The Battle in Melbourne

We were blessed yesterday to see sporting history in the making when Novac Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in an epic Grand Slam match at the Australian Open.

After a epic struggle which saw both players giving every last ounce of effort, Njokovic beat Nadal in 5 sets 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5.

At the prize giving, both players were so exhausted, that for a moment it looked as if they would not be able to stand and a thoughtful Australian Tennis official rushed in with chairs and a bottle of water, not a moment to soon.

So how good was the game and can we learn anything from these gladiators.

• At 5 hours 53 minutes it was the longest final in Grand Slam history by nearly an hour
• Djokovic beat Andy Murray in the semi final in another marathon that took 4 hours and 50 minutes

Sometimes to be the best, it will take every drop of energy that you possess, so be prepared

• Djokovic is only 23 years old and has been playing since the age of 4
• Nadal is 24 and has been playing since age 3

To be the best takes time and effort, not everything happens overnight so be patient

• Djokovic received intense training from age 6 and at age 12 moved to Germany to a tennis academy

To be the best, takes sacrifice and support from those you love

• Djokovic is well known for his off court impersonations of other players and is known as the Djoker

Don't take yourself too seriously, life is supposed to be fun

• Djokovic is a member of "Champions for Peace" an organisation committed to peace in the world through sport

Remember to give back!

• Both players are surrounded by an army of coaches, nutritionists and managers.

To be the best you need to surround yourself with the best people as well as the people you love and love you

To Novac and Raphael, thank you for allowing me to be part of sporting history. I will remember this battle for a very long time

Do you suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia?

Today is Friday 13th. For many this is considered unlucky but where does this come from and is there any basis of truth is this?

The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia  and triskaidekaphobia, meaning fear of the number thirteen. Try saying that fast three times.


According to folklore, there is no written evidence for a "Friday the 13th" superstition before the 19th century. There is at least one Friday 13th per year and like 2012, as many as three.


So where does it come from?


There are several theories about the origin of the fear of Friday the 13th.

• In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the 12 Descendants of Muhammad Imams, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.
• Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s. It has also been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, according to Christian tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
• One author, noting that references are all but nonexistent before 1907 but frequently seen thereafter, has argued that its popularity derives from the publication that year of Thomas W. Lawson's popular novel Friday, the Thirteenth, in which an unscrupulous broker takes advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th. Records of the superstition are rarely found before the 20th century, when it became extremely common.

According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. "It's been estimated that [US] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day".


I say relax! Experience has taught me that your luck is made by yourself and your perception of good and bad is determined by your attitude.

Let's change this medieval superstition and let's have a great Friday 13th.

Onward and upward

How to make New Years resolutions and keep them

So you have set your goals for 2012 and you are determined to make them work. It's now the 6th of January and already some of the goals may be slipping by the wayside and you want to know why, with the best intentions in the world, you are unable to stick to your goals.

One of the best ways to keep and succeed at your goals is to make sure you have SMART goals.

1. Specific

A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:

*Who:         Who is involved?

*What:        What do I want to accomplish?

*Where:      Identify a location.

*When:       Establish a time frame.

*Which:      Identify requirements and constraints.

*Why:         Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of
                   accomplishing the goal.

A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.” 

Getting specific will not only give you clarity of what’s required, but it will also make it less daunting because you have a specific area to focus on.

2. Measurable

Establish concrete criteria so you can evaluate your progress as you go. Break your big goal down into small targets that you can track.

 When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.

To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as……

How much? How many?

How will I know when it is accomplished? 

3. Attainable

You want your goal to be a challenge, but also one that you truly believe is possible to achieve. Don’t say you’re going to write a book this summer if you know you’ve got speaking engagements every other week. Pick something reasonable that you could really see yourself achieving.

You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them. 

4. Relevant

Your goals should feed into your main purpose, so you must get in touch with the underlying purpose tied to your goal. For example, if you want to grow your client list, your priority will be to spread the word. In this case, you’d want to use your ezine, social media, etc. to reach out to new prospects that are in your ideal target market.

Make sure you review your goals on a regular basis—at least once a month. That way you can track your progress, and ensure you’re actions are in line with your vision.

 A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.

5. Time-bound

Set a deadline for you to achieve your goal. It will give you a sense of urgency and also help you keep things in perspective in real time. 

With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.

Good luck for with 2012 resolutions and may they all come true for you