Sarah Wilson, Author at Sarah Wilson

Sunday life: screw it, let’s just do it… and tap-dance out of a plane with Richard Branson

October 10, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

This week Richard Branson tells me shows me how to jump into life.

I can’t profess to know Richard Branson intimately. That said, we have shared two plane trips and a chicken sandwich together. And tap-danced, hand-in-hand, down the stairs of one of his Virgin Blue Boeing 737-800 in front of a bunch of TV cameras and journalists. Based on this I feel I can say with some (OK, shaky) authority that Sir Richard is no Anthony Robbins. He doesn’t talk in sound bites. He doesn’t do motivational bootcamps, instead requesting a Q &A format when he does find himself plonked at the front of a large auditorium. And he doesn’t look you in the eye when he talks; I’d describe him as quite shy.

Instead, what he does do – rather famously – is divert attention from this shyness by doing bodacious, OTT things – like fly a balloon around the world and jump off the Palms Casino Resort in Vegas in a dinner suit. For that particularly expectant subset of the community who flock to motivational “summits”, donning notebooks, Toastmaster memberships and bags of power within-unleashing DVDs bought at the desk on the way in, this might be disappointing to learn. But me, I find it refreshing. We expect a lot from our business entrepreneurs – spiels, chiselled jawlines and, oh yes, success secrets that come packaged in new (!) and inspiring (!) ways.

Which is like expecting barely pubescent men who herd a leather ball around an allotment of grass for a living to be mentors to our children.

Admittedly, when I meet with Sir Richard, I front up with a notebook and eagerly expect wise motivational words about overcoming fear.

is everything going to be ok?

October 7, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

It is, you know. Because everything is OK right now. Not in five minutes. Not in five seconds. Right now, as you read the message on the steps, it is. OK. Right?

This picture was taken in the lobby of the Ace Hotel when I was in New York a few months back. I found it on my iphone just now.

The wonderful Eckhart Tolle instructs, as an exercise in seeing the beauty of the present, to ask yourself, “what’s the issue right now?”. Not tomorrow, not in 30 minutes, not in 1 minute, not in one second from now. What’s the issue right now. Of course, you find yourself realising that there is no issue in the present. You just can’t conjure one. Only in the past and the future are there issues.

Try it. Um, like, now.

I think one of the kindest gestures you can proffer someone is to ask if they’re OK. I say this today, because it’s National RUOK Day. The premise, from watching Hugh below, is to simply reach out to someone and ask, “Are you OK?”. It’s geared at staving off suicide, and helping out someone struggling on their own.

I went through a rough patch about three years ago and my friend KJ would call me almost every day just to see if I was OK. I always said I was. Because in the instant that she asked me, I would be. That’s often how it works.

ride to work, smell the roses

December 28, 2011October 6, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

Oh dear. I’m on the cover of Central Magazine this week spruiking Ride to Work Day Oct 13. The “Oh dear” refers to that high-octane sunny expression on my face…and the largeness of the picture.

Fortunately, my bike’s look spick. And the campaign – I’m totally up for it. If you don’t want to read the full story, the highlight of my eloquent rant about why it’s good to ride to work, is this:

You experience more of life on a bike. You feel it, you smell it, you are totally engaged with the day and your surroundings. You have to be, to remain safe. So you notice great stuff – expressions on people’s faces, the smell of jasmine as evening approaches, great shop signage.

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Tuesday eats: millet

October 18, 2010October 5, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

Millet is great. Have you eaten millet? It’s a super grain.

It’s kind of like quinoa (high in protein, gluten-free, substitute for rice/couscous/flour), but is crunchier and is also:

* high in silica, which is great for bones

* soothing, especially for indigestion or morning sickness

* anti-fungal; helps ease Candida symptoms

* improves breath

This week I invited Melbourne acupuncturist and fertility specialist Natalie Kringoudis (visit her blog and her site The Pagoda Tree for her details) to share her love of the stuff. And a recipe.

But before I hand things over to her: a cheat sheet for you:
* Uses Millet can be used in porridges, cereal, soups and dense breads. It’s a great wheat-free substitution for couscous, as it has a similar consistency.

* Storing Look for yellow colored, raw millet in health food stores. Store in an airtight jar or glass container for 6-9 months.

* Preparation Rinse millet before cooking, and use one part millet to two parts liquid.

* Basic Millet
Prep Time: 2 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes Serves 4

Rinse 1 cup of millet in a grain strainer. Place in 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt in a pot with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes.
More water may be added to make the millet a softer consistency.

*** I toast my millet lightly before cooking to give it a nutty flavor. No oil, just in a dry pan.

***An update. The generous reader “millet head” gave me this helpful advice regarding my issue with millet being a touch too crunchy (I boil the crap out of it and 45 min later it’s still snappy-of-mouth):

White French millets are impossibly resistant to softening, Isprout them instead.
If you are using the yellow millets, rinse, then soak in cold water overnight – and leave on your counter top with a gauze or muslin to keep any bugs out etc. Discard soaking water and cook with fresh water as usual. I like to add butter or ghee and sea salt once mushy ( consistency kinda like polenta).

Over to Nat:

Millet makes you fertile.

At my clinic, I specialise in fertility.

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two lessons I took from Eat Pray love (the movie)

October 4, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

Everyone is going to see the movie, right. Even if you’re one of those people who says Elizabeth Gilbert should build a bridge. Grab her baggage. And trundle over it.

I saw an advanced preview of the film about two months ago. I really enjoyed it. It would be easy for me, with my scathing journalistic hat on, to go to town on the premise (when life gets tough, indulgently rack off for a year), but I’ll leave that to others…in particular the English who just LOVE to get snarky about anything self-helpy and American and sunny.

OK, so two things I took away from the movie that made me feel enrichened (which are just enactments of bits in the book…but it was good to see them played out again):

1. Smile in your liver

There’s a bit where Ketut (the Balinese guru) instructs Liz on her meditation, and suggests she backs off from the mantras and the strictures:

You make serious face like this, you scare away good energy. To meditate, only you must smile. Smile with face, smile with mind, and good energy will come to you and clear away dirty energy. Even smile in your liver.

Yes, yes, yes! This works. Keep it simple and just smile. When you walk, when you’re driving and when you meditate (or, if you don’t meditate, when you rest a moment). I’d advise not worrying about good or bad energy. Just smile with every bit of yourself. I find smiling with my eyes when I’m meditating works all kinds of magic.

Try it.

sunday life: how to really have a holiday

October 3, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

This week I have the holiday you have when you’re not having a holiday

On Friday, there I am, in Bali, on holiday, having a pedicure. Which is kind of the bourgeois equivalent of getting Bo Derek braids. Two hours and 15 minutes later, there I still(!!) am, having a pedicure. Sujatmi, the all-smiles Balinese girl attending my toes, couldn’t have gone slower without going backwards.

Being the Bourgeois, Uptight Westerner with A Week Off (a BUWWO?) that I am, such a protracted scenario would normally see me commit hari kari. I’d be a mess, fretting about all the nasi gorengs I could be eating and the white beaches I could be strolling. Everyone else is having The Perfect Holiday, is what I’d be thinking, while I’m bloody-well having my calluses scraped at glacial speed.

But on this occasion I remain calm. So much so that three hours later when the polish smears everywhere and sand granules get mooshed into the tacky mix I laugh. Why? Because this holiday I’m having the holiday you have when you stop trying to have a holiday.

just a cool bike shelf

September 30, 2010September 30, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

I’m filming 14 hours today so am just posting a Quick Cool Thing I Found on The Interweb That Builds On My Campaign To Ride a Bike. Knife and Saw has made this beautiful device – perfect for all of those inspired by Jerry Seinfeld’s nifty innercity storage systems. The shelf is about $US270, but … Read more

Dan buettner’s morning routine

September 29, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

Yesterday I posted about my morning routine. In the middle of my routine, the inspiringly languid and health-ful Dan Buettner emailed me, so I asked him to share his.

Three things you should know about Dan:

* He’s the world expert on how to live longer and wrote Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.

* He’s spent his life as an explorer and, ok, looks a little like Indiana Jones. Which I just know he won’t like me saying. He travels the world working out what makes people happy, healthy and live longer.

* He’s a top bloke. Walks his talk.

* We met via this blog about a year ago. Common interests. Weird happenstance.

* Signs off on emails with “Live large” or “largely”. Which always makes me stop and think…”Ok, then”.

So Dan’s morning routine, from Dan:

The following three will verifiably boost your mood:
1. At breakfast, eat fruits and grains, eschew meat. I’m a smoothie fan during the summer months (blueberries and soy milk) and oatmeal (with walnuts and brown sugar) during the winter months

the elegance of a morning routine

December 28, 2011September 28, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

I’m quite convinced that having some sort of structure to the start of your day is key to living a life that counts.

It gets you out of bed with a purpose. Delays, wonderings, phaffings…they get us down at early hours.

It gives you, possibly, the only space for yourself all day (got kids? staff? partner? an agent? true?)

And it ensures you tick off things that are important to you…before the day grabs you by your britches and runs away with you.

And this is the salient bit: the best kind of morning routine is one that’s a fiesta of stuff that gets you grounded, that nurtures your “inside people”, that brings you home to you. You tick off these things and then you can get on with serving the world. And all the rest.

Leo from Zen Habits outlined his routine the other day:

1. Sit. I wake up and start the coffeemaker, drink a glass of water, then sit on a small pillow. I just sit, and focus on my breathing. You don’t have to meditate — sitting still, contemplating, taking in the world, is a beautiful thing.
2. Read. I read a book. The paper kind, that doesn’t require electricity. I like reading with no distractions. I’ll read for about half an hour to an hour.
3. Write. Before I check email or Twitter or read my feeds, I sit down and write. It doesn’t matter what — a chapter for my new book, a blog post, answers to an interview someone emailed me, anything. I just write, without distractions.

I have friends who do the below:

1. Write. Creatively, for fun (as per The Artist’s Way)

2. Cook. They enjoy making dinner for that night in a slow cooker, before the kids get up

3. Drink coffee. In bed and reading fiction before heading off to the office.

Me, I do this:

1. Drench. I drink two litres or so of hot water with a hunk of lemon squeezed in. I potter while I drink. Tidy a little…and, let’s be frank, hang about until nature calls.

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