John's Blog

People confuse ambition with the rewards of their efforts.  A businessman spent the morning telling me of cars, houses and holidays he wants when I asked him about his ambition. No buddy, that's the rewards you get for achieving your ambition.  Ambition is your role, your contributions to society. It's you making your voice heard, your efforts to improve your local or international community.  No, no one is asking you to change the world, so relax. There is, however, a need for your voice, your contribution to make the world a little better, a little sweeter.  Hell, it doesn't have to be the world, if what you have to offer influences more than just you, touching a few other lives, well, then you are living out your ambitions.  Once on the road to fulfilling that ambition, then the rewards will come ... and stay. If you get the order wrong, you may find that the rewards come and go.  So, today... in some small way, do something for someone else. Share wit...

As a life coach, I often deal with people that are crystal clear about their wants, while oblivious to what they need. This awareness is a result of focus on the rewards without recognizing the efforts that will give them the rewards.  What we want and what we need are not always the same thing. Someone may want a nice new car, but what they need is a job to pay for the car.  In many of the coaching sessions that I offer, I find that people come seeking goals when what they need is clarity. They feel a lack of ambition when actually it's a lack of focus. People want to give up for a lack of feedback when the root is a lack of momentum, and they complain about a lack of support or poor response when it's a lack of communication.  At the root of goal achievement, or success of any description, is the foundation stones of clarity, focus, momentum and communication.  Do you want to level up your success?  Stop, take a deep breath and ask: what lies below my wants ...

So, some kooky clown on a little blog wants to mash quantum physics and leadership together, so what!  How does this affect you and why should you care?   Here's why:  Truth is truth on all levels. When you find a principle that works, it will work for everyone - rich, poor, clever, stupid, young, old, leader or not leader.  Quantum physics has revealed some crazy and interesting principles that apply to particles on the tiniest of levels.  As humans, we are made of particles, we are also surrounded by particles - so those truths are true for us as people and true for our circumstances.  What happens to particles has consequences in our personal lives. So, maybe we should pay attention, and learn how to get the best from our quantum make up.  The simple principles and processes of quantum leadership offers tried and tested options that can be applied to fishing or to business alike, with results and explanations that will suit your curiosity and a...

Each day, I fall deeper in love with the complex elegance and the elegant simplicity of the three leadership models that I currently call the U49.  It was time to duplicate the success achieved during the fishing challenge ... in a real life business situation. But, before I could do that, I would have to describe the function and reason for each model in a simple way.  The first model, Tharros, or the courage model, helps leaders plot where they want to go, clearly defining the vision, outcome or end result. This is not out of the ordinary.  This model focuses on developing the personal identity of the leader through involution and evolution, evoking courage to act on what he or she believes.  Involution is the process of recognizing who God has called you to be, clearly identifying your true self, and making the decision to express that inner identity.  Evolution is the process whereby you shape your behaviour and actions to reflect who you are on the inside, ...

I was burning to test the 3 fresh leadership models on someone, but most people looked at me as if I was nuts. No one was prepared to put their profits on the line for my crazy experiment, but I don't really blame them. So, I went fishing.   It's amazing how the brain finds answers when not looking for them. While fishing I decided to pick and start an obscure task, project or business in which I could experiment. In that way, I could test the leadership models, from scratch, without risking existing businesses or relationships.  Then, the genius really struck! Hahaha  Fishing! My obscure task was ... fishing. In fact, the goal was to catch 100 fish in 100 days ... in winter ... even though I had only been fishing a handful of times in my life ... even though I could count the fish I've caught on one hand.  The plan was to use the 3 models in a way that maximized my chances of reaching the goal. No relations or businesses would be adversely affected, except ...

Four years ago, I started to play with the idea of quantum leadership, a leadership theory that aligns with the principles of quantum physics.   Boy, was I confused.  After six long months of struggling to merge physics and leadership, I gave it up as a nice, but impractical idea.  Then, one day a couple of years ago, I sat down to make a tangible 3D model of leadership. I wanted a model I could put in my pocket to use in a pinch.  The information poured onto the page. It took three days to come up with three original, but elegant models that help a leader plot and track progress made.  It was also horribly complicated!  I spent the next two years simply trying to make sense of the complexity that I dumped onto paper.  The only way to make real sense of the models was to practically apply them in a real leadership situation.  To my surprise , none of my business owner friends wanted me to apply the crazy and complicated model to their busines...

Leadership is a crazy, yet important process, filled with obscurity and irony, contrasted by clarity and focus. There is no doubt that leadership is constantly juggling options, like - do it yourself to set the example versus delegate it to someone qualified, or pick resources versus opt for skills. The second principle of quantum leadership also demands a juggling act from the leader, by defining the ideal outcome (vision), and knowing exactly what development has taken place.  The irony of this principle lies in the fact that the tangible progress made by the team is harder to measure than it is to describe the unmanifested outcome.   The leader sets out the vision in all clarity at the start of the process, explaining the why, what and when of the vision's achievement, allowing the team to detail the how. The leader defines the next piece required  in the process, creating focus. The team offers guidance on how to achieve it, creating momentum. Once the step has b...

 Modern leadership is cluttered with fads and fashions, tricks and games, all designed to hack the identity and process of leadership.   As much as there is a place  for hacks and short cuts in the world, mastery demands dedication and experience. Quantum leadership strips away the smoke and mirrors, in favour of mastering identity, collaboration and timing.   The first principle of Quantum Leadership seeks the description of the minimum elements needed to collaborate the successful outcome on a scale relevant to the benefit of others.   What on earth does that mean?   Let's take a step back and consider the definition of leadership: A leader is someone that guides a team to the successful achievement of a vision.    We can deduce that there are four obvious elements in this definition: 1. The leader – This is the person that births the vision and is responsible for its successful achievement. 2. Guides – The leader has the vision in...

 The mention of the word quantum in any conversation has people sucking air in through their teeth and mumbling, "gosh, you must be intelligent." There is no doubt in my mind that leadership, like quantum physics is complex, but by no means is it intended for a select number of people. Quantum Leadership is as relevant to the janitor as it is to the company CEO, and will change not only your life, but also the world in which you live.  Modern leadership is cluttered with strategies, tactics and gimmicks, which simply distract from what leadership is - a person guiding a collection of people to achieve a desired goal or outcome intended for the greater good. Quantum leadership strips away fads, to reveal the minimum elements and processes needed to birth a vision, gather a team, act as a guide and achieve the results. It’s a raw and efficient approach to vision achievement. Obviously, we all want to add adjective to leadership that drip with success, such as "sign...

Do you know what the best thing is about admitting you're confused, lost or purposeless?   Connection.   Being confident about your future has an amazing way of rattling the cages of those around you. People less certain about their own future aren't fans of those that seem to have their shit together.  The purposeful can come across as smug, arrogant and less in need of what us 'plebs' have to offer.   It's intimidating to be around those that have a mission, vision and a meaningful purpose. It somehow makes them untouchable, non-vulnerable and most certainly not in need of my help.  My experience has taught me that it's harder to connect with those already inspired, mainly because they seem immune or not in need of what I have to offer the world. As much as I can and do applaud their achievements, connection suffers.  This thought caused me to reflect on how others see me, and how I make them feel when they are around me. I realised th...

You're probably an addict of sorts. Yep, you!  Addiction is a disease that isolates people. They convince themselves that they are alone in the world and that no one understands. In this process, they lose connection with others.   The polar opposite of addiction is connection.  You may not be addicted to harmful substances, like alcohol or hard drugs, but I suggest to you that if you avoid connection with others, you may have a problem waiting to happen.   I don't mean connection, sit-in-a-pub-and-talk-to-strangers-connection. I mean the ability to expose your heart and mind in raw vulnerability to someone that cares. I mean putting your self at the mercy of others by saying: "I am lost, I need help."   Isolation and independence is a crippling addiction too.  It is dangerously seductive to come home from work and leave all the lights off in the house. Then, do your evening routine in the dark, completely avoiding contact and connection wi...

 Vulnerability isn't a magic potion that prevents you from getting hurt. It's more like a calculated risk: you make a conscious decision to open yourself up, and choose to expose your heart and soul, regardless of the consequences, but gambling on a win.   The connection within the vulnerable space is just beautiful, it really is. It's a gentle place of understanding and validation, which I think ever heart wants to feel.   If you get hurt in the process... ah well, you knew there was that chance, but you risked it anyway, it doesn't make the pain any less or the love less fleeting.

  "When is it my turn?" The mumbling tumbles inside our head, as we do our best to validate the success of others, putting on our best smile and applauding loudly. Although jealousy doesn't enter our heart, there is that gnawing sense of frustration as we wait in the wings for our chance. "KAIROS" is the Greek word for making the right decision at the right time. Timing is a critical factor in our personal success, earmarked by the ability to make good decisions, which is incredibly difficult to teach budding leaders.  The skills and philosophy of kairos defies mere knowledge, requiring a heart that chooses to understand. Kairos is preceded by and stands on the shoulders of "AXIOS," the intrinsic sense of being worthy, capable and able. A strong relationship with the "I am" straightens the learning leader's spine, lifts his or her chin, and brightens their eye.  In axios, they know who they are, where they have come from, and where they...