Inspire Award 2012 - Pacific Dragons - Tony "Mouse" Pound (Sat 21 Jul 2012)

Geoff, Tony (Mouse) and Joanne – Inspire Award 2012 / PD’s Award Night - AB Hotel / Glebe (Sat 21 Jul 2012)
Inspire Award 2012 - Pacific Dragons - Tony "Mouse" Pound (Sat 21 Jul 2012)

A few words (*) and a short video (*) after Tony "Mouse" Pound was presented with the 2012 Inspire Award ..

Joanne and I would like to thank Pacific Dragons (*) for Honouring Jenny’s Memory (*) with the Annual Presentation of the Inspire Award (*) – this being the 3rd time it has been presented since she left us (*) on Tue 30 Jun 2009.

We congratulate Tony Pound ("Mouse") the 2012 Inspire Award Recipient.

We know Jenny would be smiling from above and would no doubt be wondering, like the rest of us here "How’s Mouse's Mother's Chooks" are.

We also like the direction of the award has taken.

Being an Annual Award it becomes something of an Anniversary for Joanne and I to celebrate and remember Jenny's life, as the Club and its Members recognise the Achievements of one it's member - Mouse for the 2011/2012 season.

We hope it is also an opportunity for all of us to remember and honour those that have been close to us and have influenced our own lives but are no longer with us.

We also hope it is a time to acknowledge those close to us who are facing their own challenges in life. We hope Jenny's life can be an example as to how to live a fulfilling life with a life-threatening illness as well as provide some hope, belief and inspiration to face the challenges and changes that lay ahead.

So, as it is with all Anniversaries, it is a time reflect on the year just passed and to celebrate on what has been achieved and so tonight we celebrate Mouse's Achievements since coming to the club two seasons ago.

I think, more importantly, for Anniversaries, it is a time to look to the future and set new goals.

This can be challenging as often the path is full of obstacles as well as self-doubts. It almost always requires change, which can be step into the unknown. This is all risky business and the fear of failure and making mistakes can quickly put a stop to all good intentions.

I think those people who inspire us often overcome these obstacles and fears, with the common theme in all of their actions, being the word Belief (*), which is something Jenny had plenty of.

Belief gives us a purpose and intent as we strive towards a goal.

A photographer I follow recently wrote [Alex Coghe (*)] about belief in the context of photography, but it can be applied to all aspects of our lives. It is succinct and goes:

"If you believe, you are stronger and the light will reward you."

Basedy on my own life experiences I know this to be true [A longer version here (*)].

We congratulate you all on another great year with Pacific Dragons.

Finally, we thank you and the Club for the Amazing Experiences that are created for us and we share together. For you see as Seth Godin wrote:

"The experiences we create [and share] are the moments that define us."

We look forward to the season ahead and we hope you are having ..

"The Time of Your Life."

We Remember Jenny - The Time of Your Life..

Remembering Jenny - Time of Your Life / Greenday - Youtube (Sat 21 Jul 2012)
Live Long and Prosper .. Geoff and Joanne (Sat 21 Jul 2012)

Postscript (Mon 23 Jul 2012): I wanted to add the following quote (*) into the video but did not have the time to work out. So here it is ..

Give me the courage, tenacity & positivity to change that which I can... (with a smile on my face!) (15 Jun 2009)

Give me the serenity, humility & tolerance to accept that which I cannot... (16 Jun 2009)

And give me the wisdom, humbleness & strength to know the difference. (17 Jun 2009)

Sandhill Warrior (Rob Rowland-Smith)

Labels: Belief, Inspire Award, Pacific Dragons, Sat 21 Jul 2012, Remembering Jenny, Jenny Petterson, Sandhill Warrior, Change

What is a workout? Rob Rowland-Smith - Jeremey Rolleston (Feb 2011)

In his book A Life that Counts, Jeremy Rolleston introduces us to trainer Rob Rowland-Smith. A bit of searching on the Internet and you will find Rob as the SandhillWarrior on Twitter. He certainly impressed Jeremy (as well as me - see here) with his inspirational words and quotes. On pages 136 and 137 of his book, Jeremy quotes Rob's long version of What is a Workout (the short version appeared here a few days ago) as follows:

Here’s a quote by inspirational trainer Rob Rowland-Smith. He wrote it in the context of a workout, but for me, it epitomises the journey, process and outcomes of a committed and disciplined life. I placed it on the front page of my Olympic training folder so I’d read it often, and most times, I read it before I worked out so I’d be better able to discipline myself and work hard enough to achieve what I wanted to achieve during that training session:

"What is a workout?

A workout is 25% perspiration and 75% determination.

Stated another way, it is one part physical exertion and three parts self-discipline.

Doing it is easy once you get started.

A workout makes you better today than you were yesterday.

It strengthens the body, relaxes the mind and toughens the spirit.

When you workout regularly, your problems diminish and your confidence grows.

A workout is a personal triumph over laziness and procrastination.

It is the badge of a winner – the mark of an organised, goal-oriented person who has taken charge of his or her destiny.

A workout is a wise use of time and an investment in excellence.

It is a way of preparing for life's challenges and proving to yourself that you have what it takes to do what is necessary.

A workout is a key that helps unlock the door to opportunity and success.

Hidden within each of us is an extraordinary force.

Physical and mental fitness are triggers that can release it.

A workout is a form of rebirth.

When you finish a good workout, you don’t simply feel better ... you feel better about yourself."

Rob completes this with the following words:

To follow your dreams takes commitment ... and this means discipline.

Some great words here and they will certainly help me focus on what is needed when working towards a Dream.

When you workout regularly, your problems diminish and your confidence grows. - Jenny and Deb Cooper stroking with George sweeping - DBNSW 2008 Development Squad - Blackwattle Bay / Sydney (Sun 26 Oct 2008)
When you finish a good workout, you don’t simply feel better ... you feel better about yourself." - DBNSW 2008 Development Squad - Blackwattle Bay / Sydney (Sun 26 Oct 2008)

Change: Give me the .. by The Sandhill Warrior (Jun 2009)

Give me the courage, tenacity & positivity to change that which I can...(with a smile on my face!) (15 Jun 2009)

Give me the serenity, humility & tolerance to accept that which I cannot... (16 Jun 2009)

And give me the wisdom, humbleness & strength to know the difference. (17 Jun 2009)

SandhillWarrior (Rob Rowland-Smith)

Amazing what you can stumble upon. The message and timing of the above twitter quotes (posted over three days by Rob Rowland-Smith) mean something to me. I made a post from that time of our lives with some photos (a few of them below) titled:

• The night before brain surgery .. (Sun 07 Mar 2010)

The above quotes reflect much of what I knew I needed in myself for what would turn out to be Jenny's last two weeks of her life. All my life experiences, my training as I called it, helped me to be the best I could be to support Jenny (and Joanne) during this time of Jenny's life.

I look back at this time as my Life's Purpose. I knew this from the very moment Jenny told me she had breast cancer, way back in March 1996. We were incredibly Lucky to have so long together. An incredible life together.

Jenny - 'A little tidy up of Jenny's hair - it was always my job to do this.' - Kirrawee - 16 Jun 2009 (picasa)
Jenny, Joanne, David and Geoff - "Jenny takes a photo of us all just before she heads out to have a 4cm brain tumor removed. She had no fear and looked forward to quickly recovering to resume the treatment of the tumors in her liver." - St George - 6:30am Wed 17 Jun 2009 (picasa)
Jenny - 'Just before heading out for surgery.' - St George Hospital - 7am Wed 17 Jun 2009 (picasa)

What is a Workout? - Sandhill Warrior (Tue 13 Oct 2009

What is a Workout?

It is a way of preparing for life’s challenges & proving to yourself that you have what it takes to do what is necessary.

SandhillWarrior (Rob Rowland-Smith) - (Tue 13 Oct 2009)

A snippet from a longer quote (posted here soon) by Rob Rowland-Smith (a) (the Sandhill Warrior) in Jeremy Rolleston's (e) book, A Life that Counts (e)

Australia 2011 Premier Mixed - 2km Turns Workout - Sydney (Sat 23 Apr 2011)