Over recent years I have become an early riser. Up at five or five-thirty AM, a little exercise, breakfast and into work. A couple of weeks ago, I was eating my usual over-night oats as a part of my morning routine and my phone rang without me seeing it - a friend. 'Not to worry, I'll call them back later'. Then, a few whatsApp messages came through. Then, my phone lit up.

My little cousin, Nicola, is twenty-five and got back from a round-the-world trip late last year. We saw her on the weekend and it turns out she has got the bug and is planning try her hand at living and working in London for the next few years.

I went to the bank the other day. I had an appointment, yet I had to wait 20 minutes for someone to tell me there was no one around to see me. As I took a few deep breathes to deal with the anger rising inside, I noticed a message on the wall in large font:

Our Values

Integrity Collaboration Accountability Respect Excellence

If you have read Angela Duckworth's Grit, The Power of Passion and Perseverance, you would be familiar with her research around the idea of the grittiest kids being the most successful.

I didn't realise what I had done.

I walked off the course, cross-checked and signed my scorecard with my playing partner and asked, "right, who's got time for a beer?"

Its the weekend after the 'first day at school'.

We're in Sydney and decide to extend our stay to visit friends. They're youngest had survived his first day at school and they were gearing up for 'the first full week'…

Extinction is such a harsh word. According to the Oxford Dictionary it means: The irreversible condition of a species or other group of organisms of having no living representatives in the wild, which follows the death of the last surviving individual of that species or group.

I always loved the saying from Bill Shankly, the legendary Liverpool Football Club Manager in the 1950's and 60's, "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”

Know what side your bread is buttered on. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. There's no such thing as a free lunch. If they told you to jump off a bridge, would you?

It has been a year of 'snap back'. Back into offices, back to the grind, and back to 'growth-at-all-costs' as everyone scrambles to make up lost ground from two or so years of pain. Economies have been under pressure, job markets are gradually shifting away from the Great Resignation and flux is being felt in the 'hybrid era' of working.

The 90's for me was all about grunge music, basketball, baggy shorts and trousers, and long hair. For us school kids at the time it was also an era of trying, or should I say anti-trying.

What do you do in the cracks between meetings and tasks? My instinct is you do what I do - you fill it.

This is a good way to remain efficient. But, the more important question is to look at what we fill it with.

It is an employer's legal right to deny workers the flexibility to work from home. It is an employer's legal right to demand a worker to work five days a week at the pre-pandemic place of work (lets call it the office). So, when Comm Bank, NAB, ANZ, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple all ask their workforces to work at the office at least 50% of the time (or 3 days a week) this is a reasonable request.

Every August our good-old news agencies down the road fills up with next year's diaries, calendars, and yearly planners. If you're lucky the local fire station will be raising money for a good cause selling their sexy-boy calendars in the local shopping centre 💪.

Our recent trip from Rome to Singapore included 13 hours in the air and just under six hours in transit (including a two hour delay due to rain storms in Istanbul). These sorts of flights are never fun, but the beautiful thing about flying is that within 24 hours you are transported from one world to another.

I have a theory about performance - it can be bought.

I propose there are three ways you can buy performance…

When I had the opportunity to meet up with one of my best mates (Simon) to play a few rounds of golf in Scotland I jumped at the chance. It is like a pilgrimage - to go to the place where the game was invented. For Aussies and Americans we have our version of the game, and everything wonderful we bring to it, but Scotland - its 'god's country' as the locals call it. There is a spiritual element to it.

It is 32 degrees Celsius with not a cloud in the sky. I am visiting the village my wife Jana grew up in, Lakšárska Nová Ves (or Lakšáre for short). It is Saturday afternoon and the whole village in one place – the local football match. We stroll down there with Jana’s sister Dana and our two nieces.

What should I do?

- I have followed up with a client twice to schedule our next meeting without a response.

- I strained my calf muscle the other day and it feels like it is getting worse.

- I keep getting mal-ware pop ups on my laptop that are becoming more frequent. They are annoying but possibly dangerous.

What do you think would be easier?

A. Hitting a cricket ball bowled at you with the speed of 130km/h, or
B. Hitting a golf ball sitting on the ground