Category: News

Brendan Barclay was born and grew up in West end. After a long time away from the area, Brendan has returned home.
“I moved back to settle down. It’s the best place in Brisbane. There’s a real community vibe, there are gardens on every corner. Everyone is really friendly and lovely. They like bringing everyone into their homes and sharing their lives with everyone. It’s the best community around, easily in Brisbane.”
“There’s no place like home. I think West End is one of the last places in Brisbane that still has culture. I like the Valley and New Farm, but West End still has a lot of old culture. It’s still holding onto it, whereas new development has really changed the city. West End is the most amazing place.”
“What’s your day been like so far?”
“I had some coffee and breakfast at Blackstar. It’s a cafe that’s tucked away in Thomas Street. It’s serves amazing coffee. Now I’m going to buy a lantern at Dandylion. I love that shop. I’m like a kid in a candy store there.”
“Later on I’ll go out for evening drinks at Rumpus (Rumpus Room). It’s happy hour for all of Monday. It has a really nice evening feel too. It has a garden outside and a lot of the locals will gather around that area. You can drink and smoke at the same time. It’s a nice little place to hang out.
Brendan’s advice for life: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

The hugely successful Australian cricket coach, John Buchanan, graced the South West chamber of commerce last Thursday and shared his five tips for leaders.

His relaxed style and bottomless kit bag of yarns kept the members of the commerce glued to his talk right up until the 8:30 curfew, when some of us had to run away to open the doors of our own businesses. There was still an excited crowd around the man as I drove off.

Part of the fascination was the level of personal honesty he portrayed as he discussed the life journey that he took which eventually led to his coaching of the Australian cricket team. “Taking a good hard look at yourself and working out who you are, is absolutely essential if you are going to excel at anything,” he said.

Knowing your vision is the first rule in Buchanan’s five pillars of success. Understand your vision clearly. Be absolutely sure of it with every fibre of your being, be able to describe it in ten seconds, and be happy that your whole life is going to revolve around it.

Powerful as this message was on its own, coming from a man who has excelled at the pinnacle of international sport, it reinforced the key message at the COSBOA business breakfast covered by Westender in July. (see related story – http://westender.com.au/mobile-media-future/)

The logic is simple. The focus and determination required to succeed require a single mindedness that simply cannot exist if you have doubts, second thoughts or other distractions that take your focus off the game.

Knowing who you are and what you want is the starting point for all of life’s endeavours.

The other four pillars took much less time to lay out. Partly because they are less important, partly I expect because this presentation was a little shorter than those he is used to giving and he needed to abbreviate his schtick to get us out the door on time.

Leadership culture comes next. Buchanan’s point is that the organisation follows the leader. What the leader does, so will the organization. The leader’s behaviour, then, determines the culture of the organization. There is no point in sitting down with a wish list of what the organization’s culture should look like, if that is at odds with the leader’s own style. Far better, John Buchanan says, to get someone to make a few notes about the main positive character traits of the leader and synthesise that into an expression of the organizational culture.

Learning environment is third on John’s list. His thesis is that every leader should be in the business of making themselves redundant. You want people to be able to lead in your absence. You do not want the entire organization grinding to a halt while you have a moment to yourself. You really should be working for the day when your business just keeps making buckets of money without you working your guts out to keep the machine going.

That can only be achieved if you allow people the scope to learn, encourage them to learn and support them in that learning.

Developing talent is the key to growth. Obviously success comes from improvement and that improvement has to come from somewhere. Finding raw talent and developing it is part of that process. The other key that stops many people succeeding is the development of talent that is different to the leader’s. This is especially true where the leader may be weak in an area and needs to complement that weakness. There is a natural tendency in many of us to become defensive and avoid exposing our weaknesses. A good leader though acknowledges them and fills the organisation with a range of talents that complement each other.

Measurement is the final pillar that underlines all the others. Being able to determine if the other pieces of the puzzle are working is essential to managing to a plan and refining the plan as external circumstances force us to rip it up and start again.

Many readers will have come across similar templates for success. The joy in this presentation is that John Buchanan has a down-to-earth style that makes them ring true. This is not a high pressure presentation with a lot of hoopla. It is a real bloke that the audience feels they can identify with, who is quite open about some the challenges he faced along the way, talking about how success comes from the determined application of a few key principles.

For the members of the South West Chamber who were there, the recommendations resonate all the more for that directness and personal touch. I’m sure I was not the only attendee who took the time to check out http://buchanancoaching.com

Arts Minister Ian Walker has announced Brisbane songwriter Seja as the winner of the $25,000 Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship at an event at the State Library of Queensland.

Mr Walker said Seja impressed the judges with her song-writing accomplishments, both as a band member and as a solo musician.

“The panel believe this opportunity will be instrumental in taking her career to the next level,” Mr Walker said.

“She has selected New York as her destination where she will build on the extensive networks she has already made in the US.”

A former member of Brisbane bands Sekiden and Regurgitator, songwriter Seja Vogel has toured internationally and is also a noted visual artist. She has recorded two albums: We have secrets but nobody cares (2010) and All our wires (2013).  She has performed her solo material as support for Australian tours of headline acts such as Goldfrapp, Sarah Blasko, Warpaint and Holly Throsby.

The Minister congratulated 2013 finalist Edward Guglielmino, whose song Mary, was awarded Song of the Fellowship by the McLennan family.

“The McLennan family felt this song captured the essence of Grant’s own song-writing and asked that it be given special recognition,” Mr Walker said.

He also thanked the judging panel – Adele Pickvance, Ian Haug and Tylea Goold.

Seja said of her win, “The Fellowship will give me the space and time to both nurture and develop my creative output and encourage me to think about my goals and future aspirations.

“It supports involvement in new and exciting creative communities offshore whilst giving me the opportunity for autonomous development,” she said.

The $25,000 Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship, established by Arts Queensland, honours the musical legacy of Grant McLennan, who passed away in 2006.

Is there such a thing as drug enlightenment?

A few months ago, I wrote on my facebook page Soul Sex, “Some believe drugs are the fast route to enlightenment. In my experience, it’s an illusion. If anything, they set you back”. And of course, this did not sit well for some reading the post.

Maybe too many of them had heard of, ‘A lazy man’s guide to enlightenment’…I’m not sure. I do know however that the above statement is my experience. Having experimented with drugs since a teenager, I feel well and truly warranted to share such a realisation.

Yes it is true that there is a place for drug taking in shamanic ritual, such as ayahuasca. But how many of you are trained shamans? Do you realise that ingesting psychoactive substances is only one aspect of the rigorous training?

As a health practitioner, I have observed that a person who has partaken in these hallucinogenic decoctions is an energetic mess afterwards. Their auric field has been blasted open, enabling them to be one with all. But premature opening, just like forced kundalini awakening, taxes the body…and even the soul.

Psychoactive drugs destroy your protective auric sheath, opening you up to both good and malevolent energies long after the drugs wear off. Mind-altering drugs, both recreational and prescriptive, also leave residue in the energetic field. Chemicals leave gunk and sticky blotches in your aura.

The body is the vehicle of the soul. Becoming your soul and forgetting your vehicle is similar to reckless driving. It’s fun and freeing at the time, but often results in a damaged vehicle, and a battered body.

Sometimes, this can even lead to death, and disconnection of the soul.

Drugs scatter your energetic field, giving you the impression that you are one with all. You need to be one with yourself first however, then you can become one with everything. And coming back to wholeness means reclaiming fragmented aspects.

There really is no easy route to enlightenment, other than surrender. Surrender means letting go of your personal agenda and trusting in the grand plan, even if you don’t understand it. It’s about faith. Forcing enlightenment is like forcing authenticity, it’s just not really possible.

Besides, enlightenment is not a race. We are here on Earth to learn, to acquire experiences, to make discoveries. It is true that taking drugs might be a part of your learning, enabling you to experience the falsity of illusion, but they are not the way to enlightenment.

Ultimately, meditation, not medication, will reconnect you to All That Is. Drugs may open you up and help you see another way, but they won’t get you back to your true essence.

Too often people will take drugs to numb themselves of the harsh realities of life. Once drugs become a crutch, once you become addicted or dependent on anything, you are no longer free. Ascension is about freedom and liberation. You can’t take anything with you, even the effects of your last mind-altering substance.

Sidonie Bouchet is the founder/writer of the popular facebook page Soul Sex. She has recently published her first book Alleluia, a spiritual journey from the dark into the light. She offers Spiritual Alchemy sessions both in Maleny & online. For more information, visit www.soletosoulsex.com

International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit Declaration and Action Agenda Takes on Climate Change and Promotes Sustainability Solutions

Unlikely partnerships, meaningful policy, reaching beyond the choir, gender equality and a commitment to bold action were all on the agenda as 100+ women from around the world gathered in New York for three days of dialogue and deliberation at the International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit.  Emerging from the gathering, a burgeoning collaborative of organizations with a combined reach of 33 million women and men is now poised to become a major force in the climate and sustainability movements.

From indigenous leaders to former heads of state, from scientists to pioneers in fields of renewable energy, business and policy, the Summit was a who’s who of women leaders from the Global South and the Global North.  This diverse cohort of delegates found unity around a ‘Declaration Statement for Urgent Action on Climate Change and Sustainability Solutions’ and laid the foundation for a Women’s Climate Action Agenda to be finalized in the coming weeks.  The Agenda builds upon the core concepts of the Rights of Women, the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Rights of Nature, and the Rights of Future Generations, addressing issues ranging from the protection of oceans and fresh water to divestment from fossil fuels and putting a high price on carbon.  See the full text of the Declaration here:  http://www.iweci.org/uploads/cke_documents/IWECI_declaration_FA.pdf

“Women have the knowledge to create the change we know the world needs. We are framing our own powerful Women’s Climate Action Agenda, working beyond the United Nations and other policy structures to reach new constituencies committed to protecting the earth and future generations,” said Osprey Orielle Lake, Co-Founder of the International Women’s Earth and Climate Initiative (IWECI), which hosted the Summit.

“Women are gathering in great numbers with an unstoppable resolve, because what’s happening at the international policy level on climate change is not equivalent to the urgency we are facing,” said Sally A. Ranney, Co-Founder of the IWECI.  “We are putting the world on notice: no more delays.  We call for policies that protect our live-giving air, water, soils, forests and oceans.  Violence against the earth and future generations is no longer tolerable:  It’s time to stop the chemical warfare against nature,” Ranney said.

“We represent a constituency of 33 million women and men, already mobilized and ready to take action. We vote, we march, we petition, we have purchasing power.  We will be heard and we will make change, so that future generations can have a livable planet,” Ranney added.

“Our Summit delegates included accomplished leaders in their fields who, though lesser known outside of their home countries, are major figures who rarely have the opportunity to converse together at this level.  The result is an unprecedented collaboration, representing 33 million women and men around the world that are fiercely dedicated to a just transition to a clean energy future and to transforming how we are living with the earth and each other,” Lake added.

The IWECI Summit occurred at a critical juncture in the debate over addressing climate change, with Climate Week and the United Nations General Assembly sessions in New York, and as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) prepares to release its much anticipated 5th Assessment Report.  Summit delegates committed to building momentum for substantive action on, increased funding for and the meaningful policy changes necessary to address the global climate crisis.

Ranging from small regional groups to large organizations with constituencies of hundreds of thousands, the combined reach of Summit collaborators represents a substantial boost to civil society movements mobilizing around climate change with a commitment to gender equity.  In addition to the Declaration, Summit delegates took their first collective action yesterday, committing to a Women’s Global Day of Action on Climate in 2014.  Additionally delegates signed a letter to US President Barack Obama urging him to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline (http://tarsandssolutions.org/member-blogs/global-women-leaders-send-president-obama-a-clear-message), an appeal to United Nations and World Bank officials to reject REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) http://no-redd.com/oppose-redd/, and calling on Ecuadorian leaders to protect the Yasuni National Park and uphold its Rights of Nature provisions (see www.amazonwatch.org).

Over the coming weeks Summit delegates will finalize the Women’s Climate Action Agenda and plan for collective actions in 2014.  The group is committed to bringing in a whole new constituency of women (and men) who have yet to engage on climate in their communities.

About IWECI:  IWECI engages women grassroots activists, Indigenous and business leaders, policy makers and culture-shapers in collaboration. Our goal is to stop the escalation of climate change and environmental and community degradation, while accelerating the implementation of sustainability solutions through women’s empowerment, partnerships, hands-on trainings, advocacy campaigns, and political, economic, social and environmental action. www.iweci.org on Twitter @IWECI

Summit Working Groups and areas of focus for the International Women’s Earth and Climate Summit, and the Women’s Climate Action Agenda:

1) Renewable Energy, Efficiency, Green Business, Cities, Lifestyles, Eco-villages
2) Forests, Seeds, Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity
3) Fresh Water, Oceans, Climate Science
4) Rights of Nature, Indigenous Peoples, Earth Community Economy
5) Stories, Media and Messaging — Communicating Climate Change, Solutions and New Cultural Narratives
6) Organizing Women in the Climate Movement/ Women and Climate Policy
7) Tar Sands, Pipelines, Fracking, Fossil Fuel Resistance, Fossil Fuel Divestment
8)  Climate Finance, Carbon Fee, Financial Transaction Tax

Westender with local chambers of commerce will be supporting local businesses in a buy local campaign this Christmas. (more…)