tonygoodson

Autistic Teen's Hoop Dreams (Scores a record 6 x three-pointers in 4 mins)

I keep tearing up every time I watch this.  Autistic Teen's Hoop Dreams Come True.
Jason McElwain is autistic and manager of the varsity basketball team, Greece Athena High School, he helps the coach.  In order to be able to sit on the bench he was added to the roster and given a jersey, which means technically he could play.

Greece Athena were up by double-digits with four minutes to go, so they put McElwain on.
He missed the first two shots, but then sank six three-pointers to equal the school record.
WoW.
I can feel a TV/film script coming on!

There's a great set of books by Tim Gallwey on the Inner Game of Tennis/Golf/Skiing/Work.
Self 1 sits in judgement.  Self 2 just does it.  It's about quietening Self 1, and allowing Self 2 to flourish.
Even the most talented sportsperson has the self-doubt which interrupts flow.
I'm guessing that for Jason, once he was in the zone, nothing was going to interrupt him.
He just did it.

Getting Things Done in 2006

I'm just having a look at my 2005 New Year's Resolutions, and almost everyone of them ended up as the opposite, which is largely how I intended them.
More Chocolate in 2005! was an attempt to give up chocolate by eating more.  And it worked.  I ate so much chocolate in the early months of 2005 that I think I've become allergic to chocolate by the end of 2005, so now I don't eat any or drink it.  Fantastic Tony, well done! Other 2005 resolutions;

2005 Resolutions
1. More Chocolate
2. Longer meetings!
3. More chocolate!!
4. Less food More Food!
5. More Cycling/Windsurfing
6. More holidays
7. More Blogging
8. More Improv
9. More time with Annie

I've blogged less, done no Improv, forgot about longer meetings, eaten the same amount of food as I always eat, cycled a bit, not windsurfed at all (but that wasn't a literal resolution), not been on holiday, and we now have a pool of babysitters, so Annie and I do spend more time together.  So all in all, my resolutions have mostly come true and how I wanted and expected them.

And so to 2006.  Getting Things Done.  Yes, partly following the book, and it's something I want to help more people with this year.  I think how we manage our lives, especially with information overload, is a big thing, and even if I can't get it right for myself (Ha Ha!) I can help others, who can then help me.

2006 Resolutions
1. GTD.  Work, Home, Network, Money,
2. Health.  I think this can be solved in one event.  Drink more water!
3. Cycle/Windsurf.  When it's windy windsurf, when it's not windy, cycle.  This applies to life.
4. Family.  I'd like to help teach Georgie to read, this year.  And more sport with Jay.
5. Tablet.  Take notes in meetings on my Tablet, with MindManager (and maybe learn OneNote).
6. Fun.  Go-Kart, Beach, Improv, Football, Ski/Snowboard, Annie.
7. MP3. Listen to more, maybe create more.

Oh, and one more thing.
8. $15Million!

p.s I've used Performancing, a Firefox add-on to create my first 2006 Typepad weblog entry.

Find What You Love

I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. (Steve Jobs via Kathy Sierra)

Here's what my gut feel is telling me.  RSS, Weblogs, WiKi, Chat, Podcasts (but less so).
The Big Corp needs all this stuff but doesn't realise it yet, so anyone hawking it to them is fighting an uphill battle right now.  But it will happen eventually, and just like being in the right place at the right time with say mobile phones, someone is going to do very well out of it.

I just want to be with people who talk and use the technology, not just for the sake of it, but because it works.  It helps people communicate better.  I'm sick of the Dilbert world.  You don't get too much Dilbert in the world of RSS, Weblogs, WiKis, Chat, and Podcasts, mainly because there are no cubicles!

I'm not a corporate person.  I don't take readily to the politics.  The pretending.  The Emperor having no clothes.  And if I see something as wrong I won't let it go, or bury my head in the sand and take the money.

I've never been a great Steve Jobs fan, from what I've read about him, too much ego, but I love that for once, someone famous has said....

Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
  Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

I recently looked through all the business cards, and contacts I have in Outlook, and it was immediately clear to me who to call.  Just a gut feel.  Including some people I haven't had contact with in over a year.

And more time with Georgie and Jay.
Go read the whole Steve Jobs commencement address at Stanford.

Master of Curiosity

Daryl Cook has written about MBAs, Masters of Bugger All?

I think what's lacking is being a Master of Curiosity.
Where has the curiosity gone?  In science, in medicine (especially GPs), in business.
No one is curious as to how something works, how it can be improved, is there a better way.
We put up with the mediocre and accept it.

Oh sure, there's 1000 interconnected bloggers out there who have a high degree of curiosity, but that's about it.
If I run some training, I'd be surprised if 1 in 100 people come up to me afterwards to ask about or flick through a book I recommend or point to.
At "networking" meetings less than 1 in a 100 people will actually call or email the business card they've collected.

No doubt MBAs have some forced curiosity for a while because they have to get their assignments in!!  But afterwards?  Do they put their certificate up on the wall and leave it at that?

And if you are curious, you're treated like some pariah (Don't rock the boat Tony).
We worship our Einsteins and Bills and Bransons but what do you think these guys have in common other than luck and persistence?
Yes, the thing that killed the cat!

Kiss a few RSS feeds goodbye

There are only 24 hours in the day, I'm right aren't I?
And I would like to sleep for 6-8 hours of those 24, leaving 16 hours.
So by the time I've, been to the toilet, brushed my teeth, had a shower, travelled to and from work, worked for 8 hours, eaten, seen the kids, made a few phone calls, and blogged, oh and kissed Annie, that doesn't leave much time.

Now if there are more RSS feeds and emails coming in than there are remaining hours, something has to give!!

So firstly, I'm going to have to kiss a few RSS blog feeds goodbye.  I love these people, I've been reading some of them for over 3 years, but what else can I do?   Tom Peters, Wil Wheaton, zefrank, even GeekNews and Dan Gillmor.  Some others have stopped blogging, so it makes a bit of room in my navigation tree, John Porcaro, and Chris Lydon. Even Seth Godin is struggling to stay in. So I'll have to rely on the remaining bloggers on my list to do my reading for me!!

There are some new blogs I've recently welcomed in, which is a trend for me, in what my passions are.  All branding blogs except Johnnie Moore and Gapingvoid have gone.  I'd love to find a good Man Utd weblog.  My other passion seems to be the creative/learning thing, hence these blogs have moved in.
The Centre for Graphic Facilitation
Alphachimp
Hobart's MindJet Weblog
The Mindjet Blog
The Applied Improv Blog
Creating Passionate Users

I guess the biggest problem is keeping Scoble and Winer, because they blog so often, but they do a lot of the reading for me!!

The next job is to reduce my emails, which are composed largely of good people taking the time to  comment on my weblog, and I just haven't had time to reply to them; sorry to all who have written.

The next issue is finding more podcasts to listen to.  I only listen to Adam Curry every time, and I would listen to many from The Podcast Network, but they still won't play on my MP3 player, so I have to use my PC for them, or buy another MP3 player.

My absolute favourite thing right now is Fighting Talk.  It's a Football, BBC, lad, sport, type thing, which you wouldn't understand.

Intuition and Einstein's Brain

Disdaining caution, Einstein adopted the intuitive leap as a basic tool. "I believe in intuition and inspiration," he wrote in 1931. "At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason."

Just reading the Applied Improv Blog, and I noticed the link to the NASA Einstein article, Was Einstein a Space Alien?.
I know the feeling, being an intuitive myself.  It doesn't mean I'm always right, just that at times I strongly know something to be true and right, without knowing the reason.
The harmful effects of electro-magnetic radiation, especially X-Rays.
The causes of Mad Cows disease.
The food we eat as a cause of disease.
What some people are doing or saying behind my back.

We live in a western world educated and appearingly built on what our 5 senses tell us, and not what our intuition tells us.  This can be really frustrating at times, when I can see that things need changing or a new approach is needed.  I can't always prove it at first.
Neither could Einstein, and it didn't stop him!

And the irony is that these non-Intuitive dickheads thought they'd find the secret by analysing Einstein's brain.  Any Intuitive could tell them that it was his approach and philosophy to things and not his computing power that brought about his "discoveries".
But clearly they just had to know.

Not knowing. It makes some researchers feel uncomfortable. It exhilarated Einstein: "The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious," he said. "It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science."
It's the fundamental emotion that Einstein felt, walking to work, awake with the baby, sitting at the dinner table. Wonder beat exhaustion, every day.

Shaving the Yak

Oh yes, so many times in my life I've Shaved the Yak!

"I want to wax the car today."
  "Oops, the hose is still broken from the winter. I'll need to buy a new one at Home Depot."
  "But Home Depot is on the other side of the Tappan Zee bridge and getting there without my EZPass is miserable because of the tolls."
  "But, wait! I could borrow my neighbor's EZPass..."
  "Bob won't lend me his EZPass until I return the mooshi pillow my son borrowed, though."
  "And we haven't returned it because some of the stuffing fell out and we need to get some yak hair to restuff it."
  And the next thing you know, you're at the zoo, shaving a yak, all so you can wax your car. (Seth Godin)

These Are a Few of my Favourite Things!

RSS, WiKi, Chat, Blog, Cluetrain, Gonzo, Conversations, Chocolate, MindManager, MP3, Kids, Melbourne, Footy, IT Conversations, BBC, Guardian, TypePad, Improv, Dilbert, On My Feet, Annie, Rob, Alan, and Johnnie.

When the Dog bites, When the Bee stings, When I'm feeling Sad.
I simply remember my favourite things.
And then I don't feel so bad!

More Chocolate in 2005!

Funny, but I'm not reading many people's New Year's Resolutions, or "Top 24" posts.
So I'm writing this one for myself to look back on.
1. Eat More Chocolate!  It should be Eat Less Chocolate, but hell, I love chocolate, I'm going to try giving up all other food to eat chocolate!!  So instead of berating myself to eat less chocolate, why not go the opposite way, and try to eat more chocolate.  When Johnnie says "The Moose Will Provide", he means Café Delancey Chocolate Mousse will provide.  Well it did for me!!

Let's look back on 2004's resolutions first.
Mmmm, not bad. I didn't enjoy working at ANZ in the end.  Too political and too much back stabbing.   Yes there was a fair bit of action in 2004, and we've certainly consolidated being in Melbourne after 3+ years.  The kids are great (I'm looking after them all by myself, this weekend).
Work is good, I'm enjoying my current role. I'm loving the people around me.  It's taken 3 years to sort out who is who. Fatherhood and Husbandhood are great, but even though I'm with Annie and the Kids a lot, I need to give them more attention.
Do you think a wireless laptop in the lounge will solve that!!

I can't think of the highlights and lowlights of 2004.  I don't want to miss any out, so I'll just get on with 2005.
2. Longer meetings!
3. More chocolate!!
4. Less food More Food!
5. More Cycling/Windsurfing
6. More holidays
7. More Blogging
8. More Improv
9. More time with Annie

I don't mean these all to be literal.  "More Chocolate" doesn't just mean eating more chocolate.  It means more joy and enjoyment and appreciation.  The simple things.  More blogging and improv, is just a gut feel that those things will be big for me this year, but I don't know in what way.

So 2005 will be the Year of Chocolate!!

What Should my Kids Know?

Georgie is 3 and Jay is 1.  I really fear that they are going to be locked away for the best years of their lives and have their heads filled with crap, based on 150+ year old education system which is more about lock-up than learning.
What should kids learn and know?  Seth Godin has kicked it off. The Top 1000 things to know.

I cringe when Donald Trump starts measuring people on who has had the "Best Education" at the "Top School".  The education system wants to churn out ESTJs.  Extroverts who only use their 5 senses with little iNtuition, and love to complete tasks well ahead of time, with lots and lots of planning.  Accountants and Traffic Wardens!!

Exams.  Passing Exams.  Is that all education is good for or wants to measure?
What did I learn at school that came in handy later on in life?
Nothing, except how to read and write, and do basic maths.
My head has been filled with useless facts for the rest of the time.

The best thing I could have learnt at school was how to learn.
The different ways of learning, accelerated learning, mindmaps, speed reading, and memory techniques.  The different types of intelligence.

If nothing else, kids, nearly all kids, should be able to read, write, and do very basic maths, whatever it takes to help them through. 
They should have as much fun as possible in their school years.
They should be encouraged to find their niche and confidence from that niche, instead of the narrow band of "intelligence" we slot our kids into.

I'll have to think some more about what else I'd like kids to learn.

• Improv
• Internet Surfing!
• Dancing with confidence!
• A curiosity for science
• An appreciation that everyone has an artist and creative within
• Muddling through and surviving
• Dreams and Goals
• Inspiring role-models, however this can be very subjective and easily influenced by context

Actually yet again.........

The Cluetrain Hit-One-Outta-the-Park Twelve-Step
Program for Internet Business Success

1. Relax
2. Have a sense of humor
3. Find your voice and use it
4. Tell the truth
5. Don’t panic
6. Enjoy yourself
7. Be brave
8. Be curious
9. Play more
10. Dream always
11. Listen up
12. Rap on