I recently took my wife to the movies and didn’t pay a cent.  I won a competition that’s why. I filled up my car the other day and paid four cents less per litre than everyone else… why?  Because I used a voucher.  Sure, it may make some people feel cheap… it doesn’t for me.  I believe that I should never pay full price for anything.  No, not even petrol.   Some people however are always ashamed to use vouchers.  Not me.

I have been to Seaworld on a voucher someone else gave me, bought many free donuts, not to mention coffee and heaps and heaps of things.  I even have been known to pick up vouchers off the floor from others and use their vouchers as well.  Now I am not necessarily saying that these things are right or that you should follow people around hunting for their vouchers.  I am saying vouchers are good and should be used.  Don’t let your pride stand in the way of a bargain… use vouchers!

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I am watching the Australian version of so you think you can dance and a thought occurred to me.  A lot of people settle for dreams that people feed them.  I think you should not settle for what other people want from you.  Look inside your own heart and follow that.  Don’t settle for somebody else’s missed opportunity.  So many people live a life where they think they are doing things to please other people.  This is not a healthy way to live. Build your own dreams… don’t settle for those which come from others.

I have not been able to read fiction for something like two years.  I have to really force myself to do it.  My wife turned to me when I told her this and said, ‘Maybe it’s because you think that’s what you should be doing’.  I think she may be right.

So while I sort that out why not ask yourself the question… what should I be doing?  Not, what do I have to do… but what should I be doing?  This question looks for things you need to focus your faith on to realise.  Take it from me if you don’t you will still want it this time next year!

Has someone ever said to you … if you work you will make money?  I can tell you it’s not true.  Yeah I know… just about everyone you know works to earn money.  In reality, they are not working in exchange for money, they are offering a service that is of a certain value.  That value is perceived.  The work you do is paid in arrears.  Hence, the money you make is a value exchange.  Now I promise you this: work for the rest of your life and see if you ‘make’ money.  I guarantee you won’t.  You will exchange your life for perceived value.  Here’s an experiment. Look at the value inherent in something popular and ask yourself… did they work any harder than you did?  I know people who are chefs that worked very hard but are no Gordon Ramsey.  Yet I have heard it said… if you want something you have to work for it.  True enough I suppose.  I think such a sentiment would be better expressed as: Whatever you want will require work but don’t fall into the trap of working and not building or growing.  If you want to make money you need a system that generates it while it provides ‘value’ to people’s lives.   That value will be exchanged for money … over and over and over again.

When you exchange something of value for something else of value that’s a ‘value’ exchange.  When you go to work you are trading your time, energy, creativity and personality for money.  Ask yourself this question: what could I do to exchange what I know now for more money?  What value could I add to someone’s life through what I know?  If you can answer these questions then you already know you don’t work to make money… you make money by exchanging value for value.  Think about it!  It’s not about hard work … it’s about smart work.  Creating value propositions for exchange is how you ‘make’ money.  It’s how your boss makes money from you and how you make money for someone else.   Think about what you can do to create your own value proposition.

I was stumbling when I came across this: The top eight most poisonous animals in the world.  Five of the eight are native to my home state of Queensland!  That’s six out of eight deadliest animals (well poisonous) in Australia.  I have no idea whether we have scorpions in this country.  If we do… the motto is: STAY INSIDE!!!  I remember when I was living in a bushy suburb a big snake fell off the roof and slithered through the back garden.  Good times.

To all the lovers, brothers, mothers and ‘others’ HAPPY VALENTINES DAY.  Now as a present to you I invite you to read this and have a good laugh at the pictures.  Whatever you do today or have done (if you live in Australia or New Zealand it’s night time!) do it with love in your heart.  And now for something smooshy:

Have a great valentines day.

I was watching something the other day when I thought about what our potential really is. Some people might say, ‘Well he had such great potential,’ (not about me - just in general!). What’s to say they even know you had potential in the first place? I mean by definition potential is energy that is stored up but not used. I submit to you that potential energy is ‘energy’ that may not exist until it is reached to be used.  That is, how do you know that you have potential until you try?   Like most of Australia my family are subjecting me to so you can think you dance (Australia)?  The one thing that strikes me is how a natural talent is not enough.  You still need to put in the hard work.  No natural talent and hard work will get you there but it will not give you the creativity you need to be a ’stand out’.  It’s a combination of both.  The key is to find out what you have a natural talent in and work hard to develop it.  If you knew that already … what are you doing to make it happen?  Brain Freeze Challenge is on!