YourMondayMotivator: Lessons from Samoa


I’m back and I’m tanned! Which is amazing considering I usually burn to the colour of a tomato in New Zealand sun and then peel like old paint.

Lessons from Samoa. Not a lot of them to be fair but one or two powerful things I think I can integrate into my life.

Disconnect.
I used to think going to the in-laws bach for a weekend and taking my laptop and 3G T-Stick was disconnecting. It’s not. Going to somewhere for a week where there is only dial-up and spending seven minutes in total on the internet is.

It took a bit of preparation, three text messages, the confidence my team can handle anything and a few days to get past it, but I did. The space allowed me to think, or not, and I really enjoyed having only natural input.

Simplify.
We really do have too much “stuff” and things to do. This weekend we put some stuff on Trademe and are going through all our books to see which ones we really want to keep. I love books but there are some I will never read again so it’s time someone else can enjoy them.

There seems to be a plethora of sports and activities people either do or drag their kids to. Why? Why not focus on one and really put your energy into it. I know people who really get into something for a few years, get really good at it, sell everything and move to the next sport. They have been successful in every sport they have done and the whole family got really involved. They spent more quality time together than most family’s and have never get tired of what they are doing.

Just a few thoughts to get you thinking about how you can get more enjoyment out of your time here. Say you live to 80 you will only have 4,000 weeks to fill. They go quickly. Why not spend them with a smile on your face.

Have a great week.