Share This

The following night we would want to hear the same story again, even though we knew it by heart, we still wanted to hear it again, because it made us feel good, and happy and filling our imaginations with wonder.

In time we learn that these are 'just stories', in fact they are for kids, and as we grow up we leave them behind in the file marked 'Childhood'. All of a sudden we cannot grow up fast enough, we want to be accepted as adults and to fit in. Yet when we go to the movies or read a book that enthrals us once again we enter the world of fantasy where we once again find a character to identify with, who represents in some ways the person we see as ourselves.

Your life story is unwritten, but when you set the lifetime goal, and take positive action towards making that goal a reality, you have begun writing you own tale of life, which will be every bit as exciting, thrilling and rewarding as the stories you heard as a child.

Why not dare to dream more than you have allowed yourself in the past, why not be the hero of your own life, and in the process put set backs in perspective? You will have maidens to rescue, dragons to slay and journeys of uncertainty to be undertaken.

Your dreams are waiting for you in the future, but you cannot arrive there until you start conscientiously and positively choose to take positive action.

Share This

In my experience my joys are without exception simple. They rarely if ever involve the spending of money.

What is your joy?

We can if we are not careful fill our days with stuff that does not make us happy, that is not really important, which we could use to connect to the things that bring us joy. There is a quotation which states, "Happiness is not found in thing, it is found in us", the same can be said of our joy. It exists within us but we often require a trigger to make it come alive.

So what you may ask is the simplest joy of all? To me now it seems obvious, yet when I tell those when I am asked, they look somewhat disappointed, almost as if I had dodged the question, yet maybe it is the simplicity of the answer, that is unexpected.

I will not tell you my answer directly, but ask you to imagine what the following three people would say it is, if you were to ask them. The patient who leaves hospital after a life threatening condition is cured, the hostage rescued from terrorists against all odds and the skydiver whose reserve parachute inflates 100ft above the ground.

Share This

During the height of his career the seven times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, was often the subject of mean spirited and unsubstantiated claims that like other cyclists he used illegal performance enhancing drugs. Though probably the most tested professional cyclist his results were always the same, negative.

He was too good to be a natural, seemed to be the reasoning behind the suspicions. It became a popular story in the French sporting press, rumour built on rumour that was always guaranteed to sell more copies of the paper that carried the story. After his fifth win his advertisers came up with a series of adverts featuring Lance. The main sentiment expressed in the poster, was a quotation.

"People ask me what I'm on? I'll tell you what I'm on, I am on the saddle 6 hours every day."

He was a naturally gifted athlete, who understood the value of an outstanding work ethic. It stands just as true for us in our lives, we need to be committing to going the extra mile, in our daily endeavours towards the success we seek. I believe that most of us think we are running at 100%, I think there is a huge difference between being busy and becoming better. It is only through diligent focus and getting on our saddle more often that we will make the step change in our own lives.

I have entered a one day cycling event on July 6^th called L’Etape, it is one of the mountain stages of the Tour de France, that they open to the public, this year it is Tourmalet. After the 72 kilometre mark, I will not see much apart from my front wheel as I climb up the Col Du Tourmalet.

I have decided to set up a fundraising page, so anyone who wishes to support my efforts can do so. I never ask friends, family or strangers, but this year for such a big challenge I am looking for any help I can get to go towards the Pattaya Orphanage in Thailand.

http://www.justgiving.com/robinsieger

Share This

A very good friend of mine, Peter, died recently after a championship battle against lung cancer. Though he came to accept he was not going to win, he took it all the way to the 15th round before dropping his arms in exhaustion, and was knocked out. He was my mentor, not in any official capacity, just a friend I could always ask for advice in business, and his guidance and wisdom was always on the target.

He left school at a young age and in a path trod by only a few overcame every obstacle he encountered and built up a global business that was eventually sold for an eye watering amount.

He knew all about hardship and poverty, yet to meet him you would never have known it, he was a man of quiet generosity, compassion and kindness. He was honest and loyal to his friends. If at the end of my life people can say the same of me then I will have lived a good life too. The money we make is simply the score on a board somewhere, it does not tell us how the person lived it only tells us a very small part of the story.

I remember whenever I played golf with Peter, he would always be delighted when I hit a good shot, and later in the evening would recall the shot and tell others of its magnificence. Peter would do this in company of others, to make me feel special. He had a way of making people feel special.

Long after he had stopped playing golf, just two months before he died I went to visit him at his second home in France. My nutty schedule meant I was only able to stay for 36 hours, he had told me to bring my golf shoes, and had arranged for me to play golf. We went the next day to the course and decided to play nine holes, unable to play himself he drove me around in the buggy. I wanted to play the best golf of my life that day, I wanted to hit 6 under par for the nine holes we were to play, I so wanted what would be our final round together to be magical, I wanted to make this a day of 'marvellous shots' for my friend Peter.

Alas, I tried too hard and played like a child trying to launch the ball into orbit on every swing. As we came to the last hole, I remember apologising to Peter for playing so badly (thereby forgetting the first rule of golf… never apologise).

I stepped onto the 18th tee ( as we had started at 10), teed it up, and (if you'll permit me a moment of immodesty) I crushed my drive over 300 yds down the middle of the fairway. "What a marvellous drive" he said. We drove to the ball which was by far the furthest I had ever hit it on that course at anytime, I had only 110 yards to the flag instead of the usual 170+. I just missed the green, and three putted!!!

Later that evening once again he recalled at dinner my 'marvellous' drive.

That is how I remember Peter, making me feel special. It's how we all remember people, not simply for their achievements, but for how they make us feel. So live your life with that understanding, whoever you are whatever your circumstances, make people feel valued loved and appreciated.

Share This

I have know others who have met Prime Ministers of the UK, dined with the rich and famous, met Nobel Prize winners, played golf with the US Masters Champion; all of which has given me a little insight into how these people are around strangers. Some were aloof, impatient, convivial, some humble others arrogant. The one person who consistently had the biggest and most profound impact on those they met, was Bill Clinton.

I have heard many tales of his capacity to meet someone once and have recall of the person's name and where they met ten years later. I don't know whether that is true, but I do know all the people I know who met him were meeting him for the first time. Each one of them felt they had made a special connection with him, that he had really, and I mean really, really liked them in particular, and this includes four people who met him at the same time who later that evening when having dinner, told the others that they felt they had made a special connection with him, or put it in simpler language, he had liked them the best.

The key to this is he had in the space of a few seconds made them feel special, by appearing to really be really appreciating the opportunity to have met them. I mention this in particular not because Bill Clinton was a politician, but because he intuitively understood, that how you make people feel, will have a more lasting impact than what you may say, or do. I also imagine he has a natural charisma which some people have, that special X factor which you can’t define, or replicate, but you recognise it when you experience it. In the same way some people are naturally gifted in terms of being musical, numerate, co-ordinated, artistic and many other ways. I am sure people who are naturally charismatic, will stand out even in the chorus line of a musical, they have that special something that draws you to them.

But charisma alone is not enough, and our capacity to make people feel special relies on no skill other than a positive attitude towards others and a commitment to making people you meet feel valued. Sounds easy, but as you know we can all have a bad hair day, when with the best will in the world we become grumpy, and simple things seem to bother us completely out of proportion to the event itself.

As regular readers of my blog will know I am a realist, I know that the theory of all the self help books, and personal transformation literature seems to point to a Disney-esque world where everyone is fulfilled happy and successful. I know the reality is very different, people struggle with personal change, and their search continues ever forwards looking for the next 'new thing', that will finally help them change their life.

If Bill Clinton taught me anything it would be do the simple things well when you meet people, engage, smile, be genuinely pleased to meet them, listen when they talk, and follow up. We live in modern times where the personal touch is frequently lost in scripted spontaneity of foreign call centres, of indifferent customer service, of policy driven employers who take out on their staff the frustrations of their own lives.

But we can, when we engage with anyone, chose whether it will be a memorable or a forgettable experience. It seems to me that Bill Clinton chose the former, so he definitely got that bit right.

Share This

I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas period, and successful New Year.

I guess if I were a thoughtful literate person I would scratch my chin, and reflect over the year gone, share the lessons learnt, adding the laughter and the tears and round it off with some simple sound-bite, about oh I don't know…living in the moment, seizing the day, being positive and keeping your chin up at all times. But I hate clichés…like the plague..:o) rather, I would like to wish you all a happy holiday season.

Plus, I would like to congratulate you all on getting to the end of 2007 reasonably intact, and I sincerely hope that you are further down the road you have embarked upon in the pursuit of your happiness and success arises in ever more frequently occurring moments.

So I will finish my blog for 2007 with a very short passage from a book I bought whilst on my travels. It had so much resonance for me and was a fantastic insight, that I thought I would share it with you.

"The world is cruel and unjust, there is so much unkindness everywhere, is there is anything I can do?"

"Yes, practice greater kindness yourself."

Share This

Now that may seem like a simple enough assumption to make of any travel terminus where people congregate, but it is different in India, because many of the people who work in the railway station are effectively self employed, and make their money by providing services which are normally invisible to us. We recognise the employees of the railway because they wear a uniform, and normally have a name badge.

Yet there are hundreds of others who carry cases, make tea, sell books, polish shoes, repair clothes and clean the trains who are part of another community, some well organised with a command structure and codes of business, and others seem to be one man bands, scratching a living from a small piece of the platform where they can ply their trade.

My train did not depart until 1720 so I had an hour to hang around the platform. I went to the bookseller, who immediately upon seeing me browse, handed me a booked with a personal recommendation, as I handed it back to him he then handed me another two, everytime I handed books back, he handed me more, and the other customers at this busy (and very small platform booth) got the same treatment.

I bought two books then went and found a seat. It was from this bench that I noticed a group of men mainly late teens and early twenties were organising boxes of bottled water and cartons of mango juice into trays. I had noticed them earlier, and with the deductive powers that would impress Sherlock Holmes, I concluded they supplied the Express trains with drinks for the passengers.

One fellow in particular stood out, he had a wonderful smile and a happy face, he reminded me of Brad Pitt, a generous handsome face. Even when not consciously smiling he seemed to be smiling, and was busy wandering around the area of bottles and cartons sorting the others in the group out.

He then began to communicate to one of the workers, but using a form of sign language and facial expressions. The other fellow was laughing then interrupting him with some sign language, which caused Brad to make another simple face which caused another member of the bottle gang who was now listening to start laughing too. Then the realisation hit me they were all deaf, but it didn't matter because even though I didn't have a clue what they were 'talking' about, I too was laughing, it was infectious.

The Express train then pulled into the platform and these fellows had 20 minutes to load each of the 14 carriages with the exact number of bottles and cartons required. This they did with ease.

We are often told that 90% of communication is non verbal, which I am sure is probably right. It seemed to me that the Brad Pitt look a like was telling a funny story and telling it with the intention of making his friends laugh. I believe that it is our intention that lies at the heart of our communication.

If our intention serves only us, if we feed our greed, our capacity for envy, our indifference to the service we provide, it doesn’t really matter what we say, because I doubt anyone will believe us, assuming they were listening in the first place.

Share This

Last month was a busy month for me with a schedule that resembled the timetable of a busy railway station in Tokyo. I think I had five nights at home with trips to Turkey, France, Spain, Russia and India. I also had a few trips within the UK.

I am almost on first name terms with some of the flight crew from British Airways, and have to confess that I sleep better in hotel beds then I do at home, as I am used to having to adapt to new mattresses regularly. In fact in my US apartment I have the exact mattress, comforter pillows and linen they use in the Best Westin Hotels, and I try to fool my body into thinking I am in a hotel bed.

Anyone who travels a great deal will let you know that it is not fun, it is tiring and after you have just taken this long journey, reset your watch, and are battling jetlag your work is just about to begin. So I would like to share my unofficial top tips for air travel, they have evolved over the past ten years and hope they ease your burden. I doubt you will find them in travel guides or in flight magazines on air travel.

1. Never complain about the in-flight meals, you are hurtling through the air at around 550 mph, 36,000 feet above the planet with only one sixteenth of an inch of metal between you and real misery.
2. Whichever line you join at check-in will immediately grind to a halt, when the Hungarian weightlifter refuses to accept that he cannot take his complete set of Olympic scale weights with him.
3. Never argue with those in authority over your seat allocation, do your best to look like Bambi, and give them a heartfelt thanks. It will make no difference, but maybe and just maybe later they will think about how they treated you and have a sleepless guilt ridden night. (Just maybe.. you're right they won't.)
4. Buy silicon flexible earplugs every other model are not ear plugs, they should be called 'ear foam things that quickly fall out and make no absolutely no difference'.
5. Unless you fly First Class or Business class DO NOT DRINK THE WINE. I will say no more on this other than I read the budget per passenger in economy per meal is about 60¢. So do the math.
6. Legroom in coach is just a word airlines like to use. Never read 29 inches and think 'that sounds pretty good'.
7. Always be willing to lie about what you do for a living if the person sitting next to you seems too keen to strike up a conversation with you, don't think of it as lying as such, see it more as having a cover story to put them off the scent of continued conversation. I find "I sell life insurance cover to airline passengers" works wonders.
8. Whenever you feel stressed take a deep breath, and remind yourself it is not worth getting stressed about. It really isn't.
9. Develop a sensational cover story to get an upgrade, I used to have one but told too many other travellers, then they must have started using it too. So no longer fly as the editor of a fancy high-end travel magazine. Oh why did I have to tell everyone…Do'h!
10. Finally in the spirit of this blog enjoy the journey you are undertaking, it can be a metaphor for life.

There will be good days and bad days; you will be the victim of extreme rudeness by unhappy overworked and under appreciated staff.

You will receive extraordinary kindness, and witness joyful reunions at arrivals that will make you cry.

You will get an upgrade on a long haul flight and spend 8 hours trying to wipe the grin off your face.

Just as you will receive a downgrade due to overbooking and find yourself in the middle seat between two grossly overweight men (Alaska Airlines Fairbanks to Los Angeles Dec 2001), who you forget are just trying to get home for Christmas.

You will see people at their very best and their very worst, and at some point in your life you may well be one of them.

The important thing is to the very best of your ability enjoy the journey, for all its challenges and stresses, it allows us to learn a little bit more about ourselves, to appreciate what we have and to get to where we are going a darn site faster than walking.

Share This