vicious circle.
So how does this translate to living life? As I said awareness is always the key and flexibility too. When I get to the top of a ski run I will look down the slope and see what route I want to take to the bottom. If it is bumpy on the left hand side then I will pick a route that avoids the bumps. Just as in life I’d work out what I thought was the best route to take. And then I’d set off. Keeping my awareness on my weight on my skis and shifting from edge to edge, cutting into the snow I’d begin to follow my route. However you are rarely alone on the ski slope and so even if you think you know your route often someone will come by you and you will need to avoid him or her or shift your route. Also sometimes the route I pick that didn’t look bumpy may hold some hidden ice or the snow will be loosely packed. This flexibility is part of the run down the mountain.
Life is like that too. You need your awareness of how you are being in life, where you are putting your weight (focus). You need to know where you wish to go (clarity of purpose) and see a possible route (your passions) and then you need the flexibility to change course if necessary and reach your final destination.
How aware are you of how you are being in your life, of how you approach life? How aware are you of your thoughts, what you are focusing on? Generally, where you are putting your ‘weight’ – your focus – and is it getting you to where you want to go?
Where are you braking when you don’t need to and making life so much harder than it needs to be? Where do you need to relax and let your skis run?
How clear are you about the destination you want to reach and the route you think you’d like to take? Do you let your passions point to the route you need to take?
How flexible are you when someone gets in your way, when something outside your control appears, when the bumps in the road look bigger than they are?
Typically when I work with clients these three aspects are key to changing the rules of their life and getting clear on what they want to live from now on. If you can relate to this – if you feel that you are skiing down the mountain out of control then
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or give me a call on +44 (0) 203 239 6155 and lets have a chat about how I can help you not only reach your destination but have fun on the way too.
News and Offers
Yes, The Passion Test is back in town – Feb 25th in London. For those of you who have been contemplating coming to discover your top 5 passions – now is the time! Come and define 2012 with your passions in the top most of your mind. And if this is the first time you have heard about The Passion Test – now its the time for you too! This is such a profound workshop and it will be life changing. Once you start making your life choices in favour of your passions – things will never be the same again.
“When I heard that The Passion Test was coming to Lanjaron, Spain, I felt excited and curious at the same time. I'd heard and read about it, but I didn't know what to expect. After all, I knew my passions, so why would want to attend a workshop to find them?! Finally, I surrendered to my curiosity and I went along with a friend. A few hours later I came away feeling totally enlightened. I'd discovered, via a simple yet effective process, that my REAL passions were very different from those I'd previously perceived. Now I can live my life to its true potential, following my passions while living a life of purpose."
Keidi Keating
Click here now for more information and to book your place. The early bird discount ends Feb 5th and there are a couple of the bonuses still left if you are quick.
Fun & Inspirational Stuff
A farmer named Sid was overseeing his stock in a remote moorland pasture in North Yorkshire when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward him out of a cloud of dust.
The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the farmer, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"
Sid looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing stock and calmly answers, "Sure, why not?" The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany . Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.
Finally, he prints out a full-colour, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer, turns to the farmer and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."
"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Sid. He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with amusement as the young man stuffs it into the back of his car.
Then Sid says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?" "You're a Member of Parliament for our Government", says Sid.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required." answered the farmer. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of pounds worth of equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about how working people make a living - or about cows, for that matter. This is a herd of sheep.
Now give me back my ****** dog!
A shot of inspiration – how great will the world be when this is normal
And for all your Mac lovers a new apple product