James Bernard

September 22, 2016 by James Bernard Leave a Comment

Do You Dream?

Do you dream?

When I ask this question I mean it in way of a dream to do something. I have a dream of having a jam session with Eric Clapton and Ry Cooder. Whether it happens or not doesn’t really matter, sort of. I practice my guitar and harmonica with the hope that one day, maybe just maybe, it will happen.

Do you Dream?

A friend said the other day that they had not had a dream for a long time, had been scared to dream for fear of being disappointed, and had forgotten how to dream. They are not going to be like this for much longer!

Do you dare to dream? What if it can true?

It has been said that if your dream doesn’t scare you it’s not big enough!

Do you have dreams?

Do you day dream? At school I was always daydreaming! My dream then was to design and build the best sports car in the world. I still have the design in my head and it still looks amazing! Some of my school mates had other dreams, to run a marathon, another to become a famous author.

I still daydream today, although not all the time haha! I set aside time to dream, to “exercise” my imagination.

Do you hold on to dreams?

Holding on to your dreams lightly, I have found, is to be the best way. Dreams sometimes change and develop into other dreams. They sometimes have journeys all of their own. Living in a dream is living in a fantasy, not a good idea. A dream is only a plan without time limits, without goals. Living the dream is different. And that is achievable.

What is your dream? Is it achievable? What are you going to do about it?

Let me know below.

June 25, 2016 by James Bernard

Brexit 2016 – A Brave New World!

The referendum on Brexit was a tough call for the UK government. This was a brave vote for the UK. They have done well and I applaud them.

I lived in the UK for most of my life, moving to Australia in 2009. I remember (just) what it was like before the EU and before the EEC. I do have a pair of rose tinted specs! And I do remember the 3 day week of ‘73.

There have been some amazing negative claims of all sorts over this vote, and that’s a shame. Being an optimist I tend to look of the bright side of life! I followed the campaign from afar (Australia) and in my heart of hearts I knew the UK was going to vote to leave. It was excitingly close.

So what happened?

The markets were spooked because they thought the UK was going to stay in. How come? They listened to these “experts” who spoke to other “experts”, who spoke to their friends who said “let’s stay”. They didn’t ask the man in the street!

When you look at the voting demographic, it is easy to see that these with degrees wanted to stay and those without wanted to leave. The older generation also wanted to leave. Did they remember what it was like before the EU? Before the EEC? Ted Heath took the UK into the EEC, a trading agreement, which was good except for the fact there was no constraints on the mission creep which came along. And that’s what upset the man in the street. It was bad enough with UK regulation and then to have EU regulation and bureaucracy on top, was the last straw. IF the UK had done its numbers right it would have known the vote would go against it. It wasn’t hard to see.

I read a number of articles explaining how and why they would vote and all said the EU needed reform. And I agree. The problem I see is the the EU bureaucracy is now so big and cumbersome that reform just wouldn’t happen because of its built-in survival mechanisms. Like FIFA, it needs to be broken down and rebuilt. And this is one way of doing it.

The Future

So what now? Two years (or so) of negotiations. Can the UK be better off outside of the EU? Yes. Will it? That remains to be seen, but I hope so.

I see it as a new breed of politicians need to step up and serve the people and the country rather than fight for power to rule. The kings and queens of old fought for the throne. Democracy was meant to bring in power to the people, to let the people decide, and here they did. Modern day democracy is a sham really – and that subject is for another day!

And what of the EU? There are already calls for referendums in other countries, France and Denmark.

And of the world? Life will go on, that’s for sure. Has the UK’s vote changed anything? I hope so. I hope other countries pickup that there are major disconnects between various groups in society. And these gaps need to be addressed, not only in the UK but in other countries (like Australia) also.

The other thing that this vote also shows, and some people’s reaction to it, is that society is not yet ready for a “One World Government”!

May 2, 2016 by James Bernard

Total Success Conference – Melbourne

This last week I went to the Total Success Conference run by Total Success Resources. And it was very excellent. This was the first of this type of conference I had been to and the only negative thing about it was the constant CTA (Call to Action). Almost every speaker wanted to sell us their program! I just got CTA fatigue! It was a good experience however as I started to observe how they sold from stage rather than what they were selling! And they were all different too.

Personally, the only one I would have bought would have been the How to Build an Online Business by Peng Joon. It was at a good price and the value enormous. And it appealed to my geeky side!

The conference was MC’d by Jason Tyler, who was very good and was very patient with an audience who seemed reluctant to raise their energy level. Some of the speakers had a good energy level and needed the audience to participate. Others were happy to give their content, hear laughter at the humourous points and radiate a smile at the applause at the end.

Gold nuggets

There were numerous gold nuggets throughout the conference, of which I’ll share in other posts over the coming weeks. One nugget I’ll share today is that most of the speakers came from a “normal” or “poor” background, but they all had several things in common: they had a vision, a passion for what they were doing, determination to see it through, the money didn’t really matter, and “big picture” thinking – the only thing limiting them was the size of their thinking! In regards to the money thing, it does matter, but making money for the sake of making money isn’t the central theme of their business, it’s their passion that drives them. And as Tony Robbins mentioned being successful in your passion will lead to fulfilment, which is success in itself.

A take away today

The thing to take away from here, so long as you have these 5 things; a vision, passion for your vision, perseverance, a good money mindset and “big picture” thinking, you too can be successful and fulfilled in your chosen field.

August 29, 2015 by James Bernard

Guide to Goal Setting

Author Zig Ziglar was often quoted as saying, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”

Setting goals is easy, reaching them takes dedication!

I believe, in most cases, its not in the reaching of the goals that’s important, its the journey there, and who you become along the way. Which makes it even more important to have goals and visions.

There are many ways to set goals, and all of them can be the right way, the thing is to find a way that works for you. One of the most common models is the SMART model. This is the framework I use, which is a slight deviation and detailed below.

S.M.A.R.T.

SMART is an acronym for Simple/specific, Measurable, Attractive/attainable, Realistic/relevant and Time/time-bound.

Simple/specific.
Keep the goals simple and focused, rather than wordy and vague.
They must identify exactly what you want to accomplish – the more specific the better.

Bad: Write a book
Good: Write an e-book on the 5 principle of success.

Measurable.
Make sure the achievement of this goal is measurable ie ask the question “How will you know you’ve achieved this goal?”, “what will be different once this is accomplished?”.

Bad: “Earn more than last year”
Good: “Earn $6000 more this year than last year”

Attractive/attainable.
The goal must be appealing, not just for the short term, but for the long term also. Start with an action verb (quit, run, finish etc)

Bad: Write more books.
Good: Write 2 books a year.

Realistic/relevant.
The goal needs to be achievable. A good goal needs to stretch you, push your comfort zone or just outside it.

Bad: Qualify for the Swimming Olympic team
Good: Increase the number of lengths swam in half and hour by 4.

Timed or time-bound.
Associate a date with you goal. A goal without a date is a dream. Know when it will be achieved.

Bad: Lose 10Kg
Good: Lose 10Kg by 31st December 2016

Two more to add to make the model Smarter:

Everyone/ethical.
If you’re in a team make it team bound.
Ethical is just that, no harm to anyone!

Revisited/recorded.
Revisit you’re goal on a regular basis and review it, is it still attainable or have the goal posts (pun intended) moved? Record the results so when you look back you can see how far you’re come, this is a great gratitude check.

Some pointers on the goals themselves.

To start with, don’t overwhelm yourself with too many goals, I’d suggest 3 main goals you want to achieve this year and along side, 3 goals you’d like to achieve.
Write down your goals, there is huge power in writing them down. Then create an action plan to accomplish them.
Review them frequently. Reviewing them keeps them in the front of your mind and keeps them active. Keep asking yourself, what’s the next thing/step I need to take to achieve this goal? Take your daily inspiration from them. I read and/or review mine each week.
Share on a need to know basis. There is a compelling case that sharing goals makes them less likely to happen. Share with those who are committed to helping you achieve your goals (Mentor, coach, business partner). David Sivers in his 2010 TED talk explains why

A vision is letting your imagination go wild, let go of everything that you think is or is not possible, just let go, and imagine you and those around you (your family, or future family) or whatever living a life of your dreams, dare to dream, that this could be possible, be excited, and write it down in detail. Write down your ideal average day. This is where your goals will lead you to… enjoy!

January 25, 2015 by James Bernard Leave a Comment

Business and Life Coaching!

The world is a big place. And I’m here to help you find your place in it!

Business Coaching/ Mentoring

Business coaching is a process used to take a business from where it is now to where the business owner wants it to be. A business coach and mentor will assist and guide the business owner through guidance, support, accountability and encouragement in growing their business. By helping them clarify the vision of their business their sales, marketing, management, team building and so much more… and how it fits in with their personal goals.

Quite often business owners don’t see the woods for the trees. When you’re stuck in the middle, it can be difficult to see the bigger picture to get out. The business coach and mentor will, through asking questions and teaching, help the business flourish.

Life Coaching

When you’re at a fork in the road and you don’t know which way to go, in your career, relationships or life itself, you become disconnected with what’s important, you loose touch with your passion, your vision, your why, your purpose; you loose clarity of whats ahead. This results in low self belief, low self esteem, your confidence takes a hit, and your self worth rolls off the table. Which leads to procrastination, self sabotage and lack of self love.

I help people overcome these problems quickly.

Most people plan their holiday’s better than their lives. Do you know where you (and you family) want to be in 5 years time?

A coach and mentor helps others to find their way in life and business.