I have just returned from my 4th trip to the Chatham Islands, arguably my favourite place on Earth. For those of you who dont know, the Chathams are a group of islands, 850Km east of New Zealand, on the way to South America. They are situated in the roaring forties and where the sub antarctic currents meet the warm water (14 degrees C!) creating amazing fish life. The water is crystal clear and spectacular. Our friend Ian is a commercial Paua (abalone) diver so I went on a few dive trips. Gigantic crayfish (lobster), and abalone live in relatively shallow water of Pitt Island, with a population of about 25 people. It is remote, beautiful and clean. One Pitt Islander commented how they wanted to go to uninhabited South East Island for a holiday TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL! They complained about the traffic on Pitt Island increasing (we saw 2 cars and 2 four wheel motorbikes in a whole day!! It shows how we adapt to our environment and its perceived stress.

Speaking of stress, on the way to Pitt one of the divers Scott was filling me with stories of the perils of commercial Paua diving. He had been diving recently for crayfish and was ascending in about 50 feet of water with a full bag of lobster, being followed by a school of cod when they suddenly dissapeared. Thats odd he thought! The cod were then replaced by a 20 foot long Great White Shark that literally tried to eat him. Scotty tried stuffing a full bag of lobster in the massive sharks jaws and swam over its back as it continued snapping at him. He was terrified but his agility and experience kept him away from the shark until he was rescued by the boatman.

So as we pull into a fog shrouded Pitt Island more stories were being told of how someone else lost an arm in the next bay to a “Whitie” (Great White Shark. Having been to the Chathams before I have heard many Great White Stories and even dived and surfed there before. The crew were telling me how to be VERY CAREFUL and that “Whities” are crafty and will sneak up on you and “CHOMP”.

So you can imagine my trepidiation as I struggled into my wetsuit looking more and more like a seal about to immerse myself in the icy, but thankfully clear waters. It would give me a chance to see one coming (if I looked up in time!) . While I am sure there was an element of winding up the new diver, being eaten by a Great White Shark is definitely a significant occupational Health and Safety hazard in this part of the world.

I must confess to having some serious unhealthy thinking and anxiety as I looked in the weed for the gigantic abalone, and over my shoulder for sharks. It was eerie. I must also confess to thinking, what a terrible job. Hunter gathering in cold, remote dangerous waters. The abalone would be canned and shipped to Asia, perhaps devoured in a flash with little thought to the lives risked on gathering it.

I must admit to being thankful I was only helping and for a week. We battled huge swells and waves on the way to Pitt from the main Island, surely one of the most treacherous passages of waters in the world as the Southern Ocean hits the Chatham rise.

Each days these guys put their lives at risk, just getting to work is a mission in itself, getting home was even more spectacular as 35 knot winds crossed a 3 metre swell and our little boat was tossed around like a cork.

I must admit that when the sun burnt off the fog and the crystal clear waters sparkled with abundant sea life my attitude changed. It went from the worst job in the world to the best job in the world. My fear turned to excitement and coupled with the joy of survival I had an amazing day diving. I even plucked up courage to spear some of the largest fish I have seen freediving.

I must admit to being amazed at the job these guys to every day. 10 hours in the water, up at 4am to steam the boat through potentially life threatening seas. You have to see it to believe it. No two days are the same.

So next time I am complaining about the Auckland traffic, or I hear of someone complaining because they have to change their office floor, or because they dont have enough time or because the photocopier is jammed, I will think of the Chatham Island fishermen and be grateful that I have the privelige to be able to experience it, and realise sometimes how minor sometimes our city job worries really are.

I recently completed a speaking tour of New Zealand on technology for Microsoft and Hewlett Packard. As Chairman of a Health technology company and being an early adopter I thought I was reasonably up with the play with technology.One of the best lines of the tour was that “The future is already here, it is just not evenly distributed!” Well it certainly was not as evenly distributed my way. I was amazed at some of the touch screen technology. The ability to put your hand on a screen and get your ring sized was awesome. A microsoft programme called Silverlight was equally amazing. To me it was like Google earth, you could look down and into websites and get 3D images of minute detail.

It really bought home to me that if you dont want to be left behind with technology you would rather keep up. Often we avoid technology due to unhealthy thinking. Despite having a good attitude I put off purchasing a server for the office. Even someone saying “Tom you SHOULD get a server had my internal software saying, How would I work it, I dont need one, it will be too much hassle, I will wait until a better system comes out…” Well procrastination is the thief of time. I took the plunge (just like my recent 1st Bungy jump) bought a server, got a new netbook (mini laptop) and took the ride.

What a difference it has made to my life and my business. My multiple computers and documents all connect. When I am the road (every week) I can check my availability, share my documents with publishers, printers and business colleagues. I seriously dont know how I managed my business and life without a dedicated server. As I say in my talks and seminars, SO WHAT WILL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY AS A RESULT OF TODAY?

So I went and got a new windows mobile phone. I am sure some if not most of you have been having full screen access and synchronistaion with your email, calendar and contacts for a long time. If you work for a corporate or large business maybe they pay for it. For most of us running small and medium business we are what a friend of mine John Morrell calls us a”busy fools”. We run around like mad things telling everyone how busy we are!!!

Well this busy fool has harnessed technology, got a new phone and server, got some new school applications and added about 5 hours of time to my week. By doing that I have taken away 5 hours of unecessary tasks like using memory sticks to transfer files across machines. I dont know why they call them memory sticks, I can never remember where I put them.

All this could not have been possible without the team at Code Blue. They remotely manage my computer, install new programs and take the headache out of new technology. www.codeblue.co.nz

I cant recommend their service highly enough.

So whatever anxiety you may have about new technology work out what you are thinking. Then, is it true, is it worth and does that thought help you achieve your goal. It may be that unhealthy thoughts are stopping you growing your business and making life easier for yourself. Lets face it, technology is not going away. Technology is not stressful, it is our view of that is. Despite what we think, I am sure my computer system does not wake up every morning and make a decision to frustrate me, crash or do weird things.

In the unlikely event it does, at least I know how to get it fixed. I can change my software between my ears rather than waste time with old school technology and do something about it!

So what will you do differently?

As a professional speaker I get to do many road, plane and boat trips. Currently I am on a 6 city tour with Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and the Chamber of Commerce talking about technology, happiness and workplace productivity. If you read my last blog you will see that I mentioned my new Audi Q7 as one of my new pillars of happiness. Well I would have to add my new server as well. On the road I can access files, share documents with my publisher and files with my business partners. I can log on remotely and its like being in my office.

Gone are the days of forever looking for memory sticks. (I dont know why they call them memory sticks, I can hardly remember where I have put them) Instead of transferring files from laptop, to netbook and desktop machine, they all synchronise. I get phone calls on the road, can I do this speaking engagement?, now my calendar is automatically synched. Its like i-tunes on the road, I dont have to wait until I get back to the office (in this case in 2 weeks).

For some reason this morning my internet connection wont connect me with my server, I could choose to be unhappy, but can also use webmail until I get the guys from Code Blue to diagnose and treat the problem. The flip side of getting material things that make us happy, when we lose or damage them it can make us unhappy, (Deep Breath) if we let them.

So a confession. My new gleaming, safe, stunning reliable Audi Q7! Well I was driving my pride and joy in Wellington, New Zealands Capital city on this road trip. being school holidays I have my 12 year old son Thomas and his mate Harry on tour, setting up stands, being roadies and helping out. Having a spare few hours we decided to go to Te papa, our National museum. No car parks. So I arrive at the barrier arm with my ticket and the man goes to charge me $3. “But I couldn’t get a park, I protested, you are full!”

“You can park against that wall” he yelled through the booth window against the driving rain and gale force winds that were about to hinder my vision.

Suddenly a car pulls up behind me and blocks my exit. The man in the booth waves defiantly at the poor woman behind me to reverse back. She does; but not far enough. Do I get out in the sleet and explain; or carefully manouevre my rocket ship through the gap.

Armed with a reversing camera, proximity sensors and my own skills I choose the latter. All is going well, I reverse until a sickening sound of metal on metal. A blue pole jumps out on my right and scrapes along my door, taking the mirror with it. It had cleverly positioned itself between the alarms.

I feel sick. In horror I open the door and look at the side of the silver Audi spaceship. It looks like aliens have taken to it with a can opener. A blue one. I throw menancing glances at the booth operator, and the woman behind me. It is all their fault! It must be. I really do feel unwell. Then a 12 year old voice pipes up. “Healthy Thinking Dr Tom!!”

My sons mate Harry has just hit me with one of my own COGNITHERAPEUTICALS. I REMEMBER I am immunised with some Healthy Thinking therapeutic thoughts. “It is not what happens to me but my attitude that counts, crisis = opportunity, etc etc.

I stop feeling sick, refrain from blaming everyone else, park the Audi and prepare to go to the museum. At that moment, the person blocking my exit also parks in front of me now. As they walk towards the museum they throw an unsympathetic look at the side of my Audi, (or should I say Continental Car Services in Newmarket Aucklands Audi) and say “Dont you hate that”!

Lucky my grumpy unit had been disengaged. Lucky I know about fundamental attribution error and the Denialist. When we make a mistake, we blame the situation, or someone else. When someone else makes a mistake we can blame their character (The Judge).

Lucky Mark Bycroft from Continental cars has been on my Healthy Thinking Course! Lucky we are insured, lucky I didnt run anyone over.

Lucky it’s only a scratch. A wound that can be healed. Lucky the Audi Q7 has carried us without complaining to 2 more cities on our journey. It has not missed a beat.

So maybe if you read this blog and want another, or your first Audi, go and see Mark Bycroft at Continental Cars tell him Dr Tom sent you!. Tell him you appreciate his Healthy Thinking and great attitude. I will be doing the same when I direct him to the blog.

It seems a nicer way of telling him! 4 more cities to go, I had better start looking for gifts!

I am just about to embark on a 2 week New Zealand speaking tour on workplace Happiness. www.rightclicknz.co.nz This is sponsored by Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and the Chamber of Commerce network. If you look at research of the last 75 years, there are 5 major pillars of happiness. Without these things it is pretty hard to be happy. These are

1. Family

2. Friends

3. Health

4. Financial Security

5. A sense of purpose.

Consistently people who have these pillars are happier than those that dont. Those that are more secure in these areas are also happier. If you want to be happier, work harder in these areas, or focus on them.

While material things are not supposed to make us more happier I beg to differ. The argument is that if we get a new house or a new car, we adapt to that level of happiness. In other words if we get a new car we are happier for about 3 months. Then after we are used to it, our happiness levels drop to baseline, to a level we had before we got the new car. That is one of the drivers for us wanting new things, cars, relationships, houses etc. We are looking for that buzz, the dopamine rush of something new which according to some researchers wears off through adaptation.

Well as with all rules there are exceptions.

One of my sponsors is Audi NewZealand and Continental Car Services in Auckland. They have given me a new Audi Q7 to drive. Its been nearly 6 months and I am still alot happier. It has not worn off. Maybe it is because I was never really a car enthusiast. I am now. I have owned a number of 4 wheel drive vehicles in my time of being a surfer, snowboarder, parent and fisherman. Towing boats, horse floats for my daughter packing in kids rugby teams and long drives to hopefully isolated surfbreaks.

As a pilot I tend to fly myself to plenty of speaking engagements. Not any more…. I drive. Part of the key to my sustained happiness is not to take my Q7 for granted, I love it that much. I remind myslef of the safety, the comfort and the performance every time I get into it. That way I dont adapt and feel happy on longtrips or negotiating Auckland traffic. So I may have discovered a sixth pillar of Happiness, an Audi Q7.

Dont take the other 5 pillars of Happiness for granted either,…. family, friends, health, financial security and a sense of purpose. Without them it is alot harder to be happy.

Maybe I will see you on the right click tour in the next few weeks. You will recognise me driving around the country with my kids and a large number of work life balance tools (surfboards and snowboards) attached to the roof (one cant speak all day!!) In my Q7 with a big smile on my face and all the 6 pillars of Happiness in tow!!

I can honeslty say driving my Q7 makes me happy.

Dr Tom Mulholland

Its 10.30pm at night and it’s been a tough day at the office. Sunday night in small town New Zealand and the rain hammers down (again) and I have just finished an after dinner talk. Occasionally it is hard being motivated to be a motivational speaker! I did not realise I was the surprise guest so had dinner in my room and waited for the 8pm call as I was in between dinner and dessert. being the “surprise” speaker I hadnt checked out the functon room and equipment early enough. 8pm came and went and then got a text to say the mains hadn’t arrived.

Over an hour late after 9pm Im on. Its hard after sitting in my room then walking cold into a well lubricated audience to talk about a serious issue that one is passionate about. To make it harder the sound from my presentation was not working and the laptop was so low I could not access it without putting it on a chair.

Sure enough one punter nice enough but disinhibited with a few wines tries to join in. The first few salvos learnt in my time as a stand up comedian dont quiet him down and he thinks its a conversation. The audience doesnt laugh where they are supposed to and are not quiet when they are supposed to.

This is not the environment to be trying out a new format. They are appreciative and polite, my new best friend answers his cellphone and walks out of the room. The friendly banter does not seem so friendly and the room seems smaller and the time goes longer. The words dont come out right and I feel defeated. I am talking about the Doom Merchant and The Extremist and it feels like I am talking to myself.

At last it ends, I am put out of my misery, I am given a gift and make a hasty retreat to my room while they tuck into their dessert. There is a message on my phone to call home and its well after 10pm. My kids are sick and I try to play long distance doctor. I complain to my wife and swear I wont do any late night talks again when the audience has been drinking for several hours.

I climb into bed feeling sorry for myself and wondering why I do it. The noisy guy, the woman sighing and looking bored loop through my conciousness. While I am on the phone to one of my sick kids a call from the organiser comes through. I ignore it as I am talking to a sick kid. Maybe they want their money back I think? It took a day to drive here and will take a day to drive home in this weather. I have another talk at 3pm tomorrow 4 hours drive away.

I check my voicemail. As I left they invited me to the bar “later”. The voicemail tells me that I left my gift there so will have to come back to pick it up. Like a petulant school boy I think I will get it in the morning or just not pick it up.

I remember my line, “It’s not what happens to you but how you deal with it that counts”. I get out of bed and put my suit back on, put on a brave face and walk out the door. I really just want to crawl in a hole. I tell myself I am a professional and have to go and front up, despite how I think or feel.

As I walk down the hallway someone comes out of another room.

He turns and says, “Thanks for that talk, I really got alot out of it”

“I have had some problems recently and been struggling and that really helped”

“I was wondering if you do some workshops and if I could possibly attend?”

I walk into the function room to pick up my bottle of wine gift I almost left. The universe had provided me with the exact reason I do what I do. I had focused on the noisy and the disinterested and forgot my mantra.

“If one person listens and gets something out of it, then it has been worth it!”

Instead of the few that maybe were a bit noisy, I focus on those that enjoyed it. It is easy to be distracted and easy to quit.

I know I will be back tomorrow night and the next, spreading the most powerful message I have learnt in my life. The ability to change how you feel by simply changing what you think.

Sometimes I just forget to take my own medicine.

Recently I was fortunate enough to be invited by AIG Life insurance to hear another Motivational spekaer, Charlie Tremendous Jones. Now I have to admit always being a little sceptical about being invited to hear other motivational speakers. While I have heard some great ones, I have also heard some shockers. Well Charlie Tremendous Jones is one of the great ones. At 82 years of age he is riddled with cancer, has one eye, almost lost another and had lost his voice. He said it wont come back. The CEO David Pierce has known Charlie for a long time. he rand him to see how he was going and to say he was looking forward to seeing him in New Zealand. Even without a voice David insisted he come and speak to about 500 people at North harbour stadium. Im glad he did.

Charlie’s main message that I took out of the morning is that life is tremendous. We learn so much from our mistakes and our hard times, that is what makes our life rich. I was running a sales course later that day and one of the salesman confided in me he had the best life, nothing had ever gone wrong! Not according to Charlie T Jones he hadn’t!!

We are defined by what we do worng, the adversity we face and how we deal with it. I couldn’t agree more. Every Crisis is an opportunity. I have learnt and grown so much more from the challenges that are thrown my way. Some days I have more opportunities than others.

To see an 82 year old man on stage getting a standing ovation from a New Zealand crowd was a rare thing. When he started waving his hands and raving about his passion for selling, Charlie T Jones looked 22 again.

Life is tremendous, the challenges we face and the opportunities we have. Dont let anyone else tell you otherwise. Its how you look at it that counts. If life is not tremendous, its not life but you attitude towards it that is wrong. It is your choice!.

As The Attitude Doctor and teaching Healthy Thinking for the last five years to hundreds of corporations, I have noticed a few things. One is that culture is so important on influencing attitude and performance. Culture is influenced by language. How people speak to themselves, each other, their customers. What they think feel, and do. Some organisations have values but are written only. People dont live them. How do you feel when you walk into a company. What are your first impressions of the company, its attitude and behaviour? Do they meet your expectations and indicate the culture of the organisation?

One thing is certain. The current economic climate will create crisis and opportunity. The Chinese have a word We Che which means both. A crisis is an opportunity to create Organisational and Cultural Change. An opportunity to change the language within the organisation. A chance to fine tune or overhaul the engine room. Companies that demand, judge, generalise and deny they have a problem will continue to struggle.

Organistaions that refuse to use unhealthy thinking and behaviour will prosper. They will recruit and retain staff, they will be engaged in a common purpose, they will retain and attract customers. It will come down to strong and visionary leadership. It will be a choice. It will be survival of the fittest. Why would you not want to be a Healthy Thinking Organisation!

It is one of those days. My email server is down, the hardware wont work that I have just got fixed, my car that is supposed to be ready is not, the battery is flat. It seems like a total hardware failure day. My Blog desk software has been wiped in an upgrade. My messages wont send.

I can feel my blood pressure rise even though Im not supposed to and some rather unhealthy language is coming from my corrupt hardware between my ears. I have wasted an hour.

Suddenly for no other reason than I walked away, my messages have been sent and my computer is working again perfectly like nothing ever was wrong. I think it just got confused with the amount of times I closed it down, restarted it, open and closed outlook. It didnt know if it was coming or going.

I can laugh at the absurdity of the situation. My impatience has allowed the invoices to be sent, I have a back up Blog on my laptop and all is again right in my technology world.

While walking away I made some phone calls to some other parts of my world that needed fixing, the card that didnt arrive, the appointment someone didnt keep. It was easy once I got through the help desk.

My point is that we can survive without technology. Our expectation centre in our brain often tells us we cant. We get stressed and frustrated when it doesnt work. We risk blowing our own hardware up either having a stroke or a heart attack. We risk ringing up the poor compter guy who has just fixed our PC to blame him for the fault.

Im sure I just pressed too many buttons my computer couldn’t keep up. Maybe I have caught too many planes, taxis and ferries. My own hardware may need a change or a rest. I checked that, and its OK, plenty of surfing, fishing and family time. It was more a software error. I had been telling myself it was someone elses fault.

It was not my situation that was stressful but my view of that was. I had not wasted an hour, all is well, things are working and I can get my next presentation emailed. Now only of this Blog will post!

A recent stint working in some of New Zealand’s major Emergency Departments has left me a little flat. Reminiscent of scenes in the early nineties of attitudes to alcohol, driving and risks, the carnage was extreme. This combined with a few drivers overtaking in ridiculous situations while I was traveling to and from work made me wonder if people were oblivious to the media campaign about speed and alcohol. Why risk your own life and those of others so you can get to a takeaway bar five minutes earlier than someone else is beyond me. In fact Healthy Thinking escaped me and my grumpy unit was definitely switched on during one recent long trip on the road.

Many people have commented to me over the years how they know some back roads and can avoid police and random breath testing. Well not if you hit something and end up an Emergency Department. In fact ending up in an Emergency Department and having a blood alcohol test is more than some unfortunate and innocent victims get. They end up in a morgue, often from just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If you are reading this maybe you have a great attitude and don’t drink and drive. Maybe you can make a mistake like so many. It would seem that a certain percentage are a disaster waiting to happen. Our roads are not safe. Take care out there because it’s a bit like Russian roulette. If you see someone driving erratically dial *555 on your phone or your country equivalent (pull over first!). It might save someone’s life. If someone else does, it may save yours!

Well Christmas is a time to reflect on what we have, not on what we dont have, in my view. I have recently returned from running a day to help build a new Childrens’ Cancer ward in Sydney. A tour of the ward helped me meet some of the patients and their families. It is mind boggling to see the resilience, attitude and trauma some of these families have to endure. Working in an Emergency Department of a hospital you get to see a lot of trauma, it is a different experience to visit a Childrens cancer ward.

A year ago we were in India speaking about Healthy Thinking and launching our second book. I was fortunate enough to meet another child who has a deteriorating eye condition. Her attitude to life is something that we can all learn from as are some of the families at Westmead Chidrens cancer ward in Sydney. As I say its not what happens to you, but how you deal with it that counts. Makes some of my own complaints and those of some of those people I meet seem at times embarrassing trivial.

Its easy to think about what we don’t have and take for granted what we do. This Christmas be grateful for the things you can see, smell, touch, hear and taste. be grateful for your health and your family and I hope Santa can bring those gifts to those that need them this Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Healthy Thinking Institute!