Indigenous round starts with drama

The indigenous round started on Friday night with the first game being played between Sydney Swans and Collingwood at the MCG. What should have been a celebration of a resounding win by Sydney unfortunately ended in an incident that has created national headlines. It is ironic that the champions of last year and perhaps the most liked team and probably the most disliked team in the league were involved.

A female Collingwood fan was exited from the game on Friday night after a racial comment against Sydney Swans champion Adam Goodes. Shockingly the young girl is apparently only 13 years old. She allegedly called Goodes an ape as he lined up for a goal.

Footage shows Goodes walking up to the fence line, pointing out the young girl who was subsequently escorted out by security. Goodes then went on to have a cracker of a game and Swans thrashed the pies.

At his press conference on Saturday morning Goodes spoke with a lot of empathy towards the young girl which simply shows his depth of character. This is not the first time Adam has been called names and he claims that other players in the last 10 years have called him names such as monkey etc.

There have been a number of reported cases over the years of players sledging each other on the field but if racial comments are still part of this game then what sort message are we sending to the football supporters?

It is ironic that the young girl was a Collingwood supporter and there are likely elements today commenting are we really surprised at this level of behaviour from a pies fan.

This is however an issue for our society. Clearly this young girls statement is a reflection of her environment where it may be acceptable to call people names, she may be a victim of bullying herself, whatever the reason I hope that right now she is being supported by people who will counsel her correctly,  help and support her now and long term.

There cannot be a witch hunt nor can she become the face of what we call intolerant behaviour. She is a young kid who made a terrible mistake. She needs support, education and help.  I am disappointed for Adam Goodes and how the name calling made him feel, I admire his strength to stand up to it however I equally have concern for the young girl.

She was clearly visibly upset when she left the field unaware of the furore she was going to start, and has woken up this morning to events that will change her life.

This is an incident that will be life changing and as a minor is very young to fully understand or deal with the short and long term ramifications.

Many may suggest that it wasn’t the worst racial comment one can have thrown at them however what people need to understand that words or name calling can hurt individuals differently.

And clearly this is the case given her open apology to Goodes and conversation she had with him.

It also concerns me that the MCG security asked the family to remain seated as they ejected her then held her for two hours for questioning.  Yes we need zero tolerance on racism but this girl is also only 13 so let’s keep it in prospective.

 As someone who has been at the receiving end of racial taunts I know how Adam Goodes feels and today and I applaud him for making a stand not just for himself but the community he represents.

One must say well done to Collingwood who have reacted positively to the incident with Eddie McGuire going into the Swans change rooms to apologise to Goodes for the incident.

The indigenous round is a celebration of Goodes’s people and culture, the contribution they bring to our game and the talent we have across many teams. It brings back memories of Nicky Winnmar 20 years ago when he made a similar stand and it is sad that these incidents are still occurring.

Adam Goodes is clearly shattered however is quite rightly is supporting the young girl offering to talk to her and educate her.

Sadly racism exists in Australia and unfortunately on Friday it had the face of a 13 year old girl. It has no place in our culture and society however it will always exist.

It is important to understand that young kids do not grow up racists; they develop these tendencies influenced by the adults in their life. 

For those of us who are more tolerant we must ensure that we continue to educate those who are not and at the same time support the younger generation who will make these sorts of mistakes.

Let’s not forget also that Australia is a melting pot of so many ethnic groups. We are far more tolerant here than in many other places. Those who are racists or not tolerant of the ethnic diversity that exists here are in the minority.

This incident has provided us an opportunity to make a clear statement that racism of any kind is simply not acceptable in our society, that this girl is a minor and we need to ensure that we educate our children to be more tolerant.

We also need to accept that we will never remove racism completely from our communities however when it occurs it is ok to make a stand against it so that we can educate people and make changes.

Remember - Education is the key to tolerance. We fear what we don’t know or understand. We are influenced by those who are older than us.

Let’s hope that the media, the AFL and the indigenous community create this into a positive by helping the young girl and sending the right message into our communities on this issue.

Mahatma Ghandi once said – you must be the change you want to see in the world. It is up to those of us who are more tolerant to create the change we want to see occur.

 

Just want to do the good stuff

 

“ I want roles in movies but I don’t want to attend any auditions”

“ I want to be an AFL footballer but I don’t really want to train everyday”

“ I want to be a successful agent but I really don’t have the discipline to prospect everyday”

Unfortunately in any job that we have you don’t just get to do the fun stuff all the time. To be earn the big bucks, you need to list and sell more than anyone else in your market, you also have be great at building relationships and  have single minded  focus and discipline.

The fun stuff is the results you get, the awards you may win or simply the personal feeling of achievement.

It’s when things are tough, when you have to work harder and learn how to deal with rejection and failure that’s when the opportunities to shine appear enabling you to do your best work. Don’t miss out on these times.

Sticks and stones may break bones but words……..

As we head towards our walk on the 10^th of May, highlighting violence towards women in particular, acts of violence seems to be an issue on the rise. The Chief Commissioner made a statement a few weeks ago that there would be 60,000 reported cases of violence towards women this year, and I dread to think what the unreported number is.

This cause has highlighted for me how violence in our society seems to be on the increase. And we are just not talking about physical, but emotional and verbal also.

I reflected on three recent incidents in Melbourne where individuals on public transport, who were clearly driven by hate, went on tirades. If you hear the video/audio footage of one of them it is quite appalling. The only good thing was that none of these ended in physical attacks and I would assume these individuals may end up in court.

I wonder what makes people snap in this way? How much hate must they feel towards others to make them actually verbalise it publically?

Sadly this happens in all societies, often against those who are seen as different or belonging to a minority group and often for no real reason at all.

Only last year we saw the increased number of attacks on cab drivers, particularly Indian drivers, and the impact was felt at government level.

My Indian parents lived here in the early 60’s and it was a time when the White Australia policy was well and truly alive. Often when they got on a bus or train as my mum says the “white” person they sat next to often moved. This was a culture that existed in the Australian society which at the time was sanctioned by the government. Even to this day my mum feels intimidated to some extent by her past experiences.

When I first moved here in 1982 I faced issues that caused me grief at the time. I was an easy target for fellow students in my boarding school. It did toughen me up, however I know of others who were in similar situations and unfortunately had breakdowns because of it.

I remember in the late 80’s going to Victoria Street for dinner and we played spot the “skip”. We thought we were really cool being one of the few mixed couples that went there. Now we see Australians there who are clearly in a mixed relationship.

My kids are of mixed race and we often joke “halfies” are the best, (they certainly are good looking!).

This country at some point in its journey will be lucky enough to have a large number of “halfies”.

Even though we have diversified as a nation, it still seems that being different- whether it is your colour, looks, disability or being alternative- has a price. The stigma is born out of ignorance, lack of understanding, fear and hatred.

The danger I believe is when the lack of understanding, fear and hatred becomes so intense it turns into nasty attacks that have tragic consequences for all parties.

This ugly element will always exist in society and it’s up to us to constantly stand up and say violence in any form or of any type is not ok.

I want my “halfie” kids and those who are seen as different or alternative to be able to feel safe where they live, work and play.

Do you have the guts to leave the herd you currently hang out with?

 

Before you read this blog take a few minutes to rate yourself on the following:

o   Are you dominating your market place?

o   Are you seen as the best – the Mohammed Ali of real estate in your office?

o   Your market place simply cannot ignore you because you are that good?

If you have answered no to these, ask yourself:  would you like to be? Of course you would, who wouldn’t. The question then becomes how do you get there?

The answer is surprisingly quite simple. Cut out your excuses and increase your actions!

You can make excuses or you can take action what you can’t do is both.

Excuses are really easy to find and then even easier to convince ourselves that it is reality. Excuses are actually lies we tell ourselves, often from a base of fear, which ultimately impacts our performance.

To lose weight you need to go to the gym, eat healthy and maybe drink less. However how often do you find yourself making excuses? “It’s too cold, I’m too tired, I have too much work, I’ll start next week, I have too many dinners out this week etc!”  I know I have a bag full of them myself. (I can’t wait for that magic diet pill to be invented)

Here’s the thing, to be world class or the best at anything, you have to stop making excuses and working below the line.

Real estate is a numbers game. To be successful is really quite simple and it has absolutely nothing to do with the market.

o   Make more calls than anyone else

o   Work twice as hard as your competitors

o   Become the agent of choice

o   Be the best at what you do – the Picasso of real estate

There is a reason why only a small % of agents in our industry are at the top of their game. They are more disciplined and focused and do the above really well.

The majority of agents hang out with the herd that believes being mediocre is OK. In fact this herd has a cult following with many members.

The best thing you can do right now is to make a conscious decision to exit this herd, find those agents who are at the top of their game, go hang out with them and do what they do.

Successful people in any industry have the mindset and grit not to give up, regardless of the hurdles they hit. Your journey to be the best and to be excellent will have many hurdles; find the grit not to give up. When you get knocked down, get back up and go harder.

Iconic businessmen such as Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Bill Gates all have grit.

Have you ever seen a race horse with blinkers on running down the straight at Flemington? The reason why they have blinkers is so they don’t get distracted by what’s going on around them.

Too many agents run the distraction model, end up being part of the mediocre herd and then make excuses which they start to believe as to why they are there.

Set yourself a vision of where you want to be, how you are going to get there, love every minute of the journey and make sure you have the single minded focus and grit to get there.

People don’t get lucky with success; you create luck by not giving up and sticking to your plan no matter what.

Let me marry who I love!

The New Zealand government has had the courage to legalise gay marriages becoming only the 13^th country in the world and the first in the Asia Pacific region to do so. The vote was passed 77 to 44 after a two hour debate on the matter.

What a shame that Australia doesn’t have the courage to do the same. In fact this will now potentially become an election issue with Gillard refusing to budge on legalising gay marriages in Australia.

I guess having a number of friends who are gay I don’t see why they do not have the same right as I do to get married, make a commitment and declaration of love to a partner.

What gays are asking for is recognition by governments on their status not religious acknowledgement. In fact when was the last time any of us from any religion followed by the book what has been written in our scriptures?

Surely part of modern day Australia would be to legalise gay marriages? So now thousands of Australians will fly three hours across the ditch to get hitched creating a tourist boom in New Zealand.

Will this new move by New Zealand serve as an eventual game changer in Australia? We are quiet closely linked and we often joke the NZ should simply become another state of Australia.

There was a failed attempt to legalise gay marriage last year in the Australian parliament when Ms Gillard opposed the move and the Opposition Leader Tony Abbott refusing coalition MPs a conscience vote. Gillard has been quoted as saying that gay marriage is against her upbringing. As the Prime Minister what her personal views are not relevant to decisions that are taken that impact this country. Just as a good journlist will simply report the facts and not let their personal opinions or feelings impact the story.

Abbott is just as bad being quoted as saying that he sees marriage as traditional union between man and woman stating that this was also his party’s position. Really Mr Abbot why not take the conscience vote then to prove it?

It frustrates me that parliamentarians are taking a decision on this issue, since when have they become the keeper of morale standards and what is or isn’t right in the community in regards to marriage.

Personally I am tired of hearing all the arguments against gay marriage. The “because I said so or believe so” rhetoric from our politicians is becoming lame and starting to look rather pathetic.

We need to evolve and move with the time. In fact there was once a White Australia Policy in this country. My parents were impacted by this when they tried to migrate here. Why because they weren’t the right colour! Yet we evolved from this.

The right for gays to get married will happen in Australia, it is inevitable. However it will take a courageous politician to make it happen and clearly we don’t have one yet!

The Iron Lady

Tomorrow marks the final steps for Margaret Thatcher, an amazing woman of her time. Like or dislike her Thatcher was an extraordinary woman who was driven, passionate and focused with single minded determination.

She polarized a nation, in life and death, but history will treat her as a great leader of her time.

The influence she had for her time was far reaching creating major domestic reforms that altered Britain.

The Iron Lady ruled the UK for 11 years and remains the longest serving Prime Minister for Britain. She took over a rundown nation and produced a leaner government and prosperous nation by the time she left.  

She was tough, of that there is no doubt. The only female PM to date in Britain but interestingly she apparently found feminists annoying.  I recently read that her view on women wanting to make their mark on public life was simple:  “The odds are stacked against women so they have to show they are better than the men.”  Many women would say that this is still the case today. Interestingly, she only ever appointed one female cabinet member during her time in power.

She was passionate on what she believed to be best for Britain; she built great relationships with her allies who underestimated at first but quickly gave respect. Her speech attacking the Soviet Union earned her the Iron Lady tag.  It was coined by Captain Yuri Gavrilov in 1976 in the Soviet newspaper Red Star, for her staunch opposition to the Soviet Union and socialism.

It is now a popular term to describe female heads of Government of which there are very few. The term simply means a “strong willed” woman. Perhaps many of us in business should also be nicknamed iron ladies.

It simply amazes me that in her death there are people who will celebrate her passing through burning effigies and singing childish songs. It shows a total lack of respect for the person and what she achieved.

Like or dislike her, one cannot ignore the successes she had over her 11 years; Falkland’s, privatisation that saw the emergence of brands such as Virgin, control of unions  to name a few.  Yes she perhaps could have been “softer”, but would being simply more appealing have gotten her the same results?

We talk about glass ceilings in 2013. I suspect Thatcher had layer of concrete ceiling to deal with which she tore down with her bare hands.

She fought for respect from her own party, the opposition and international leaders like Regan, Gorbacov and Kohl. To some she was the “Iron Lady” and to others she was simply “that bloody woman”. The response to Thatcher proves she had no qualms with being provocative through her cutting edge policies. She also used her femininity to her advantage. This fight for respect and lack of shame about her gender are admirable leadership qualities- other world leaders have done far worse.

I personally admire Thatcher’s qualities. They are qualities that enable you to shoot for the stars and actually get there. She will always be on my list of people to have around a dinner table.

Greatness is an uncomfortable quality. No matter what people say about her, Thatcher was great. She will be remembered not just for being a woman, but for the woman that she was.

Apparently what mattered to Margaret Thatcher was how history was going to judge her. I believe that history will be kind to her. We shouldn’t dare do otherwise.

Yahoo bans working from home

Recently appointed Yahoo CEO has banned her employees working from home.

I must say when I read this I did stop and think - she can't be serious. Not in this day and age!

The reason she has given is that the speed and quality is sacrificed when people work from home and some of the best decisions are made at impromptu meetings in the office.

In my humble opinion this is a backward step given the technology that is available to us. The ability to work remotely is much easier these days and certainly more effective.

The trend these days for most organisations is to move towards employees having flexible work options and be able to work remotely to fit into lifestyles.

People are working longer hours, commuting further and sometimes working from home can in fact be more effective.

In fact as a country we are on the push to double the number of people who do work from home.

Sure there are some who would perhaps take advantage of the concept but there always will be and they most certainly would be in the minority plus the output would very quickly confirm to managers if not work had been done.

Gone are the days where business owners and managers believe that unless you are in the office or at your desk you are not productive.

And it is a little scary to think that a global group like Yahoo is clearly heading in this direction. It will be interesting to see if there is any backlash from the employees.

From my prospective as long as the work is done, on time, effectively , efficiently and to standard why not, from time to time, do it from home.

I have often been the most productive when I am sitting at home on my couch in my PJ's working.... in fact I could be doing that right now and you wouldn't really know!