"Better never Stops "

Edition 177 Monday March 11th 2013

Hi, the newest addition to our family (‘Paul’ our Vee dubbie) couldn’t have got a better reception. He got a thorough clean inside and out, a naming ceremony(‘Paul’after ‘beetle’ Paul McCarthyJ) and his very own car cover (top of the line ex Repco!!).As with most impulse buys it all seems to have turned out ok in the end……except for the fact that the new ownership model doesn’t appear to have a clause in the terms and conditions that allows for the purchaser (muggins) to have driving rights!L

Christine correction;…Paul is the same age but they were both born in 1967 not 65 as reported in ‘Upbeat’ 176!!! No wonder I am not allowed to drive ……beetle off Jonesey Boy !!!

Fletcher file; Our little boy was 7 months old on Saturday and we celebrated with a couple of glasses of sparkling pinot in the brilliant sunshine amongst the vines at the Matua Estate. Paul was our special guest having done his bit by transporting us there in classic style.Fletcher also had his first visit to Play Group last week and immediately took control of the black sandpit,yum sand(photo).

Noticed last week; The Auckland Blues rugby slogan for this season is “Better never stops” not entirely unlike my own multi goal this year…..”Be Better.” Also, saw a guy walking along the road with a “Bring back Buck” shirt on…….good onya mate !!

We enjoyed watching the Black Sox NZ Softball team instead of ruggers this weekend YAY !!!

Life is good and we are lucky to be able to enjoy it by doing heaps of stuff together close to home. I hope you are also focused on enjoying your lives by taking time for you and those that mean the most to you and your family. Have a great week ahead, cheers Jonesey.

Harry and the Hendersons also love eating and spreading black sand everywhere especially in the grumpy mans bed!!, he may as well sleep on sand paper or at the beach!!!grrrrruff

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”  Aristotle,

I attend a Toastmasters meeting fortnightly on a Tuesday. On that day for the rest of the day I am on a roll and always have an amazing day. I feel in control,unbeatable,bullet proof and confident.

In effect Toastmasters is a training session where all the communication skills I am going to need are practiced before I need to use them. If you take the sporting analogy it is no different to practicing a sport before playing a game. It is the practice and the quality/regularity of that practice that ultimately determines how well we perform both individually and as part of a team.

Golfers practice their swing, their drive, their putting constantly so they can improve their game. As employees we need to practice the skills we use at work on a regular basis so we too can improve.As a sales person I need to practice presenting and listening so I can be a more effective communicator with my customers and my staff. The only way in the two weeks between Toastmasters meetings I can do this is to seize any opportunity I can to practice my skills. This involves presenting solutions to customers and accepting invitations from others to present to any one who wants to listenJ.

With most things in life if you don’t “use it you will lose it” , this definitely applies to sportsmen and women (ask Tiger Woods!) and it applies to us as well no matter what we are in to.

One of the things we talked about at last weeks meeting was ‘never saying no’ and how we could avoid saying no to requests we get from people be they customers, staff or friends. One of the things we came up with was challenging ourselves not to say no in the coming weeks but to look for alternatives like, “I cant do that but what I can do is” so in essence always looking for a positive alternative to saying no. I have had fun putting this in to practice but where I have managed to do so the outcome has been positive and mutually beneficial. Why not do some training and join me !!

“The way anything is developed is through practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice and more practice.”  Joyce Meyer