Lucky escape !!

 

 

 

Edition 253 Monday September 29th 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,when you stare danger in tha face like I do daily it is easy to get complacent, possibly arrogant!. It is those times that can be the most dangerous! Last week I was the victim of one such moment whilst running on the beach early one morning in the dark. I can recall standing on something a bit spongey and thinking no more of it until I developed a burning sensation in my calf muscle. To my consternation I discovered the spongey thing was a man stinging ‘blue bottle’ jellyfish who obviously took a dislike to being jumped on in his or her sleep! I have survived one such attack previously and know that the sting is toxic and needs to be treated with care.So like a numb nuts I scraped the sting off my leg with my hand and proceeded to touch my face before washing….. Drrrrrrr.

Post attack I know day one, affected areas sting like crazy,day two, itches like crazy and day three,goes feral, then in typical ‘she’ll be right’ bloke fashion day four,victim seeks treatment!!!

I am pleased to report after some anti-inflams and antibiotics the prognisis is good and I should pull through…just !

Fletcher says; It is cool learning to tell the time and daylight saving is radical man!! So you try explaining to a two year old why he has to go to bed at the same time but earlier?????

In a fascinating sequel to the ‘tired seal on the rock’ story a couple of editions ago our Park Ranger traced the ID tag to a mother seal tagged in the Haast area off the West Coast of the South Island (roughly opposite Christchurch). Wow talk about a long way to swim for a coffee, no wonder she was tired and needed a rest. In a happy end to the story our Ranger refloated her and she was last seen  playing with the locals off Oaia Island Muriwai now a happy mainland girl.

I hope your weekend had positive outcomes too for you, family and friends.…………Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon daylight saving = no excuse not to walk after work pal!!

 

“The less routine the more life.” Amos Bronson Allcott

 

There is nothing like a new routine to make you grumpy and ‘out of sorts’ either that or it was the bad karma jelly fish toxin invading my system that was to blame? Whatever it was I sure was grumpy last week….ask anyone who had the unfortunate experience to have to interact with me.

I am told us Virgo’s like things settled and routine and any change to the program throws us a little!

Well it happened big time last week as I battled coming to grips with our new schedule since Christine has started work again!

Time management, planning, and organisation are the traits  a  person must continually improve if they are to be successful  however they are skills I have firmly in the ‘must be better’ category.

Hence the wheels coming off last week as I faced the consequence of having to organiise myself better in order to do my bit for the team….and all this after being attacked by a jellyfish!!

What it did highlight to me is the importance of prioritising the tasks in order of ‘best use of time’ rather than bouncing menacingly from one to the other.

Have you ever noticed when things are not organised and planned then other things tend to impact you negatively and add to your woes……like the major traffic snarl ups I got caught in last week !

For me this snowballed for me in particular and negatively affected my attitude to others. So I was the ultimate moody petulant child last week. I spent a good part of my day apologising for my behaviour in the other parts of it !! Crikey what a spoiled little mid fifty something year old brat!

Not an ‘Upbeat’ example to set but we do all have rough times and it will only get ‘better’ from here!

 

“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.” Mike Murdoch

That man deserves a beer!

         

 

 

Edition 252 Monday September 22nd 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, I like a beer like the next joker but rather than drink one for the sake of it I like to feel I have earned it. I can remember in my rugby playing days if I was ever a reserve warming the bench and didn’t play I couldn’t enjoy a beer until I had done something. Much to the amusement of my team mates I would either organise a game of five aside with the reserves from the opposition or do some training that then justified a shower and a well deserved beer. These days there is plenty of stuff to do around the house that justify having a beer or two flowing most weekends so I don’t have to go looking for nine other thirsty men who want a game of footy!...........The things we do!!

Fletcher says; looking for treasure on a stormy wind swept beach is fun and can be rewarding after finding two rugby balls this weekend.Buoys will be buoys,…..like father like son!!....cliche corner!!

Crikey,having three big dogs is a mission at times especially when they have to be exercised daily. It takes meticulous planning with military like precision to ensure canine cross fit at 48!!

Can you imagine what Christines poor station wagon looks like after transporting the team too and from their favourite forest and beach walks! We have short, medium and long hair team members who each provide their own unique challenges for the poor old vaccuum and the even older resident groomer!! Just as well he is the sort of bloke who needs a physical work out before he feels justified having a beer…….careful what you wish for Jonesey !!! J

I hope you have had a suitably rewarding weekend and a few beers so you are in good shape to hit the coming week with great ‘upbeat’ gusto…have a good one…………Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon now Fletcher has three rugby balls at least one of them should be fair game for the canine team to pick up a game at 48?!!!

 

 

“I try to lead by example.” Usain Bolt

 

Leading by example is tough sometimes especially when you want to send the right message by having a clean car!

I always maintain you can tell a lot about a person by the state of their car ! Have you ever noticed this and how accurate this assessment actually is? One of the things I have always tried to do as a leader is to make sure my car is clean both inside and out. How can I ask my team to maintain the cleanliness of their cars if I am not leading by example and doing the same. This is complcated for me given the distance I live from work and the amount of travelling I do each week(approx 750km!!).

I am not offering this up as an excuse merely a challenge I accept and overcome weekly.

For me I don’t feel I am ready to attack the week unless my car is cleaned on the weekend. It is my mobile office and it needs to make a statement to people I visit or transport each week. I feel good in a clean car and incomplete in a dirty or untidy car. It is a tool of trade and needs to be in the best shape it can be in order for me to also be confident that I  have the best chance of achieving success.

Psychologically it is important to have pride in the condition of my work vehicle and the company I represent. This also sends a message to the people I work with and hopefully motivates and inspires them to do the same………leading by example is one of the best leadership traits we can aspire to have!

 

As an added bonus cleaning the car inside and out weekly also qualifies for a well deserved beer J!

 

“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.”  Albert Einstein

Busy fool !!!

Hi,how much of a hurry is too much of a hurry? I had just left for work(in a hurry) when I noticed something felt wrong with the car. I suspected a flat tyre but instead of stopping I kept going. A couple of bends later I did stop and confirmed my tyre was almost flat. It was dark so I decided to drive slowly to a nearby garage! However because I was in a hurry instead of changing the tyre I pumped it up and kept going ! I made it to my first meeting and eventually got the puncture fixed later that day after having pumped it up once more because I had a busy day !! Crikey what was I thinking?,these actions could have had disasterous consequences and in hindsight were a huge and unnecessary risk to take………………Lessons learned from this;1)No matter how much of a hurry you are in your personal safety has to take priority.2)Check tyres before blast off and know where your spare tyre is and how to access and change it.Seems straight forward, but, both things I didn’t do!

 

Fletcher says; a lot these days and as encouraging as that is it takes a lot of concentration to unravel most of the messages.We have cool crayons for drawing on faces and windows.See latest picture attached of Team 48!!

NZFS Volly # 992813 is preparing herself for the final hurdle before officially being able to respond to the local siren. 7 days of gruelling basic training in early October looms large! You go girl !!!

Thank you for your feedback last week on the back of ‘Upbeat’ edition 250 . I appreciate your comments and support greatly and look forward to ‘keeping you up with the Joneses’ and ‘selling the sizzle’ in true “Upbeat’ style as we close in together on edition 300!!!

 

Any hurry is too much of a hurry if it endangers you, have a safe one… Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon there could be money to be made by dogs checking out tyres before marking them as safe?......Scooby Doo thinking !!

 

 

“Feedback is the gift of growth.” Ralph Smedley, founder of Toastmasters International.

 

Last week I spent time inducting our newest recruit to team GG something that is always a pleasure. As part of this process we called on a number of customers for a variety of reasons and spent time covering all aspects of our company and our new employees role within it.

To my pleasant surprise our newbie also had plenty of feedback for me during our time together. I received impromptu and objective evaluation of my performance on several occasions.

My view is any feedback is good feedback therefore these comments were valued and noted by me.

It is important not to lose sight of the need for our performance to be evaluated wherever possible and having someone along for the ride is a perfect opportunity to get this assessment up front and first hand.

It is also easy to get lazy and complacent about our own performance to the point where we develop an arrogance or think we are beyond help or advice.

We never know it all but often thinking we do can create this arrogance so it is important to be reminded of our need for humility.

Don’t ever stop learning and benefitting from new ideas or feedback from others on how you can be better by modifying your techniques and behaviour.

No better way for me  than  this case through a third party independent real time assessment!!!

There is no better way to finish every day by saying “I learned something today” …lucky me!!!

 

“Life is a long lesson in humility.” James M. Barrie

TWO FITTY !!!!!

         

 

 

Edition 250 Monday September 8th 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,as someone who generally leaves things to the last minute and subsequently stresses to meet deadlines I cant believe I have religiously cranked out ‘Upbeat’ 250 times today !!! YAY !!!! Add to this the previous 99 editions of ‘Upbeat’ in its earlier form as the “Triple M’ (Monday Morning Motivator) and we are seriously threatening Dickens and Tolken in the novel stakes !!!

As you know from being told on numerous occasions ‘Upbeat’ is all about getting me going on a Monday! By personally accepting responsibility and disciplining myself to perform and deliver I ensure I start every week motivated to succeed. You are one of hundreds who receive ‘Upbeat’ and I sincerely hope it has the same positive effect on you….thanks again for your support and feedback!

Fletcher says; well done Dad, good effort now seeing as you are feeling so ‘Upbeat’ how about raising my allowance! We had fun on Fathers Day down the beach chatting with an exhausted Fur Seal as we stood guard until the local Ranger was able to assist (see attached photo).

Crikey early September is full on with my birthday, Fathers Day and Mums birthday all in the same week. The birthday and the Fathers Day prezzie tend to get blurred and blended but hey it’s the thought that counts, yeah right !

I followed my own advice and took a day off work on my birthday. Christine and I had a cool day together relaxing. I enjoyed dropping and picking up Fletcher from daycare in a complete and fun break from routine for me. I super recommend taking time out to celebrate special times with family.

I also feel lucky and appreciate greatly these opportunities to celebrate occasions in person with my Mum and Dad who are still going strong into their 80’s, long may that continue.

I hope you all had a great weekend with family and friends, have a cool week ahead, Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon roast Fur Seal would have been nice for Fathers Day tea!

 

“Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.”Donald Trump

 

The week started on a disasterous note for me with the news that I had been unsuccessful on my bid to win a major new project I had been confident of nailing !

Crikey that had the potential to derail the main engine and most of the carriages as I was tempted to pack a sad and pull a hammy for the rest of the week.

But not this ‘Upbeat’ Jones boy so after sulking and blaming myself for an hour or too I got some great news that hit this loss out of the park for an instant home run……..

We were thrilled to hear that Christine had been voted on the local Volunteer Fire Brigade island officially and also formally recognised by the New Zealand Fire Service as an official fire fighter complete with a registered number 992813.

It certainly put my disppointment on missing out on a work project into perspective and gave me the required motivation to pick my sorry salesmans butt up off the floor to focus on the next challenge!

From that point on I had a great week securing two major new sales,achieving some significant additional business from existing customers and using some personal initiative to finally recruit a new member to our sales team.

We all experience set backs but it is important not to dwell on them or let them influence our performance. There will always be positives we can focus on instead to get us back on the horse!!

 

‘When a person becomes a firefighter their greatest act of bravery has been accomplished.  What they do after that is all in the line of work.’ Edward F Croker