George’s Life Blogs

Three decisions that matter

Sat, 6 Dec 2008 15:02:30 +1000

‘So what is life all about? Even the Monty Python crew couldn’t really explain the meaning of life in their movie of the same name. Is it possible that life is a simple thing, is it possible that life is only about a few choices?
I think most people make life far more complex than it needs to be. People spend so much time focusing on little things, so much time focusing on doing stuff that help other people meet their needs that they often don’t get out of life what they want. Why - maybe it’s their education, maybe it’s their upbringing, in any case it is a product of environment conditioning.
Why don’t we think about it in a different way for just a moment. Life could be quite simple if we looked at it from a macro perspective and got out of the detail, just for a moment. In doing that, we might find it’s only about three things, three decisions that we can all make.
THE FIRST is the decision about DESIGNING your life. Do we design our life or is the plan laid out for us, regardless of how bad it seems? Do we live a life we design or do we cop it sweet and go with what’s served up to us? If you don’t believe you have a choice about how you live your life and how it turns out, you will always be a victim of circumstances.
The quality of your life will be left to chance, and I don’t believe for a moment that our creator intended that for you or anyone else. My illusion is that you certainly don’t want that to be the case in your life. You, like me, want to experience the true joy it offers. The moment you start to believe you have a purpose in life and you can design and live a life of your choosing, you’re ready to start actually doing it. Your conscious and unconscious mind is ready to start moving towards making that a reality and you begin to tap into the incredible resources that already reside within you.
THE SECOND decision you can make is to LIVE the life you design. Having an idea about what you want in your life and actually making it a reality are worlds apart. It takes great commitment, consistent focus and determined action to make it real. The truth is that few people live the life they really want. They do what everybody else does and wonder why they get what everybody else gets.
THE THIRD decision you can make is to SHAPE the life of another. Irrespective of whether or not they’re family or someone else, one of the most gratifying and personally rewarding processes you will ever engage in is to help someone else make choices about their life, help someone capture the opportunities and experience the true joy that our existence in this world offers. The sense of personal growth and contribution that comes from this is what fulfills our needs for self actualisation. This is where a sense of true fulfillment can be experienced. It’s why I do what I do in our life mastery seminars.
If you make this third decision, you MUST REMEMBER one very important point.
You can only shape the life of another to the level that you’re able to design and live your own life.
A teacher can only teach to the level they know themselves. You can only influence the quality of your children’s lives to the standard you experience in your own.
If you believe this and you do these three things well, your standards for success in the game of life might well become these.
To create an image in the minds of those who observe you for how to really live a quality life;
To experience a consistent sense of fulfillment in shaping the life of others; and
For people around you to consistently experience pleasure through their relationship or association with you.
If these become your standards for success in this world, then the quality of life you experience will be outstanding.
So with those thoughts my friend, dream big and choose to make your life extraordinary.

George Lee Sye

Do not fall for the myth that you have to slow down as you get older

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 14:02:13 +1000

I know I have spoken about this in the past. However, I think its time revisit an extremely important topic for people committed to a long, healthy and vital life.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people tell me I have to slow down.
“You’re getting older now George, have you thought about taking it easy?”
“You’re not as young as you used to be, you should leave that for the young guys.”
How much of this type of conversation is driven by social conditioning to believe that as we get older we should slow down and not be so active?
What people are really telling me is they have or are going to slow down as they clock up the calendar years.
Here’s a question for you to ponder:
Do we slow down as we age, or do we age as we slow down?
The body is the most magnificent thing on this planet, even if the mirror might give reason to perceive otherwise. It thrives on being used. Aging is nothing more than the slow deterioration of the 75 trillion cells that are the building blocks of your body. To slow down our physical aging, all we need to do is slow down the rate of cellular deterioration, makes sense eh.
It seems that most people think if I slow down physically, I slow down the rate of aging. Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth.
IF YOU DON’T USE IT, YOU LOSE IT!
If you don’t exercise your memory, it gets weaker. If you don’t exercise your ability to make decisions, you become worse at it. Equally, if you reduce the physical work load of your cells they will weaken or atrophy (as it is correctly referred to).
The Body’s Sewerage System
In addition to having your daily ‘cellular’ workout, you also need your lymphatic system to function at its peak in helping remove the waste from the environment in which cells live. Although there is almost 4 times as much ‘lymph’ fluid in your body as blood, the system does not have a pump.
Circulation is created through movement and deep diaphragmatic breathing.
As you move and breathe lower in your lungs, lymph is circulated and waste is filtered out of the body via lymph nodes.
if you don’t move and use the capacity of your lungs, waste builds up in the body and integrity of the environment of your body’s cells is challenged.
Jacob’s Ladder
Recently my good friend Rod (who describes himself to me as a “crusty old bugger”) told me about the ‘boot camp’ sessions he participates in every week with other work mates under the guidance of a 25 year old personal trainer. He was tremendously proud when he told me he had achieved a significant personal milestone at Perth’s infamous set of stairs known as ‘Jacobs’s ladder’.
He had run up and down the stairs 10 times in succession!
His personal achievement, which by the way is no mean feat for even a 20 year old, simply served to reinforce my beliefs that age is more a state of mind than a physical thing. Rod’s energy is amazing and he tells me he feels vital, young and enjoys every moment of his life, and he is certainly an inspiration me.
My Uncle
I have an uncle who is in his 70s. It seems to me that he has become more active as he gets older and he is fantastic role model to me and other members of our family. He has been competing in swimming in the masters age group for many years, and has now taken up cycling. In fact he recently completed a 180 kilometre trek on his road bike. He intends competing in a triathlon to do the swim leg for a team of 3 men later this year.
What’s amazing is the total age of the 3 team members is 240 years!
He tells me they are confident of winning their age group. More importantly, these guys will live a long, healthy and fulfilling life.
So, why would anyone want to slow down.
I’m certainly not saying you have to go out and play rugby league or take up moto-cross or work to excess. What I am saying is that you must remain active if you want to live as long as you possibly can and enjoy the potential longevity the temple you live in offers you.
Your body was designed to maintain itself through movement and use!
I hope you look after that body of yours at the cellular level and experience the physical energy and fulfillment you deserve - make your life an extraordinary one.
So with those thoughts my friend, dream big and make your life extraordinary

George Lee Sye

Health Wealth and Prosperity in 2009

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:55:31 +1000

Well we have finally responded to the overwhelming number of requests we’ve had to really teach what we know about health, wealth and personal prosperity.
Commencing in February with a 2.5 hour introduction to strategies for skyrocketing your health, wealth and prosperity, we are going to give far more focus to the success of individual people rather than companies as we have done in the past.
The key messages we will continue to get through to people are these:

1. The results you get are a product of your actions; the quality of your actions is a product of your thinking and belief patterns.
Virtually every person I have met wants to (a) achieve balance and quality of life, (b) live a long healthy life, and (c) create some level of financial independence beyond what they have right now. Many, if not most of the people I meet, no matter how decent a human being they might be, are challenged in realising those outcomes. While they may be positive, they are not really progressing financially like they desire, they struggle to get out of the stress cycle at work and never find the time to really look after their health, and they know something must change yet it never seems to really happen.
Now what’s interesting is that every single bit of information you need to access in order to take action to solve those challenges is available right this moment. So what’s the problem?
Finding out what to do won’t solve the problem, the cause of the present situation is the thinking and belief patterns that have been installed at the unconscious level. The only difference between a Richard Branson and someone who is struggling to make money is their psychologies, the unconscious patterns of thinking that cause them to perceive the world in a particular way and express themselves through communication and action.

‘If you want to change the results you get in life, find someone who can help you positively shift your thinking patterns at the unconscious level.’

2. How you approach one thing in your life, is how you approach everything else in your life.
What’s also interesting is that the thinking patterns (or psychology) we exhibit in one area of our life, permeate other areas. You see we can’t hold two opposing psychologies inside our head, we can only have one set of thinking patterns which we take from one situation to another.
Let me give you some examples:
A man who has doubt about his ability to perform a new task at work, also takes a doubt mindset into a job interview. He has developed and installed a way of creating and focusing on feelings of uncertainty when approaching a task with what he perceives to be an uncertain outcome.
A woman with a habit of noticing what she dislikes about every movie she watches, also gets most stressed when something unplanned happens because she only takes notice of the negative aspects of the event.
A woman who experiences negative feelings when the car salesperson tries to close the deal with her, also feels negative feelings when she gets to the point when she has to ask for the money in a sales situation where she is doing the selling
And finally, a man who always manages his time by creating a long list of actions at work around meeting the most urgent demands and deadlines, is highly likely to only work on his health, his relationships and his financial situation when they are starting to breakdown. He has inadvertently conditioned a pattern of primarily giving his attention to matters of perceived urgency, thus he ends up living his life in reaction.

‘Recognise that a deficiency in how you mentally approach one area of your life may well be the cause of a deficiency in another area of your life.’

Why are these important to take notice of. Let me share some interesting information with you.

EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
Work-life balance was the number two issue keeping business leaders awake at night according to a survey conducted by the Australian Institute of Management - second only to financial results
More than 12 million prescriptions for anti-depressants were issued in Australia in 2007 - the number is growing exponentially (and in my humble opinion only pharmaceutical company owners are really benefitting)
The World Health Organisation predicts that by 2020 the number 1 cause of early death will be ‘stress’ related illness

PHYSICAL WELL-BEING
Australia is spending $100 Billion per hear on health and spending is growing faster than GDP
The United States of America is spending upwards of 16 percent of their budget on health issues - that’s more than $2 Trillion and it will exceed 20 percent of the budget in a few years
Australia is now officially the fattest country on the planet with more than 2/3 of the population considered either overweight or obese
Interestingly enough, 2/3 of the population die early of either heart disease or cancer
More than 100,000 new cases of osteoporosis are diagnosed each year in Australia, and the number continues to grow every single year - 2.2 million Australians affected by it with direct costs of $1.9 Billion per year (source: International Osteoporosis Foundation)
It is predicted that by 2021, an osteoporosis related fracture will occur every 3.7 minutes in Australia - yet the condition is totally preventable
As more prescription drugs hit the market each year, disease statistics show that health is actually declining and problems growing - I think this is worth considering with an open mind
On average, we live approximately 26 years longer today than we did 100 years ago; sadly statistics show that only 6 of those years is with good health, the other 20 is for most people in poor health supported by drugs and medical intervention

FINANCIAL WELL-BEING
Credit card debt in Australia 2004 was $19.4 Billion, in August 2008 - $44 Billion (more than doubling in 4 years)
Credit card debt per person in the USA is 3 to 4 times as much as in Australia (is it any wonder why the current economic woes of the world began there)
Less than 5 percent of the Australian baby boomer population have sufficient funds to maintain their current standard of living going into retirement
In the next decade the ratio of tax paying worker to retiree will be 1:1; twenty years ago it was a ratio of 10:1 (and we think times are economically a little tough right now)

‘As our children observe us, they are unconsciously learning the same thinking and behaviour patterns! They will turn out to be incredibly decent people, but most will never realise the level of health and fulfillment they will one day desire.’

It’s now time for us to do something!
Rather than sit back and watch, we’ve decided to do whatever we can about the situation. In recognising that how people do one thing affects everything else, and that thinking must change first before the results will change, we have now consolidated what we know, practice and teach about health, wealth and personal achievement into an empowering education program for 2009.

‘Skyrocket Your Health, Wealth and Prosperity’ addresses the strategic and behavioural aspects of these challenges, and more importantly layers these elements on top of processes for progressing shifting unconscious thinking patterns and installing the psychology we need to really succeed.
Our objective is to work with people who understand the impact this will have on our society and who are genuinely committed to the idea of health, wealth and prosperity. If you would like more information, visit HERE.

I hope I get the opportunity to share the strategies and thinking patterns that have so positively impacted our own lives.
So my friend, dream big and make your life extraordinary

George Lee Sye

Daddy may I please borrow 25 dollars

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:03:24 +1000

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.   SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'   DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.   SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'   DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.   SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'   DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'   SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.   SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'   The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'   The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.   The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?   After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:   Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.   'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.   'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.   'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'   The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.   The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.   The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.   'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.   'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.   'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'   The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.   It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.   If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
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Sent to me by a friend, a pretty good reminder of what’s really important.
Your friend,

George

The only thing that really matters is your legacy

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:26:11 +1000

Have you ever thought about this - in 100 years time few of us, if any, will be here. And all of that little stuff we get stressed over means nothing.
THE ONLY THING THAT WILL MATTER WILL BE THE LEGACY YOU LEAVE BEHIND.
What will be your legacy ..... food for thought.
A Legacy
A legacy is defined in the dictionary as ‘an amount of money or property left to someone in a will’. Is that right ........ Howard Hughes left behind a heap of money in a will, never changed my life one iota. Mother Theresa left nothing behind in a will, now that lady made a difference to how I think about things and what I do.
What a lame definition, nothing inspirational about a money or property legacy.
Permit me to offer a different opinion of what your legacy will be.
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Your legacy is going to be this ......
THE ROLE YOU PLAYED in shaping the thinking and lives of your children and the people around you;
The VISION YOU CREATED for those who observed you and took notice of how you lived your life; and
The MEMORIES that people will have of you and HOW THEY DEFINE the kind of person you became during your time in this world.
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Corny stuff, probably.
Important to think about, absolutely.
Is it based on money or property .... not even close.
So....
The next time you let something small get under your skin, just remember you are setting the standard for everybody who observes you.
The next time you struggle to change something your life, remember that by doing it you set a new standard for other people - your partner, your kids, your friends. Make the decision and do it, the ripple effect is bigger than you imagine.
I wonder who comes up with those definitions by the way.
Have a meaningful life, your friend,

George