Hi there
This issue of Palm trees and margaritas is unabashedly about, inspired by and a reflection on my recent trip to China and Mongolia with my 16 year old son Ryan – the previously referred to ‘16 trip’.
Time away from our normal lives is always a great opportunity for clarity and this trip delivered that by the truckload. I have returned to home and work with a very clear idea of how I want to spend my days.
The plan for this newsletter is to give you five minutes of reflection time on the last Friday of each month. And so it is. How was your September? Did you make time for ‘palm trees and margaritas’* however you define them?
I love to hear (and publish) your stories of how you are living your life. Please get in touch and share your tips, stories and reflections.
Karen Morath
karen@mpowercct.com
www.palmtreesandmargaritas.com
September 2008
* Life can’t be all palm trees and margaritas, but there are worse game plans.
The book Palm Trees and Margaritas - Finding Your Oasis in a Busy World is out now, go to www.palmtreesandmargaritas.com to buy your copy.
TIPS
1. As per above, to get some perspective on your life, your role in the world, your priorities and other big picture issues, get away somewhere. If it can’t be somewhere exotic, a park or café might do just as well. Being a spectator on your own life is possible when you take yourself out of it. If you don’t like what you see, change it.
2. Check out do I need a jacket.com to find out the weather anywhere in the world right now. I thought it was cute and helpful (an attractive combination).
3. Do your own research if something is important to you and that way you are responsible for and accountable for the actions you take as a result of the information you have.
4. Do what you can to spend some one on one time with your kids, especially if you have more than one as it is harder to achieve and therefore more important. Spending 12 days with my son and watching him handle a wide variety of circumstances and interactions was truly a gift and the clichéd ‘memory of a lifetime’. I have heard of people who go out one evening a month and take a different child with them each time and who draw up a list of things each child wants to do and then books them into their diaries over a year or however long. What’s committed to happens.
5. When you have something that needs doing, don’t be constrained by how those before you have done it. The spectacular new buildings in Beijing (the airport, the bird’s nest, the water cube and the CCTV office building) and Shanghai (the Ocean Pearl TV tower, the 100 floor finance centre tower and the one with the aviary on the roof) were designed by people who concentrated on what might be possible and what was really needed, not what buildings normally look like or what others might think or do.
6. If you want a better hotel room, ask for one.
7. Don’t let flying become your default position when it comes to travel. Ask yourself if there is a train or a bus, a horse-riding trip or a camel train that can get you where you want to go in a more interesting way and with less airport time.
TO ENJOY LIST
Here are some things I recommend from my trip for others ‘to enjoy’.
From my holiday reading –
The man who died twice – the life and adventures of Morrison of Peking by Thompson and Macklin, Allen and Unwin, 2004
It’s a biography of an Australian adventurer cum journalist who earned notoriety as The Times’ Beijing correspondent. A thousand times more compelling than it sounds!
Giving – How each of us can change the world by Bill Clinton, Arrow Books, 2008 (now in paperback)
This is a small book with a big message. It’s a great account of all sorts of people in all sorts of philanthropic roles. Truly wonderful and a great insight into what makes Bill Clinton tick. It has inspired a new section for this newsletter. See ‘stories’.
From my holiday hotel room TV watching –
BBC World News (we were addicted)
A National Geographic channel doco series called ‘Don’t tell my mother I’m in…’ We saw the shows about the Congo and Colombia. Great stuff.
From my inflight entertainment viewing –
Absolutely Fabulous really is.
The movie – The Bank Job – is worth a look.
From my holiday generally –
The Novotel Hotel in Beijing is excellent.
New Heights, a restaurant on the seventh floor of 3 on The Bund in Shanghai, is one of the most exciting places I have ever eaten. The view is spectacular (and the food was good too). I had a margarita, of course.
STORIES
Palm trees and margaritas is not necessarily to be taken literally (although if that’s what you like, cheers!) It’s about seizing the day and remembering you only live once and you don’t know how much life, let alone good health you have left. Inspired in part by Bill Clinton’s book ‘Giving’, in each issue of this newsletter for the next year, there will be a story about someone doing something wonderful with their life right now.
This one is from page 95 of his book.
1. Mukhtaran Bibi
“…Mukhtaran Bibi of Pakistan, … was gang-raped by order of an all-male tribunal in her village in retribution for her twelve-year-old brother allegedly holding hands with a girl from a higher-caste tribe. She was then forced to walk home naked in front of the villagers. Instead of committing suicide in shame, she pursued her attackers, was awarded compensation, and used the money to establish a primary school for girls and one for boys in her village. She too was illiterate, so she enrolled in her elementary school to learn to read and write. She has also started her own aid organization and an ambulance service. Such women are worthy of our support…”
2. The Travelling Man
I met a wonderful man on the overnight train from Beijing to Ulaan Baatar, one of those rare people that reminds you why you leave your house everyday – you might come across someone who puts a spring in your step. Bert was in his late seventies, maybe eighties, and he pulled off the crisp long sleeved shirt look the morning after, while everyone else was a crumpled mess. That said something about him I thought. As did his desire to get home so he could start planning his next trip. Bert was from Tassie and had travelled more than anyone I have met. He and his wife took their four kids under 12 on a 14 week overland trip from London to Kathmandu in the seventies and have trained, trekked and traversed pretty well everywhere else since. Madagascar is great apparently and you don’t need signs to help you find the toilets on the Lhasa to Beijing train. Bert had a twinkle in his eye and is easily the most interesting man I have met for ages. (No wonder I am single!)
If you are looking for a speaker for an event this year, click here to talk to me about a ‘Palm trees and margaritas’ presentation. I have formats that are ideal for business women’s networks and motivation or work/life balance aspects of conferences or training days. Or let’s discuss tailoring something especially for your needs.
REFLECTIONS
Confucius says …
"When walking in company of other men, there must be one I can learn something from."
and
"Lack of patience in small matters will bring destruction to overall plans."