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What Difference Do You Want To Make?

Cancer doesn’t care when it strikes. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, fit or lazy. A few years ago a melanoma claimed the life of a 26-year-old north Queensland man, a superfit triathlete. But that tragic reality has inspired hundreds of people to very literally get on their bikes, ask how they can help and get in the game.

It’s that old cliché – extraordinary things happen when ordinary people get involved. But I want to say I don’t think there are any ordinary people. There are only amazing people waiting for their chance to shine.

We all want to be inspired. I’ve been working with a construction company and the daughter of one of their leaders has autism. And the company was wondering how it could get help to support the man and his daughter, and others with autism. The next week I worked at a different conference and that company was raising money for autism! I swapped stories with them and they started swapping stories with me. Everyone got inspired and so much momentum was created. People were offering money, offering to educate kids in schools, offering to take the message to their businesses. It became a wave of support that wouldn’t be overcome.

What can you do to make a difference? You can’t fight every battle and you can’t support every cause. But what can you do? You might say, I don’t have enough money to give it away. But can you ride a bike to support a cause? Can you read books, swim laps, take a walk? You can – and you will – when you realise the incredible difference you can make in someone else’s life, and in your own life. The buzz you get from supporting others will inspire more people to do the same! It’s infectious – I am constantly amazed at just how much can be achieved when people engage from their hearts with like-minded people.

At blackbelt in excellence we talk about creating environments in which people have the opportunity to shine. And whether we’re talking about supporting a charity, or building business opportunities or creating the loving atmosphere in the home that you want for your family, the same principles apply: take that first step (no matter how scary), bring your best game to the table every time, decide what new skills or knowledge you need, and think about who you can bring onto your team.

These small steps create momentum. And momentum is an incredibly powerful thing. Once you provide the chance for people to shine, I’m positive that you won’t be able to stop the excitement and energy they will bring when they are inspired to serve and care for each other. When people start to work together, believing in what they’re doing, the enthusiasm and energy levels skyrocket. I see it in conference rooms and after our martial arts displays all the time – the groundswell of momentum becomes unstoppable!

Success is the reward for those who make a difference. And it doesn’t matter what your definition of success is. I want to leave you with a question this month: What difference do you want to make? If you search yourself deeply enough, you’ll know that’s a question that demands an answer.

I look forward to being inspired by your inspiration!

Posted in business, family, goals, inspiration, motivation, self improvement, sport, success. Tagged with , .

By PRT
August 16, 2010

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Feedback

“I can guarantee that Peter Thurin through his “blackbelt in excellence” programme will motivate your staff. He has brought together his experience from many years in the pharmacy business with his passion for taekwondo and combines this with the message you want to deliver, to build an action packed two hour session.”

“In a refreshing linkage of physical and classroom style he demonstrates the power of positive attitude. Peter is a terrific storyteller, he delivers anecdotes from his personal experience in a most professional and amusing manner. The process he employs builds through several stages, culminating in an explosion of group energy unlike anything I have witnessed before.”

“His message is simple and inescapably correct. Your most valuable resource is your people. Their most valuable possession is their relationships with your customers.”

“A truly memorable session. We will be using him again.”

General Manager,
PPG Automotive Refinish Australia

Posted in business, conference, facilitator, testimonials. Tagged with , .

By PRT
August 16, 2010

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I did it!

No doubt you’re like me and you get a stack of email in your InBox. But it’s not every day you get a message you want to share with the world! I’m just so inspired and thankful that Brian Wood, Director of KPMG Forensic, has allowed me to share his amazing story with you.

This is the email Brian sent me:

Subject: I did it!

Hi Peter,

Not sure if you will remember me, but we met about three years ago at the KPMG Forensic conference in the Hunter Valley. We discussed the challenges of staying fit and finding time for yourself when you have the responsibility of a young family. I took a lot away from your presentation, and that week enrolled in my first taekwondo class at the age of 35. Attending that class was my one percenter, and the opportunity to put what you had taught me to the test.

Since that time, I have used “one percenters” almost daily in both my personal and professional life. All I can say is that it works, and it is something I like to remind my team here at KPMG.

By the way – I got my black belt last week and am feeling pretty darn proud. At the age of 38, I think I am probably fitter now than I have ever been. Thanks for a simple piece of advice that has made a huge difference.

Cheers
Brian

Brian Wood
Director
KPMG Forensic

Wow, wow and wow! Brian has bought to life some of the key ingredients we talk about at blackbelt in excellence – and look at the results! He has achieved his goal because he has shown focus, discipline and commitment. He has put them all into action, along with the one-percenters, and ultimately obtained a black belt in martial arts.

Brian, you are an inspiration.

But please don’t think this is a story that’s just about martial arts! Brian’s blackbelt in excellence was literally a black belt, but yours can be anything you really desire: learn a language, play a musical instrument, climb a mountain, be a better parent, be a better leader. But I’ve got to say that desire alone, although it is so important, will not get the job done.

You have to act. You have to take the first step. Do that one-percenter that will put you on the road to achieving your goal. For Brian, it was to enrol in that first class. He might have hated it! But he put himself in danger of actually achieving his goal. He didn’t leave his warm and fuzzy feelings in the conference room three years ago. He picked them up, took them on board and put them into action. One little step – and now, three years later, he’s achieved his black belt.

What’s your black belt? And what’s stopping you from following through and making it a reality?

I am convinced that Brian will now be a better husband, a better father and a better leader. And the reason is he is fitter than he has ever been and he knows what can be achieved when he puts his desires into action – he is now an inspiration to those around him. He has thanked me for inspiring him, but it’s miniscule compared to how he has inspired me – and now his message, I really hope, is inspiring you.

Brian is a busy man. If he wants, he has plenty of excuses not to do things. He was – and is – a company executive. With a young family. But he found a way to take his desires from just a bunch of nice thoughts and turned them into a reality – by following through and being focussed on continual improvement, those one-percenters every day.

I thank him so much for sharing his story with us. And I ask you: will you just let this be another warm, fuzzy story? Or are you going to take action like Brian did?

Posted in actions, business, conference, family, goals, health, inspiration, leadership, martial arts, motivation, self improvement, stories, success, testimonials. Tagged with .

By devo_admin
July 20, 2010

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Don’t Leave The Good Stuff Behind

“Most leaders I work with grow bored easily, and are in constant pursuit of strategies, ideas, trends—even employees—that will somehow transform their organisations. Unfortunately, they haven‘t come close to fully tapping the strategies, ideas, trends or employees that they already have, and yet they discard those untapped assets in exchange for new ones.”

This is from an article written by Patrick Lencioni and follows up from a conversation I had very recently with the Chief Executive of a major organisation.

Many of us are off to the “next best thing” and leave so much of the “good stuff” behind. It’s not what you have done but more importantly it is about what you are currently doing.

I got fit last year and therefore don’t need to exercise this year is not helpful to your health. I acknowledged a member of my team last week and so don’t need to recognise contribution this week is counter productive to building high performing teams.

Be consistent, focus on continual improvement, and don’t leave the good stuff behind!

It’s the on-going “doing” that is vital to your success.

Posted in actions, family, goals, health, leadership, opportunity, success. Tagged with , , , , , , .

By PRT
July 9, 2010

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Last Man Standing

Have recently returned from a conference on the Gold Coast where I shared the stage with Steven Bradbury. You will remember that Steven won Gold for Australia in the 1000m speed skating in Salt Lake City at the Winter Olympics in 2002. He was indeed the last man standing and 1st across the finish line when all competitors in front of him fell over. You may think him lucky and yes, he was! BUT he put himself in a position to win. This was his 4th Winter Olympics, he had endured horrific accidents over the years and yet he endured. He was so deserving of this medal. All the hard work, years of travelling the world, time away from loved ones, the obsessive training had finally paid off.

It’s important to realise that so many seemingly overnight successes are actually the result of years of work.

The bridge between setting a goal and achieving that goal is called discipline.

Why not put yourself at risk of achieving success?

Posted in Olympics, book, conference, goals, inspiration, opportunity, sport, success. Tagged with , , , , , .

By PRT
July 8, 2010

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Put Your Hands Together

Isn’t it exciting when we see something amazing that we’ve never seen before? That happened to me recently – and I hope the story of what I saw will inspire you as it did me.

Not long ago, a newly appointed CEO of a large company contacted me. He wanted me to help him get his organisation on track. His job was full of challenges; previous CEOs had promised so much, but delivered very little.

He got up on stage at his company’s annual conference and the crowd’s slumped body language said it all: Here we go again!

These people were completely disillusioned; they’d been let down and lied to in the past. No wonder the new CEO didn’t exactly get an enthusiastic reception!

But he kept addressing them and said, ‘I can’t promise you the world, but I can promise in 12 months that the following five things will be delivered. They’ll come to life in this company.’

Again, his words were water off a duck’s back for his people.

I worked with the new CEO for the 12 months he’d earmarked to deliver on his five promises. And my first task was to present a martial arts demonstration and keynote address at that annual conference. His people had never experienced anything like a blackbelt in excellence display. They got fired up and excited! There was the sense that, Hey, just maybe things will be different this time…

You bet they were different. Over the next 12 months, I conducted sessions with the new CEO in every state of Australia. He was able to articulate an exciting vision for the future and he gave great clarity on what everybody’s roles needed to be. He told them what he expected of them, but he also told them what they could expect of him.

He let it be known they had more than a job. They had a responsibility. The new CEO led by example and everyone was accountable. Everyone – including him, including me. We were all in it together.

He encouraged and cheered people along the way. And when we conducted workshops, he focused on people who’d been making positive steps for the company, instead of criticising those who’d been making mistakes, like the old CEOs had done.

He communicated with his people, religiously, over those 12 months. He painted a picture of how together they were going to bring about results, and being crystal clear about what behaviours were required to reach their goals.

He had faith in his people, he constantly encouraged them; there was laughter at our workshops, people were inspired, and they realised how much fun it could be to do things together. People were excited by what the business could and should be like and, if they delivered on what they were accountable for, what it would be like.

In 12 months, that new CEO brought about the five things he wanted to see in his company. And I was privileged to be the MC at the company’s next annual conference. When I introduced him he came on stage to a standing ovation.

It was the first time I had ever seen a CEO welcomed to the stage in that way and the hairs on my skin stood on end. It was an incredible Wow! And he received that amazing response for one simple reason: he had delivered on what he said he would do.

It was so remarkable and so powerful. People let themselves down when they talk ‘right’ but walk ‘left’. But this CEO recognised and rewarded his people – and he was rewarded with an overwhelming, spontaneous outpouring of their appreciation.

Does that inspire you? I know it inspires me. People want to be excited, they want to be part of something special, they want to believe that what they are doing is important. Imagine what it would be like this month to receive that kind of ovation from your people, your team, your family …

I can already hear the applause! Go for it!

Posted in business, conference, empowered, inspiration, leadership, management, success. Tagged with , , .

By PRT
May 17, 2010

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The Power of Sharing

I was in country Victoria recently where I was excited to be able to offer my first-ever open to the public seminar. It was a fantastic night and ‘Tom’, one of the great men I met, was really enthusiastic about my message, he really wanted to take on board what I’d said, have a good look at himself and be the best he could be. In fact, he was so fired up he immediately wanted to share his enthusiasm – and he bought two copies of my book and gave one to each of his daughters, both in their 20s.

One of his daughter’s, ‘Karen’, had been in and out of hospital for 18 months suffering from depression. But because Tom cared enough to share a message of encouragement with her, he made an incredible impact on his daughter’s life. Here’s some of what ‘Karen’ shared (there’s a theme here, isn’t there?) with me via email:

“I can’t thank you enough for the inspiration I received after reading your book . . . I read it cover to cover within two days and immediately I began to develop a more positive outlook on life. Motivation was a large element of my life that I was lacking at the time, however I knew I wanted to do something that would make a difference in the world. Since being discharged, I have been volunteering at the Salvation Army . . . This has helped me to become more positive and appreciate the little things in life . . . Thank you for having such a positive influence on my mental health and passion for life.”

Her email blew me away – her act of sharing really encouraged me! What an amazing result! Look what happens when you tell someone that they’re worth something, that if they truly want to they can see past the so-called negatives in their lives and make a positive difference to themselves and others.

Karen’s experience is an incredible example of the value of believing in people and the power of sharing our gifts: I shared a seminar in a public forum, Tom took my message about having a positive outlook and made it his own by sharing my book with his daughter – then ‘Karen’ took that gift and passed it on by volunteering with the Salvos!

Her story really shows again that it isn’t the stories we hear, the information we take in that changes us, it’s when we commit to the change that those stories are showing us we can make if we choose to. ‘Karen’ chose to look past her perceived barriers and saw that there was something she could do – give some of her time to the Salvos. Let’s face it, she could have taken her Dad’s gift of my book and said, ‘That’s nice Dad’ and stuck it on her bedside table. But, no, in gratitude she accepted her Dad’s gift, gave it a go, and not only did it change her, it is now changing the lives of the people she meets through the Salvos. What’s more, there’s now greater harmony in her family – Tom’s act of sharing has also brought his family closer to together.

If you really value those around you – your family, your corporate team – you want them to feel valued. And the way they will feel valued is if you share with them the gift of yourself and the things that I know you value, like the one-percenters, the fact that you focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t. Being the best you can be is absolutely connected to sharing the message that others – your family, your corporate team – can be the best they can be, too.

I hope you find ‘Karen’s story as inspiring as I do. And please, please share with me the stories from your life when sharing a positive message has changed the lives of those you value.

Posted in book, family, goals, health, inspiration, motivation, opportunity, quotes, stories, success. Tagged with , , , .

By PRT
March 4, 2010

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Feedback

Just returned home from conferencing with a major cosmetic company. The following is feedback from some of the delegates.

“Peter was the most exciting and dynamic speaker I have seen”

“I was astounded, the seminars keep getting better and better each year. I particularly enjoyed the message being delivered in the blackbelt in excellence seminar, it will remain with me for many years to come.”

“Congratulations once again. Just when I was getting bored with the same speakers all the time you have given us blackbelt in excellence. I am going to take this straight home to my family”

“We have been to each one of the seminars over the years, and Peter Thurin delivered a great message in a fantastic presentation”

The Managing Director had this to say:

“Peter, once again, thank you for delivering a very impactful and high quality presentation. It was greatly appreciated, as was the way you got to know our clients over the few days you were with us, and gave the maximum impact over the entire course of the seminar program.”

Your feedback is never taken for granted and is always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

Posted in business, conference, inspiration, keynote, success, testimonials. Tagged with , , , .

By PRT
March 2, 2010

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What really matters?

The Festive Season is here and what a great time it is to take stock and reflect on what really matters to us. It really is an inspiring time – and I want to share a story with you that seriously inspired me and hopefully will do the same to you.

Recently I had the great joy of being invited to participate in a conference in Hawaii. My involvement included: MC, Keynote Speaker and together with my great mate, Bernie Victor (joint Director of Martial Arts at blackbelt in excellence), we also conducted a health program for the adults and for the kids.

At the cocktail party around the pool the evening prior to the official opening of the conference, I was asked to make a couple of announcements. The most important of these was to tell the kids where the ice-cream was!

When I came off stage and returned to talking to a group of conference attendees, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a young boy standing alone. And I thought, ‘Is he waiting to talk to me?‘ So I turned and walked towards him and 9 year old Alexander politely introduced himself.

‘Excuse me, did you say something about ice-cream?‘

‘Yes, I did,’ I replied. ‘Do you want some?‘

He said yes and added that he hadn’t clearly caught what I’d said about ice-cream in the first place because he had a hearing problem. He proudly showed me his hearing aid just in case I doubted him.

I took him by the hand and said come with me. As Alexander and I made our way to the ice-cream box, he stopped and tugged at my hand.

‘I’ve got another problem,’ he said.

‘What is it?‘ I asked.

‘I’ve got a hole in my heart.’

I can assure you that he now has my undivided attention.

A few steps later he further added that he had yet another problem – and he showed me one of his hands. There were only four fingers on it.

It was one of those moments when you realise there are people of all ages with challenges and problems that can make the issues in your life appear quite trivial. Whether Alexander knew it or not, he was focused on what he could do not on what he couldn’t do and to that end has so much to teach those of us who are presumably “better off“.

Yes, he has challenges ahead of him that will surely test him, but his attitude to life was so full of joy and fun, smiles and jokes, that I couldn’t help but be inspired by his enthusiasm.

Alexander became my buddy for the conference. In such a short space of time that night, he demonstrated character traits that I believe can take our companies, workplaces and families to new levels of productivity, performance, enjoyment and success.

In the first place he showed amazing persistence and patience waiting for me to notice him so that he could reach his goal of acquiring ice-cream. I thought too he also showed great courage in approaching a grown man who was the conference MC. He showed respect and politeness in his dealings with me. And, most of all, he demonstrated an extraordinarily positive and joyful outlook on life, despite the perceived negatives.

If we put into action these values the way Alexander did, we can’t help but to make our businesses, families and workplaces places where people can shine and “be the best you can be“.

I later met his parents and it was obvious how much they loved him, and how proud they were of him. They made him feel special – and what was the result? A boy making the most of life, a boy able to be an inspiration to others. His attitude to life blew me away!

If a young boy with more challenges facing him than most can live these values of respect, positivity, courage and persistence, can’t we? And when we do, the impact on our own lives will be immense and the influence on our teams will be enormous.

How sensational it would be to see corporate environments take their leadership tips from Alexander!

I look forward to journeying with you in 2010 and to being the best we can be together.

Have a wonderful, happy, healthy, prosperous and inspiring Festive Season and a truly successful New Year!

Best wishes

Peter and the blackbelt in excellence Team

Posted in business, conference, customer focus, family, health, inspiration, motivation, opportunity, self improvement, stories, success.

By PRT
December 8, 2009

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What it Means to be Included

Last month I asked you who you were going to include, who you were going to make feel special – on your work team or in your family. I want to thank you for your letters, so many of which talked about how important it was to be included, especially way back when you played junior sport.

I was overjoyed to hear stories about coaches who included rather than excluded young people, coaches who understood that winning is not just about the scoreboard in junior sport – it’s about kids having a crack and being acknowledged and maybe even rewarded for doing so. The reward can be as simple as a Freddo Frog or a pat on the back. The “winning” is based on continual improvement and should indeed be celebrated whether or not the scoreboard says otherwise.

Kids develop at their own rate. How dare we decide that a kid is ‘good’ or ‘not good’ at sport when the child is age seven or eight?!! When kids are excluded because of a judgment about their ability at such a young age, they’re often lost to the sport for life. Self esteem and confidence are integral to taking action and to on-going improvement. To quit just because somebody else thinks you are not up to scratch is not a message we want a young person to take into the rest of their lives.

While I know this is a story about kid’s sport, surely this applies in the corporate world too. We spend so much time judging other people and very often get it wrong. Constant positive reinforcement is a powerful tool. Let people know how valued they are. I always find it interesting that people who are truly engaged and made to feel important invariably are more productive too.

In our sporting clubs, in our companies and in our families, it’s beholden on us to create environments where people are encouraged to shine. We’ve got to create environments where people are made to feel special and where they can focus on the goal of continual improvement.

That has to be one of our values. And we have to live it.

Posted in actions, business, conference, customer focus, empowered, facilitator, family, goals, inspiration, leadership, management, sport.

By PRT
November 11, 2009

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