WOWNOW

HI Everyone

A number of years ago I was given a fridge magnet that I read almost every day, it says;

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER.

Every time I read this it is like a reality check and helps to refocus me on the future and not the past.

I tend to summarize EXPLORE, DREAM, DISCOVER into experience things.

In a future blog I am going to talk about these three themes from a personal perspective. However I am interested to hear from you on what your dreams are, what you hope to explore and discover in the next year.

Leave a comment.

Speak to you soon.

JB

Hi Everyone

Today I read an article titled ‘Christian lobby group urges MPs to reject adoption bill, you can view it online at  http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/christian-lobby-group-urges-mps-to-reject-adoption-bill/story-e6frfku0-1225911982342 The article is calling on members of the NSW Parliament  to vote against a bill to allow same sex couples to adopt children.

Now before I speak further I declare that I am currently an employee of the NSW Government and all views expressed in this blog are personal and are not comments on the Government of the Day or Members of Parliament. Further any reference to the current policy are for information purposes only. I further state all views, unless expressly stated otherwise, are my personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of either my employer or the views of any other organization that I am affiliated with in any form.

With the disclaimer out of the way, let me share my views on this matter.

The above mentioned article as stated is calling on politicians to oppose the adoption bill that would allow same sex couples to adopt children, which quite frankly is an issue I can not stay silent on. Let me state that I support the adoption of children by any person or couple, same sex or opposite sex couple, that can provide a loving and nurturing environment for the child.

Children become available for adoption for many reasons, each of these reasons are unique to the circumstances of the birth parents. It must be a very tough decision for a parent(s) to make, the decision to place a child up for adoption.

What I believe to be the case is that in every instance the desire of all concerned is that the child will be adopted by a loving person, a loving couple, with the means to support and nurture that child emotionally and financially.

Indeed even in the generations where children of unwedded mothers were taken from their birth parents and placed up for adoption, I fundamentally believe that an underlying reason was to ensure that child was supported and nurtured on their life journey. I know that this is a controversial statement and that many believe that in years gone by those decisions were motivated out of religious shame. I am not saying they were or they weren’t but I do believe at the time the people concerned thought they were doing what was in everyone’s best interest.

Those readers that follow my @jasonsbradshaw twitter account would understand I adore and love my parents and my mothers parents. In 1956 my Grandmother and Grandfather adopted my mother the first of four (4) children they would adopt. In the 50’s and 60’s it was not common place to adopt so many children, but I am very grateful to my grandparents for doing so.

I have witnessed first hand the unwavering love and support that only a parent can give to a child. I have seen my mother and her siblings receive this love and support to the same extent that I have from my own parents. There is no difference in the love, it is the same, the only difference is my parents are my biological parents and for Mum they are her adopted parents. I have discussed this topic with my Mother many times and she sees Grandmother and Grandfather as her parents and believes without a shadow of a doubt that she was raised with love and support in the same way she herself has loved me, her (biological) child.

I have also observed, from a distance, my Uncle and Aunt search out their biological parents and in their own way express after the fact that nothing can ever replace the love from their parents, my Grandmother and Grandfather – technically their adopted parents.

I share this with you to demonstrate that what matters here, in my opinion, is that the child is provided a loving a home, a nurturing environment and support to be the best person they can be. Something I am grateful my Grandparents gave to my Mother and her siblings.

I also do not believe that an opposite sex attracted family has any greater capacity to love or provide for a child than a same sex couple has. I further do not buy into this notion that the only suitable environment for a child is with a woman and man raising them. I think this statement itself is disrespectful to the thousands of single parent families that raise children alone and have done so forever, in many cases not through choice but circumstance.

No I don’t have a child myself but my sexuality nor the sex of my partner should determine my ability to adopt a child. Nor do these things dictate my ability to love or to be a good parent.

If you believe that in NSW Same Sex couples should be allowed to adopt children I encourage you to visit the Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby website at http://glrl.org.au/index.php/Take-Action/Current-Campaigns/Inaction-is-Unacceptable-Remove-Adoption-Discrimination-NOW where you can easily voice your support for this legislation.

I also invite you to leave your comments on this blog.

In closing – equality should be a birth right.

Thanks

Jason Bradshaw

PS – I know this blog has some grammatically errors but I wanted to get it out there fast (plus it’s part of my quirky charm). Thanks for reading.

Hi Everyone

Ok, I know it has been a while since I posted a blog, l hope that during the period of silence you have been achieving great things.

I thought I would make this post an update on what’s been happening with me over the past few weeks.

Firstly let me extend my thanks to my Mother, Father and Grandmother for their unwavering support and encouragement throughout my life.

Secondly let me extend my thanks to my friends and colleagues that have shaped, supported and encouraged me throughout my life. In part that thanks should also go to those people who don’t fit into any of those categories but who have challenged me to think outside my comfort zone and consider alternate perspectives.

If you follow me on twitter @jasonsbradshaw or on facebook you will know that recently I was successful in my application and was appointed as Director, Transformation Management Office within the NSW Department of Services, Technology and Administration.

Myself and my new office will be responsible for implementing significant reform to State Procurement in partnership with my colleagues and the wider team. I am confident that we will deliver on the plan. A plan that will deliver increased savings and value to the NSW Pubic Sector which results in improved outcomes for the people of NSW.

You may recall that last year I posted a blog regarding my desire to achieve a certain level by the time I was 30, so becoming Director at 30 fulfills that goal and reinforces my belief that setting clear goals and passionately working towards them will result in better outcomes.

I also believe that my success, in life and career, is always best achieved through helping others be successful in their endeavors and that is a reason I always try to support my friends and why I donate my time to a number of mentoring programs.
To add to this exciting news I was also elected to the Board of Oz Showbiz Cares / Equity fights AIDS and is dedicated to mobilising the unique talents within the media, entertainment and arts industries to mitigate the suffering of individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. I am excited by this Board appointment as it allows me to continue to expand my contribution to the community.

I now sit on the Board of two organizations, ACON Health Limited, Australia’s largest Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Health Promotion and HIV Services company and OzShow Biz Cares an Incorporated community organization. I am honored to be involved in both organizations and encourage you to get involved in supporting the community in some way, volunteering your time, donating money or simply attending events, it helps make a difference to the lives of so many. I also learn so much through my involvement in these organizations that no matter how much I give of myself to these organizations I am rewarded through the learning and experiences – get involved it’s great!

So apart from that news I also share with you that 11 July 2010 marked the first year anniversary of my fathers death. My Dad was to me a remarkable man who above all else was never afraid to show his love for Mum and I. He taught me so many things but of all the lessons, I know I will live every day, the lesson of unconditional love and to not to be afraid to show it.

Dad would always tell me to lead by example and he demonstrated daily that applied to love, friendships and career – I hope that everyday I lead more by example than the day before. I hope that by doing so I make my Mother, Father, Grandmother and friends proud of being in my life.

No matter what you do, do it with passion and if you ever want to vent, bounce an idea off me or ask a question, whatever – just send me a note and I will help where I can.

Take care – enjoy life.

JB

Hi everyone

Life sucks at times, life is amazing at times and most of the time it is somewhere in between those two extremes.

But how do you measure your life, your year past and the year ahead. The next 525600 minutes, will they be minutes of action or inaction, growth or otherwise?

Today my father, if he were still with us, would be celebrating his 60^th birthday. On reflection Dad achieved many things by traditional measures. A successful career, business owner, hobbyist, travelled, educated and so the list goes on.

However when I think of Dad’s last year, indeed his entire life as I know it, I feel his number one success area was in love. A loved Husband, Loved Son-in-Law, Father and Friend to many. At Dad’s funeral I reflected on the life long lesson that he, and Mum, taught me – and that is to live with passion and unconditional love.  I knew every single day that he loved, Mum and I, unconditionally and that was demonstrated in so many ways.

Today as I celebrate his life and what would have been his 60^th I ask that you take a moment to reflect on my earlier question, how do you measure a year, a life?

I encourage you to live passionately, try new things, don’t be afraid to let someone know that you care and perhaps most importantly, and also the hardest thing to do, don’t be too hard on yourself.

I believe life is a journey, one where we  won’t always get it right at every turn, but it’s through the experience of life itself that we grow and hopefully along the way make some great friendships, love and are loved in return.

With that in my mind I extend my thanks to everyone that plays a part in my life’s journey.

Take care.

Regards

JB

Hi Everyone

I am often asked for recommendations about what podcasts to listen to and I always include TED. TED explains itself as a nonprofit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, ideas by people from all walks of life with all sorts of ideas.

The wide range of ideas shared via TED is amazing and I always enjoy listening to or watching the podcasts. Each year TED holds an annual conference in Long Beach which always sells out fast. Thankfully now there is TEDx events, local community events based on the TED conference to help individuals share their ideas. Being a long time follower of TED I was very excited to learn that TED was coming to Sydney called TEDxSydney on the 22 May 2010.

The TEDxSydney Team released an open invitation for people to develop a short video to share their ideas and a number of videos will be broadcasted live during TEDxSydney.

So here is my idea, a simple one – have a listen.

Ok so I know the video quality isn’t the best, but hey I hope you like the idea enough to share this blog on your social media sites.

Don’t forget to take up the challenge!

Regards

JB

Hi Everyone

I hope you are enjoying my posts and if there is something you would like me to blog about please let me know.

Today’s post was in part inspired by a movie I recently watched where an actor said, “the most important things happen with someone.” I could not agree more, from the random unforgettable conversation with a stranger, the first kiss with a person to falling asleep in the arms of a loved one, all of these things would not be the same alone.

The line in the movie led to some self-reflection and asking is it possible to find a +1, a life partner, while maintaining and building a busy career. The question of career / life balance, if you will.

Do you have to put your life, romantic desires, ahead of your career?

Let me put this in perspective from my personal experience. At the age of 20 I started a long-term relationship that lasted 6.5 years. During this time my career went from strength to strength and while very important to me, my partner and family were always first in my life, or at least I thought they were. However there were probably times were I was not as attentive as I could have been as a result of my focus on my career. (As a side the separation wasn’t my idea.)

Now having been single for four years, despite some set backs, I still remain passionate about building a successful career. I however wonder have I replaced a sustained romance for a busy a life. Despite going on numerous dates over the four years I remain single but the number of projects in my life have continued to grow.

From a young age I was always someone to have many projects on the go, so this is part of my DNA, but do we get to a point where we self-sacrifice part of our desires for the fulfilment of others?

Unlike other blog posts I don’t have any hints or tips in this one, except to enjoy life and to remain passionate about what you enjoy.

I would like to think that the “right person” would always compliment you, bring balance to the areas that need it and encourage the best in you. Therefore being passionate about career and being busy because of it, wouldn’t be a road block to having a successful romantic relationship.

So does everybody need a co-pilot, a partner, in life?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Take care

JB

Hi Everyone

Recently I was watching a movie and their was a line in it where the actress said “I know you’re successful because …” The actress went on to list off a number of things, houses, cars, etc and it got me thinking about success and the expectations of what society place on us, or should I say that we let society place on us.

I feel success is a very individual concept, that is to say what I believe is successful is likely to be different to what you may define success as.  I also believe that success can be situational, for example a successful life can be void of a successful career and vice versa.

While writing this blog I decided to do a picture search and found this one.

Of course google returned heaps of results but I liked the simple message of this photo – Success is a journey not a destination.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you will know I believe in having a bias for action. By its sheer nature, this means that at times not everything will work out perfectly. In fact many leading business consultants such as Tom Peters and Peter Drucker believe that it is through this bias of action that we will learn quicker and progress on the journey of success faster.

So how do I define success – to me success is the movement towards achieving individual personal and professional goals. I feel that this definition compliments my view that success is something for the individual to define and not for society to dictate.

But how does your personal definition of success influence your behaviour? If for example you think success means someone that has the 6 figure salary, nice car, etc does this stop you from socialising with someone because of your assumptions about their success?

My Mum and Dad, from a very early age, would tell me not to judge a person by the clothes on their back or the car that they drive, but rather by the person that they are. The message was simple, don’t judge a book by its cover, for me this applies to success as well.

I personally believe that interacting with people from diverse backgrounds enriches my life and I encourage you to do the same.

So I am wondering how do you define success?

Take care

JB

Hi Everyone

I hope that you have been keeping well.

When I wrote the first draft of this blog I was sitting 30,000 feet above Australia on my way to Perth. My trip to Perth was to attend a celebration of the marriage of two of my amazing friends however I still try to use my travelling time constructively.

Anyway as I was sitting on this flight I was starting to wonder what do most people do on a flight.  I ask this because most of the time the person sitting next to me is like me doing a level of work.

Crazy photo – I agree, but it’s not posed it is a genuine representation of how I look for a large part of any reasonable length flight.

So I have noise cancelling headphones for when I am wanting to listen to the in-flight entertainment, my Apple Headsets for when I want to listen to audio from my Mac or iPhone and in addition to what you can see in the picture in front of me is my MacBook Pro (which hopefully for short trips will be effectively replaced with an iPad) and also my phones are in easy reach, for the purpose of queuing sms to send when I land.

Interestingly, or perhaps not, this is not too dissimilar from my lounge room on a regular night, that is I tend to interact with multiple information sources simultaneously.

So during a standard flight I enjoy the entertainment, work on projects, catch up on emails, catch up on industry readings, draft blogs, generally a wide range of tasks. Having read this you may think that a flight to me is nothing but an excuse to continue to work – far from it, for me I find flying exhilarating, fun and an experience every single time.

In addition to the above, I also some times have great random conversations, sometimes these turn into new business relationships and other times they are just short chats. The sharing of ideas, the new perspectives understood and the sheer connection with another, I feel this is what makes these random conversations so beneficial.

So what do you do on a flight? Do you feel the random conversations you have are good, bad or indifferent?

I hope to hear from you.

Take care.

JB

PS – Be kind to your flight attendants – it will make their day easier and most likely make your flight more enjoyable.