Last week, we shared a success tip in our weekly Newsletter which came from Andrew May. We had quite a lot of interesting comments which you can find below.

Enjoy the read.

Andrew is the founder of Good Health Solutions – Australia’s largest corporate health and wellbeing consultancy, employing over 100 full-time staff members. In addition, Andrew has worked as the physical performance manager for the Australian cricket team as well as a performance advisor to the Sydney Swans. Now describing himself as a reformed workaholic, Andrew has some interesting advice that comes directly from his chapter in Secrets of Great Success Coaches Exposed! Read below.

Why do you recommend that people should slow down their lives?

We live in a world that teaches us that faster is better. Speed is the new ‘king’ and our lives are measured in bits and bytes, dissected into milliseconds and micro detail. Is it any wonder our health, relationships, sex lives and performance eventually start to suffer? While we do need to regularly shove the throttle into turbo drive and plough through those ‘to do’ lists, it is equally important to spend time in cruise mode, or time just going slow! The challenge is that we have all been conditioned to think that slow is evil. Nothing could be further from the truth.

My challenge for you is to build set periods of ‘slow’ into your week. Try tai chi, slow walks with your dog, staying in bed reading the paper without feeling guilty, slow food, or slow sex (according to James Gleick, author of Faster, the average time we spend making love in our fast-moving society is four minutes). Take some time to slow down and enjoy your life!

Furthermore, the latest psychology research advises that people take a minimum of two to three weeks holiday every year to fully recover. So bury the laptop, turn off your phone and take a break!

Here are seven holiday tips to renew, refresh, and recharge:

Invest time in planning your break – so many people plan their working day to the last second but fail to give any thought to their time off.

Leave your work in the office – don’t take reports or proposals to finish on your summer break by the beach. Be disciplined and leave work in the office. Besides, is the world really going to end if you don’t do that extra board report right now?

Don’t fully load your holiday diary like an average working week – adrenaline junkies are notorious for getting back from a week’s holiday totally stuffed (physically and mentally) and in need of a proper relaxing holiday. Don’t spend every waking moment doing things, leave some margin and space to just chill and have time out.

Bury the laptop – even though you’re going to be regularly tempted, don’t get sucked towards the evil screen. Leave your laptop in the office or in a cupboard in your house. You might even find you are addicted to your laptop, mobile and PDA. If you think I’m talking to you right now, try weaning yourself off them for a week (seriously!).

Try something new – try and learn something or do something totally new to give your brain a rest from the normal day-to-day grind. Go windsurfing, paddle a kayak, recite some phrases in French, try a different type of yoga class or book in for a relaxing massage.

Get up at the same time every day – a big trap on holidays is the circadian rhythm ‘free running cycle’. You find you go to bed a little bit later each night and by the end of your break you’re going to bed at midnight or one in the morning and not getting up until late morning. Try to go to bed and get out of bed at your usual times. If you are sleep deprived, reward yourself by going to bed an hour earlier each night or having an afternoon siesta.

Learn to relax – as a reformed workaholic, I honestly had to learn to relax. I can remember watching movies and at the same time thinking (sometimes even writing) about unfinished ‘to do’ lists. Set up boundaries that force you to relax and try doing something else a little bit new in this day and age – turn off your mobile phone!

Here are some comments which came in response to this success tip.

Pamela Baker-Hoang
I couldn’t agree more as I am guilty of doing some of those things when I really should be winding down. Trying to do 2 or 3 things at once is counter productive so enjoy your R&R time as you have earnt it. Relax with that thought.
PS:Thanks for your tips Dale and associates.

Lawrence Rausim
I agree very much with the success tips for this week. I feel guilty if I have an off day and I have to go for some schedule meeting because I feel I missing out on information.

Tracey Maclean
OMG Andrew is talking about me! I felt confused even thinking about relaxing however, one difference for me is that I love what I do so its not too much of a chore. OK I’m up for the test of taking on something new.

Chi Le
Totally agree with the ideas to ‘totally switch off’. You will have to design a ‘relaxing plan and activities’ to replace your normal working schedule or else you will still be working while you are not in your formal offices.

Have you ever heard of Australian Anthill Magazine? It’s a great publication that always has really interesting content and latest news about what’s happening in the world of fast growing businesses. I also like the graphic design in this magazine as it is always very trendy. You should check it out sometime.

Below is an article that appeared in the most recent issue which featured myself and another successful self-published author named Lisa Messenger. In the article we shared the advantages of taking a non-traditional approach to publishing and why there’s a lot of opportunities out there for other aspiring authors and entrepreneurs.

Last night, we celebrated the launch of our latest Secrets Exposed book titled "Secrets of Great Success Coaches Exposed". The book takes people up-close and personal with 15 of the country’s best.

With contributors scattered right across the country and two permanently based in the United States, we were delighted that 9 of the 15 were able to join us in Sydney for the launch of this book. The night began with champagne and nibbles plus lots of meeting and greeting and inspired conversations. This was followed by a few speeches, but certainly the highlight of the evening was hearing from each of the contributors share a little about who they are and what it meant to them to be part of the Secrets Exposed Book. Below are some photos from the event and we are also cutting together a short video, which we will upload in a few days time once it is complete.

Thanks again to all in attendance and we look forward to continuing to make this book a huge success.

While we were in the Hunter Valley we visited a very small boutique bookshop, which mainly stocked fiction and children’s books. Not expecting too much, I wandered over to the business section, which had all of five books, however I was totally delighted that two of them were Secrets Exposed Titles.
The owner of the bookshop whose photo is below was a little surprised when I told her I was the author. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, I can’t really say I looked the part, however it was lovely to meet her. So if you are ever in the Hunter Valley, make sure you visit the bookshop near Roche Wines.

At the moment, we are collecting testimonials from readers for our upcoming Secrets Exposed books.

If you would a free copy of our next book, all you have to do is send a 50 word testimonial to emma@dreamexpress.com.au with your full name and business /job title, and then if your testimonial is selected, we will send you a free copy of the book!

We do ask that you refer to the Series as a whole, rather than just one book. This offer is valid for the next 7 days. Thank you for your help – we look forward to hearing from you today!

Yesterday I was in the city for a couple of meetings and had an hour and a half in between. So I hit the street and dropped in on four bookshops including Borders, Angus & Robertson and Dymocks. While I was there, I signed as many books as I could. Below is a quick photo taken in the Borders store, so if you live in Sydney and want to grab a signed copy for somebody special, please drop in and make a purchase.

Have you seen the May/June issue of Wealth Creator magazine? The one with Anthony Robbins on the cover?

Well in it you will find an amazing book review of Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed plus two feature articles on Secrets Exposed contributors. You will find Joshua Nicholls on page 82-83 and the story of Libby Dedman on page 88-89. Please visit your nearest news agency and grab a copy as you will find some great articles.

This is a quick reminder which follows on from the newsletter we sent out on the 17th of April. The special link below gives you the opportunity to see Brad Sugars, one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, absolutely free.

Normally to attend this event you’d invest $69.95, however if you click on the private web page (http://www.billionaireintraining.net/home.html) and punch in his special registration code (AUSP02) you will be able to access your ‘Free Ticket’.

Here are the dates and locations of the events:

Discover how Brad Sugars went from delivering newspapers at 13 to being a retired multimillionaire at 26. Also hear him share his secrets to building the world’s largest business coaching company and one of the fastest growing franchises.

To claim your ‘Free Ticket’ now click on the link below and enter the special registration code.

Website: http://www.billionaireintraining.net/home.html
Registration Code: AUSP02

There are only a few days to go so please make sure you book in soon!

Joshua Nicholls is one of the contributors in Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed, which was released a few months ago. Joshua owns Platinum Electrical, which in just four short years has experienced a growth of 790%.

Here is a short extract from his chapter in the book…

After four years, your business grew by 790 per cent. How did you grow so fast and did this present any major challenges for your business?

"Platinum Electrical grew so fast because I was young and ambitious and wasn’t afraid to take risks. At 22 years of age I had no commitments and I was able to put all my time and money into the company. I feel that the company grew rapidly because I had an eye for insufficiencies and always worked on improving them. As we started to grow, I still prioritised improving systems and processes and therefore laid a foundation that could handle more rapid growth. The second stage of growth happened once I sought wise counsel and appointed a business coach. Having started business as a technician and only having a vague idea about how to make a business successful, I engaged the services of my business coach to help me move the business to the next level."

"I spend a lot of money on advice and it is really important not to be ‘tight’ when it comes to this. A lot of small business owners try to cut corners by saving money when it comes to professionals in the legal, accounting and business fields but this can be a fatal mistake. I believe that I have attracted growth by investing money in professional advisers who have channelled me in the right direction to do things right the first time. If you try and cut corners by doing it yourself, or paying for a cheap accountant for instance, you will always pay for it in the long run. Choose professional advisers wisely and even if they are expensive, the return on investment is priceless."

Because of Josh’s contribution to the book, he was recently featured in the Blacktown Advocate. Congratulations Josh!

Please take a look at the article below.

If you would like to find out more about Joshua and his business, please go to www.platinumelectrical.com.au

A few nights ago we had a book launch to celebrate the release of our latest title ‘Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed’. We were very excited because we were joined by most of the contributors in the book and we had people travel to Sydney from all across Australia.

The night was better than we could have ever hoped for. The food, champagne and also the heart-warming speeches from all of the contributors in attendance was fantastic. A big thank you to all the contributors that made the trip and the other special guests that were also in attendance.

It was a night I won’t be forgetting in a hurry. Here are some photos for you!