Barry Richardson, Fires, and the Lessons We Should Learn from Our First People
We have all been swallowed up in the disastrous National Bushfires over the past fortnight and it has been heartwarming to see how many have contributed so much to the physical, emotional and psychological damage caused to those at the coalface - literally. We are...
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Our Top Five Practical Actions When You’re Down and Out.
An article by Wendy Squires that appeared in The Age recently is part of a movement that disrupts the stigma around mental health. Squires spoke about the key aspects that have helped her out when she was feeling life had taken her back to dark places she had been in...
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Keep It Real. Keep It Real. Don’t Rush.
In an article “Life, work in balance for PwC chief” that appeared in The Australian, Luke Sayers, CEO of PWC Australia, was with his father as he lay on his deathbed, diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) a month earlier. His father was determined to share his...
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FAREWELL POLLY FARMER
This afternoon (Friday 30th August) I am going to Geelong for the Memorial Service being held at the Geelong Cats for Legendary Player Polly Farmer. His well-publicised State Funeral was earlier this week. Polly was a teammate of mine, my first Captain and my last...
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AVOID THE WALL
The buzz word in mental well-being has become Depression. Whether it’s in the workplace, on the sporting field, in our daily activities, becoming a new mother, depression is a growth industry. Something which was almost unknown about not so many decades ago, and has...
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TRUE FRIENDSHIP IN THE AUSTRALIAN DESERT
I’ve been thinking a lot about Friendships lately. One of the results of the Social Media revolution is the total physical disconnect occurring between people. I read recently that as many as 50% of people today are lonely and as we get older, this increases...
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REFLECTING ON A MEETING WITH SIR ROBERT MENZIES
We are living in times when people are trying more than ever to be heard. With all the “noise” that surrounds us, whether via social media, the 24-hour news cycle, the dumbing down of language, the raising of voices or the woeful examples provided by so-called leaders...
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RESIST THE GREYING OF EXISTENCE
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? Did you choose something easy, something challenging or nothing at all? For those of us who make them, New Year’s resolutions are usually bland and predictable, and, as a result, are often broken within the first...
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MY BOOK OF IMPORTANT THINGS AND STEVE JOBS
15 years ago, as I emerged from the funk that ultimately led me to starting Life Again, I bought a Collins 3880 Account Book (Feint and Paged!) to start taking account of my own life. It had a “hard cover” so I knew it was for keeps. I started thinking about the...
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ROMANCE IN LIFE, IN BUSINESS AND IN FINALS. THE NEXT WAVE.
Dick Smith, legendary Australian businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist and political agitator, once said: “AN ORGANISATION WITHOUT A SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE WILL DIE.” He could have been referring to any of the campaigns he had taken on throughout his life, because no...
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TAKE A LUNCHTIME WALK
I have often told the story of how I got lost during my midlife and this became the genesis of my establishing Life Again. It’s about the things I could have been doing or should have been doing during those times in my life when I was under most pressure. Often this...
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WORK REST AND PLAY – ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS TO LIFE
It’s an intriguing and often beautiful thing to see animals in their natural habitat - to watch their instinctive behaviour, and notice how much of it strikes a chord with us humans, the most sophisticated animal on the planet. What’s strange is the more sophisticated...
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WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR FIRST PEOPLE?
One of the joys I’ve discovered since creating the Life Again Foundation over 5 years ago is developing deep friendships with many Aborigines from different parts of Australia, particularly from the Centre and Western Desert communities. Not only have I met them and...
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OUTBACK WITH A PURPOSE
PLANNING LIFE AGAIN IN 2018 In 2018, Life Again will be coordinating several outback trips to Central Australia. Join Gareth Andrews for a journey of discovery and reflection in Central Australia’s Aboriginal community. You will need to bring an open mind, a...
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TAKE NOTE – LIFE CHANGING ADVICE FROM FRANK COSTA
Men, hold onto your hats. This is the most important message I can give you. I’ve thought about it for some time as I've reflected upon important moments of my life. Good and bad. Happy and sad. Good bloke and cad. Balanced and mad. I’ve been to all those places and...
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STOP BURNOUTS IN THE WORKPLACE
In 2013 the US Gallup data organisation released world-wide research information which is frightening for the work place. It suggested that only 13% of employees are “engaged” in their jobs, or emotionally invested in their work and focussed on helping their...
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AND FINALLY, A NOTE FROM DUSTY!
Dustin Martin has ruled our lives for most of the last six months. He has almost succeeded in taking Donald Trump off the front pages of newspapers, certainly in Victoria, and just walking around Melbourne today his “bodgie” haircut is rife. Whether or not neck tats...
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SWEEPING THE SHED
The power of Richmond on Friday night, inspired by Dustin Martin, was one of the great football stories of the weekend. It was awesome. Chilling and thrilling for Richmond fans. It came from a team that has struggled through wasted seasons for decades and looked like...
read more9 LIFE LESSONS BY TIM MINCHIN
As many of you have been asking about my Blogs, I admit to having been in a mini-Winter break! What with Outback trips and planning the next stage of the Life Again journey, its been writer’s block time. Thats all about to change. But just for a bit of fun, I want to...
read moreWHAT I’VE LEARNED FROM THE DEATH OF MY DOG
Just over a week ago, my beautiful little 21-month-old pug, named Tuesday, died after being hit by a car. She was being her normal, spirited self, egged on by her little pug buddy, Foxy. Thankfully, she died instantly. And even more thankfully, I wasn’t there to...
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TRUMP AND THE FRAGILE MAN
To many of my readers, you might think that I have drifted off the planet for a few weeks. Let me assure you, you may be quite right. I have been in the US for the better part of 2 weeks and have seen a cross-section of people going through the most challenging...
read moreTHE HIDDEN SECRETS OF MAN
Recently we celebrated the life of a man who was larger than life - in every way imaginable. The Whale was an appropriate name and descriptor for Brian Roberts, a champion footballer from the 60's and 70's. Standing 199cm and weighing 120kg on a good day, he was a...
read moreLISTEN TO YOUR DIFFERENT DRUMMER BEFORE THIS TRAIN LOSES CONTROL
How do we measure ourselves? Ultimately it's up to each of us to make that decision based on who we think we are. That's a pretty simple truth to put down on paper but it's a hard rule to stand by. We are forever looking outwards and watching and interacting with a...
read moreA LESSON IN CALMNESS AND TRANQUILITY
A mate of mine died a couple of months ago. He had been a successful businessmen who appeared able to cope well with all the stresses of a modern life. Happily married and father of a lovely daughter, his was a life fully-lived. He was gregarious, generous and...
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