Beginning

Oh you are still reading – Good means you have an open mind. Great!
Let’s continue….

Being a person who likes to lead by example, this little book is my way of giving you hope and showing you that nothing is impossible if you think outside the square.
From concept to launch of this little book will be just less then four weeks.

Today, September 20 2004, I awoke and came up with the idea to write this book. I start with just $80.00 to my name; no home and an old car which I’ve left on the Sunshine Coast being unsure it could make the 30-hour drive to Cairns without some TLC.

I am sitting at the end of the kitchen table in my sister’s house in Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia. One thing I’m sure of is:

“ I maybe poor- but boy am I wealthy.”

I hope this little book will inspire you to realize: inside you is all the potential you need to get started. You just need to be game to tap into it. The first step starts with you. Find your passion, believe in yourself, and overcome any fears that have stopped you in the past. Remember - even if you fail, you are a winner, because at least you tried and you can learn from this.

The trick is to remember the mistakes you have made along the way. It will make it all so much easier next time around. This is all part of your life journey. There must be some valleys otherwise there would be no views when you reach the top of the mountain.

Come with me on this four weeks’ journey. Together we will see if my gut feeling is right.
Guess what? If you are now reading this I must have succeeded already. WOW! I best hurry up and write some more otherwise you will get ahead of me and start writing your own book!

“Some of my best artworks started from mistakes - when I remembered how to repeat those mistakes on purpose”

Okay, if you are already saying to yourself, “ I can’t change the world”, then you had better close this little book

“If you say you can – you can.

If you say you can’t - you’re right again”.

The above saying I kept on the wall of my office many years ago to remind employees when they came in to see me that “I can’t” wasn’t a good way to start a conversation with me.

“I’m interested in solutions - not complaints.”

The following quotation I found in one of the books I bought at a local thrift shop - 10 books for $1.00! How’s that for value?
I think this quote will find it’s way onto an office wall sometime soon.

Do all the good that you can
By all means that you can
In all the ways that you can
All the time that you can
To all the people you can
As long as you can

John Wesley

Dream Makers

This book has been self- published with the help of the following people who share my dream.

"A dream that I dream alone is but only a Dream. But a dream that we dream together is Reality”

–Raul Seixas (Brazilian composer)

Thank you to the following people

Carole Arora for helping me with editing

Aquarius Printing Townsville without them there would be no book.

Smiley Truck and Ute Hire for lending me a one ton ute.

Sue O’Brien (sister) Bed and kitchen table and her car before I got the ute!

Mum – for just being Mum

Kelly Harvie use of her Internet

Michael Harkins E Foundation sponsorship.

Mini Warehouse Cairns looking after my gear while I went on a journey.

Inspiration from

Caitlin Jean, Futurist, Australia

Noah and the children from Bethlehem

Djarragun Indigenous College

Pascal writing in the seventeenth century was both a scientist and a philosopher. I was unaware of much of his work until amongst the bundle of that thrift shop’s books was “PASCAL in a NUTSHELL”.
(Next visit, I must remember to thank the people at Lifeline thrift shop Mulgrave Road, Cairns, for putting together a selection of books just for me. Someone after my own heart packed this bundle.)

Once again fate was on my side. The following Pascal quotes seemed to have been written just for this little book:

“ People rarely take pleasure in hurting others. But in their foolish ignorance many people cannot find a way of satisfying their own desires without hurting others”

He also said

“True wisdom makes us like a child”

And this one I feel is so relevant to our times cf Middle East and Iraq.

“When everything is moving at once, nothing seems to be moving- as on board ship. When everyone is moving towards wickedness, no one seems to be moving. But if someone stops, he or she shows up those who are rushing onwards”

.....next ...Heading North