These are my riches

"I think some people are really brave. Some people are cowards. Most of us sort of fit somewhere in between and I guess I just think of myself like that." Margaret Moth

Margaret Moth was New Zealand's first female camera operator, and went on to work for CNN. It was while on assignment in Sarajevo that she was shot in the jaw, seriously injured, but went on to recover and return.

I remember seeing a news segment on Margaret, not long after that happened, and something she said stayed with me. I was reminded of it when a friend of mine Ralph Brown, who had worked with Margaret when he was a journalist in Christchurch, spoke about resilience.

Ralph mentioned the interview, and now that I approach a birthday milestone this week, it feels particularly apt to share.

Margaret was talking about her choices in life, and about wealth. She said:

‘I’ve crossed the Sahara on a camel. I’ve been down the Amazon in a canoe and I’ve been shot in Sarajavo. Those are my riches.’

Sometimes it’s easy to focus in life on what you haven’t done when a significant birthday approaches – particularly those of us whose dreams were big and courage not inexhaustible.

If, like me, you haven’t ended up married with 2.4 children, have taken a non-traditional path through life, then it’s especially timely to remember the riches you can draw on. I know I am inspired every time I think of Margaret and her words.

What are your riches? Here are a few of mine:

• I’ve swum a mile in the open sea
• I’ve drunk raki fresh from the still
• I’ve stood on the stage at the Globe Theatre
• I’ve been on a sailing boat around Wellington Harbour
• I’ve walked through Genova’s narrow streets, and eaten pesto genovse, espresso and focaccia that was paper thin.
• I’ve walked alone in the bush
• I’ve spent 9 days without speaking
• I’ve held an audience in the palm of my hand
• I’ve seen the Southern Cross rise on the horizon on a night bus from Sydney to Melbourne
• I’ve held my sleeping baby niece in my shoulder on Christmas morning.
• I’ve danced a Tango to Death

Whether we have been brave, or cowardly, strong or week, or all of that in the course of a day, we each have our own riches to draw upon. They provide the stories which shape our lives, the stories we can share when we speak.

What are yours?

For more:
Ralph Brown's article on resilience
More about Margaret Moth. She now has terminal cancer, but many stories.

Edited: in an earlier edition of this post, I said I'd seen the original interview on 60 minutes, but it is more likely to have been the Holmes Show. Ralph also pointed out that he worked with Margaret in Christchurch, rather than Dunedin.
Edit: I wrote this post on 14 March, a few days before my 40th birthday. I heard today, 21 March that Margaret has now died of cancer, aged 59.
NZ PA quote "I would have liked to have gone out with a bit more flair but I feel I can die with dignity. I don't think it matters how long you live, so long as you can say: 'I've got everything out of life',"

A to Z of Luck : C is for Courage, Charm, and Calm

It's day 3 of my project to provide an antidote to the pessimism we find all around us, by exploring the ways that we can make our own luck.

I believe we all are surrounded by a myriad of opportunities,and that the genius of luck is first, being able to see them, and second, being able to take advantage of them. I believe there are things we can do to make luck more likely, to help us make the most of the opportunities that are around us, even if the wider economy is in recession.

Each day will be themed around a letter of the alphabet, and today it's the letter "C".

C is for Courage, and for Charm, and for Calm.

Seneca observed that "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult"

Nothing brings luck like taking action on opportunities. Nothing impedes it more than feeling paralysed by guilt. Having the courage to take action, to take the first step on a journey, can make all the difference.

I recall Prince Charles suggested that moral courage, like physical courage, needs to be practiced. Being brave in small ways - making a phone call, asking for help, speaking up when you see unfairness - can all lead to better luck.

C is also for Charm. People who are charming, are also attractive, and attract luck and other opportunities. It's not about looks, it's about being someone others want to be around.

Being positive is charming. Being interested in others, and happy in your own skin is charming. And to start with, courtesy is charming: it never hurts to say please, thank you, and excuse me, in a sincere and friendly way. That's not to say we need to get hidebound by etiquette codes, which serve to delineate who is in, and who is out. The true purpose of courtesy,and codes of manners, is to set up a system where others feel comfortable. That is not to say that you need be a pushover. It is possible to be both charming and assertive.

And finally - C is about Calm.
If you're always running here and there, if your life is constantly full, there won't be any space to reflect. Stop every so often, take time to small the roses, to find an oasis of calmness. You'll feel better, and be better able to direct your energies.

So to attract luck: be courageous, be charming, be courteous, and find some calmness every once and a while.

Tomorrow: the letter D

Throwing 3 caps over the wall.

In the West Wing, President Bartlet has a barnstorming speech which contained the story about "the Irish lads whose journey was blocked by a brick wall seemingly too high to scale. Throwing their caps over the wall the lads had no choice but to follow."

I've reached the point at the moment when it's time to "throw my cap over the wall", to take action and get moving on a few projects: to get my newsletter going, rent new business premises to coach from, and organise a Christchurch Creative's Meet Up.

In that spirit, here's a few quotes on commitment and courage to get out there.

"Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it" Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Indecision is the leading cause of roadkill." T Harv Ecker, quoted by Michelle Schubnel

"Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides" attrib Margaret Thatcher *.

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult" Seneca

"You will do foolish things, so do them with enthusiasm" Colette

It's going to be a great week!

*I wouldn't often quote Maggie - I think Brian Walden summed her up: "Her strong points were her iron will. I've never known a will like it in politics and I've known a few politicians in my time in various countries. I've never known a man or woman faintly like her, she was as tough as they come, and anything that required guts and will she could do for you. Anything that required sensitivity, she couldn't, she had none."

I spent 3 weeks operating lighting and sound on a production of Sink the Belgrano, a blank-verse play by Stephen Berkoff, featuring the character Maggot Scratcher, based on Thatcher, and it didn't show her in a good light. The play itself was excellent, a great cast, superbly well acted - one of the best things I ever saw on the fringe, although sadly the audiences were small - even with a good review in Time Out. (That's fodder for another post, on how Theatre Companies take the "Product Concept" in marketing rather than a "Marketing" or "Societal Marketing" concept.)