Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 01-04-12

As part of my mis-spent youth, I used to play table-tennis for hours on end. It wasn’t long before I was selected for the school team.

Despite my very best efforts however, I couldn’t get into the County team. A place in the team was like stabbing jelly: I just couldn’t pin one down.

The problem was that I had no game plan. Mine was a counter attacking game. Although I was well prepared to counter everything my opponent threw at me, I was always countering and the other player dictated the tempo.

Once I went on the offensive, had a plan of attack and made the first move, I started winning more games and was selected for the County team.

Last week, I met a very successful entrepreneur who increased the profits of his recruitment business last year. When I asked him how he had achieved such great results in a recession, he replied, “We agreed a plan at the beginning of the year where we decided not to participate in the recession.”

If you have a plan to chase your passion rather than your pension and make the first move, you may be surprised how well life responds to you.

Quotes

The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride – Richard Bolles

The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson – Tom Bodette

We don’t have five senses, we have six senses; intuition being the sixth and most important sense. Once you learn to trust yourself, the world will bow at your feet – Jackson Kiddard

He who has a why to live, can bear almost any how – Friedrich Nietzsche

Humour

An extra dose this week, given that my next column will be on 15th April.

Psalm 129

A priest offered a Nun a lift.

She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident.

After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.
The nun said, ‘Father, remember Psalm 129?’

The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, ‘Father, remember Psalm 129?’

The priest apologized ‘Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.’

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.
On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129.

It said, ‘Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.’

And finally, two minutes of pure genius from my favourite comedian,

Micky Flanagan (2 min video)

I hope you have a fabulous Easter.

To your success,

Sunil

* If you enjoy this column, then you’ll enjoy my books:

The Art of Awesome Living – a collection containing 112 of the favourite "Adventures in Awesome Living" articles and quotes.

Mind, Set & Match – shows you how to successfully chase your passion not your pension and do the work that you were born to do.

The Book of Awesome Humour – contains humour which will make you smile, laugh and cry.

Get free samples of each book & order them at:

http://www.sunilbali.com/books/

Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 25-03-12

When an Austrian toothpaste salesman, Mr Mateschitz, arrived in Thailand suffering from jet lag, a hotelier recommended a can of the local pick me up, Krating Daeng.

So impressed was Mr Mateschitz, that whilst he was still in Thailand, he did a deal to market a less sweet, carbonated version of the drink in Europe.

Every piece of market research and testing however, suggested that the drink would flop. His business advisers told him that his new venture would fail and bring him to the verge of bankruptcy. But such was Mr Mateschitz’s belief in his product, that he ignored all the market research and expert advice and pressed ahead with a European launch.

Today, Dietrich Mateschitz has a personal fortune estimated at $2.4 billion and 4.6 billion cans of his drink were consumed last year.

Ps. Just in case you’re not fluent in Thai, Krating Daeng means “Red Buffalo” or “Red Bull”.

Quotes

We don’t like their sound and guitar music is on the way out – what Decca Records said about The Beatles.

You lack imagine and have no original ideas – what a manager at a newspaper said to Walt Disney when he fired him.

You’re too stupid to learn anything – what a teacher said about Thomas Edison.

Don’t make me walk when I want to fly – Galina Doyla

Humour

Thanks to Jags for these exam answers:

To your success,

Sunil

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

If you enjoy this column, then you’ll enjoy my books:

The Art of Awesome Living – a collection containing 112 of the favourite "Adventures in Awesome Living" articles and quotes.

Mind, Set & Match – shows you how to successfully chase your passion not your pension and do the work that you were born to do.

The Book of Awesome Humour – contains humour which will make you smile, laugh and cry.

Get free samples of each book & order them at:

http://www.sunilbali.com/books/

Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 18-03-12

Here’s a question for you. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?

For me, it’s been three words, "Be happy now". Let me explain why.

In my Trusted Adviser seminars, I notice that happy salespeople sell much more than unhappy sales people. Most people think that successful salespeople are happy because they’re selling more and earning more money. This isn’t true – happiness is an inside job…..

…..research by the brilliant Harvard psychologist

Shawn Achor (fantastic video of Shawn speaking at TEDx) reveals that successful salespeople sell more and make more money because they’re happy.

Next to love, happiness is probably the strongest stuff in the world. It’s more energizing than oxygen. It’s more mind expanding than a dose of LSD. It’s more intoxicating than a glass of Dom Perignon on a summer’s day.

Its only when you’re happy and enthusiastic, that you can enthuse others and create the business relationships that you want.

So how about setting this as a goal? To know when you take your last breath, that you always expressed who you really are and did what made you happy.

What say you?

Quotes

The most exhausting thing in life, I have discovered, is to be insincere – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

When you trust yourself and express with heartfelt conviction that which you really are, you flip the script on whatever is lacking in your life and draw it to you automatically – Jackson Kiddard

Your world is a living expression of how you are using and have used your mind – Earl Nightingale

The chief danger in life is that you take too many precautions – Alfred Adler

Humour

A double header this week:

You can’t escape Pachelbel (5 min video) – hilarious, original and very clever video of comedian and musician, Rob Paravonian.

Going up to Heaven

A young woman was teaching Sunday school to a group of very young children, one day she asked the class a question. She said “Class, who can tell me what’s the first part of you to get to Heaven, when you die?”

The young children sat quietly thinking, then finally little Jimmy in the front of the class raised his hand. The teacher said “Okay Jimmy what do think is the first part of you that gets to Heaven?” Jimmy said, “The top of your head, because when your standing up it’s the closest thing to Heaven.” The teacher then said “Well that’s not quite what I’m looking for does anybody else have any ideas?”

So little Mary raised her hand and said, “I know the answer; it’s your heart.” The teacher said “Your heart; why do say that Mary?” "Because that’s where all the goodness and stuff is and when you die it gets there first,” replied Mary. The teacher smiled and said, “That’s really nice Mary, but it’s not quite what I’m looking for, anyone else?”

Just then little Tommy the class troublemaker raised his hand. “Okay Tommy what do you think the answer is?” asked the teacher. “The soles of your feet,” Tommy replied confidently. “The soles of your feet? Why do say that?” asked the teacher. So Tommy says, “Well the other day I went up stairs and my mother was lying on her bed with her feet up in the air saying, “Oh my God I’m coming! And if it wasn’t for the postman holding her down I think she would have gone."

To your success,

Sunil

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

If you enjoy this column, then you’ll enjoy my books:

The Art of Awesome Living – a collection containing 112 of the favourite "Adventures in Awesome Living" articles and quotes.

Mind, Set & Match – shows you how to successfully chase your passion not your pension and do the work that you were born to do.

The Book of Awesome Humour – contains humour which will make you smile, laugh and cry.

Get free samples of each book & order them at:

http://www.sunilbali.com/books/

Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 11-03-12

A rather cruel experiment with rats, carried out many years ago at John Hopkins University in New York, showed the importance of hope when it comes to achieving success.

A large number of rats were each put into their own glass jar, which was full of water. After a brief period, half the rats were rescued from their ordeal before being put back in the water. The other half were left to swim for their life.

The group of rats that had been rescued and thereby given hope that they may be rescued again, swam for an average of three days. The group of rats that hadn’t been rescued all drowned in less than 24 hours.

Many psychotherapists use a simple scale of 1-10, when reframing the problems of their patients to give them hope.

When I was a psychotherapist, I would ask my patients to score their progress against a scale of 1 to 10. If, at the outset, they said they were a 3, I would reply “Great! So you’re already 30% there.” If they came back the next week and said they were a 4, I would say “Excellent. That’s an improvement of over 33%.”

We’re all told to set big, audacious goals, but too often we’re overwhelmed by both the enormity and remoteness of the challenge and our progress falters.

Celebrating small milestones which are visible and attainable, fuels us with hope to keep moving forward and reach the next milestone.

When Paula Radcliffe set the current world record of 2hrs 15mins 25secs, she was asked what her race strategy was. Her reply was “I didn’t really run a marathon; I ran 26 one mile races and smiled to myself after I had completed each mile.”

Quotes

Only one thing matters, one thing; to be able to dare – Fyodor Dostoevsky

All that ever holds somebody back, I think, is fear. For a minute I had fear, then I went into the dressing room and shot my fear in the face! – Lady Gaga

When something goes wrong, its inevitably part of a larger right – Jed McKenna

Don’t bother trying to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself – William Faulkner

Humour

Short and sweet from Peter Kay:

1. I saw six men kicking and punching the mother-in-law. My neighbour said ‘Are you going to help?’ I said ‘No, six should be enough.’

2. Why is it that when someone tells you that there are over a billion stars in the universe, you believe them, but if they tell you there is wet paint somewhere, you have to touch it to make sure.

3. I saw a fat person wearing a sweatshirt with ‘Guess’ on it. I said ‘Thyroid problem?’

4. When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bike. Then I realised that the Lord doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and asked him to forgive me.

5. I’ve often wanted to drown my troubles, but I can’t get my wife to go swimming.

6. I went to a restaurant that serves ‘breakfast at any time’. So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.

7. If we aren’t supposed to eat animals, then why are they made out of meat?

8. Right now I’m having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.

9. Why are they called stairs inside but steps outside?

10. Why does mineral water that ‘has trickled through mountains for centuries’ have a ‘use by’ date?

11. Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp no one would eat?

12. Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don’t point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is?

To your success,

Sunil

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

If you enjoy this column, then you’ll enjoy my books:

The Art of Awesome Living – a collection containing 112 of the favourite "Adventures in Awesome Living" articles and quotes.

Mind, Set & Match – shows you how to successfully chase your passion not your pension and do the work that you were born to do.

The Book of Awesome Humour – contains humour which will make you smile, laugh and cry.

Get free samples of each book & order them at:

http://www.sunilbali.com/books/

Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 04-03-12

Have you ever tried grocery shopping for a party without a shopping list?

If you have, then like me, you’ll know that it’s not the best way to shop.

In my case, it meant additional trips to the supermarket to pick up items I’d forgotten.

Yet, this is the principle that most people apply to their lives. They spend more time planning a picnic than they do their life.

Lists make things come alive…..

…..A list of what you want to achieve today, a list of the things you want to do before you die, a list of all the people you care about and want to stay in contact with.

Don’t leave your future in someone else’ hands, because if you do, guess what they’ve got planned for you?

Not as much as you would like.

So whatever you want to achieve, make sure you:

• think it
• ink it
• do it
• review it

Quotes

The way we choose to see the world, creates the world we see – Barry Kaufman

Fear kills more people than death – General George Patton

A goal without a plan is a dream – Elbert Hubbard

He who is not busy being born, is busy dying – Bob Dylan

Humour

Howlers from the classroom,

1. My dad wanted to ride a hore on the beach but my mum would not let him.

2. This weekend we got some slobs to make a patio in the garden.

3. Morons are allowed to marry two people. This is called pigamy.

4. Its a long walk to the church. Its four hundred years away. We go to church on Sindays.

5. Today we learned about porkypines and army****.

6. Crabs and lobsters belong to the animal family called crushed asians.

7. Fax hunting is cruel. The dogs rip them to shreds. I think it should be made ilegitimat.

To your success,

Sunil

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

If you enjoy this column, then you’ll enjoy my books:

The Art of Awesome Living – a collection containing 112 of the favourite "Adventures in Awesome Living" articles and quotes.

Mind, Set & Match – shows you how to successfully chase your passion not your pension and do the work that you were born to do.

The Book of Awesome Humour – contains humour which will make you smile, laugh and cry.

Get free samples of each book & order them at:

http://www.sunilbali.com/books/

Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 26-02-12

Many biologists view humans as the most successful species on Earth due to our intelligence and adaptability.

There is, however, one measure of success in which we lag behind other species. That is, we miss far more opportunities than we take.

When we were cave dwellers and our goals were to just find food, shelter and multiply we, like our friends the insects, did rather well. But as we’ve evolved and emotional needs such as self expression, a sense of achievement and a sense of purpose have come to the fore, we’ve not done so well:

1 in 4 of us will suffer some sort of mental illness during the course of our life and over half the world’s wealth is owned by just 2% of the population.

It’s not that the opportunities aren’t there. It’s just that the mental fog that seems to envelope 21st Century man prevents the majority from seeing or grasping these opportunities. So the message from the minority who Carpe Punctum is clear…..

Dear optimist, pessimist and realist,

While you were deciding how much water there was in the glass, I drank it.

Yours sincerely

The Opportunist

Quotes

Even when opportunity knocks a man still has to get up off his seat and open the door – Anon

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations – Charles Swindoll

Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing, that we see too late the one that is open – Alexander Graham Bell

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door – Milton Berle

Humour

One for the ladies,

Element Name: MAN

Symbol: XY

Atomic Weight: (180+/-50)

Physical properties: Solid at room temperature, but gets bent out of shape easily. Fairly dense and sometimes flaky. Difficult to find a pure sample. Aging samples are unable to conduct electricity as easily as young samples.

Chemical properties: Attempts to bond with WO (Element: Woman) any chance it can get. Also tends to form strong bonds with itself. Becomes explosive when mixed with KD (Element: Child) for prolonged periods of time. Neutralize by saturating with alcohol.

Usage: None known. Possibly good methane source. Good specimens are able to produce large quantities on command.

Caution: In the absence of WO, this element rapidly decomposes and begins to smell.

and one for the men,

A woman knocked at the door and her daughter-in-law answered naked, wearing just her birthday suit. "Your son loves me wearing my birthday suit when he comes home from work. You should try it", she said to her mother-in-law.

So the next evening, when her husband came home from work, the mother-in-law did just that and opened the door wearing nothing but her birthday suit. "What are you doing?" her husband asked.

"I’m wearing my birthday suit just for you," she replied.

"It needs ironing," he said.

To your success,

Sunil

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

If you enjoy this column, then you’ll enjoy my books:

The Art of Awesome Living – a collection containing 112 of the favourite "Adventures in Awesome Living" articles and quotes.

Mind, Set & Match – shows you how to successfully chase your passion not your pension and do the work that you were born to do.

The Book of Awesome Humour – contains humour which will make you smile, laugh and cry.

Get free samples of each book & order them at:

http://www.sunilbali.com/books/

Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 19-02-12

Thanks to his class mates at school spilling the beans and my wife loudly dropping coins down the side of his bed which woke him, my 8 year old son Aran has stopped believing in both Father Xmas and the Tooth Fairy.

No longer will my son be afraid to incur the wrath of these doyens of good behaviour, and so miss out on presents and hard cash.

What’s remarkable is how quickly kids can change their belief systems and go from believing in fairy tales to believing in the Argos toy catalogue and the bank of mum and dad.

Research clearly shows that during our teenage years we become conditioned into holding onto belief systems which clearly don’t support what we want to achieve. This toxic process continues during adulthood…..

"I’ll always be overweight."
"If I fail, I’ll feel stupid and rejected."
"I’m not good enough."

We’re born with a clean slate but the doom mongers, psychic vampires and non-achievers tell us what we can aspire to.

Don’t listen to them (77 second video)

Having positive role models and mentors in your inner circle can make a hugedifference to your outcomes:

A little boy who drew soldiers on the walls of his bedroom and enacted great battles was told by his parents that if he wanted to be a great general then that was fine by them. The little boy was Napoleon Bonaparte.

A young lad drew a three pointed star and said he would make the greatest engines in the world and put his star on them. His parents said to him, why don’t you go one step further and make the greatest cars in the world? The boys name was Gottlieb Daimler.

What beliefs and habits are stopping you from being more like the people you admire and aspire to be like?

Quotes

What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant curiosity of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult – Sigmund Freud

Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power comes available to you as soon as you change your beliefs – Maxwell Maltz

If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it – Gandhi

The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose – William Cowper

Humour

A recent study found that women find different male faces attractive depending on where they are in their menstrual cycle.

For example, when a woman is ovulating she tends to prefer a man with rugged, masculine features.

However, when she is menstruating, she prefers a man doused in petrol, then set on fire with scissors stuck in his eye.

…..and finally, if you’re having a bad day, remember it could have been worse:

…..or worse still you could you have been this incredibly unlucky bird (5 second video)

To your success,

Sunil

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

If you enjoy this column, then you’ll enjoy my books:

The Art of Awesome Living – a collection containing 112 of the favourite "Adventures in Awesome Living" articles and quotes.

Mind, Set & Match – shows you how to successfully chase your passion not your pension and do the work that you were born to do.

The Book of Awesome Humour – contains humour which will make you smile, laugh and cry.

Get free samples of each book & order them at:

http://www.sunilbali.com/books/

Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 12-02-12

Indians and Italians have a number of things in common, including their passion for food and the importance of deepening relationships over the course of a long, slow dinner.

Keith Ferrazi, author of the New York Times bestseller Who’s got your back tells me that Italians have a saying: "A tavola non s’invecchia" which means "At the dinner table no one grows old."

Whether it’s a family member or a potential client, getting people away from distractions and their daily environment is crucial to establishing closer relationships.

When you’ve got one eye on the clock, it can often become a case of "Let’s cut to the chase" rather than "What can I do for you?"

Don’t you find that time stands still and food tastes so much better when sprinkled with the intimacy of a "getting to know you better" dinner?

The long, slow dinner provides a platform to get what matters on the table and all agendas off the table and allows for openness, intimacy and ultimately trust to develop.

So who would you like to take out for dinner and get to know much better? How about over an Indian meal?

Being an Indian, I’m passionate about Indian food. Unfortunately, the food served by more than 95% of the Indian restaurants in the UK is, in my humble opinion, not fit for a dog! So here are a few restaurants that are the real deal and serve fabulous Indian food. But be warned…..you’ll never want to go back to your local curry house!

West London: http://dine-online.co.uk/madhus-indian-restaurant.htm Madhu’s Brilliant, Southall. They did the catering at my wedding 11 years ago and people are still talking about the food!

East London: http://www.tayyabs.co.uk/ – Tayyabs serves probably the best Lamb chops in the UK.

East London: http://www.lahore-kebabhouse.com/ – Lahore Kebab House is one of the first and very best curry houses in London.

Harrow: http://www.regencyclub.co.uk/ The Regency Club is a bar and grill which also serves fantastic vegetarian food. It’s 1minute walk from Queensbury tube station.

Birmingham: http://www.ashasuk.co.uk/ Asha’s – a fine dining establishment with some exquisite house specialities.

I’ve eaten at virtually all of London’s upmarket, fine dining, Indian restaurants and whilst my first 4 recommendations don’t have the grandeur of these establishments, the food is considerably better and will cost the same as your local curry house.

Quotes

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe: whatever you call it and whoever you are, you need one – Jane Howard

People don’t want any more information, they’re drowning it. They want trust. Trust in you and the story that you tell – Sunil Bali

To fly we have to have resistance – Maya Lin

I use my muscles as a conversation piece, like someone walking a cheetah down 42nd street – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Humour The following passage is taken from my book, Mind, Set & Match

Love Is…..

A team of researchers asked a group of primary school children: "What does love mean?" The answers were broader and deeper than they could have imagined:

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth."Billy, age 4

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy, age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired." Terri, age 4

"Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."Bobby, age 7

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."Nikka, age 6

"During my piano recital I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore."Cindy, age 8

"Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine, age 5

"Love is when Mummy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford. “Chris, age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."Mary Ann, age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."Lauren, age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."Karen, age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross."Mark, age 6

"You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."Jessica, age 8

….. and finally, here is an awesome marriage proposal (video)

To your success,

Sunil

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

If you enjoy this column, then you’ll enjoy my books:

The Art of Awesome Living – a collection containing 112 of the favourite “Adventures in Awesome Living” blogs plus quotes.

Mind, Set & Match – shows you how to successfully chase your passion not your pension and do the work that you were born to do.

The Book of Awesome Humour – contains humour which will make you smile, laugh and cry.

Get free samples of each book & order them at:

http://www.sunilbali.com/books/

Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 05-02-12

Have you ever wondered why so many rich people, don’t retire?

Billionaires such as Steven Spielberg, George Soros and Ralph Lauren could easily pack in the day job, but choose not to.

It’s because they’re having too much fun to stop.

When questioned why he doesn’t call it a day, Warren Buffet replied, "When I go to my office every morning, I feel like I’m going to the Sistine Chapel to paint."

These billionaires have to put up with crap just like anyone else. The trick is to get the Pareto scales weighing heavily in your favour and make sure that you’re having fun at least 80% of the time and doing stuff that’s not fun less than 20% of the time.

If it’s the other way around you’re in the wrong job and probably getting a lot of stress.

The evidence is unequivocal: Stress isn’t working 12 hours a day doing a job you love. Stress is working 8 hours a day doing a job you hate.

In this 90 second video, Steve Jobs explains the rules for success and why you should chase your passion and not our pension (p.13 of pdf)

Quotes

Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are – Chinese proverb and one of my favourite quotes

A true professional achieves success when you don’t know what you’re doing is work or play – Warren Beatty

I never did a day’s work in my life; it was all fun – Thomas Edison

I wasn’t the funniest guy growing up, but I was the guy who worked the hardest on being funny – Chris Rock comedian

Humour

1. Why does water that has "trickled through the mountains for centuries" have a "use by" date?

2. Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are going dead?

3. Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

4. Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

5. Why doesn’t glue stick to the bottle?

6. Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?

7. Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

8. Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

9. Why is it that no matter what colour bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

10. Is there ever a day that sofas are not on sale?

11. How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

To your success,

Sunil

Ps. If you enjoy this column, then you’ll enjoy my new books:

The Art of Awesome Living

The Book of Awesome Humour

which will be published next week. You can get free samples of both books & order them at:

http://www.sunilbali.com/books/

Adventures in Awesome Living

by Sunil Bali, 29-01-12

Have you ever watched little children after they’ve just learned to walk?

They take a few steps away from Mum and Dad before toddling back to them, to a place they know is safe.

The next time they may wander a step or two further, before returning. As their confidence builds they venture further away, but often look back, seeking reassurance that they can return to their place of safety.

My experience of working with leaders of multi-nationals to one man bands has convinced me that as adults we still need that “safe place” if we’re to flourish and reach our highest potential. A place where we can make mistakes without fear of embarrassment, where we can learn and be supported by others.

The media feeds us examples of solitary hyper achievers who have single-handedly defied the odds by ploughing a solitary furrow. The reality however, is that these hyper achievers invariably have a close team around them: It’s only when they’ve got their team together that their dream comes together.

Social media, on-line networking and the internet are essential tools but not the answer. The likes of Linked In, Twitter, and Facebook allow us to have more “friends” than ever, but when it comes to confidants who will support us to be successful, research shows that we’re often in a relationship vacuum and quite lonely.

Since the days of the caveman humans have needed each other. Just because we’re now wearing suits and holding briefcases, it doesn’t mean that anything has changed.

The evidence is clear: You have to do it on your own, but you can’t do it alone.

Who’s in your inner circle helping you to be all that you can be?

Quotes

Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75 – Benjamin Franklin

Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t – Richard Bach

Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong – Peter McIntyre

He who lives in harmony with himself, lives in harmony with the universe – Marcus Aurelius

Humour

Tease the frog and…..!! (27 second video)

…..and finally, from the late, great Tommy Cooper:

The Rottweiler

A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet. ‘My dog is cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?’

‘Well,’ said the vet, ‘let’s have a look at him.’ So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then he checks his teeth. Finally, he says, ‘I’m going to have to put him down.’

‘Why, because he’s cross-eyed?’

‘No. Because he’s really heavy.’

Great parking

‘You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen.’

It said, ‘Parking Fine.’

My arm hurts

A man walked into the doctors and said, ‘I’ve hurt my arm in several places’.

The doctor replied, ‘Well, don’t go there anymore.’

To your success,

Sunil