Save a life – crack a joke!
By
admin
|
Published
February 10, 2010
 Save a life – crack a joke!
How do you cope when the chips are down? I mean when it really hits the fan?
If you were to face a life or death situation right now, would you remain calm or panic?
People often associate panic with a colorful scene in their head of people running around screaming and generally making fools of themselves. In most cases people don’t panic like that. They tend to freeze, and perform no task of any use, whatsoever.
I personally favor those kinds of people that perform the freeze panic, because the screamers, they are an unwelcome distraction to those of us that tend to remain relatively cool headed. Also, those that just stop doing anything are usually easier to get moving again, particularly if the cool headed person can give them a simple task to perform.
So which are you?
I recall spending a great deal of time working in and around helicopters during my time in the Commandos, and, as a means of transporting troops, they make great paperweights.
They don’t glide worth a damn when they stop working which can be very troublesome when you are 3000ft up in the air.
It was during such an occasion that the “cab” I was riding in decided to be a tad temperamental and not work in accordance with our plans for the day. I was a door gunner in the Lynx Attack Helicopter and we were practicing low level insertion for a section of 7 men. Prior to dropping down and beginning our low level approach we were flying at around 3000 ft when the, “heads-up” console (a panel of lights located where the heat & A/C vents are in the dashboard of a car) between the pilot and co-pilot, lit up like a Christmas tree.
Nothing is more alarming to anyone than the sound of alarms and flashings lights in an aircraft that’s already airborne. It just screams problems…
I heard the pilot and co-pilot chatting amongst themselves and running through various drills to find the source of our predicament. At first I thought there really couldn’t have been that much wrong, as the conversation between the two of them, sounded much like they were ordering breakfast at some low key restaurant. 
This of course served to sooth my nerves and I was about to go back to scanning the ground far below me for signs of the enemy patrols, when the “cab” dropped like a stone for a couple of hundred feet. If you happen to be kneeling in an open doorway of a helicopter when this happens, I can tell you from personal experience, you will float up into the air weightless… If you are not securely gripping the headrest handle on the back of the co-pilots chair, you will now involuntarily exit the aircraft.
I didn’t want to do this, so I remained holding on firmly to the small handle and began asking a few choice questions of the crew…
“Any chance you lads can keep this thing in the air long enough for us to make it back to base for lunch?”
Imagine my confidence souring to an all time high with the pilots reply,
“Unless they’ve changed chefs, it’s gonna be the same crap as yesterday, so I don’t think you’ll be missing much, mate…” Nice.
At which point the “cab” did it again, this time dropping even lower than before, and seemingly faster.
I turned to face the boys behind me and they were all laughing. The pilot told me to tell them to “assume the position” which I relayed through various facial expressions and hand signals.
I received several varieties of hand signal in reply and none of them were very polite.
I repeated the instruction insisting that they put their heads down between their legs and grasp around their ears to help prevent whiplash upon impact. I can’t tell you how funny this is to do when you aren’t strapped to anything.
‘Cause if the helicopter hits the ground from that height, it won’t matter what you’re grasping, the last thing that will pass through your mind will be your ass….
They knew it, and so did I. But sometimes it’s still better to do something rather than nothing when facing your own impending death. It gives you a sense of facing things on your own terms – kind of.
The smiles faltered on their faces when the “cab” dropped for a third time and this time dropped so hard and fast several of them floated into the air too, even laden down with all of their kit…
 I performed the universally accepted signal for death by drawing my hand across my throat. They were all looking at me wide eyed as it dawned on them the pilots weren’t actually messing around attempting to scare them, we really were in trouble.
Everyone quickly went through the unnecessary drill of double checking safety catches were applied to their weapons, followed by helmet straps pulled a little tighter, followed by shuffling a little lower towards the floor of the “cab”.
We dropped for a fourth time and one of the guys threw his hands up in the air and screamed…. At first I thought he was panicking; then he started laughing his ass off.
He looked like a kid on a roller-coaster, which was his intention.
It’s so loud in the back of these aircraft you can’t hear diddly unless you are hooked into the communications system. But that didn’t stop everyone from starting to roar with laughter. Now the entire section was poised ready to throw their own hands into the air should we drop for a fifth time.
We didn’t drop again and the pilots had already begun a controlled descent the moment the first trouble had begun. As the skids touched down on the grassy hillside in the middle of know where, I heard the pilot say to the co-pilot,
“That was interesting.” As if we had all just taken part in some mundane high school science experiment.
What stopped my panic? Well, it helped me to hear firsthand the complete lack of panic in the pilots’ voices. Later that day they told me my question about us making it back for lunch helped them remain calm – I know they were just saying it to be nice, but I liked it anyway. LOL.
The guys riding in the body of the aircraft were helped by the clown who threw his hands into the air and pretended he was riding a rollercoaster.
No one panicked. People looked a bit concerned for a minute. But no one panicked. Of course, what would they have done if they had of panicked? It wasn’t as if there was anywhere to go… Jumping wouldn’t have helped; you weren’t going to get there any faster than the helicopter.
 In just about every case I can imagine, nothing good occurs with panicking: It solves nothing and typically only adds to the problem. These days most folks have had their fill of stress anyway – why would you want to add to it? Good leaders seek out ways to alleviate not only their own stress, but also that of their teammates, so that everyone can perform more effectively.
It’s not just in business where maintaining a sense of humor can help balance the status quo, either. It can also help maintain perspective on family issues, your friends’ problems, debilitating health issues; in fact, just about every facet of your life becomes easier to manage when approached with a sense perspective. - Follow the link.
The higher up the rankings you are in terms of influence within your peer groups or work, the more important this talent becomes. When others look to you the moment the proverbial, “merde” hits the fan, it’s time to step up and lighten the moment.
Any asshole can add stress – your challenge is to think of a way to lessen it, and quickly!
The faster you can do this, the faster people will come to trust you to be their anchor whenever things go awry. Do you want to be a truly great leader? Make people laugh and relax in a crisis. Defuse the situation by risking a little of yourself in order to bring about some levity. Problem solving becomes a whole lot easier if someone has the ability to temporarily relieve the tension.
It has to be someone; it needs to be someone – so why not you?
Cheers, Terry.
P.S. “Experience: A comb life gives you after you lose your hair..” – Judith Stern.
www.highintensityteambuilding.com
Posted in Keynote Speaking, inspired, teambuilding
|
Tagged absurdity, amazing girls, beautiful women, challenge, charlotte speakers, comedian, commando, community, community teambuilding, cool in a crisis, countdown to flash mob, dance, denigrate, embarrassment, energetic, engaging speaker, example of public speaker, exciting speakers, eye opener, family, first move, flash mob, funniness, funny, funny man, funny speakers, generosity, gorgeous women, happiness, having a sense of humor, High Intensity, High Intensity Teambuilding, hotties, humor, im not an aussie, irony, joy, Keynote speaker, keynote speakers nc, laughter, leap, listener, listeners, motivational speakers, motivational speakers nc, Oprah, president obama, rebuttal, risk, save us, sense of humor, show of strength, solving personal issues, staying cool in a crisis, strategic self-presentation; impression management, success, survival, T-mobile, thin line, triumph, troubled times, truth of the matter, unease, vulnerability, winning
|
Do you believe in magic?
By
admin
|
Published
February 9, 2010
Do you believe in luck?
 If you do, then you probably also still believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy and magic spells….
A long time ago, back when I was young and vibrant, I served with the military. The military is the ultimate place when it comes to rumors. Part of the reason for this is the fact that for the majority of the time enlisted men are treated like mushrooms: Kept in the dark and fed on crap.
One particular day a favorable rumor started in regards to a deployment to Kenya, Africa, but only for a handful of our guys. Of course, the rumor stated that only the most senior guys would be considered and all others should just forget about it…
That didn’t sit well with me as I really wanted this deployment and visit a place I might never get a chance to go to again – and get paid for doing it.
I didn’t even mention my interest to my mates. Most of them would have enjoyed going every bit as much as I would, but they had already stated they didn’t stand a chance and resigned themselves to failure before even trying: I loved that!!
The problem with the military is, it thinks of itself as some sort of dictatorship and everyone should follow the rules. I’m in favor of the system in war time because second guessing orders gets men killed, more often than not.
But during peace time, I believe the rules should be approached a tad more open minded…
Plus telling me not to do something is pretty much a freaking guarantee that I’ll do it. That’s what got me into the Commandos in the first place. Even my own Father didn’t think I could make it. Everyone said you’re crazy, they’ll beat the crap out of you and fail you, and then what’ll you do?
 As if the risk of not making it should be enough to deter one from even trying? WTH?
A plan started to form in my mind: A plan of audacity, rule bending and just a hint of rebelling against the system. But one must be careful. The military doesn’t take kindly to individual free thinking souls – unless they come with a smile and truck loads of charm and persistence. Of which I am amply blessed when my mind is set to achieve something.
My war of persistence began in a very low key and unassuming manner. The day after the rumor began, I showed up at the Sergeants’ office and off handedly remarked that if there were to be a trip to Kenya, I would be willing to deploy, even on short notice.
Did you notice how I twisted it around a bit? Now the trip didn’t sound so much like the glory trip it might have seemed initially. I was actually doing him a favor by letting him know that no matter what happened, I was his go-to-guy if things looked dicey for putting boots on the ground.
It didn’t work – exactly, “Vaughan, you’re a wanker. And that little line making the whole thing sound like you’re helping me out here, that’s ballsy…”
OK. I know. Not the most auspicious of beginnings, but here’s where lesser men would have tucked tail and walked away. I was just getting started.
So for the next two weeks here is how it went for my poor sergeant:
Every morning, after every lunch, last thing in the afternoon, I would “show up” and see what was going on at the office. After a few days of my becoming a regular at his office, he began to relent. I knew I was winning the first time he said he’d put me on the standby list, if anyone couldn’t go due to injury, sickness or whatever, I would be top of the back-up list.
Believe me, that was a victory. The war wasn’t won yet, but I’d certainly let the enemy know he was in for a tough uphill battle. Time to up the ante…
Now I started making tea runs for him, whether he needed a cuppa or not. Or runs to the Naffy, (the on base military shop selling T-shirts, coke, candy bars and other assorted merchandise the boys might need).
I let folks think I was in real trouble and having to do some running around to make it all OK again with the sergeant. Of course eventually he’d had enough, more than enough. He saw me coming and I could see the color drain from his face.
I always smiled, I always managed to make him laugh, but I was also driving him crazy. After two weeks he’d reached his limit.
“Vaughan, if you don’t quit bugging me the only place you’ll be getting deployed to is Arbroath!” Arbroath is a town in Scotland where no one wants to be, not even the Scots who live there… Everything was on the line now. Should I continue or accept defeat?
I rolled the dice. “But, sergeant, this would stop today if you’d give me a shot and put me on that deployment. Do you know how much paperwork is going to be involved with actually re-assigning me to 45 Commando? Sending me to a whole new unit? (Believe me it’s worth mentioning that if there’s one thing warriors hate, its paperwork – and this guy was a soldiers, soldier). I hit a nerve.
What I was saying in not so many words was, this will not stop. I will do this until you re-assign me to another unit, or put me on the list for Kenya. And I said it without actually saying it. I would never overtly threaten a senior rank, especially not his guy, I liked him!
I saw the doubt in his eyes. It was time to seal the deal.
“I’ll not bother you with anything again, ever, if you’ll do me a solid and put me on the list.”
“FINE! Now leave me the hell alone…” He tried to sound angry, but he was already chuckling as he began walking away. He added this as he left,
“If anyone else had worked as hard as you for this I’d have hung myself a week ago… Hell, if the whole Commando Brigade was as stubborn as you I could rule the freaking world…..” I believed him.
Three weeks later the personnel list for Kenya was posted, and would you Christmas Eve it, my name was on the list. Guess what I heard for the next few weeks,
“Vaughan’s so freaking lucky. How the hell did he get on the list?”
“Some blokes have all the luck. It’s just not fair.”
Typically these sorts of comments came from those that had quit trying before it ever began.
Success of any sort isn’t about luck. Luck is something that happens to us. But this line of reasoning means you are at the whim of chance. Something, or someone, has the power to rule your life.
It also means that when bad things happen, when “bad luck” strikes, your mindset is all wrong. You take on the attitude that of course something bad has happened, you knew your luck couldn’t last forever. Right?
Horsepucky!
If you don’t believe in luck, then whatever happens isn’t about the wind changing and your good/bad fortune suddenly slapping you in the face. It’s just what happens. Life happens. There is no good or bad, there are just things.
How you choose to look at them is all a mindset. Saying, “it’s just bad luck” gives the power for your life over to an age old superstition.
If you are stuck on the side of a mountain, lost after a long hike and it suddenly starts to rain, guess what? Mother Nature isn’t kicking sand in your face. She’s just doing what she does, watering the plants. You just happen to be standing in the garden when she does.
When you succeed at something and everyone around you is saying, oh you’re so lucky, nothing like that ever happens to me… Guess what? It wasn’t luck, it was work. It was putting yourself out there and taking calculated chances. It was at least having the balls to try. - follow this link to find out more about creating your own luck.
 You won’t always get the outcome you desire. So what? You’ll still have more than you did before embarking on the journey, even if it’s more experience…
The biggest regrets you’ll ever have in life will be the ones where you didn’t even get in the game in the first place. You didn’t even try.
Life is not a spectator sport.
And it won’t play out the way you want it to if you don’t at least start taking charge of its direction. TAKE ACTION!
Stop using “Bad luck” as an excuse for why you didn’t even try! Make your own luck by working hard and being in the right place, at the right time, for the right reasons, and watch what happens.
The situation I mentioned earlier about being stuck on the side of a mountain when the rain begins, well I’m betting half of you said, “What the hell would I be doing on the side of a mountain?”
I have news for you. You’re already on the side of a mountain. That’s where life is played out. Those that succeed and make the biggest contribution to their own happiness are the ones that can say, “Well, I won’t be thirsty tonight” the second it starts to pour.
They didn’t start saying things like, “Isn’t this typical. My bad luck just keeps getting worse and now here comes the rain”…. It might not be what you asked for. It might be a different result than the one you were trying for.
But at least you are trying!
Keep trying and it’s only a matter of time before your luck changes! Hahaha!!
Cheers, Terry
Posted in Keynote Speaking, inspired, teambuilding
|
Tagged beautiful women, changing you out look on life, changing your luck, changing your outlook, charlotte speakers, commando, community team building, community teambuilding, countdown to flash mob, dance, do you feel lucky, energetic, engaging speaker, enthusiasm, example of public speaker, exciting speakers, flash mob dance, funny speakers, get lucky, happy at work, High Intensity, High Intensity Teambuilding, hot women, im not an aussie, Keynote speaker, keynote speakers nc, motivational speakers, Oprah, Public speaker, public speaking, sick of the bad luck, T-mobile, Terry Vaughan, Terry Vaughn, ways to make yourself happy, youtube.com/tcvaughan34
|
Mastering your negative emotions – part three.
By
admin
|
Published
January 27, 2010
 Monday we chatted about what really constitutes as having a bad day, rather than just a frustrating day.
We’ve already established that in order to experience a genuinely bad day your life needs to have been threatened.
But if it was a true “life or death” situation and you’re now able to tell us about it, that means you obviously survived and are now officially back to experiencing a good day again…
Are you beginning to see how this works?
A few years ago I read something about P.O.W.’s which detailed specifically how individual character bias, either Optimist or Pessimist, impacted a person’s ability to survive captivity.
I found it surprising to discover that the optimists typically faired slightly worse than the pessimists, over time.
I would have guessed the optimists would have handled imprisonment the best, but then I’m an optimist, so I would. LOL.
They were slightly worse off, typically, because they couldn’t seem to achieve their up-beat mindset without giving in to the temptation of setting a timeline for improvements. In other words, they would say things like,
“OK, it’s bad today, but two months from now things will be so much better, because of xyz….” Or,
“I know we’ll be home and with our loved ones by Christmas, or Easter, or Thanksgiving.”
Whenever those times and dates came and went without materialization, these guys became depressed. In the beginning they would only be depressed for a few days. As optimists they would soon begin setting another time or date for release and focus all of their energy of getting through to then.
When those dates also came and went, their depression would then last for weeks. The next time it would last for months, until eventually the light in their eyes would just go out and they stopped trying.
No one can predict how they will perform under these types of conditions, either. In the cases to which I am referring, these men had been detained for many months, or even years. They had been tortured, physically, mentally and emotionally.
Who’s to say they wouldn’t have lasted as long as they did, if not for their sense of optimism.
It’s a bit like that old joke about the young man boasting to his Doctor in regards to his unhealthy lifestyle. He confidently points out that his Grandfather had lived until he was 95, while still smoking, drinking and cursing all the way to his grave!
The Doctor had quietly replied, “How long would he have lived if he hadn’t smoked and drank?”
It might be that the P.O.W.’s sense of optimism kept them alive as long as it did. They existed in the worst conditions imaginable, suffering severe malnutrition, dehydration, and degradation at the hands of their captors.
 Not that the pessimists faired too much better!
The slight advantage the pessimists may have had over the optimists, came in the way that the pessimists simply accepted and resigned themselves to their fate.
It was no surprise that they had been captured, it was just their luck. They certainly didn’t expect to ever see freedom again – that would be way too optimistic. They never set times/dates that would pass them by, so there was little in the way of additional psychological let downs with which they had to contend.
There was only the here and now: Nothing more, nothing less.
The trouble with this sort of reasoning is there was very little for them to live for! We need hopes and dreams and ambitions to grow and develop as people. It’s what has brought us to where we are now. Our imagination is what ignited the fire under some of the world’s greatest explorers. It was our imagination that put people on the moon.
Without dreams, ambitions, or the determination to excel, we have little or no passion and without passion, our will to live wanes.
This is precisely what happened to the pessimists. They literally lost the will to live. Without the hope of freedom, what was the point in suffering for longer than necessary?
They were never going to get home anyway. And even if they did, the general public would hate them, spit on them and cast insults upon them – right?
You can begin to see why a pessimistic attitude would be detrimental, too.
So what is the right balance? How did those that survived achieve it? How did they learn to control their emotions long enough to make it through such a spirit crippling existence?
And how that can help YOU begin making the most of your frustrating days, rather than becoming emotionally entwined in an on-going negative belief system?
 Tomorrow we will wrap this segment by looking at definitive ways you can capitalize on these lessons and begin making changes within yourself, which will impact your life for the better.
Cheers, Terry.
P.S. “No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself.” – William Penn
www.highintensityteambuilding.com
Posted in Keynote Speaking
|
Tagged after dinner speaker, beating pessimism, bridge on the river kwai, can you dance, charlotte speakers, commando, community, community teambuilding, countdown to flash mob, dealing with negative emotions, developing an optimistic outlook, energetic, engaging speaker, enthusiasm, example of public speaker, exciting speakers, flash mob dance, funny speakers, High Intensity, High Intensity Teambuilding, im not an aussie, Keynote speaker, keynote speakers nc, mastering your negative emotions, morale, motivational speakers, motivational speakers nc, negative emotions, pow, prisoners of war, Public speaker, public speaking, Terry Vaughan, Terry Vaughn, youtube.com/tcvaughan34
|
Some of my favorite quotes.
By
admin
|
Published
January 21, 2010
 Hello mates!
I thought I’d throw a few of my favorite quotes down today for ya, some good for a smile, or just food for thought.
“Vegetarianism is harmless enough, though it is apt to fill a man with wind and self-righteousness!” – Robert Hutchinson
“The salmon are striking back!” – The Queen Mother when choking on a fish bone.
“If you can’t be a good example, you’ll just have to be a horrible warning…” – Catherine Aird
“The proper means of increasing the love we bear our native country is to reside some time in a foreign one.” – William Shenstone
“Never stand so high upon a principle that you cannot lower it to suit the circumstances.” – Winston Churchill
Cheers, Terry
Posted in Keynote Speaking
|
Tagged charlotte speakers, commando, community team building, community teambuilding, countdown to flash mob, dance, dance in birkdale, energetic, engaging speaker, enthusiasm, example of public speaker, exciting speakers, funny speakers, High Intensity, Keynote speaker, keynote speakers nc, largest flash mob in NC, motivational speakers, motivational speakers nc, Public speaker, public speaking, quotes, recruit new members, team building
|
The girl from Pixar, she says yes!!
By
admin
|
Published
January 18, 2010
Do you lack resources…or resourcefulness?
Hello mates!
Welcome to the new week..
Depending on your current state of mind, ”welcome to a new week” could be interpreted in a couple of ways:
1 Warmly and with enthusiasm…
2 Or, what the hell is he thinking, welcome to a new week – I’ll give him a “welcome” all right…(this is all said with scathing resentment and less than a subtle undercurrent of pure disdain).
Which one are you?
I’ve got to admit it, today, I’d be the guy you’d love to hate! After my first cup of coffee I found my joy for the coming week firing on all cylinders. My workout was without the typical old age induced pain, haha, which is always nice.
Now I’m all showered and ready to start blasting out the first installment for this weeks Blog, full of optimism and promise. Of course, it’s still early, so there’s still plenty of time for someone to ruin my day….LOL. I’m joking.
No one is dragging my jolly ass down today. Yep, it’s that good. 
Have you ever met someone, whether at a professional networking function, or social event, that the moment they told you what they do, or in my case, did, you found yourself so engrossed in their occupation you asked a million questions. This wasn’t because you felt obligated to keep you both from slipping into a sort of moronic coma, but because you genuinely wanted to hear what they had to say. Maybe because you found yourself genuinely impressed with their “job”.
 This happened to me recently, and believe me, most times I couldn’t give a crap what you do, if you are interesting as a person I’ll chat with you, nothing (or very little) that folks do for work is either interesting nor exciting to anyone but the individual doing it.
Point and case, have you ever chatted with an insurance salesman, if so, I rest my case.
So it was with more than a large dose of surprise that I found myself chatting with a woman who used to work at Pixar. Yep, the computer animation folks. I’m sure there’s someone out there now yelling the correct title for someone that does this sort of work, but to the layman, me, that’s how I think of them. Well, that and geniuses. Anyone that can keep me, and my kids entertained in the same room, at the same time, cannot be described as anything less.
Of course I wanted to know all about it. I asked her questions with enough enthusiasm she might have thought me slightly nuts. Apparently she was very used to it, as she said most people reacted to her in much the same way. This news made me feel a bit better, I must say. She talked at length about the reasons she moved away from California and her dream job, and I listened intently. Without giving this poor woman’s life story away, she moved because of family, and still missed her old profession.
What I wanted to know is, where the hell did they get all their ideas from? And her answer surprised me no end,
“I have no idea!”
HUH?!?!
I don’t know what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it. Then she explained: “Everything about their culture was designed to promote creativity. Nothing else mattered. Nothing. There was one goal, make the best “product” they possibly could and no one gave a crap about where the idea came from. They would brainstorm endlessly about one “shot” and how to maximise it’s effectiveness.
No one was ever happy with the first draft…or the thirty third draft. Often she said they would work for months on a particular piece only to have the director come in and watch it and say he wanted it to be changed in such-and-such a way… Imagine months of work and then the “boss” walks in and says, “wow, but wouldn’t it look good like this…”
Often times she said the changes he wanted couldn’t be done. She stressed this point, not just a wee-bit tough, we’re talking the sorts of changes that were impossible. Couldn’t be done. No way no how. Forget it. So guess what the team told him?
“We’ll do it.” She explained that 90% of the time things that they agreed to do couldn’t be done; at least not then.
 They said YES before ever really knowing if they could do it!
How scary would that be?
Their ability and desire to say yes first, and figure it all out later, is what we are going to be chatting about for the next few days. Was it resources or resourcefulness that got them through it? And how does this weave a common thread through your life, work, hobbies, or even wilderness and/or disaster survival?
We shall have a gander at it and see what we can come up with.
Cheers, Terry
P.S. “You can’t depend on your judgement when your imagination is out of focus.” – Mark Twain.
www.highintensityteambuilding.com
Posted in Keynote Speaking, inspired, teambuilding
|
Tagged charlotte speakers, commando, community, community team building, community teambuilding, countdown to flash mob, dance, energetic, engaging speaker, enthusiasm, example of public speaker, exciting speakers, funny speakers, grow participation, High Intensity Teambuilding, hip hop, Keynote speaker, keynote speakers nc, motivational speakers, Oprah, Oprah flash mob, Public speaker, public speaking, team building, Terry Vaughan, Terry Vaughn, youtube.com/tcvaughan34
|
|
|
