Sunday 18 July 2010

Gayndah photos...

Those of you that pay attention may have noticed that my last blog post was a bit off topic... in fact I didn't mention my travels at all! The primary reason for this is that I have effectively stopped travelling for now, spending all of my time in Gayndah, and working every hour that I can! This doesn't make for a very exciting travelogue... 

I have taken some nice pictures in  this time however, and I thought I'd share some of them with you... They fit very roughly into four categories. Those four are animals, people, views and things I've done...

Animals...




No farm work in Australia would be complete without seeing some large spiders, and this was no exception! I found the spider on the right curled up in a leaf. It is a huntsman spider and as such is perfectly harmless..

The frog on the left is more obviously harmless... isn't he cute...



People



The people of Gayndah are very friendly, and people in the camp site are no exception to this. We have a group and we while away the long Gayndah weekends together, doing such exciting things as having fires, listening to music and getting drunk!

Views















As you can see, Gayndah can be very beautiful. Unfortunately most of the time this happens very early in the morning, and is accompanied by freezing cold weather!


















Things I've done.

My van died at work one day, and Investigating I found that one of the terminals had completely dissolved! This disaster had a silver lining however, because the work involved in getting to the battery to replace the terminal gave me a chance to fit a hinge on the far side of the under bed area, making it much easier to take things in and out, and allowing much easier access to the battery in future.

Finally I've been working on a new project this last week or so. I'm not really sure if it is ready to go yet, but I'm going to launch it now anyway, and you can see it evolve and grow as I discover for myself what is involved in it!

The Real Man Project is an ongoing excercise in personal growth. It looks towards making the best of my life, and becoming the best that I can be. It also involves collecting resources together to help other people to achieve the Real Man ideal in a simple to understand, step by step,  process...


In order to achieve this I have launched a "Real Man Project" page on facebook (follow the links on my profile to access it) and I'm also launching a new blog that will chart my progress and hopefully help other people to achieve similar results!

I'd love to see you all over at the other blog, I have provided a link here and if you click on that it will take you straight there!

Monday 12 July 2010

The Real Man Project

I've been hearing a lot about “Real Men” recently.

“I want a Real Man” and “Where have all the Real Men gone?” are phrases that most women seem to have said at some point. Women seem to know exactly what this means, even though they often have trouble articulating clearly exactly what the image is that is evoked in them by these two words...

Most men on the other hand don't have any clear idea what women mean when they say these things! The words “Real Man” mean as much to most men as the offside rule in soccer means to most women!

I have put a bit of thought into figuring out what women are getting at when they say these words, and here is my list of what a “Real Man” is...

What makes a Real Man is split up into two sections. The inside stuff and the outside stuff. First the inside...

A Real Man is calm, collected and confident. He is comfortable in his own skin, whether he is spending time alone, hanging with his friends, or meeting new people. In fact there isn't a situation that you can put him in that will make him uncomfortable. This isn't to say that he doesn't get nervous or scared, but he doesn't let the fear effect him, and acts in the face of it.

A Real Man is a leader. He is decisive. When it is time to make a decision, or take charge, he is willing to step up to the plate and do what needs to be done. He doesn't worry about making the wrong choice, or agonise for hours over which of two choices he prefers, when the time comes, he makes a choice and sticks with it. And if it turns out to have been the wrong choice he holds up his hands, takes responsibility and sets about making things right.

A Real Man has high self esteem. He respects himself and others. He is confident without being arrogant, and rightly so, because he knows that whatever situation is thrown at him he will handle it as best as he can, and even if he doesn't handle it perfectly he knows that he will have learned a lesson and the next time he handles the same situation he will handle it even better.

A Real Man takes action. If he sees something that needs doing he does it. If someone needs help and he has time and energy to give he will help them. He knows that the only true path to learning is through doing and doesn't sit around gathering knowledge and trying to be perfect before he tries to do anything.

A Real Man is motivated. He has a mission in life. He knows what he wants, where he is going and what to do to achieve these goals. He sets up smaller goals along the way, and congratulates himself every time he achieves one of these smaller goals on the way to the greater goal.

A Real Man is positive. He knows that people create their own reality and so he makes his reality a positive one to live in. He doesn't bring himself down with negative self talk. He may sometimes have days, when life throws him a curve ball, when he isn't on top of the world but when this happens he doesn't wallow in his self pity and he doesn't cling to his grief. He allows himself to feel it, allows it to wash through him, and then allows himself to get on with his life.

A Real Man is always learning. He recognises that life is a lesson for us, that all experiences, good and bad, are learning lessons. He knows that he is always changing, and strives to make the change a positive one all the time.

On the outside...

A Real Man has strong body language and posture. He carries himself all the time as if he has just won a gold medal in the Olympics and his national anthem is playing. He has a steady gaze, and is confidently expressive.

A Real Man speaks clearly and confidently. His voice carries as far as is needed without him having to shout. It is clear from his voice that he is in control. His voice comes from deep in his body and is rich and expressive.

A Real Man is well dressed and well groomed. He recognises that his personal appearance is the first impression that he gives to the world, and knows that this is very important. This doesn't mean that he is necessarily the height of fashion, but he pays attention to his clothes and takes care of them. Similarly he takes care of himself. His personal hygiene is impeccable and he makes sure that his nails are tidy and his hair is well styled.

Finally, a Real Man has a good balance in his life between work and leisure. He fills his life with activities and would never be content to live a life of routine. He may watch TV from time to time, but he chooses what he watches, and when the thing that he wants to watch is over, he will turn off the TV and do something else...

These are just a few of my thoughts of what constitutes a real man. I'd be very interested in your feedback. What have I missed? What have I gotten right or wrong? If you know me, how could I live up to this ideal better?

My mission in life is to move closer and closer to the ideal above, and maybe even to help others to get to this place, all with the intention of making the world a better place.