I was listening to a commentator today on National Radio talking about how the manufacturing sector, and especially exporters in New Zealand were in a really bad way. That doesn't apply to us, but he did help me remember three things about why I came back from Australia to help grow Queensberry. It's her 40th birthday next month, and while she has changed beyond belief these past 10 years she grows up next month. I returned for ... Passion I came back to be part of some thing much bigger than myself. I have been passionate about this industry since I was a child and love photography, love weddings To View More >>

Jacqui sent me a link to this movie this morning. It's a very cool recording created by Mark Johnson founder of Playing for Change I love how in this next movie a man describes his music in such a spiritual way, he says ... "According to our philosophy music has been a great power. Power to bring peace and to get enlightenment. Because it is a sort of meditation... Because you need a lot of dedication in order to bring the music a great art... When there is a great art, there is always heaven. That is why we believe through music, if you practice a lot, you meditate To View More >>

Without a doubt the currency of the Fire Service is Trust. Without it all emergency services, and especially the Fire Service, would struggle to operate. I am sure it's true in all countries that the Fire Service almost always tops the chart of "Most Trusted Occupations", and I'm very proud to be a part of an organisation with that quality. This is important, not just between us and the public but also amongst members of a crew. Our job can be dangerous and you need to be able to rely on the people you respond with, and your ability to trust their integrity and courage is essential ... If not, To View More >>

SPEAKING OF LOVE AGAIN : The other day I wrote about how my wife knows that I love her: because I turn her light off. Literally thousands of people have read that post since then, and the general theme is, the women go, Ohhh and the guys go, Dude sssshhh. :-) I have received so much direct comment, I thought I would share how such a strange thing came about. The simple answer is : I have literally loved this woman since the moment we met. We were individually told that we would be perfect for each other, and, as we thought that was ridiculous, we each spent the next few months avoiding each other To View More >>

Imagine if there was something that, if you did it consistently, would improve all relationships completely. Wouldn't that be amazing? I don't want to overstate it, but I think the concept of the "Umbrella of Rapport", might just be that powerful, so please enjoy. Today I came across some notes from an internal presentation that I did for our sales people last year on how they might improve their relationships, in this case with our clients. Part of it included this powerful idea. I don't take credit for it, I first heard it from Tony Robbins, but I have added my own thoughts below. In my opinion To View More >>