Start The Journey

I last read this book two years ago.  It has been a challenging two years with ups and downs, inertia and momentum.  My thinking has taken a massive shift.  A shift that was necessary if I was to fulfill some dreams of mine.  Dreams that would be unattainable if I were to maintain the status quo.

When I first read this book it was a game changer.  It blew my mind what is possible in the area of wealth creation.  Reading it a second time was like reading a different book.  Aspects not noticed before jumped out of the page.  While others seemed second nature.  No surprise as there has been constant exposure to the cashflow quadrant diagram and its basic tenets.

Kiyosaki outlines a simple concept. Simple in nature but difficult to implement.  It depends on where you see yourself in the present and where you want to be in the future.  People happy with their current situation need not read this, I'll save you the time.  Those wanting something a bit more out of life should purchase this book, read it multiple times, highlight, underline, take notes.  Then get a coach and mentor to discuss your findings from this book and devise a plan of action.

You're financial intelligence starts here.

Change Gonna Come

As you can see from the infographic below, this is a short read.  But oh how it packs a punch.

This simple allegory will reveal to you some tendencies that, if you feel stuck in life, will give an explanation as to why.  This could lead to some discomfort.  For some it could be very uncomfortable.  This is a good thing, if you are committed to improving your life's circumstances.  

There are four characters in the book that deal with the movement of cheese in their maze.  I predict that you will relate to all four.  Either to varying degrees right now or throughout your life you can pinpoint how you dealt with challenges in different ways.

After reading this one you will want to discuss with a friend &/or spouse &/or mentor and discuss where you were before, where you are now, and where you want to be going forward.

With a mentor or coach you can now formulate a plan to move forward so that you don't despair when change comes (i.e. your cheese gets moved).  Change is going to come whether you are ready for it or not.  So you might as well be ready for it.

Eales the Great

I like to read the stories of recognised and decorated leaders in sport.  John Eales is in the upper echelon of this category.  It would be hard to find anyone with a greater positive influence in Rugby Union.

Leadership potential was noticed in him years before he took on the role of captain of the Australian Wallabies.  However, the sport of Rugby Union was going through turmoil in the infancy of his official leadership journey.  (Fitzsimons actually wrote a whole book about it called 'The Rugby War').  A baptism of fire for a young leader.  An unenviable role for anyone.  

I know of the great leader that Eales became, but I didn't know that his tenure almost came to an end prematurely in the years post this turmoil.  His early leadership style was seen as sub optimal when a real honest conversation was had during a round of golf with the Australian Rugby Union boss. 

A different style of leadership was required.  Could Eales deliver?  There were plenty of believers but also plenty of doubters.  He was well liked by his team mates.  This wasn't enough and his 'leadership by consensus' style wasn't getting the results that everyone wanted.

John Eales stated emphatically on that round of golf that he could be the leader that the ARU required.  The organisation backed him and rest is history.  Wrenching back the Bledisloe Cup from New Zealand, no easy task.  World Cup winners in 1999 and Runners Up 2003.  He took Australian Rugby from losing to 'minnows' to world domination.

Eales was fortunate to have some immensely talented players around him.  But everything rises and falls on leadership.  His teams rose.

Imagine if he retreated during that heart to heart on the golf course.  That was an uncomfortable conversation!  To have your leadership challenged would make the ordinary man cower into the fairway trees.  Not John Eales.  It was his chance to step into greatness.  It was the moment that actually spring-boarded his leadership trajectory.  

Eales' growing up story is interesting and adds context to the moments that he owned during his captaincy of the Wallabies.  However, the big leadership lessons came in the last few chapters with the book's timeline finishing just prior to his retirement.  It is a biography after all, not a book on leadership.  But learning some perspective on his early trials and tribulations make it a worthwhile story for any future leaders.