Scott, Author at Scott's Thinking

Who Are You Studying?

Posted on May 12, 2021

Where does your attention flow? Who are you following closely? It is important to know the answers. Who are you studying?

If you study Warren Buffett, you may become a great investor. If you study Aristotle, you may become a great philosopher. However, like anything involving success, it helps to be precise.

Be clear what you are studying about a person. And at what point in their life. If you study The Beatles, be aware of what stage they were at. Were they in their growth phase or about to disband? Their music and behaviours may have been greatly influenced by their situation.

When you get to the nitty gritty of someone, it is helpful to know what was shaping them. However, in the big scheme of things, be clear which type of person you spend your time on. Consider whether it is a musician, actor, author, business person, politician, teacher, scientist, explorer or some other category.

It is also good to understand why you have chosen them. Some people study an actor because they look cool and they want that look. Other people study rich people to learn how to spend, rather than how to earn it.

Who are you studying?

Gratitude Health & Fitness Observe Time

The Calming Effect Of Clouds

Posted on May 11, 2021

Have you ever sat back and just watched the sky change? There is something therapeutic about it. The calming effect of clouds is one of natures truly simple pleasures.

Lie down on your back, on your deck, in your garden or at the local park. Get comfy on a blanket or nestled in the grass. Allow yourself some time to relax and enjoy it. Maybe 15 minutes or half an hour will work for you. In addition, bring your child or children.

Lie down with your heads near each others. A circle may be the best formation. This way you can speak to one another and all hear what is being said. Just try to not to get too chatty. Stay focused on the clouds and their ever-changing formations.

My favourite time to do this in the park is in the summer on a warm day with a little cloud and light breeze. The warm air is relaxing. The blue sky punctuated with the puffs of clouds being moved around by the gentle breeze is lovely.

If you have a glass ceiling in the house, this can be a great year round activity. It can be especially enjoyable on stormy days and windy days. If you haven’t done this for a while, do it today. You’ll get up feeling 10 years younger.

Enjoy the calming effect of clouds.

Observe Time

You Have My Attention

Posted on May 10, 2021

Possibly the most valuable thing in the modern world. People act up to get it and also pay vast sums for it. You have my attention now so what are going to do with it?

In person, you can lure my conscious thought by a touch. At a distance, it is usually audio or visual that attracts me to what you are up to.

Think about how much time, effort and money is spent on trying to bring you along. In addition, they want to keep you on the ride for a bit or get in your head and stay forever.

Sometimes it will be to try to help you with useful information or medical assistance. Other times it is to sell you toys, ideas and food. There really is an endless supply of reasons for which people will try to attract your mind to them.

However, you do not have to get involved. You can leave the room when a commercial is on, not answer the door when it’s knocked on or leave the phone unanswered when it is an unknown number. Although you may get caught out by a friend, family member or your work colleague. They may contact you and borrow some of your precious time. Make sure it is worth it.

You have my attention. Please treat it well.

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts

Look Where You Are

Posted on May 9, 2021

Hey! Look at you! I am sure that you have had to do quite a bit to get yourself here. Look where you are! If you really look carefully, you may find plenty of opportunities just waiting on your doorstep.

They may not look like opportunities but they could be. Sometimes we see work or struggle or challenge rather than opportunity. However, they can often be the same thing if you are willing to look at it slightly differently.

Going to university may seem like work to some but if you put in the work, great opportunities may arise. Getting an apprentice job may seem less exciting if you see it as taking your time for a wage. However, if you see it as learning a skill that could later be traded for a higher income, you might be more enthusiastic about it.

Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.
Napoleon Hill

You must be curious and observant as opportunities abound if you are open to different types. If you are good at sports, you may be paid to play. But you also may get a sponsorship, branding deal, or licensing agreement. Although if you are not looking for these alternative ideas, you may only have one stream of income from playing.

Look where you are! There’s gold on the floor.

Action Observe Reframe your thoughts

Progress Involves Risk

Posted on May 8, 2021

Trying something new, even if incremental, requires some courage. Adjusting the norms in your group is rarely easy. Progress involves risk, though it doesn’t need to be risky.

Not all progress is good progress. And progress for one person or group may feel regressive to another person or group. For example, my Secondary School Geography Project was about the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. Although the dam was hailed as wonderful progress for the nation, it was not necessarily great for those people displaced by the new Lake Nassar.

Getting a new haircut, wearing different clothes or starting a new career may all feel like progress. It may even feel like a natural evolution to you. However, there is some risk that you may feel uncomfortable with your new direction. In addition, others may feel like you are moving away from them. This can cause additional challenges.

And this happens all the time with perceived progress. If you stop smoking, you risk losing friends you once had. The same thing happens with drinking, moving to a new company, switching from being single to being in a relationship and just about any change in your life you can imagine.

Too many times we don’t allow progress in our future life because of the risk to our current life.

Progress involves risk. So just go for it.

Progress always involves risk; you can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.
Frederick Wilcox

Action Time

The Right Time Is Now

Posted on May 7, 2021

You’ve been holding back on something. You want to move forward but the timing doesn’t feel right. Well, the right time is now.

The lights may never be green at every intersection from here to your destination. You may have to slow down or stop once in a while. But another green light will appear and you will be able to continue on your way.

However, getting off your bottom, getting in the correct attire and getting in your car is the start of the journey. You can’t be part done until you start. And yes, you may not have all the information you think you need. Few people ever do. Perhaps you’ve waited too long if that is the case.

Make those phone calls and speak to the people you need to. Read what is critical and do what is required, but at least get going. 90% of life is just showing up. If you show up, they may pick you. If you are the only one there at the right time, you may be in luck.

And you never know what the right moment will be, so you best keep showing up. This reminds me of a time I was walking down a street in Sydney, Australia. A police officer stopped me and asked if I could join a police lineup. But that is another story…

The right time is now. Get out there.

Action Gratitude Reframe your thoughts

Prime Your Mind

Posted on May 6, 2021

Today will be amazing! So many things are going right already. I am certain more great opportunities will arise. Prime your mind for success and you may just find yourself having more.

Life can be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you live with hope, keep a positive attitude, follow proven processes and take immediate action, you are likely to succeed.

Oh yes, there will be speed bumps-a-plenty on your trip to the ideal life. However, if you focus on the big dreams and the excitement of it all, you are more likely to make it happen.

You see, your mind is a solution-seeking, target-tracking machine. Once it understands something, it sets about trying to confirm it or find it. If you say, “Oh no, not Monday!”, you may find your brain working overtime to supply you with photos of drudgery, pain and distress.

But, if you wake up and say, “I am going to have a wonderful and productive today.”, then you are more likely to do so. Most of the time, most of us aren’t paying attention to what we say. This is a real shame, for this is where the magic is.

If you prime your mind, every morning and evening, with good thoughts, positive reinforcements and strong affirmations, you will not only enjoy your life more, but you will probably get a lot more out of it. Try it.

Action Think About It

Challenging Opinions

Posted on May 5, 2021

Do you agree with everyone? Has anyone ever rejected your opinion? Do you tend to reply to opposing comments? Challenging opinions can be helpful under certain circumstances. Most other times it just leads to frayed nerves, frustration and difficult circumstances.

If I am looking for constructive feedback, receiving a different perspective to my own can be helpful. However, if I am stating my opinion as a matter of belief, a challenge can be taken as a direct affront to my belief system.

If you add in some hot button, extremist words, like many of the ists, you add personal insult and casual hyperbole to the situation. A fair few people will take those personal attacks quite, well, personally. Some people will continue the engagement and reply in a variety of ways. Although, they can easily fall into an inappropriate response mode as well.

So when and where do you challenge people’s opinions? Possibly in the appropriate forum with people who are up to having that discussion. You wouldn’t walk up to people playing football in the park and explain how they are doing it wrong. So why do we feel the need to engage with others who are conversing?

So do we simply let people have their opinion and walk away? Or do we need to set them straight by how we see the world? And how they should too. Lots of questions. What are your thoughts?

I’m open to challenging opinions.

Action Progress Think About It

How To Achieve Your Dream

Posted on May 4, 2021

Achieving a goal starts with the idea. But where do you go from there? How to achieve your dream, or anything you want, comes down to a simple process.

That process is like the one for anything else in life. What are the steps to getting dressed in the morning? How does a person book a meeting with three others or a holiday for the family? When you think about it, you will notice the same steps repeating over and over again.

I have distilled this specific process down to seven steps. I have outlined and further highlighted these steps in my forthcoming book, Achieve Anything – The 7 Simple Steps to Shift from Uncomfortable to Unstoppable. You can sign up for launch updates at www.scottsbook.com.

The seven steps are Think, Overcome, Write, Plan, Act, Review and Celebrate. TOWPARC may not be the sexiest acronym but that’s what it is.

For any achievement you plan to undertake, you will need to think about it and develop a good mindset. You will need to overcome the obstacles in your path, both physical and those in your mind. Like an architect or travel agent, you will need to write out the plan so it is clear to you.

Then you make a plan to work to. This plan could involve hiring tradesmen, buying materials or getting the permit timings just right. For travel, it might involve which clothes and equipment to pack, which airport to use, transfers, hotels and even which local activities to book in advance.

Then you must act and make this plan come to life. As you progress you can review on each step you have made and make any adjustments. Few things go according to plan, so you will need to continually review it and make corrections or improvements. Finally, When you are sitting in your newly built home or enjoying your amazing holiday, remember to celebrate. Celebrate the wins that got you there and the overall win as well.

This is how to achieve your dream.

Action Gratitude Observe Time

Life Changes Fast

Posted on May 3, 2021

A lottery win, new contract, new partner or a promotion can be wonderful. Especially if they were unexpected. Life changes fast. Sometimes it changes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I guess that is the reason for the marriage vows being written that way.

We all hope for the good kind of life changes. Although the other kind show up sometimes too. We need the resilience to deal with those.

Whether it is one of those Friday afternoon meetings which ends with your job gone or simply an unexpected injury, its rarely pleasant. We want to get through this pain point as quickly as possible and have everything running smoothly again. However, with most of these events, it does take some time, and work, to improve on the situation.

Amazingly though, life can turn on a dime and you can be moving forward again. I wish this for you. I hope your troubles are few and you manage them with personal strength. Hopefully you get more of the good changes and can let go of the other kind.

Moments are the creator of our destiny. Those moments will stay with you. They are usually easy to spot if you reflect a little.

Life changes fast. Roll with the punches.