HEALTH AND FITNESS

2023 was a difficult year for me. A health issue prevented me from doing any physical exercise with the result that I put on some extra weight that influenced many aspects of my life.

Late last year, the issue was resolved, and I’m back on my bike doing 4 intensive cycling sessions each week. I’m feeling much better, and I’m enjoying it more than ever.

SPEAKING FOR CORPORATES AND AT CONFERENCES

For the past few years, most of my professional work was dedicated to building the 10 Behaviours of Successful People training and coaching business. I had little time for keynote talks at conferences or corporate speaking events.

Now that the 10 Behaviours has achieved a level of scale and momentum, I can’t wait to get back on the road. I’ve always enjoyed speaking and I’m looking forward to travelling, meeting new people, and learning about different cultures.

10 BEHAVIOURS EXPANSION

Since my book was published in 2013, I’ve been focused on building the 10 Behaviours training and coaching business allowing other people to run my programme. We now have a network of 40+ trained facilitators in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States with over 20,000 participants attending 10 Behaviours learning events.

Feedback from programme participants has been inspiring. It’s wonderful to see our certified facilitators doing such a good job in delivering programmes and being of service to their clients.

This year, I will continue to expand the network, and offer accreditation to new trainers.

RESEARCH FOR MY NEXT BOOK

I’ve often made the comment that my book, The Art of Deliberate Success: The 10 Behaviours of Successful People, took 24 years to write – 4 years to do the writing, and 20 years to become the person I needed to be to write the first word. I’m so glad I took the time. When I look at the book, I feel it was the best book I could write, and the effort involved was worth it.

Now I’m getting ready to write my next book. This one will be The Art of Stoic Success: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times. Hopefully this will not take that long!

A few years ago, I was introduced to the subject of Stoic Philosophy when I read Ryan Holiday’s book, The Lives of the Stoics. In that book, Holiday writes about an astonishing period in history between about 300 BC and 200 AD when thinkers such as Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus explored the subject of success.

Centered around ancient Greece and Rome, these philosophers contemplated what it meant to live a “Good Life” and what strategies one could put into daily practice. Surprisingly, what was written all those years ago, has never been as relevant as it is today.

I’m very much enjoying reading the original works of these early philosophers. Along the way, I’m experimenting with the ideas in my own life, and, where appropriate, using them when I coach clients.

While I don’t have a publication date, I’m making good progress.

VOLUNTEERING IN PRISONS

I’ve always felt strongly that we have a human responsibility to help others who are less fortunate than ourselves.

When the opportunity came up a few years ago for me to become involved in delivering training courses to prisoners, I said “yes” right away. Although this work is entirely voluntary, it’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.

For many, the idea of going into cell blocks is not exactly how they want to spend their spare time, but for me, it’s been a fascinating insight into the human condition. Despite the horrors that prisoners may have inflicted on their victims, at their core, prisoners have the same anxieties as all of us.

Currently the Freedom Philosophy courses we offer are available in several prisons throughout New Zealand and we’re always looking for new volunteers to help.