Monday, September 1, 2014

Spirit




George Carlin's wife died early in 2008 and George followed her, dying in July 2008. It is ironic George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent and so very appropriate. 

An observation by George Carlin: 

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. 

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. 

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. 

We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. 
It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete. Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind. 

And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away. 
- George Carlin

---------------------------------------------

I share George's thoughts to inspire us to build capacity as human beings. 
Create something that no one can take.
Build something that no one can touch,
something that can't be measured,
something more important than any circumstance,
something more powerful than time or money,
something that makes your time more valuable and your money more impactful,
something that inspires people more than anything on earth.
That thing is SPIRIT

Build spirit.

Define spirit;
Spirit is heart and soul
Comfort
Bandwidth
Energy
Attention
Care
Compassion
Power

If you have a million dollars and no spirit, you're poor.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”                                                                                                                            – Peter Pan    





One day a Martian visited Earth. He came here to visit the leaders of the world. He asked them to show him all the weapons of mass destruction that earth had created.

In the first building was enough guns to take over a country at one time. The Martian was amazed.

They then moved to an even bigger shed and showed the Martian all their nuclear bombs. The room was filled from bottom to top. Just one of those bombs is enough to take out a whole country. The Martian was amazed again at all this weaponry...

They then moved on to the biggest shed of them all..

The Martian looked on anxiously..

He could not believe there was something more devastating than all those guns and bombs.

They opened the door and there in the middle of the shed was a box on a table. He was very confused. As they walked over to the table they told him to open the box but to be very careful as this was the biggest killer of them all.
He nervously opened the box and all that was in it was a seed.

Looking even more confused, he asked how that was even possible to be more devastating than the previous sheds.

The leaders of the world looked at him and told him, “This is the 'seed of doubt'. It takes peoples dreams, lives, families and kills them from the inside out and is the biggest killer in the world today.”


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What a powerful story.

The opposite to doubt is faith.

Faith is confidence or trust in a person or a thing or it could be defined as belief that is not based on proof.

Bertrand Russell said it best:

"Where there is evidence, no one speaks of 'faith'. We do not speak of faith that two and two are four or that the earth is round. We only speak of faith when we wish to substitute emotion for evidence."

“When we wish to substitute emotion for evidence”

It’s so true.

It’s our job as growth people to have faith in something that does not yet exist in our physical world. There is no tangible evidence of the vision you hold in your sub-conscious mind, only the emotion we attach to it.

I’m sure you can dig deep enough to find a number of times in your life that you have had faith in your vision, so much faith that it had emotion attached to it, it moved you, it drove you to action, you created, you made it real, through the faith in your vision, your self and your world.

So the first part of my challenge to you is think about times that you have seen a thought turn into reality, you’ve seen your vision play out in real life, you’ve created the picture in your sub-conscious mind and made it real. Start small, build faith in yourself and build confidence.

Then get deliberate about the thoughts you feed your self, get disciplined, guard your thoughts, create positive thoughts and if you’re in a habit of negativity or your constantly creating thoughts that don’t serve you start taking action to break the cycle.

Motion creates emotion.

Put your headphones on and run.



Move.

Create energy in your body and chant to yourself a positive war cry, or your 5 “I AM” words (see my blog about Mums 5 “I am” power word lessons)

Move.
Move.
Move.

The human body can not produce negative emotions if you run, smile and chant at the same time. Out there I know, but try it. 

If you want to know some of the chants I use email grow@dirb.com.au


- Brad

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Go Straight Ahead

The elevator is over there. Please go straight ahead.



Ahhhh so do I go left or do I go straight?



This sign sums up how most business advisors make me feel.

They give you a template or an instruction manual, you learn a new idea and it fills us business owners with hope.

If you want to learn the stories and strategies that we have used to grow, not just get an idea but hear where we messed up, what cost us, and what rocketed us, if you want to learn from someone who is in the trenches beside you, someone one out there swinging the bat with you then my Encore package is a great start.

Log on to hear how I grew my company to become 4x Australian Retail Business of the Year.


Friday, June 13, 2014

Lead Generation, Social Media and Experience




Here's a quick 30 second Quick Question from the Westpac Business Innovation Forum 2014.

It's on lead generation, social media and customer experience.


braaaaaaaap


Thursday, June 12, 2014

Andrew Daddo talks about Brad Smith at the Telstra Business Awards.

Hey Guys.

braaap Won a Telstra Business Award in 2013, Andrew Daddo was the MC of the event and had some kind and funny words to say about the time he heard Brad Speak at the Australian Golf Conference in 2011.

"Brad was the #1 Speaker at the 5 day conference" - Andrew Daddo

"He spoke in a language that blew them away" - Andrew Daddo


Selling Sucks

success failure image

This is a blog I wrote back in 2009, just came across it on an old blog site so thought i'd chuck it up here before deleting it...


 The best sales man in the world knows that education builds rapport with a customer and selling breaks rapport with a customer.

To gain respect from a customer, ask them questions to find what is most relevant to them, find out what their needs are and then educate them...

To lose respect from a customer, push products on to them and shamelessly tell them about a product.

The best sales people in the world ssk questions and educate their customers so the customer leaves being the big winner!

The customer must always leave feeling like the big winner.

What are your thoughts on this idea?

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Interview with > "The Collective" - Magazine for Entrepreneurs, Thinkers, Leaders and Legends

Hey Guys.

If you don't already you need to be reading this mag, Im a super fan, and honoured they called me for an interview.
"The Collective"
http://www.renegadecollective.com/subscriptions/


The Dirt and the DIRB
Words by Richard Miller

For perhaps the first time in his life, Brad Smith is a little behind schedule. He laughs as he explains his car just broke down on the way home from a speaking gig in country Victoria and he had to hire another. “It’s been a freakin’ debacle,” he exclaims in cheerful fashion, but insists he is ready for an interview. “You’re better to speak to me while I’m driving, so I can concentrate.”
It seems the only time the 26-year-old entrepreneur ever sits still is when he’s travelling at speed—by plane, train, hire car, or, most famously, by braaap bike.
It’s been this way for as long as Brad can remember—from well before he founded braaap and broke all kinds of moulds on the way to creating one of Australia’s most successful startups of recent decades. He’s twice been named the Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year, won Tasmania’s Young Australian of the Year in 2010 and has recently been nominated to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s advisory board for small business; braaap, his motorcycle retail franchise, has racked up four gongs as the Australian Retail Business of the Year. During all of this, he’s somehow found a way to continue to ride superlite motocross competitively.
Yep, he definitely moves fast. It’s no wonder he earned the nickname ‘braaap’ at a young age. It’s less a name than a noise—the sound an exuberant bike makes as it buzzes by with the throttle cranked, kicking up a screen of mud—but that suits him fine.
Just don’t underestimate the serious business brain ticking away behind the light-hearted exterior. That, too, has always been there; it’s the engine that powers him. As early as his primary school years, he was selling hacky sacks in the playground, and by the time high school rolled around, he was importing iPods and graphics calculators.
“[School] was a great marketplace,” he says. “It was easy when you’ve got 1000 kids all in the same place who all got excited by trends.”
When asked the origins of his entrepreneurial nous, he thinks for a moment. “I guess it comes from my family. My dad’s considerate and can build and create things … my mum, on the other hand, is ambitious and hungry to learn, hungry to grow and willing to take a risk.”
While his parents encouraged and supported him to take his own risks in pursuit of his dreams, Brad says it took all his skills of persuasion to get them to enable his true passion—motocross. He fell in love with the sport as a kid and finally convinced his father he was ready to graduate from his old BMX by persuading four cousins to lie down on the road and pedalling like a demon to jump them. “I was probably lucky I [didn’t have] five cousins!” he quips.
Once on a dirt bike, he was an unstoppable force. “For me, motocross was the ultimate teacher,” he says. “I had to learn discipline, preparation, focus; I had to master my emotions; I learned courage, to deal with pain, consequence and consistency. If you want to win a [motocross] championship, you’ve got to race when you’re good and race when you’re not good, and that’s pretty similar in business.”
Despite race-day success and his unwavering love for the sport, he recognised his true calling was not as a rider, but as a businessman and innovator. While his racing idols were riding expensive customised bikes, he was dreaming of new ways to manufacture bikes that would open up the joy of motocross to “every man and his dog”, not just those who could spare ten grand. Most of all, he wanted to give young people what he calls a “clean adrenalin hit”.
“Everyone needs adrenalin and excitement,” he says. “If you don’t get it through activity or through sport, you’re going to get it through partying or drugs or whatever you do, crime, violence. I love seeing people enjoying my sport, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen someone sit on a motorcycle, twist the throttle and not smile.”
His first foray into the market ended in disaster; he lost his savings but, crucially, retained his vision of a bike anyone could afford. He realised the only way to pursue his vision but avoid repeating his mistake was to get on a plane and do the deal in person. So he did. He was 18 years old.
“I bought a ticket [to China] and went to as many manufacturing plants as I could find in two weeks,” he says. “Over 50 factories laughed me out of the office and said I didn’t have the money, I didn’t have the experience, the engineering; [they said] I didn’t know the manufacturing business, I didn’t know the motorcycle business, and they laughed me out.”
Brad readily acknowledges they were probably right in some respects, but he was utterly convinced of his eventual success. “I think that most importantly, you’ve got to start with a vision. If you’ve got an idea and you’re possessed by it, you do believe you can do it. You do believe something’s going to happen. And I did.”
By the time he flew back to Australia, he’d signed a contract to manufacture his bikes in China using Japanese engines, French frames and Canadian suspension. His commitment—apart from design and development, prototyping and testing—was to sell enough bikes to turn a profit.
When asked how many bikes he had to sell, he laughs. “I can’t say that, but it was a lot. It was significantly more than I felt comfortable selling, that’s for sure. Mate, that made me grow up so quick. I had to get smart. I had to … learn branding, sales, conversion, marketing, follow-up, all that stuff.”
Fortunately for Brad, he learned as quickly as he tore around a dirt track. From displaying bikes in the middle of busy town roundabouts and hiring farmers’ fields beside regional trading fairs when their official stall application was denied, to cold-calls, online marketing, setting up partnerships with other local small business and even good-old-fashioned door-knocking, Brad and his braaap team were constantly looking for new ways to reach potential customers.
Their biggest breakthrough came out of a desire to contribute to the community. They set up a learn-to-ride event program and began promoting it across the country, encouraging people of all ages and ability, particularly kids and others who wouldn’t be able to afford to buy a bike from another retailer, to give their bike a go. It was all part of their clean adrenalin idea—and then they realised it sold bikes.
“We used to put TV and radio [ads] on and stand behind a counter, and that doesn’t work any more,” Brad says. “Butts on seats equals motorcycle sales, so we teach a lot of people to ride and [do] a lot of events … [Potential customers] have plenty of fun, they high-five, they have an experience, they get a photo—and we know that nine per cent of those people buy a motorcycle. [Those are] people who [weren’t even] in the market for motorcycles.”
In eight short years, braaap has punched well above its weight in a market dominated by a few heavy hitters. It now employs 30 Australians and up to 50 staff in its Chinese manufacturing base, and Brad is working on strategies to launch braaap into 44 more countries, including the USA and parts of Europe, Central and South-East Asia and the Middle East.
Rewards and plaudits litter his company’s history, but Brad is not resting on his laurels; it’s doubtful he would know how to rest if he tried. He insists braaap’s success is built on hard work, innovation—they recently used 3D printers to create a new range of prototype bikes for an international trade fair in China—persistence, and creating a community of riders. Most of all, he says, whether he’s building a new bike or business strategy, he’s always aiming to DIRB. As in, Do It Real Big. The dirt track and the DIRB track. It’s a winning combination.


Build it the braaap way: Brad Smith on entrepreneurship

Aim high: Our mission is to create experiences that make people feel alive. That’s really what it’s all about, to positively impact the lives of others, one person at a time

Create new customers: There’s $40billion spent in Australia each year on non-essential, recreational products. Motorcycling is three per cent. We don’t compete against Honda or Yamaha, we compete against all the things people spend money on other than riding motorcycles: football, cricket, drinking … we’ve got to create desire in people and create new motorcyclists.

Know your numbers: So many small business owners don’t actually know what drives their business. If we know what drives us, we know we’ve got to make x amount of calls, teach x amount of people to ride and sell x amount of bikes. Every month we have a meeting to make sure we’ve got activities in our pipeline to create those numbers. I don’t want my growth strategy to be based on hope.

Be courageous: People forget … you’ve got to have courage, especially as an entrepreneur. Courage isn’t the absence of fear, courage is looking fear in the eyes and being scared as hell and saying “F*** it, let’s do it anyway.” That’s been our story so many times.

Learn from the best: I find someone who’s done what I want to do [and] I call them up until they meet me. Find someone who’s the best and learn from them. I’ve been persistent and deliberate about creating those relationships.

Just do it: If you’re inspired by a vision, you don’t count the hours, you don’t count the stuff you miss out on—you don’t see it as sacrifice. You’re chasing something bigger; you’re building something … Leave all those limiting beliefs at home, leave your emotions aside and just do it.


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

The worried mothers guide to motorcycling

Mum. I want to ride!!!!!

The worried Mothers guide to Motorcycling


That worrying moment when your child asks for a motorcycle. LOL

I’m a passionate parent, I have dedicated my life to parenting with intent, to developing happy, passionate, considerate kids who add value to the world and I’m glad to have your attention for a few moments to share my story and the lessons I’ve learned.

As a parent it’s our natural instinct to protect our children.
Its in our sole to worry for our children and we have an innate need to prepare our children for the world.

I remember the day my son started nagging me for a motorcycle, I felt sick at the thought of him riding.

My parents weren’t motorcyclist’s so of course they were concerned…
My mum (His Grand Mother) would buy my son the latest football or a video game as a tactic to try and get him focused on a more normal activity… but all he wanted was to watch the motocross videos and talk about when he was going to ride a motorcycle.

My friends filled me with horror stories and told me how they got their boys into soccer or basketball… why wouldn’t I get my son into something safer they would ask….. Ohhh and of course then there is the cost of a motorcycle and on they would rant about motorcycling…..

I was a worried mother nervous about the thought of motorcycling.

Then one day I told met Andrea……….

learn to ride kids motorcycle


Andrea was the mother of a Motorcyclist… I told her about my son and I asked her bout all my concerns….

Her answer’s changed my life as a parent….

After carrying a knot in my stomach, being torn between letting my son do something he is obviously passionate about and me protecting him…… “to ride” or “not to ride” was the question…..

Andrea made it 100000% clear to me that my job as a mother is to prepare my children for life. The only way to protect them is to prepare them.
Its our job to Equip our children with the self esteem, the character and the tools to grow into capable, passionate, happy humans.

“Honey, you have 2 options. Either let him ride or don’t let him ride…. But remember its not about the bike….”

I’m curious…..” its not about the bike? “

“Young people need adrenalin, they need to take risks, We need to teach them how to take educated risks. They need to learn focus, they need to learn consequence, cause and effect, they need to learn respect.

“Restraining our children is a band-aid fix, training them lasts for ever.”

Suppressing the desire of a child is not safety, its selfish, and its only delaying the fact that one day he is going to ride. Against your wish.

Did you know that around 80% of males will ride a motorcycle in their life.

“Id rather my son learn to ride in a fun, safe and controlled environment now than to one day go against my word and learn from friends.”
“Id rather him have nothing to prove when it comes time to get his drivers license.”
“ I want my son to have a passion that keeps him focused and disciplined”

So here are the facts.
When your son learns to ride he will be wearing all the protective gear, a full face helmet, body amour, gloves, boots, goggles, a neck brace, the works he may even use training wheels. His motorcycle will be restricted and he will be going slower than he rides his bicycle, he will be getting coached by someone who knows what they are doing and most importantly he will be doing something he loves.


I think its our job as mothers to teach our kids to focus, to give our children the gift of discipline and to show our kids how to take educated risks.

I know the motorcycle is a worry, its our job to worry. But isn’t our job to see our children Live, to light up, to do what they love?

Boredom is a risk, Disrespect is a risk, Taking Drugs is a Risk, Riding a pushbike with no helmet is a risk.

Riding a motorcycle in a controlled safe environment with all the protective gear and guidance possible is an educated risk.

Motorcycling is statistically safer than the School play ground, than football and many other common sports but our sport is mis-understood because most parents aren’t motorcyclist’s them selves.

Motorcycling gives your child a self esteem.
Motorcycling gives your child an outlet to channel all emotions, excitement, frustration. Everything. A bad day at school is long forgotten as soon as that bike is kicked into gear.

Self Esteem:
Motorcycling develops self Esteem.
Study’s tell us that Self Esteem grows when we grow, It grows when we stand out in a positive way and it grows when we do something we enjoy.
After teaching over 1000 people how to ride a motorcycle the number 1 change I see is a positive increase in self Value. The shy/quiet personality comes alive and out of the shell. The over confident and out there personality is humbled. Motorcycling is the ultimate Self Esteem Balancer.

Motion Creates emotion:
It is proven that motion creates emotion. You can not be depressed if you move in a positive way. As Human’s Motion Creates positive emotions. Motorcycling makes you feel good.

Discipline:
Discipline is the reason so many youth challenges are growing at exponential levels, we live in a world were our kids don’t learn discipline. Mum and Dad weather they admit it or not do way to much for their children and our market place does what ever possible to keep young people comfortable. Motorcycling breeds discipline, when you find discipline in one are of your life it filters through to other area’s of your life. The young person who learns the disciplines of looking after his motorcycle is leaps and bounds ahead of the kids who spend their time on the computer or playing ball sports.

Leverage:
“You can ride the bike as soon as your home work is done” Motorcycling is leverage.

Desire:
Motorcycling make us hungry to be better, it fills us with desire. Desire drives us to be more, do more and give more.

Respect:
Dirtbike Kids learn respect. They Respect the track, They Respect their ability, they respect their bikes. We have taken the most disengaged youth and sat them on a motorcycle, through our 5 step process we ensure the motorcycle demands their respect in a safe and controlled environment. Send me a disrespectful kid who wants to ride, sit him on the motorcycle in front of an obstacle that scares impresses him as much as it scares him and Ill show you a kid who learns respect fast.

Preparation:
Motocross teaches us to prepare, we have to think about what we will need for the day, prepare our goggles, our gear and our bikes. This is all stuff the kids should do them selves.

Focus:
As soon as the helmet comes on the only thing in the world that matters is the track in front of you, Learn to focus. In a world of distraction our average attention span has gone from 22 minutes in the 1930s to 7 seconds for our young people. 7 seconds!!! We need to teach our kids to focus!

Visualization:
The sub conscious mind is our most powerful tool. Motorcycling will grow the sub conscious mind. First you see an obstacle, then you  see your selfself completing the obstacle, then you complete the obstacle. Turn your vision into action. What a metaphor for life, what a lesson for life.


Fitness:
Motorcycling is one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports in the world. If you think riding a motorcycle is easy on the fitness then you haven’t ridden!

Friendship:
Many motorcycling families become friends for life, you meet like minded people who are outdoors having fun. As in any sport there are people from all walks of life. I Guarantee you will meet like minded families.

Excitement:
Kids want excitement, Riding a motorcycle is the ultimate in the minds of many young people. No 2 days riding are the same. Create a childhood that impacts your kid for life, make memories. Create experience, fill your kid up with positive emotions. Excite them and Inspire them.

Family:
Motorcycling is a family sport. Its brings us together. The family that plays together stays together.

Parental Bond:
The father who spends time at the track with his son, The mother who inspires her son to improve his riding. The family that ride together stay together. Many parents ride, some don’t, either way your common interest with your children is an asset that will be an asset as your child grows up.