About This Site. This site is the website of motivational speaker Craig
Harper. A constantly updated, one-stop
information, inspiration, education and motivation
station. Unlike many similar sites, it is a totally
free resource for anyone who is serious about moving
from mediocre to amazing in any area of their
personal or professional life. With hundreds of
articles covering a wide range of subject matter,
great interviews with cool people and inspirational
video posts, there's more than enough brain-food to
keep you busy for hours. Okay, days!!
Enjoy.
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see one of Craig's weekly segments on national
television. (9AM with Kim & David - Network Ten)
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Life Coach
Melbourne - Craig Harper
If
you are interested in maximizing your potential,
stepping out of that 'holding pattern' and being
privately coached by Craig click here.
Business Coach Melbourne -
Craig Harper
If you're a personal trainer, gym owner or studio owner
who is interested in growing your business and/or your
career, then mentoring with Craig could be a valuable
part of your overall success strategy and professional
development journey.
Biological Age Testing
- Craig Harper
In a recent test, Jan Frazer, who has a chronological age (the
number of years she's been on the planet) of 67 did a biological
age test which showed she has the body of a 37 year old female.
Pretty Impressive! How old is your body! Find out here.
Nutrition Melbourne -
Craig Harper
Many nutritional
experts are confusing people with jargon and pseudo-science.
Craig's HPN Service provides remote access to Craig's Director
of Nutrition to cut through the dietary confusion and
contradiction.
Public Speaking Melbourne - Craig Harper If you've ever
thought about becoming a professional speaker or
improving your public speaking then you can be privately
coached here.
Fattitude
- Craig Harper
While many books focus on food,
Craig Harper teaches that creating life-long change is more about the
dieter, than the actual diet. This book is perfect for people who have a
history of 'almost' getting in shape.
DVD
or CD - Renovate Your Body - Craig Harper In this entertaining presentation, Craig discusses the
notion of Renovating Your Body - once and for all. Many of us have a curious
ability to be able to get in shape for events (weddings, parties, reunions
and birthdays), if only we'd get in shape for life.
Craig Harper is a leading
motivational speaker
and educator. He is a highly
sought-after corporate coach and is considered to be
a leader and pioneer in the areas of personal and
professional development. Working with hundreds of
teams, companies and a wide variety of organisations
on numerous continents over the last twenty years
has given Craig a unique insight into, and
understanding of, human performance and all its
variables. Craig has an ability to educate, inspire,
challenge and make people laugh all at the same
time!
Like it or loath it, we all have a relationship with money. We don't really have a choice; it's somewhat of a necessity. Unless of course you're a skilled hunter, gatherer, farmer, living entirely off the land in your own hand-built hut, wearing animal skins and residing in some remote, exotic location. Who happens to have Internet access. Of course.
Part of the human experience
Money means different things to different people. Or different things for the same people at different stages of their journey - stress, anxiety, freedom, choices, arguments, happiness, sadness, motivation, sleepless nights, elation and sadly things like crime, violence, deception, manipulation and even marital breakdown. Like it or not, money is a necessary part of the human experience; something which needs to be negotiated and managed virtually every day of our lives.
What does money mean to us individually?
When we really dumb it down and we take the emotion out of it (yes, some of us are very emotional - periodically irrational - about money), it's kinda simple; money is a resource. It's a resource that let's us do stuff. Drive this car, live in that house, wear that dress or suit, fly to that country, enjoy this type of lifestyle; for some, pretty superficial and unimportant stuff, and for others, very significant stuff. On a certain level, things only have the meaning we give them and unfortunately, many of us seem to have handed over way to much power to the 'almighty dollar'. And in doing so, we seem to have lost part of us.
Different things to different people
For the majority, money is something to be used in a practical way to live our lives - pay bills, buy food, educate our kids, fix the broken fence and enjoy the annual holiday. While for others, it's their life-force; it's what gets them out of bed each day. It's their obsession. While many see it for what it is (a resource), others make money their god; they worship it and they spend a lifetime being hopelessly enslaved to it. Usually at great personal expense.
An identity?
For some people, their money is who they are. It's the thing that gives them a sense of worth; their self esteem, their confidence - or arrogance. Take away their money and they feel worthless and insecure; they lose their identity and their power (or perceived power anyway). Rather than it being a necessary resource, it has become their reason for being. They are captivated by it, driven by it, addicted to it and ultimately destroyed by it. Ironically, their tireless pursuit of wealth at any cost invariably results in bankruptcy in every other area of their life. When we hand over our power to something which can be taken away in a second, we have a tendency to become very vulnerable and insecure. If not, paranoid and obsessed.
Wealth without the money
What about the notion of being rich without having significant money or assets? Well, that depends on your definition of wealth. In my opinion, some of the wealthiest people don't have much money at all and some of the poorest people are literally millionaires - it's a matter of perception and definition isn't it? While it's not said too often or too loud in mainstream society (political correctness and all), the underlying message seems to be:
Money = happiness More money = more happiness Most money = most happiness
Having worked with some obscenely rich folk over the years, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there is no universal correlation between increased material wealth and increased happiness. And no, financial wealth and happiness are not necessarily mutually exclusive either.
Anti-Money?
At the other end of the scale we can find the anti-establishment, anti-material possession, anti-money brigade who see money as evil and the pursuit of it analogous to sin. This doesn't seem to be a very practical, realistic or empowering paradigm to inhabit either. There's nothing wrong with money. After all, money can't be good or bad, it's just a bunch of paper that's been assigned a value by us! No, money only becomes bad or destructive when it comes to represent something that it shouldn't.
What do I think?
Now before I get three hundred emails telling me that I'm a hypocrite because I charge companies thousands of dollars to work with them, don't misinterpret my thoughts on money. Making money or being wealthy is not of itself, a bad thing. In fact, for the most part I admire people who succeed in business - as long as that success doesn't come at the cost of their values, their health, their relationships, their integrity, their life, or their emotional, psychological and spiritual development. As long as we recognise and use money for what it is and don't bow down before it, we should have a relatively healthy relationship with it. Do I have financial goals? Yep. Are they at the top of my list? Nope. Do I focus on, or obsess about, money? Nope. Have I ever struggled financially? Yep. In fact, for the majority of my adult life I have not earned a lot of money.
By the way, even with my business aspirations and goals I have never been driven by money. Of course it's an issue and a challenge from time to time, but it's not why I do what I do. If I was all about money, I wouldn't be writing this article - I'd be doing something that I get paid for. I've been driven by a desire to do whatever I do with excellence, to have fun and to impact the lives of others in a positive way - I see my (moderate) financial success as a by-product of that pursuit.
People often suggest that "money is the root of all evil", which is actually a misquote of a scripture from the New Testament which says, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy, 6:10). See, even two thousand years ago they were talking about this stuff!
Didn't know I could be theological did you? Me either!
Tell me about your relationship with, or thoughts on, money. * Let us know your thoughts on this post by clicking on the comment thingy and sharing from your own experiences or thoughts. If you'd like to receive articles like this automatically, simply click on the 'subscribe to this feed' thingy at the bottom of this post and become a subscriber.
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Click play above
to
see motivational speaker Craig Harper in action.
DVD
- Renovate Your Body - Craig Harper
In this entertaining presentation, Craig discusses the
notion of Renovating Your Body - once and for all. (Also
available on CD).
Fattitude
- Craig Harper
While many books focus on food,
Craig Harper teaches that creating life long change is more about the
dieter than the actual diet.
Food for thought
- Craig Harper
In this book, Craig Harper
walks the reader through his 21 rules to Permanent Weight Loss.
So you've decided you want to get in shape (again)
- Craig Harper
Imagine a pocket-sized fitness book that takes just twenty minutes to
read. Craig Harper addresses the REAL getting-in-shape issues.
