In sport and in life , I have always marvelled at how the underdog  sometimes becomes the chief destroyer.

Yesterday I had a personal experience of  it – what I term  Emotional ‘’E ‘’ Power.

When it kicks in – it electrifies Purpose , Priority  and Performance.

Caution gets thrown to the wind.

A massive swell was running in Umdloti Beach – a pristine hot summers day for beach goers – and especially so for big wave surfers.

But, definitively not for revellers who do not know the ocean – and the immense power of the ocean .

Being in the right place at the right time helps , so when I realised that a young guy had got himself into some kind of serious trouble behind the thundering high tide shore break – there was little time to think about it .

From prior experience, I knew the ocean would make this guy disappear in literally seconds (as under water currents cannot be read like surface currents).

If he went under we would have zero chance to find him again.

There was no time to even attempt to take my running shoes off. My ASICS were now my flippers. By the time I managed to get to the guy , I realised he was already unconscious – and going under .

I knew that one more wave on his own  – and we would lose him .

Negotiating a pounding shore break with an unconscious heavy guy is never going to be easy.

Two other guys who had run down with me to help , but could not swim themselves, risked their lives to come in and help me to negotiate the shore break.

Luckily, one massive wave arrived  at that very moment ,  and pounded us all onto the beach .

The other guys looked stunned –  from the sheer force of the ocean –  or  maybe it was because they realised the guy was no longer breathing.

They thought he was gone.

With nothing to lose, E –Power just kicks in.

I pumped the guy’s chest with my fists to try get some of the water off his lungs , but nothing seemed to  happen .

My only other option was to use the greater force of the ASICS I still had on – and force his lungs to pump the sea water back out .

Nothing happened at first. Then suddenly his lungs started to spurt out massive amounts of water.

There was still a chance.

Unfortunately this was an unpatrolled section of the beach , with no life guards , but within minutes the 568 lifeguards had arrived to get the guy onto life saving oxygen .

Then the real challenge began – trying to keep this guy alive while we waited for paramedics to arrive.

He was slipping in and out of consciousness, but we somehow just knew that he would make it.

The paramedics took over and saved his life with some pretty sophisticated equipment. The metro police , the SAP ,  the para medics, the life guards , the community – all teaming up to save a life.

 

 WATCH UMDLOTI BEACH RESCUE VIDEO SUNDAY 29 January 

 

I had experienced first hand : E – Emotional Power  – ADRENALIN IS ONE ALMIGHTY FORCE

Looking back , it’s easy to see how quickly things can go horribly wrong – and how life can be taken from you in literally milli -seconds .Timing is everything in life . This time I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time to help a fellow human being – with some great people coming to help.

It’s through the human collective that we are great.

Thank you for saving my friend. Thank you.

Those are words that resonate in my ear from one of his mates .

Swim together South Africa.

Izandla Ziya Gezana – hands wash each other

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Rob Opie is a Brand Expert, Author, Speaker, and Performance Coach to Business Executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals.

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GET IN TOUCH . robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Find out more about his game -changing ” Growing South Africans Great” breakfast talks in 2017 :

GOOD TO GREAT TO GREATER. Taking it to the next level in 2017.  

And here’s some more Insight, Innovation and Inspiration for Mahala :

Subscribe to Rob’s FREE weekly coaching newsletter >>

 Thanks to Cell C , Rob’s latest book: The Game Changers: Good to Great to Greater is available FREE to readers as an instant digital download on his home page at  : THE GAME PLAN

 

 

When life is easy, you get lucky and everything goes well. When things start going wrong, they start piling up and going more wrong : Bernie Ecclestone

 

 

 

If you want more of what you want, and less of what you don’t want, here’s the secret of the great champions of life and health:

Power up your deserve value.

A  surprisingly high percentage of the people who I coach have one thing in common.

They under-rate themselves – they under value themselves.

They diminish their own deserve value .

They fail to leverage one of the most powerful universal laws of life and health

They fail to attract more of ‘the right stuff ’ into their lives .

They unwittingly attract more of ‘’the wrong stuff’’ into their lives.

 

For those who have not had the opportunity to read Rhonda Byrne’s book: THE SECRET on the LAW OF ATTRACTION, here’ s how it works:

LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE

 

As human beings we are fascinated by what science can do for us in real life. Yet in reality, science does not mimic real life. It contradicts.

In real life  – like definitely attracts like.

It’s the universal law of magnetic attraction in action. We send out human vibrations and the universe sends back “like” vibrations. This means we create our own life experiences. We act as our own life engineers, depending on how we feel, think and talk about life.

We have the power to magnetically attract into our lives what we feel, think and talk about most of the time – negative or positive.

Our human thought focus therefore directly affects the quality of our lives. We have the power to attract or repel any of life’s multitude of opposites, for instance good or bad, success or failure, pain or pleasure, joy or sadness, pride or shame, win or lose, ease or dis-ease and even life or death. It’s our gift of choice.

We create our own life direction –  life design. Our feelings, our thoughts and especially our chosen words have a powerful vibratory force.

But here’s the secret of the great champions.

They power up their deserve value –  by powering up their personal brand value.

Ok,  are you ready to take the test ?

It’s time to power up your deserve value. Power up your brand.

Use THE GAME PLAN BAROMETER  alongside

Give yourself a score – a rating- on a scale from 0-10 for your own GAME PLAN- consider both your current professional and personal life circumstances:

2 = Very poor ; 3= Poor; 4 = Below average : 5 = Average : 6 = Above average; 7= Good ; 8 = Great ; 9 = Greater; 10 = Perfect .

Ok , forget trying to be perfect. No one is a ten.

 

The main idea in life is to operate consistently as a NINER ( 9/10).

Why ? And this is the crux .

When you are thinking, talking and vibrating as a NINER – you will attract 90% of ” THE RIGHT STUFF” into your life – and only magnetize 10 % of the ”THE WRONG STUFF’’ into your life .

That is how it works .

Ask THE ALL BLACKS what it’s like  to be a NINER ? There win ratio under Steve Hansen is an astounding 91 %.

But , if you’re only rating yourself as a FIVE ( 5/10)  – you are effectively attracting 50 % of ‘the right stuff ‘ and unwittingly attracting 50% of ’the wrong stuff ’’ into your life.

Your current GAME PLAN is calling for what we term a RTS :  RADICAL TACTICAL SHIFT – so that you get back on the road to being a NINER  – and  attracting more and more of  ‘’ THE RIGHT STUFF ‘’ into your life .

HOW TO DO THAT?

Shift into high performance gear with the 3 potent P’s in your life. They are the key ingredients of any high level Game Plan – which is made of the right stuff .

Purpose:

Clearly define ‘‘The Why’’ in your life. It’s never about’’ The What’’ in your life, if you’re really serious about wanting more in your life.

Every living being was born to accomplish certain purpose. It’s the knowledge of that purpose that enables every soul to fulfill it– Muhammad Ali

Priority:

Getting THE BIG FIVE priorities in your life right – is probably the most important value added exercise you will ever do. If you don’t – don’t be surprised if your life begins to cram full with all ‘’the wrong stuff ‘’.

Focus . Focus. Focus on becoming a person of value .

The most important thing I have learnt in life is to focus my energy on what is important in life– Bill Gates

Performance Goals:

Align your performance goals with the Purpose and the Priorities which you have personally set for yourself – and you will never have to look back in life. Just do it.

The Universal Law of Attraction unfolds as such:

Treat yourself as a first class citizen, and you will attract first-class results.

The great champions of life all choose wisely to travel ‘first- class’ in life.

They know that if they choose to travel in the third-class cabin, they will receive a third-class meal. The universe returns a first-class meal to those who choose to travel first class.

It’s the magnetic law of attraction in action where success begets success.

It’s funny about life. If you refuse to accept anything but the very best, you will very often get it– W Somerset Maugham

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Rob Opie is a Brand Expert, Author, Speaker, and Performance Coach to Business Executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals.

---

GET IN TOUCH . robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Find out more about his game -changing ” Growing South Africans Great” breakfast talks in 2017 :

GOOD TO GREAT TO GREATER. Taking it to the next level in 2017.  

And here’s some more Insight, Innovation and Inspiration for Mahala :

Subscribe to Rob’s FREE weekly coaching newsletter >>

 Thanks to Cell C , Rob’s latest book: The Game Changers: Good to Great to Greater is available FREE to readers as an instant digital download on his home page at  : THE GAME PLAN

 

 

If you find yourself in Durban next week, please join us  at John Allan’s Locker Room Eye -to- Eye .

John is promising a whole lot of fun and exciting new stuff for the 2017  Locker Room series .

Join us inside  ‘The Shark Tank” . All will be revealed .

See you there.

For further details about THE LOCKER ROOM please contact  Nadine on mailto:nadine@gameoncard.co.za

---

Rob Opie is a Brand Expert, Author, Speaker, and Performance Coach to Business Executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals.

---

GET IN TOUCH . robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Find out more about his game -changing ” Growing South Africans Great” breakfast talks in 2017 :

GOOD TO GREAT TO GREATER. Taking it to the next level in 2017.  

And here’s some more Insight, Innovation and Inspiration for Mahala :

Subscribe to Rob’s FREE weekly coaching newsletter >>

 Thanks to Cell C , Rob’s latest book: The Game Changers: Good to Great to Greater is available FREE to readers as an instant digital download on his home page at  : THE GAME PLAN

       

 

 

I’m an athlete. I’m a golfer. I’m a son. I’m a fan. I’m Rory   : Rory McIlroy   

 

 

 

 

South Africa owes Rory McIlroy a big THANK YOU.

Not only did he take time out to enjoy Londolozi and play in the BMW SA Open , when other leading SA golfers chose not to play in their own national tournament – he almost single handily re- ignited and re- imagined golf in South Africa – giving the SA OPEN a renewed rigour going forward.

Dale Hayes , on his online golf chat, commented that not since the play-off in the SA Open between Gary Player, John Bland and Warren Humphries at Royal Johannesburg 35 odd years ago – had he seen local golf galleries like that .Young, old, men, women, children, some in wheelchairs – they had all come out to Glendower to see the best and most exciting golfer in the World.

Rory McIlroy is athletic and authentic . Not only a golfing genius, he’s a branding genius.

And it’s branding which elicits the extraordinary.

Rory, Rory Rory …..Go Rory Rory … Glory ……. were the chants from the packed fan galleries.

Rory understands it is not all about chasing the result – chasing the game . It’s not all about winning . It’s not all about the money. It’s not all about the number one ranking in the world.

It’s about  “ENTERTAINING,EDUCATING and ENRICHING” the lives of others through his god given talents.

Sporting superstars who grasp this wisdom – and place their focus on it –  go on to impart great value and their careers continue to flourish.

It takes immense pressure off themselves  –  and guards the fine line between  ”genius” and  ”burn out” .

If only Tiger realised that.

Human Greatness is Sustained Success and Significance.

And Rory is right up there on the right path at age 27 : Made of The Right Stuff .

Making something look effortless and easy requires great effort: Mark .H McCormack

Testing a new combination of clubs after Nike’s decision to stop manufacturing such   – and overcoming an upper back spasm during the opening rounds of the SA Open , Rory showed his mettle- and he had SA golf fans admiring , adopting and adoring him .

Rory is just one of those guys who has all the potent C’s of the great Champions : Charisma, Courage, Character , Culture , Capability, Consistency , Certainty ,Control , Concentration , Commitment, Challenge , Creativity, Confidence and most of all Contribution .

It’s a Champion’s Cocktail which all adds up to what’s referred to in sport as CLASS.

With all his fame and fortune, Rory McIlroy remains old school.

He made good on his promise to Ernie Els to play in the SA Open – honouring a gentleman agreement after Ernie stepped in to support Rory at his own Irish Open in 2014– Ernie having spectacularly won the British Open in 2012 .

 

Rory is clearly a big fan of THE BIG EASY:

Ernie was the first big, big name I played with as a pro. I have always been a huge fan of his game but I am a bigger fan of the man and to have been able to get to know him and Liezl and the kids over the past few years in Florida has been great.Anything I can do to help Ernie I always will. I actually named my first dog after Ernie – I called him Theo (Els’ first name).

After losing out in a sudden death playoff to Graeme Storm, Rory who has 3 Million twitter followers worldwide tweeted:

We’ve had a trip of a lifetime to @londolozi over the last few days. Great playing @stormygraeme! What a great story after last year. Thanks to @TheBig_Easy and everyone in SA for making this week so special.

South Africa owes a big thank you for two greats of the game – uniting together to grow golf in South Africa and grow  Brand South Africa itself.

Cast your mind back to the year 1994. It was no co incidence that it was Ernie Els who stepped up to the plate to win the US OPEN at Oakmont that year  –  in what’s regarded as one of our country’s greatest years ever  – thanks to Nelson Mandela.

Welgedaan Ernie for putting THE SA OPEN back on the map , as host . Thank you for being a great BRAND SOUTH AFRICA  AMBASSADOR.

Thanks Rory.

See you back soon in sunny South Africa.

As, Rory’s great mentor and Floridian neighbour , Jack Nicklaus,  once said :

Watch out when he has that swagger in his walk

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Rob Opie is a Brand Expert, Author, Speaker, and Performance Coach to Business Executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals.

---

GET IN TOUCH . robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Find out more about his game -changing ” Growing South Africans Great” breakfast talks in 2017 :

GOOD TO GREAT TO GREATER. Taking it to the next level in 2017.  

And here’s some more Insight, Innovation and Inspiration for Mahala :

Subscribe to Rob’s FREE weekly coaching newsletter >>

 Thanks to Cell C , Rob’s latest book: The Game Changers: Good to Great to Greater is available FREE to readers as an instant digital download on his home page at  : THE GAME PLAN

 

 

 

 

Adversity is the diamond dust that heaven polishes its jewels with : Thomas Carlyle

 

 

 

 

Hats off to the Proteas test team who have come a long way since Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow smashed them to all corners of Newlands in January 2016. Ben Stoke’s master class in batting entertained a packed Newlands, but a closer look inside the Proteas camp, revealed it was more like taking lambs to the slaughter.

Something was wrong with the Protea’s psyche.

Mindset is everything

Having lost emphatically in India, they had been outplayed by England on home turf.

One year on and things have changed.

With scintillating team performances against New Zealand, in Australia and now at home versus Sri Lanka, the team’s psyche is one which now provides a formidable challenge for all opponents.

In took an open hearted ‘culture camp ‘in mid 2016 to reveal what had gone wrong.

Like any good team does when it finds itself with its back against a wall – the players gave themselves a honest open hearted reality check , adding diagnostics and a newly formulated high level game plan –  to bounce back from adverse times.

What came out of their closed camp was that the entire team felt they had entered ‘’a tunnel ‘’.

A tunnel which had been opened wide on a semi- final day at Eden Park in March 2015. A day when they had collectively allowed politics to override their original team selection.

On that World Cup day, a player who was not fit to play and obviously out of form, was forced into the team to play ahead of a player who was in the bowling form of his life – namely Kyle Abbott.

South Africa’s , and AB de Villier’s World Cup dreams lay in tatters after that politically motivated decision – beaten by four wickets by New Zealand.

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See Article I posted in March 2015: AB de Villiers – lift your head, you’re a legend

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What transpired at Eden Park was to have an adverse effect on everyone in the squad- and it took the team 18 months to come out and say so .

The Proteas had built their PROTEA FIRE brand equity on the back off one potent word, namely  CERTAINTY.

Now it was gone – certainty in decision making and certainty in selection.

The players felt gutted – gutted by their very own.

Certainty builds confidence in all sports, but in cricket where milli-seconds and milli-metres are the fine line between in and out – it becomes a silver bullet.

The term ‘silver bullet’ refers to an action which cuts through complexity and provides an immediate solution to a problem

Coupled with mutual trust and focus, certainty takes teams to the top. Without certainty, teams plunge down the world rankings as we have seen with our beloved Springboks

Since their ‘’ culture camp’, the Proteas have exited the tunnel and found  renewed certainty in convenor of selectors, Linda Zondi , his fellow selectors , a rejuvenated Russell Domingo , and captain Faf Du Plessis –  all who have stood firmer against unnecessary political meddling.

Challenges will always come their way, but it’s now time for the Proteas to take the next step – to move beyond and away from racial quotas and embrace and leverage off our unique national strength:

Unity in our diversity

In a post ‘’culture camp’’ era for PROTEA FIRE, the team has found its silver bullet in a word called CERTAINTY.

Let’s hope that the fine example they have set this summer, inspires others in our great country to follow suite – and change mindset.

Let’s hope our leaders in other sporting codes, our business leaders and our country leaders take heed of what the Proteas have achieved.

Let’s ‘Unite in Diversity’ – it’s our unique strength. Let’s play to it , and not our weaknesses.

Our country is crying out for leaders who have the innate talent to unite diverse people in mutual trust, purpose and certainty.

Welgedaan Linda, fellow selectors, Russell and Faf.

Stand firm , keep going, it’s never easy.

Let’s build a greater Brand South Africa together in 2017 – and beyond.

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Rob Opie is a Brand Strategist, Author, Speaker, and Performance Coach to Business executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals.

---

GET IN TOUCH . robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Find out more about his game -changing PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE COACHING SERVICES.

 

 

• Rob’s latest book: The Game Changers: Good to Great to Greater is available FREE to readers as an instant digital download on his site : THE GAME PLAN

                                 

 

 

 

My advice. Invest in yourself: Warren Buffett

 

 

 

 

 

Raymond Ackerman used a four legged table model to build one of South Africa’s truly great companies.

Lance Armstrong used a four legged table model to conquer cancer………

If you’re looking for a game changer , here’s a potent four- legged table model to power up your professional and personal game in 2017 – it’s a model derived solely from the collective wisdom of the great champions of life – what they know , what they do, and importantly what they do not do – to make life great.

Align and balance the four legs of the table-  and you’ll find yourself firmly on the road from Good to Great to Greater in 2017.

Table Leg Number One:   RESOLVE – the power of human purpose

Human greatness inhabits every one of us.

Finding out what we are great at leads us to the all important ‘’ WHY’’ in our lives – why we are put here on this planet.

And when we uncover ‘’the why’’ – our resolve automatically sky rockets.

Everything becomes possible.

We move away from seeking external motivation – to becoming internally inspired to do.

You are not here to merely make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand – Woodrow Wilson

Table Leg Number Two: KNOWLEDGE – the power of human awareness

Know what you are great at (or want to be great at) and power up your knowledge base. Focus on your one thing. Become expert.

It’s when one shares what one is expert at – that great value gets imparted on the universe.

Commonly people acquire knowledge through what is often termed ‘The School of Hard Knocks’.

Famed author , Paulo Coelho , says that the secret to life is to fall down seven times and get up eight times , but there exists a far more effective, far more efficient and far easier way to power up your human awareness levels.

Take heed

Take heed of those who have gone before – those who have achieved sustained success and significance.

Human greatness leaves footprints, and there is always someone out there willing to share what you still need to learn.

A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience – Oliver W. Holmes

Becoming a better version of yourself and sharing what you become great at, creates a ripple effect that benefits everything around you: your lifestyle, your family, your friends, your community.

Never stops learning.

When you’re green, you’re growing. When you’re ripe, you rot.  – Ray Kroc

Table Leg Number Three: SUPPORT – the power of the human collective

Nothing great is ever achieved by anyone on his or her own. Simple, but true.

Great Champions build powerful inner circles of trust.

It’s tough at the top. Tough to get there and even tougher to stay there – so when the going gets tough, the great champions always ‘’ come back to the fire’’.

It’s around the fire where they Refuel, Reframe and Reboot their inner and outer game plans.

There’s something special in human beings going out of their way to help other human beings.

Choose your inner circle a carefully. Get the right support.

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with ― Jim Rohn

Table Leg Number Four: GAME PLAN – the power of human focus.

Is your current game plan made of the right stuff?

 

 

Rate your current game plan on a scale of 0-10 as per our Everest chart.

4=below average ; 5 =average ; 6=above average;

7 =Good ; 8=Great ; 9 =Greater.

 

 

One of the secrets to life is to keep climbing  the mountain from Good to Great to Greater – and then play the game consistently at LEVEL NINE.

That’s what teams like the All Blacks do. It’s just more rewarding – and a lot more fun.

Those who consistently  play the game at LEVEL NINE , all have one thing in common . They have high level game plans which are made of the right stuff -aligning the three potent P’s of Professional and Personal Branding : Purpose, Priority and Performance Goals.

They’re all virtuosos.

The first ‘P’ is PURPOSE.

 Great individuals become greater when they become crystal clear on their higher purpose in life.

Some go on to genius .

Nelson Mandela’s purpose was ‘to create freedom for all’.

Winston Churchill’s was ‘to inspire hope’.

Bill Gate’s purpose is ‘to empower people to do more’.

Elon Musk’s purpose is ‘to elevate humanity’……… and he has only just begun .

Have a go, write your higher purpose in as few words as possible.

 The second ‘P’ is setting one’s PRIORITIES right

Most people find it extremely difficult to clearly articulate their ‘BIG FIVE’ priorities in life, resulting in their lives becoming clogged with things of lesser importance.

Naturally,  life will become more stressful, if one is not clear on one’s ‘BIG FIVE’ priorities. Why?

Clear priorities help one to make clear decisions –making your life far easier.

While we are all unique human beings, common patterns of priority do exist for the great champions of life.

At THE GAME PLAN we model them- so here are the common denominators which I have found in all the great champions, in hierarchical order:

No.1   YOURSELF :

Invest first and foremost in making yourself the very best person you can be – so that you can best help others.

No.2   YOUR HIGHER PURPOSE.

Invest in your professional ‘’WHY’’

No.3     YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS.

Invest in your personal ‘WHY’’

No.4   YOUR HEALTH & WEALTH.

Invest wisely here as both can easily be lost

No.5   YOUR DESIRED LIFESTYLE:

Invest to REFUEL yourself. It’s important to refuel by doing the things you love to do.

Great Champions recognize that self -interest is central to one’s human design,

but count the greatest gain as the goodwill of fellow humankind – Bob Bulford

 

The third ‘’P’’ is setting and aligning one’s PERFORMANCE GOALS

 Keep it all simple.

Align your 2017 performance goals with you Purpose and Priorities.

Choose just three – to get the best out of your re- focused self.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistification: Leonardo da Vinci

 

With all four legs of your personal table aligned and balanced, it’s time to………

Take action

Make great things happen in 2017 .

Go Great

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Rob Opie is a Brand Strategist, Author, Speaker, and Performance Coach to Business executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals.

---

GET IN TOUCH . robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Find out more about his game -changing PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE COACHING SERVICES.

 

 

• Rob’s latest book: The Game Changers: Good to Great to Greater is available FREE to readers as an instant digital download on his site : THE GAME PLAN