December 2015

My word this has been one hell of a year – in a great way mostly – but there’s been some shitty stuff in the mix too – i.e. Steve’s little heart scare, not fun that. And then I faced the last few months of the year at a speed I didn’t know I was capable of. I mean, look at how few Without the Bollocks blogs I’ve published? Unheard of! Proof I’ve been distracted.   We left Singapore for the festive season on the 23rd of December and boy did I get on that plane exhausted. Then after we arrived, we were jetted off to the country (gorgeous) but with no internet access at all… I mean no social media, no email, no nothing. Do you know what happened? I didn’t know what to do with myself that’s what happened. I felt lost, disconnected, at sea. It was really hard.     Of course, many would say you’re addicted, which of course appears to be true, but then all of this stuff is the core of my working and personal life. It’s not just a bit of fun, it’s how I stay connected with my communities around the world. That’s so important to me. I love it. For work specifically, it’s a huge part of my day-to-day life, so that’s why I’ve never seen it as an addiction – it’s really just an extension of who I am.   I appreciate many don’t understand this, and you may be calling bullshit, but it is what it is. In addition, as the year was ramping to a close, I’ve been going full throttle with work, family, life, celebrations, business functions, and so much more. Every night I’ve thrown myself on the pillow, scarcely getting enough sleep, just to get up and do it all over again, never in bed before midnight – and I like my sleep. I can’t remember finishing a year so exhausted, but then my post-op-recoveryprobably made it all a little more draining too.   Fun, fun, fun!   The thing is, 2015 has been an amazing year too. I am working in the heart of an industry I tried to get moving in Asia last decade. Too EARLY Andrea! Much too early. In fact, the prediction is that content marketing is only now going to hit its tipping point – yes in 2016. It’s felt like a very long haul fighting for something I’m so passionate about let me tell you.   But it’s here, it’s here, it’s here and I’m in the middle of it and I love it and now everyone wants to talk about it, and I write about it, and I speak on it, and I get so excited about it, because this stuff isn’t just fluff, this changes how we do business and it makes us nicer in business, because it’s all about being authentically connected to customers, and that – I believe – ultimately has the potential to make the world a better place.   That’s why I care about content marketing and social media, because I believe it will change the world for the better. Are you hearing me on that front? Or not quite bought into it yet? Meet me for a vodka and I promise I’ll change your mind.   So it has been a really great year and I feel very fortunate sitting in the sweet spot of my professional and personal passion, but I might have to balance things out a bit more in 2016. Maybe even get good at saying no. The madness is exciting though and I know myself. Full throttle is my norm.   So how has your year been? What was the most exciting bit? I hope it’s been awesome. Signing off now as we prepare to face the heat and the crowds in Melbourne for the kiddie scheduled fireworks. I’m expecting this to be a test of patience like nothing else and just hope it’s fun too. I hope whatever you do tonight is a blast and please, stay safe.   Happy Happy New Year and I hope 2016 is amazing for you and yours. I’ve decided it’s the year we’ve all got to come together and give some very big fucks about this world, but I’ll write about that in the New Year.   Finally, thank you thank you thank you for supporting my Without the Bollocks journey. I sure do appreciate it.   Have FUN tonight xxxxx   Yours, without the bollocks Andrea   BTW I’m on Twitter here, Google+ here, Instagram here, and Facebook too, if you’re interested in the other stuff I share. Feel free to share my blog if you think anyone you know will be interested or entertained. I sure do appreciate it when you do xxxxx

Merry Christmas to those who’ve been celebrating – I hope it’s all you’ve wanted it to be. We’re with family in country Victoria, outside of Melbourne in Australia and it’s glorious here. We hear Kookaburras’ singing in the evening and wake up to the strong scent of gum trees. It’s hard to explain that smell to someone who hasn’t experienced it before. The boys are having an absolute blast – lots of space for freedom and spending time with their cousins. They couldn’t be happier.   Anyhoo, last night my little Lexy, once again, expressed an enormous desire to fly after watching the movie Pan. I know most kids go through this phase to some extent, but I also know some yearn for it more than others. Lex is definitely in the latter category.   His intense desire to fly has been unwavering for years, and I’ll always remember the first time he asked me: “Mum why can’t I fly?   I immediately bit my tongue, before saying: “unfortunately you can’t fly darling, humans can’t fly.”   But I couldn’t say that to my Lexy. It didn’t feel right saying it either. I felt I would be putting a limitation on him, and just because no human has technically “flown” – with wings Vs manmade flying apparatus – I couldn’t tell him something was impossible, because every day I’m trying to let him know that nothing is impossible.   Besides, what do I know right?   So it almost seemed ordained when Robin Sharma posted this on Facebook this week (and I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing it here). I think it sums up my rationale perfectly. I never want to limit my boys.   There was once a child who wanted to fly.   Deep in his heart he knew he could.   But many around him warned him to avoid his delusion.   So he started to dim his light. And forget his dream.   He grew busy being busy.   And he grew older. Quickly.   One day, he met a magician.   “Make any wish and I’ll make it true.”   The boy, now a man, said “I used to know I could fly. Not really fly, but fly in the sense of do amazing things and create amazing works and live an amazing life. Fly like that.”   The magician listened.   “My life is so normal now. No fire. No energy. No hope. I think I’d like to feel I could fly again.”   The magician cast a simple spell. The boy, now a man, woke up the next morning and started living an amazing life. It didn’t happen instantly, for nothing wonderful ever does (all great things take time and great sacrifice.”   But the man started to believe again. Just believe.   And the belief created hope. And the hope created better choices. And better choices created wiser consequences.   And the boy, now a man, went on to transform his world through his tiny daily improvements. And in so doing, he made our world better too.   Robin Sharma   So my darling boy, always believe you can fly and chase that dream no matter what, because flying (as a dream) is different for all of us, and the only thing that matters is believing you can, because then you will. Who knows what you can achieve little man? I can’t wait to see it.   It’s a sweet story right? I thought it might be nice for all of us to enjoy, especially if you believed it when you were told you couldn’t fly.   With love and without the bollocks Andrea   BTW I’m on Twitter here, Google+ here, Instagram here, and Facebook too, if you’re interested in the other stuff I share. Feel free to share my blog if you think anyone you know will be interested or entertained. I sure do appreciate it when you do xxxxx