By Gerry Murray. 29-12-2019
(Scroll down for a laugh)

“An average person with average talents and ambition and average education can outstrip the most brilliant genius in our society if that person has clear focused goals” ~ Brian Tracy

Many of you have sent me messages of encouragement on a regular basis this year saying how much you enjoy these weekly posts and musings. A few of you challenged some of the content and this feedback was useful. Some of you even ‘complained' when in March, on the anniversary of the Brussels bombings, I didn’t include any humour! As a friend of one of the victims, I felt it was indeed no laughing matter. 

Goal achievement is about consistent, persistent effort

In 2019, I set myself the goal of writing a weekly post and publishing it every Sunday, come hell or high water. With this 52nd post, I will admit to feeling a sense of achievement today! 

In the beginning, I was very enthusiastic but after 4-5 weeks it became clear that this was going to require quite some work. This is normal - our brain tends to discount the future and we frequently under-estimate the effort required to achieve something. 

However, knowing about Neuroplasticity and that the brain is a patterning machine, I was confident that it was only a matter of time before I could make this a habit and it would eventually take care of itself. So, by week 10 it became routine to write these posts. 

They had to be written by Friday. I’d say I succeeded 90% of the time. And, I got used to regularly making notes and saving stuff that caught my attention either from books, blogs, seminars, conversations, etc… to feed the topics. 

Why bother? 

I’ve had a keen interest in Personal Development and Learning all my life. Self-Leadership is a pre-requisite for leading others and it’s only sometimes by trying to live up to your own standards that you can empathise and relate to others better. It’s also a way of realising that Personal Development/Learning is not a destination, but a journey. 

It’s also important to be congruent. Personally, I can’t teach something in a Keynote or a Seminar that I haven’t tested out on myself. I don’t have much time for bluffers or people who wing it! And, I’m not a great believer in theories for theories sake. A theory is only useful if enables us to do something. 

The true test of expertise

George Bernard Shaw did the entire teaching and training profession a disservice with his often-quoted statement: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” 

In contrast, I learned from my many great teachers over the years that the true test of expertise and knowledge is precisely the opposite: it’s your ability to teach it to someone else in a way that they can both understand and use it that makes the difference. 

I hope I’ve put some useful insights in your inbox this year. 

Will it be a New Year with New Beginnings for you? 

Make 2020 Your Best Year Yet is my annual seminar where an exclusive group of 20 people join me to review the year that’s been and plan the year ahead using a structured and proven approach. I combine leading-edge Neuroscience and NLP to teach methods that work and produce real tangible results. 

I’ve already delivered this event to 20 members of JCI (Junior Chamber International) in Brussels earlier in December 2019 and you now have the opportunity to join me in January. Places are limited and special prices for individuals and couples expire soon.  Click here for more info

If you’re not in Belgium and would still like to go through the process then you can buy an online version here. 

What will be your consistent, persistent achievement in 2020? 

Gerry

Humour

Teacher: Craig, you know you can't sleep in my class.
Craig: I know. But maybe if you were just a little quieter, I could.

Pupil: I don't think I deserved zero on this test!
Teacher: I agree, but that's the lowest mark I could give you!

Pupil: Teacher, would you punish me for something I didn't do?
Teacher: Of course not.
Pupil: Good, because I didn't do my homework.

Teacher: You copied from Fred's exam paper, didn't you?
Pupil: How did you know?
Teacher: Fred's paper says "I don't know" and you put, "Me neither!”

Kid comes home from the first day at school. Mom asks, “What did you learn today?” The kid replies, “Not enough. I have to go back tomorrow.”