I’m absolutely blessed that I can, from time to time, go along and see what my girls get up to in their after school activities.  Both of my girls study piano and watching their little fingers dance across the keys is amazing to me.  Sometimes, as you can imagine, when they are learning a new piece that requires both hands going in different directions it can get a little confusing.  I sat watching my daughter, Ciara, struggle (more…)

Imagine this scenario…you and I are out on a boat fishing in the harbour.  Not too far out, maybe 250 metres or so.  We’re not wearing life jackets but we’re having a great time laughing and joking when out of nowhere a freak wave appears and topples the boat.  We both go flying into the water and, almost at the same time, we reach the surface.  Now you’re a confident swimmer and you come up laughing and joking, “Where did that come from?” (more…)

I brought my seven year old daughter to the movies at the weekend and afterwards we were looking around the shops.  I told her she could have $10 to spend on anything she liked.  So after returning to the first of the four shops we visited and ninety minutes later my patience was wearing a little thin…there are only so many barbies and trinkity toys I can express an interest in in an afternoon!  At that point I told her that she had 10 minutes to make her decision or we would be leaving whether she bought something or not. (more…)

I’m only a couple of weeks away from competing in Ironman NZ 2015 so please forgive me if my every waking thought is consumed by the challenge that lies ahead.  So why is Ironman such a great metaphor for life in general?  When people look at Ironman the first thing they think of is that it’s a tremendously physical challenge…and they’d be right.  But it’s more than that.  The physical, although essential, is only one component of making it to the finish line. (more…)

My wife and I were dating for about 10 years before we decided we would tie the knot at a beautiful 19^th century gothic castle called Kinnitty Castle in the heart of the Slieve Bloom Mountains in Co. Offaly, Ireland. It was a date to remember because not only did we get married on the 18^th March – the day after St Patrick’s Day – it was also the day Ireland was playing England at Twickenham for the Triple Crown! The invites were sent (more…)

Charles Dickens is one of the most famous writers ever to take pen to paper and is often regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. One of my favourite stories by Dickens is A Christmas Carol. I loved Disney’s remake of it as a child and the message behind the story has always stuck with me…especially around Christmas time. For most of us in the western world, the Christmas and New Year holiday period is often a period of reflection and (more…)

It must have been the winter of 2008.  It was a cold one and my wife and I decided to break up the winter and head to Fiji for a week.  So we packed up our 7 month old daughter and off we went.  My outstanding memories from Fiji were a cockerel who crowed every morning at 5am (grrrr!!!), the amazing friendliness of the people, the beautiful island itself and a tiny book stall in the lobby of a hotel…the name of which I have altogether forgotten. (more…)

There was one evening some time ago when I was pretty exhausted and all I wanted to do was sit down and watch a little mindless TV.  I was flicking through the channels when I came across a programme about a Kiwi bloke in Ireland.  Being from Ireland myself it immediately caught my attention.  This particular series was about this Kiwi monitoring bottle-nose dolphins off the west coast of Ireland but that’s not the bit that interested me.  On the show he was traveling back to his hotel when he stopped by a river to witness (more…)

How is it, that from an island nation of circa 4 million people, New Zealand produces such an outstanding rugby team year after year, without fail?  In a lot of cases other rugby teams are just as talented and just as prepared.  So what is it and how can you tap into it to perform at your very best on a consistent basis and produce outstanding results in your career, your relationships and your life?  I believe the answer lies in our psychology; the vast majority of the things we do in our life stem from our psychology (more…)

Let me ask you a question: Are you where you want to be in your life right now or have you settled for far less than you’re capable of?  Think back to the time when you dreamed of achieving great things with your time on this planet.  Have you achieved them?  Do you continue to stretch yourself or have you relaxed into a comfortable life?  After all, you have a car or two, a comfortable house, the kids are happy, a holiday every year…what more could you ask for? (more…)