1. Pilot your life
Welcome to issue no. 26 of Pilot your life. August 2011
Two of my life mottoes are “Life, be in it” and “Nothing ventured,
nothing gained”. In other words, “Have a go”.
Nothing typifies this attitude better than an agricultural and
horticultural show like the Royal Adelaide Show (I was photographing
there the other day).
People can go there to enjoy the entertainment, to find out about
various products and to savour those special show delicacies like fairy
floss, toffee apples and hot cinnamon donuts. However, one important
aspect of the show is competing, whether it’s in cooking, crafts, wood cutting, showing
livestock (below left) or show jumping (below right).
It’s a time to “show off” what you can do and how well you can do it. You may also be able
to win a prize or be the champion on the day.
For some people it takes great courage to show the rest of the world what they (or their
animals) can do. They know that they can’t all be winners but at least they’re “having a
go”. I have my own take on winners and champions. A champion doesn’t always have to
win to be a champion but a winner isn’t necessarily a champion because of winning. It has
a lot to do with the right attitude.
It takes a lot of effort, commitment and attention to detail to win a prize at the show,
particularly when it comes to livestock. As I was wandering around the cattle and sheep
pavilions and the horse stables, there was a hive of activity as people were preparing
themselves and their stock for judging.
Even though I lived in the country for twenty years, I didn’t realise what went into
agricultural show preparations.
In the paddock, stock can be covered in dirt, manure and feed. However, when it comes to
show judging, the animals have to be perfectly groomed.
Roaming around the horse stables and exercise area was a real eye opener for me.
2. Pilot your life
There were horses being put through their paces in the exercise yard (below left). Another
area was set aside for horses to be washed down (below right).
In the stables, some horses were keeping warm with their own tailor-made blankets. Others
were given the ultimate beauty treatments of having their mane plaited by their riders (top
photo below) or having their whiskers shaven (bottom photo below).
Even in the cattle pavilions, livestock was washed clean, dried with blow driers, powdered
and shaved. Some cattle were given the whole body shave including the tail (below) and
others were left with a fashionable Mohawk along the backbone.
3. Pilot your life
The end result was everybody looking their best to do their best (animals included).
One other thing that was very noticeable was the number of competitors who were smiling
(not just at the camera). Competing (or participating) is also about enjoying what you do
and living life to the full whether you win a prize or not. Be a participator in life, not just a
spectator.
So, my next tip for how to pilot your life (personal or business) is:
Have a go.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Two of my presentation topics are:
Determination/Persistence/Perseverance
Personal development
Visit: www.franwest.com and http://au.linkedin.com/in/franwestau.
Blogs: http://pilotyourlife.wordpress.com and http://franwest2.blogspot.com.
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issues of the newsletter.
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Bye for now,
Australia's Life Pilot
Speaker, Author, Adventurer
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