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Browse published articles attributed to Craig Harper, with full-archive search.
They live among us. In human form. To the untrained eye, it is almost impossible to tell the difference. Typically they look like you and I. But they're not. They're not like us at all. They are Vampires and their modus operandi is not to steal your blood but rather, your precious energy. Your ...
Branding In the big wide world of business and in particular, marketing, the suits are always talking about 'branding'. The need to create a well-respected, well-known brand (reputation, profile, public perception) for our product, service or organisation. If you have the best product in the ...
Progressive Overload In the big wide world of exercise science there’s a training principle called Progressive Overload (PO). PO is pretty much the cornerstone of any training program designed to produce performance improvements for the individual who is following the program.
One of the interesting things about my work is that I get the opportunity to see how people 'work'... how they're wired.nTypical behaviours, thinking, attitudes, reactions.nHow they deal with situations, circumstances, events, catastrophes, tragedies, good stuff, bad stuff; life.nnIt's all interesting stuff for me.nnI've learned that most people, most of the time are reactive not proactive (when it comes to the big-picture stuff).nnThat is, many of us are not particularly goo
I think most of us would agree that on a practical, day-to-day level the most important life skill is communication. However, when we take a look around we discover that: 1. Many of us have trouble expressing ourselves effectively. 2. Many of us spend the majority of our life not saying what we ...
Aaaah, the good old Pity Party; we've all thrown at least one in our time. Some people throw them every day of their lives. They are absolute party animals. Of course, quite often they will be the only attendee at these 'celebrations', and then at other times they will do their very best to get ...
Two nights ago I had a phone call from a guy who I've known for a while. Quite a while. Danny. Over the last few years he has had two major physical and psychological battles; drugs and food. And of course there's been some emotional stuff as well. Yep; it's all intertwined. He's not a buddy as ...
* I so wanted this to be a brief, quirky, interesting article... maybe four, five hundred words tops.nA thousand words later... here it is.nI can't help myself.nI think I talk too much.nI need help.nnSchool report from 1977:n"Craig has a propensity to be somewhat verbose and distracting in class".nnSo not fair.nSo misunderstood.nnOkay.. that's it.nI'm gonna do my best to be more concise.nMaybe I need to take a workshop.nOops.. I'm still doing it.nI'm still adding words aren't
Aaah... the age-old debate. Are we born winners or do we become winners with hard work, discipline, dedication, determination... and all those other 'D' words? We all want to be winners. (Well, I've personally never met anyone who has the goal of being a loser). Winners in our career, winners ...
It's seven forty five Saturday morning and I am doing my best to stay in my current state of being; unconscious, hung-over, stationary, comfortable, horizontal. Unfortunately for me, something or as it would turn out, someone, is destroying my tranquility with incessant thumping on my front ...
So I was debating whether to write an article on 'the meaning of life' or perhaps one on 'how to get a smaller ass and a six-pack'. Which would you prefer? You're all so shallow. Cut that out. That's why you need to read this one! Well, the good news is that after reading this post, you'll ...
One of my favourite quotes about learning: "In times of change the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." Eric Hoffer. So true and so relevant for those old arrogant, ignorant dinosaurs who stopped ...
If the Personal Development movement and it's ever-expanding range of offerings (books, programs, seminars, CD's, Gurus) was in fact proving to be an effective resource in helping humanity pull itself out of it's collective crap, then globally we should be seeing things improving by the day. ...
I often get asked how I write my posts. What's my process? Do I have a weekly or monthly plan of topics I'm going to cover? Do I write using a particular formula? Word limit? Do I methodically and strategically mix up the sciencey stuff, the motivational stuff, the funny stuff, the philosophical ...
If you’re serious about creating lasting and significant change in your world – as opposed to merely thinking and talking about it for another year – there are a few things you might want to do in order to help make those intentions a reality… 1. Know what success is. If you don’t know what success is (for you), how can you possibly create it? Success is different things for different people and one person’s success (a pregnancy for example) might be another person’s catastrophe.
When was the last time you questioned your beliefs? Really questioned them? That is, took a practical, realistic, uncomfortable, honest and un-emotional look at some of the beliefs that “run” your life. You do know that some of your current beliefs suck right? That’s no major revelation is it? When we consider that most of our decisions and behaviours are a reflection of our beliefs, it’s never a bad idea to put those beliefs under the microscope and see if they hold up to a little scrutiny. To see if they serve us or sabotage us. Help us or hinder us.
Do you ever marvel at some people's uncanny ability to make the simple, complex?nThe straight forward, anything but?nnA ten minute task, a two week saga?nnI meet these people every day.nPlease stop sending them my way.nThey are the woe-is-me brigade.nThe Brothers (and Sisters) Grim.n(The real Brothers Grimm were two German dudes who published a bunch of folk stories and fairy tales about two hundred years ago... that's for those of you who aren't as old as me!!).nnYep, some p
If you've come in search of hilarity, mirth and entertainment today, you best look elsewhere. Because today I'm sharing some old-school, self-help, get-yer-shit-together... love.nnGot a buddy (surprising I know) who is always just about to turn his life (career, body, relationships, finances, living situation) around.nSpoken about him once before.nAlways at the threshold of something amazing.nAlways about to re-invent himself.nNever actually doing anything... but always about
In my humble opinion, the single most important life-skill is communication. So get to work on yours. The end.nn*How great would it be if I could write posts as short as that and still have the desired impact? Make a statement, provide some instruction and then wrap it up. All in under ...
Growing up in Australia means growing up with sheep.nnWell, kind of.nnNot that we have them sleeping in our lounge room or running around our front yard or anything, but Australia, amongst other things, is a farming nation and at some stage, most Aussie kids (although less these days) have spent time at their uncle's farm (it's always an uncle) rounding up the sheep or cows on their school holidays.nnOr they grew up on a farm themselves.nnNow, I'm no sheep-ologist (my site, m
Happy to be here At the risk of sounding a little arrogant, I gotta say, my life is great. Overall, I'm pretty darn content. Not in a smug way, just in a happy-to-be-here kinda way. Yep, love being alive, love my family, love my friends, love my job, love where I live, love my country (you ...
We're all about making real and practical changes in our very real and practical lives, so I thought it was about time for us to roll up our sleeves and move from the theoretical to the practical. We've explored behavioural science and the psychology of change for long enough, now it's time to ...
Once upon a time... there was a kid. A kid who loved to eat. Not unlike many kids, really. But this kid was different. He didn't just enjoy the occasional cookie or bowl of ice-cream. Or burger and fries. No, he lived for food. And when he wasn't eating... he was thinking about eating. At ...
It seems to me that many of us don't really know who we are.nWe have our very own personal identity crisis.nnWe spend our very busy lives doing stuff, achieving stuff.... but still not really knowing who we are.nnWhat's you're identity?nnWho are you really?nnIf we take away all your stuff... then... who are you?nYeh, we know what you do for a job, we know what you look like, we know what you drive, where you live and what you've done... but who are you beyond all that?nnAre y
We all understand what happens to our body as it ages.nnWithout intervention (an exercise/activity program) we know that our muscles waste, our lung capacity decreases, our heart gets weaker, our bones become brittle, our flexibility and mobility decrease, our reaction time slows, our posture suffers, we move slower and we become more susceptible to illness and injury.nUnless of course we happen to live a naturally active lifestyle (one where we regularly expend lots of energ
While I don't claim to be (anywhere near) the best Personal Development Speaker in the world, if you were to Google the search term Motivational Speaker you would typically find that my name usually comes out somewhere near the very top of the list of about two million matches. Now, let me ...
So I'm wearing my Exercise Scientist hat today.nAnd my Psychologist cardigan.nAnd my steel-capped, ass-kicking boots.nnI may be blunt.nOkay, I will be.nBut honest.nPossibly... politically incorrect.nOkay, probably.nWill possibly say what you don't want to hear.nFeel free to look away... now.nnHmm.. still here huh?nThrill-seeker.nCrazy kid.nnEven though I've spoken way too much for way too many years about getting in shape (in the course of my work)... and I'm kinda over it, r
Over the last two weeks I have had an inordinate amount of conversations with people about the relationships in their world. Relationships with work colleagues, spouses, kids, friends, family... the lot. Mostly, it's pretty negative stuff. Lucky me. Invariably there are problems in those ...
* Note: this article won't be relevant for every reader. For those of you who have followed through on your New Year's resolutions and done amazing things, you may want to check back in tomorrow. For some of you it will be a timely poke in the ribs, for others it will be reality check and for ...
Here's my simple take on what some people make, a complex issue; how we use or manage our Emotional Energy (EE). It's a precious and powerful commodity and it needs to be invested wisely and thoughtfully. Forgive my simplicity, I'm a bloke. And as I am constantly reminded by the numerous ...
If you're like most people, then you often feel like you're spending far too much time and emotional energy having certain conversations with certain people.nnImagine how many years we could add to our lives if we could reclaim all the time we've wasted on those pointless, meaningless, destructive, repetitious, mind-blowingly-frustrating, mind-numbingly-boring, too-many-to-remember conversations we've all had.nnYou know the ones.nQuite often they're with the same people.nAbou
Have you ever bought something only to discover down the track that you didn't actually get what you thought you were buying... that you've been well and truly scammed? Of course you have. Me too. We all have. "But with these pills I'm meant to lose 14 pounds in 14 days... without getting off ...
Warning: If you're after some hard-hitting, life-changing, mind-altering, insight, wisdom and enlightenment from yours truly today... then check out one of your other favourite writers.nSeriously.nThis is certainly no Personal Development piece... social commentary perhaps.nA little tongue-in-cheek satire maybe.nOr just an excuse for me to comment on something I find entertaining, amusing, incredible, sad and silly.nnnSo little Paris has just headed off (today) to the slammer
Today I'm stepping out on to the cyber high-wire.nnI'm performing a high-risk blogging manoeuvre.nnNo safety net.nnNo cyber-harness.nnI'm going to write a brief opinion piece on the Law of Attraction (LOA).nnPossibly a no-win situation for me.nnAah well.nnAdvocates (of the concept) will disagree with me.nn(I'm okay with that... as long as you're okay with me thinking differently to you).nnAnd opponents are already with me.nnI personally think the LOA should be re-named the La
So last Friday Johnnie and I flew north to the thriving metropolis of Brisbane (BrisVegas as our lovely host Lisa called it) to do some work for a few hours and spend some quality alpha-male bonding time together. I could share lots of mildly amusing stories about Johnnie's propensity to slip ...
Most of us live in a culture and society which is totally obsessed with perfection.nnAn obsession which invariably leads to pain.nEmotional, psychological, physical, social and financial pain.nnThe perfection obsession is rampant.nnnIt's completely ridiculous.nIt's unhealthy.nIt's unrealistic.nAnd it's potentially very dangerous.nnI have personally seen it lead to anxiety, depression, social dysfunction, eating disorders, emotional problems, unrealistic expectations, ruined r
Sometimes I feel like I must have missed that group-memo coming into adulthood regarding the age-fun, inverted-correlation mandate. You know the one. The one that stipulates that as we age we are required to have proportionately less and less fun; also known as the Progressive Misery Theory. As ...
Lately I have spent a great deal of time with rudder-less ships.nPeople who get up each morning and do exactly what they did yesterday.nNot that they particularly want to... it's just what they do.nThey do the same.nDay in, day out.nYear in, year out.nnThey expend a huge amount of energy sailing in circles on the Sea of Frustration.nTalk to them and they have no real direction.nNo clarity and no certainty about what they want their future to look like.nThey are desperate for
Last Saturday six hundred of my closest friends and I got together for a chat at the Network Convention (Annual Fitness Industry Shindig) here in sunny (drought-stricken) Melbou e. Well I spoke, they listened. Being the insecure only-child with a constant need for attention, that worked ...
Yesterday I went for a run along the beach near my house.nBurned a few cals, got a bit of sun... no biggie... except for the fact that I got a life-lesson from a five year-old.nnHere's the scene:nThe ex-bodybuilder with the dodgy lower-back running (for want of a more descriptive or accurate term) along the path which borders the sand.nThe kid (clearly an architect in the making) just off the path, in the sand building a.... aah.. er... well, building something kinda big and
You don't need a PhD to understand that we human beings are complex physical, emotional, spiritual and cerebral creatures; we all get this.n(I hope).nAnd while we know that we're highly-evolved (some more than others), multi-dimensional beings, the truth is that some of us have a propensity to be (periodically) a little one-dimensional.nnNamely, emotional.n(Not you of course, but perhaps someone you know).nnAnd while we take occasional trips to the cerebral, physical and spir
You'd hafta be silly or brave to write a post on happiness.nSo silly me is gonna give it a crack.nI had no plans for this piece (like I plan my writing!)... it came out of a conversation I had yesterday.nIt asked to be written.nnIt's fair to assume that we're all different and therefore all have different goals.nCommon sense really.nI think that most free-thinking, objective, amateur behavioural psychologists (like you and me) would agree on this.nnAs usual, I have another pe
Many of us don't particularly like our life or at the very least, something about it. We haven't for a long time. And while we have the ability to change, for some weird reason, we don't do it. By choice. Or if we do change, it's temporary. Momentary even. The reality of our life experience is ...
One of the many interesting things about being a life-long, single male in his early forties is people's reactions to that single-ness (yep, a word). Everyone has an opinion on it. Depending on the person's thinking, it can place me anywhere on the scale from 'complete social outcast', to ...
It must be morning; I'm hungry. Then again, I'm always hungry, so it could really be any time. I can hear the shower and feel the sun on my back, so I'm guessing the Boss is awake. I lift my head off my bed and look down the passage. I want a shower too. Sometimes I try and get in but he won't ...
When it comes to excuses, I've heard them all. And made up a few of my own too. In fact, I am a fully-qualified Excuse-ologist. Excuse-ology (the study of excuse making) is a fascinating but little-known science. Okay, I developed it. And graduated in it from the University of Harper. I keep ...
The following is an extract from one of my fave movies - A Few Good Men (or as it's known here in Australia - Three Grouse Blokes): Jessep (Jack): "You want answers?" Kaffee (Tom): "I think I'm entitled to them." Jessep: "You want answers?" Kaffee: "I want the truth!" Jessep: "You can't ...
If you're like many, then some days your mind is a war zone. Complete with the good guys (Mr glass-half-full) and the bad guys (Mr stay-in-bed-you-loser) fighting for your attention; your thoughts. Competing for valuable territory on your cerebral landscape. Fear, self doubt, anxiety, apathy; ...
I just drove past a gym that was advertising group-exercise classes like this: 'Small classes, lots of fun, no mirrors.' No mirrors? Why on earth is that a selling point? Sure, mirrors aren't necessary... but why would their absence be seen as part of sensible marketing strategy? Something to ...
There's a lot of great things about being a kid.nnYou don't have to pay for stuff.nYou get to lick the cake-mix bowl (a personal highlight for me).nYou can actually tell people what you think.nYou can build cool stuff from junk and grown-ups tell you it's great.nOld people spoil you.nYou can use the "I'm-just-a-kid-and-I-didn't-know" line as a defence for pretty much anything.nAnd every day you do the best drawing ever in the history of the world.nnOn the other hand, what suc