its been a while since I got this going for you guys. time for some random inspiration…

1. Tour de France has such an interesting debate after the stage where George Hincapie lost out on the yellow jersey by 5seconds. Garmin/Slipstream were blamed, and their Team Director is an old team mate of George Hincapie. An old rivalry/feud rearing its ugly head? Here is another opinion.

2. Jon Cherry talks about what marketing people love. After spending some time with the man yesterday, I felt it appropriate to include him in this post. Smart dude, really.

3. Nikola Tosic got me to start Urban Ninja. I love this guy and his ideas, vision and he is super creative, even though he will tell you he is an idiot, stupid and will never amount to anything in his life. You should be reading his blog. Here is discusses his first Photobomb moment.

4. Ons Plek Projects needs your help. We want to generate a program which helps them be self sustainable. Click the link, download the file, and send it to your entire email database. PLEASE.

5. WebUrbanist serves up a nice reflection of self portraits. What would your self portrait look like? Ever drawn a picture of yourself, that nobody else has to see?

magic magic magic…

Continue Reading →

its amazing how fast the week goes when 2 days are completely absorbed into sitting in a chair listening to other people talk. here are a few queues I have taken from this conference on how to get through conference and still be productive.

1. skip the snacks. conferences are filled with sweet snacks at designated tea/coffee moments. avoid them. the sugar rush is short lived, and when you feel sleepy, you will miss out on key points. on that point, skip the coffee. start the way with water, and stick to it. snack on fruit.

2. dont spend the time tweeting. twitter isnt a great application for being productive and being able to listen and tweet at the same time. skip the pc during talks.

3. use the breaks. 3g card plus laptop = 30min time to check/respond to email, and make some important calls. dont spend it talking to randoms about how awesome that presentation was.

4. dont overeat at lunch. buffets have a nasty habit of making you believe you can eat more than you actually can. this leaves you overfull and with puppy syndrome i.e. tummy full, eyes closed.

5. position yourself dead centre. tweakage of the neck on a 30 degree angle for 4 hours at a time will result in a visit to the chiro after the conference.

6. avoid the first nights party. the first night always presents an awesome party, but the 2nd day is generally filled with the best speakers. getting 2 hours sleep and waking in a tequila haze, is not recommended for 100% attention span.

I could think of more, but I can’t really be bothered right now. to be perfectly honest.

I have 156 emails to get through, 4 websites to get up and running, and loads of Cape Epic proposals to get out. I have 26k to deposit in a week into an account which secures my entry…

how ridiculous. but its for the kids…

Continue Reading →

hey guys and girls.

this week its SA Wine Tourism Conference which I am attending for various reasons.

but that doesnt mean there isnt some useful info out there, for you.

take this, from Zenhabits , yesterday…

You know what you need to do. You know why you need to do it. You even know what steps you must take to get it done. But there’s one small problem: you can’t seem to get moving. It’s a common problem. Maybe it’s chronic procrastination or maybe you’re just so overwhelmed that you feel paralyzed. Either way, the task you must complete is just sitting there, gathering metaphorical (or perhaps literal) dust, and growing more ominous by the day. (more…)

Continue Reading →

hello guys and girls. another cracking weekend in Cape Town saw the first From Monday workshop go down, as well as my first weekend of structured training.

why structured training I hear?

well, I have accepted a major challenge, and its for the greater good as well as for a bit of mental extremity. In an effort to grow and accept and take what comes, I have gained entry to some incredible races early next year, and aim to race 4 extreme races in the space of 4 months. they are:

1. Totalsports Challenge

2. sani2c

3. Cape Epic

4. Ironman South Africa

Just the entry for Epic is amazing, as the worlds toughest stage race, and a waiting queue of about 1000 people to get in, the fact that I got an entry is amazing.

BUT, there is more. In order to raise R100 000 for street girls…. YES, you heard me right. I want to raise R100 000 for a wonderful home in Cape Town called Ons Plek, which takes girls off the street, rehabs them, returns them to a life of meaning, and does this process over and over again.

I can only do this by racing all these races, as I am going in with a “sponsor 1km of my journey” campaign launching in about 8 weeks. I have entries, but here is where you come in.

I need sponsors to help cover the expenses to do the 4 races. The expenses are considerable. I believe not only does this website offer a worthy channel to advertise on, which all sponsors will receive, but I believe that with my partner for the MTB challenges, Brett Chilcott, that we can get some good TV time, and break the R100 000 barrier in funds.

Would you sponsor me? Do you know of anyone who wants to be involved with over 8000 people on a regular basis. This month, I have had over 52 000 unique visitors to this website. That is more than Runners World, Bicycling, Triathlete Magazine, Go-Multi and MSM magazine together.

I am asking for very little in real terms, if you look at those numbers. I am not asking you to support someone random. You read this blog, you get value from it, and you know that I offer a service of integrity, honesty, and a real return.

Dont believe me? Look at the list of people in my sidebar who already believe in this concept.

my proposal is attached ons-plek_urban-ninja-2009-2010-proposal here to have a look through at who is already involved, and to see what I am offering.

Any help will be hugely appreciated.

This blog has gone from zero to 2nd best Sports blog in South Africa. 3rd best Original Writing blog in South Africa, in the space of 12 months. Zero to 52 000 readers in 12 months.

This is the next phase in this incredible journey.

Can you help me?

Continue Reading →

following the invite for the Beer Drinkers Union, this happened, in the space of an hour, over email.

On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 3:20 PM, Andrew

Brauteseth<andrewbrauteseth@gmail.com> wrote:

First Meeting tonight at 7.30 at Boo Radleys. Join us for a draft

of cape town’s finest.

andrew

twitter.com/brauteseth

lifestream: brauteseth.tumblr.com

andrewbrauteseth.co.za

0729418482

On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 3:48 PM, Gareth Brauteseth

<garethbrauteseth@googlemail.com> wrote:

As an innaugural member I would officially like to express my

interest and make the last minute RSVP.

I look forward to meeting greeting and seeing

Out

G

On 16 Jul 2009, at 3:50 PM, Andrew Brauteseth wrote:

What do you mean innaugural member. You’re the official mc and

spokesperson.

Andrew

On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 3:55 PM, Nic Muhl<nic@highlandfinance.co.za> wrote:

Due to unforeseen circumstances (I had no idea it was my birthday) I

Will be unable to attend the AGM.

I hereby give proxy to Andrew B for the vote of Jack Black as the

ultimate beer in all the land.

Warm regards

The Muhl

(more…)

Continue Reading →

this got to my desk yesterday afternoon…

to see the emails that went around subsequently, you will need to check back around 1pm.

Continue Reading →

original post here

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart

Every Thursday is Happiness Day on Zen Habits.

Many days, I try to humble myself and hold a 2-minute gratitude session. I simply sit or kneel, with no distractions, close my eyes, and think about what I’m grateful for and who I’m grateful for. (more…)

Continue Reading →

have you been to A Complaint Free World?

you should….

Continue Reading →

post written by The Practical Nerd

First things first: change your attitude.

One of my favorite books is The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes. While primarily a book about running a business, there is some great universal advice found here:

Listen to the people around you. It’s amazing how many times you will hear things like “I hate when that happens” or “I’m so out of shape” or “I can’t do that”. The reticular activating system is the attitude programmer of the brain, and its power lies in the face that the subconscious accepts all you feed it as reality. So if you’re telling it you can’t do something, guess what? You won’t be able to do it.

This is a powerful statement, and we can all immediately relate to it. We’ve heard plenty of statements like the ones Chet describes above. Ever since I read this book, I hear it more and more (maybe I just notice it more now). (more…)

Continue Reading →

post written by Illuminated Mind

Sometimes in order to find balance, you need to fall many times. In order to find the center, you often have to walk the edges.

To find equilibrium, sometimes you have to experience instability.

That’s why I’ve found it helpful to pursue:

The Path of the Ordinary Radical

In the revolutionary sense, radicals are often seen in a negative light. But when it comes to your own self-development, you’ll often need to go to extremes in order to find balance. You will likely need to pursue radical undertakings to uproot your currently undesirable patterns. (It’s probably useful to note here that while they may seem radical to you, they could be perceived as mild or ordinary to others.) (more…)

Continue Reading →